Parenting doesn't come with a manual. Until now. When Dr. Stacey Owens-Howard's son was labeled ADHD, ODD, and IED in first grade, a counselor told her he would be in jail by twenty-one. Instead of accepting that verdict, she built a school. That school, and thirty years in classrooms, principal's offices, and parent conferences, became the laboratory for the book you are holding.
The R.E.A.L. Parent introduces the R.E.A.L. Approach - Relationships, Emotional Intelligence, Academics, and Love - a framework born out of one mother's refusal to let the system write her son's future for him.
Inside, you will learn how to:
- Build relationships with your child that survive the hard years
- Regulate yourself before you try to regulate them
- Partner with schools when they work, and advocate like a warrior when they don't, including the exact six-year path one mother took from first complaint to federal resolution
- Love your child as a discipline, not a feeling, in a way that changes generations
Written in Dr. Owens-Howard's unmistakable voice, warm, unflinching, and deeply personal, The R.E.A.L. Parent is the book every parent wishes someone had handed them the day they brought their baby home.
This is not a book about perfect parenting. It is a guide for parents who want to show up informed, prepared, and present because every child deserves a parent who knows they belong in the all.
Dr. Stacey Owens-Howard, Ed.D., is a National Board Certified Teacher, award-winning educator, and founder of ZECA School of Arts & Technology and Georgetown High: A Village-Minded Academy. She is the author of nine books and the creator of the trademarked R.E.A.L. Approach, a culture-transformation framework used by schools, leaders, and families across the country. Her son Zechari, the boy a counselor once predicted would be in jail, is in his thirties. He is alive. He is whole. He gave his blessing for this book.
