A parent seeking help with tantrums, bedtime or difficult school mornings can find many books, videos and other resources offering answers. The harder task is deciding which advice is credible, relevant, and will actually help and deliver the results we want. There is also only so much time a busy mother, father, or caregiver can spare to research the information.
Michael Amin wants to make that search easier. As founder of the Los Angeles-based Maximum Difference Foundation (MDF), he has made parenting education and resources one of the main priorities. The foundation directs families and caregivers toward valuable resources and information while providing its own videos and content for parents.
Helping Parents Find Advice Worth Their Time
Parents and caregivers usually seek help from the people they trust, like family and friends. Today, that advice is available alongside a large amount of online content. Parents can hear from researchers and doctors, but they also encounter questionable claims and recommendations that may have little credibility and no proof that the advice is sound.
“Parents today don’t lack access to information. Quite the opposite, in fact. There’s more out there about raising kids than there’s ever been before,” says Amin. “The challenge is finding the resources that actually help: the credible practical guidance that can be applied to real-world situations. I’m sure parents feel that it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.”
MDF provides the resources that give parents the knowledge and tools they need, and that will make a difference in their lives and the lives of their children. “It’s not necessarily about consuming more information but the right information. Of course, more information is good if it’s actually going to help, but parents are busy nowadays, both parents working and raising kids; it’s not easy and finding the time can be difficult, so we can provide guidance and direction that will help them gain the skills and knowledge while spending less time researching and more quality time with their kids.”
Three Parenting Books on MDF’s Reading List
The foundation recommends books that draw on research without requiring readers to have a background in psychology. Three of its selections come from clinical psychologists with Ph. D.S and university teaching backgrounds, though their approaches differ.
Topping this list are some prestigious, battle-tested titles (for those readers who think that last descriptor is a tad dramatic, I can only infer you haven’t spent much time around children going through the terrible twos).
- The Everyday Parenting Toolkit by Alan E. Kazdin, which includes concepts like being cognizant of ‘the ABCs’ of childhood behavior (antecedents, behaviours, and consequences) and advocating the use of the “positive opposite”, wherein parents identify the desirable behaviour that could replace an unwanted one, then encourage and reinforce it until it becomes habitual.
- The Incredible Years: A Trouble-Shooting Guide for Parents of Children Aged 3-8 Years by Carolyn Webster-Stratton, which explains that building a warm, positive parent-child relationship is foundational in order to effectively administer discipline, and encourages utilizing child-directed play to strengthen attachment and encourage development. The book is a valuable resource on its own, but it also serves as a companion to The Incredible Years program, a comprehensive parenting course delivered through a series of facilitated group sessions.
- Raising Human Beings by Ross W. Greene posits the idea that children who consistently display challenging behavior are not necessarily lacking motivation, but could be struggling with lagging skills and unsolved problems. To address this, Greene’s Collaborative and Proactive Solutions model encourages parents to identify the underlying problem and work with the child to develop a mutually satisfactory solution.
Regarding helpful parenting videos, Maximum Difference Foundation recommends both standalones and series, and all from authoritative, research-based sources like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Harvard Center on the Developing Child, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and UNICEF, among others.
Finding Advice that Fits Your Child & Family
A recommendation can narrow the search, but parents still need to make the decision whether the method or strategy addresses their circumstances and is right for their child. It is important to remember that every child is different and each may respond differently to the same approach.
Start with the concern that brought you looking for help. You may want to understand a recurring disagreement, make a daily routine less stressful or strengthen your relationship with your child. Knowing what you hope to learn makes it easier to judge whether a book or video covers the right ground.
Consider who created the material and whether their qualifications are relevant to the subject. Look for an explanation of the research behind the advice, the age group it is intended for and any limits to its use. An author’s credentials are worth checking, but they do not tell you everything about whether a particular resource suits your child.
There are practical questions, too. Does the format fit the way you prefer to learn? Is the time commitment realistic? Before buying a book or paying for a course, a preview, borrowed copy, or introductory resource may help you decide whether to go further.
Making the Maximum Difference
“The name Maximum Difference Foundation is rooted in a simple question: How can every dollar invested and every resource expended produce the greatest possible good?” says Michael Amin. “In business, we think about return on investment, sometimes shortened to ‘ROI’. I believe the same principle can be broadly applied to philanthropy, although the return is not financial.”
Amin goes on to explain that instead of dollars, he likes to think in terms of “units of positive change,” which is a term used to express the real and lasting benefit generated by the work MDF does. It also provides a window into why he and his foundation spend so much time encouraging parents to educate themselves.
“Helping parents find reliable guidance in their journey of raising happy, confident, and resilient children can produce an especially meaningful ROI because even small improvements in parenting can shape a child’s future,” he explains. “Those benefits can extend to families, whole communities, and even generations, if you think in terms of the contributions a well-adjusted child will make over the course of their life.”
While MDF and Michael Amin devote tremendous effort to curating these resources, it is important to understand that the foundation itself does not provide any direct instruction. Instead, they encourage self-education, endeavoring to motivate parents to learn the art and science of good parenting by reading related books, watching videos, attending seminars, and, if needed, talking to a child therapist.
MDF also actively cultivates partnerships with a wide variety of other charitable organizations operating in fields ranging from ecological preservation to medical aid to the preservation of human rights. Some of these include the American Civil Liberties Union, Doctors Without Borders, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Amnesty International, the National Park Foundation, The Independent Media Institute, and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, to name only a few.
It may still take a village to raise a child, but the modern village is much larger, more dispersed, and far more difficult to navigate than in times past. Sometimes, making a meaningful difference simply means cutting through the noise and helping parents find the right people to listen to. By pointing the mothers and fathers of young children toward trustworthy, evidence-based advice they can use at home, MDF aims to make that search a little less daunting.
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