The Early Years: Assessing and Promoting Resilience in Vulnerable Children 1

This clear and practical workbook shows the importance of encouraging resilience in pre-school children who live in challenging circumstances. Focusing on assessment of need, Brigid Daniel and Sally Wassell show how to evaluate resilience using checklists and background information. They explain that children in their early years gain resilience from a range of experiences, including attachment relationships, opportunities to develop self-esteem and learning to understand others and behaving in a positive way towards them. With this in mind, they set out ways of encouraging pro-social behaviour in young children: involving them in the process of evaluation, giving support to the parent or carer of the child, and using activities to nurture the child's `theory of mind'. Including guidance on ongoing monitoring and supported by case studies from practice, this book is an essential guide to nurturing resilience for all those who work with young children and their families. The workbook stands alone but also forms part of a set along with two other resilience resources on The School Years and Adolescence. The complete set can be bought together at a reduced price.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements 1. Introduction to Resilience. 2. When and How to use Workbook. 3. Secure Base. 4. Education. 5. Friendships. 6. Talents and Interests. 7. Positive Values. 8. Social Competencies. 9. Intervention. 10. Case Studies. Appendix. Bibliography. Index.

About the Author :
Brigid Daniel is Professor of Social Work at the University of Stirling. She has worked with children and families in local authority social work and at the Centre for Child Care and Protection Studies at Dundee University. Sally Wassell is an independent consultant and trainer in childcare and an associate lecturer at Dundee University. Together with Robbie Gilligan, the two wrote Child Development for Child Care and Protection Workers, also published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Review :
The workbooks are easy to read and use the same format in each volume. They explain resilience theory and encourage practitioners to place intervention and assessment within ecological framework. This entails considering what resources might be available to the child at each of three levels: child, family relations and wider community... The workbooks would be invaluable to parents/carers/foster families and those practitioners who have little child development knowledge. For students and occupational therapists who are new to working with children, they would be a very useful adjunct to learning, to the advanced practitioner they would be a refreshing revisit to child development in relation to occupational lifestyle. (Review for the 3 Volume Set) 'These three workbooks are a welcome and important addition to the tools available to childcare social workers, foster carers, residential workers and others involved in assessment and direct work with children and young people. Each book stands alone and could be used to inform and illuminate work with a particular child. Taken as a set they are a rich and lasting resource.'