Guide to Childcraft

Preface

This volume of Childcraft is designed to help you meet the challenge of parenthood. It is divided into four sections: (1) Growth and Development; (2) For Special Consideration; (3) a Medical Guide; and (4)
Learning with Childcraft.

Growth and Development describes how children develop from birth through
the preteen years. This description helps you understand your child and
provides guidelines for solving some of the problems that arise at each stage of development.

For Special Consideration deals with subjects that may affect you or your child at any stage in the child’s life—choosing a baby sitter, moving, growth, the working mother. It deals with problems of a special nature that, fortunately, touch the lives of only some parents—such as developmental challenge, physical handicaps, and drug addiction. Also
included are two helpful lists. The first catalogs agencies and
organizations that you may want to contact for additional or special help. The other is a collection of books for further reading.

The Medical Guide contains more than 200 articles dealing with a child’s health, safety, and well-being. The articles are alphabetically arranged
for quick and efficient use. Cross references are included to help you locate information you may have difficulty finding. See also entries
appear at the end of many articles to lead you to related topics for additional information.

The last section contains suggestions for  using Childcraft at home and
in the classroom.

Obviously, no one person is qualified to give expert advice on all the subjects presented in this volume. For this reason, the editors sought the assistance of more than 40 physicians, psychiatrists, educators, and dentists. The result of their work is a body of information that we feel
will give you a good  understanding of your child’s behavior, and confidence in your abilities to guide your child through the crucial
years leading to adulthood.