Complex Kids, Simple Solutions: How to raise resilient, confident, likeable kids

by Jenny Demark PhD, Conrad Leung BCBA, Linda Reinstein PhD

Overview

Grounded in science and written by three child behavioral specialists, Complex Kids, Simple Solutions is your comprehensive guide to raising cooperative, resilient and likeable kids.

Parenting is one of the most challenging yet rewarding jobs — and it’s one we are never prepared for. Yet everywhere we turn there is information (and misinformation) about how best to raise our children.

Complex Kids, Simple Solutions offers a research-based antidote to help you get to grips with effective parenting approaches. Penned by two child psychologists and a behavioral analyst, the book weaves together theories and principles from the fields of developmental, cognitive and clinical psychology. It offers proven parenting approaches, used by the authors over decades of working with children and families, and based on three essential fundamentals: Prepare. Teach. Motivate.

The book explains how these concepts apply to almost any situation, from the mundane to the meltdown. Once you understand and master them, you will be able to tackle just about anything with confidence, precision and consistency. 

Covering everything from the morning rush to helping your child handle big emotions, from minimizing screens to the proactive power of spending quality time with your child, Complex Kids, Simple Solutions is a reader-friendly, sometimes humorous manual that gives you practical solutions to parenting problems. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781923011250
Publisher:	Exisle Publishing
Publication date:	11/18/2025
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dr Jenny Demark is a child clinical psychologist whose goal is to improve the quality of life for children and their families by sharing the insights of the Prepare. Teach. Motivate! Approach. She has decades of experience working with children, youth, parents and schools, and is known for her warm and collaborative approach to skill building. Dr Demark enjoys outdoor activities, eating gourmet food, and maintaining a net-zero energy home with her husband, two sons, and rescue dog.

Conrad Leung is a Board-certified behaviour analyst who is passionate about helping people. He has worked with diverse families and a variety of professionals in homes, schools, clinical and group care settings. He strives to translate principles and research into solutions that produce meaningful changes in the lives of children, their families and those who support them. He also supports and supervises future behaviour analysts. In his spare time, Conrad enjoys learning from his young children, cooking from scratch, and listening to good music.

Dr Linda Reinstein is a child clinical and school psychologist with a broad range of experience in understanding, assessing and consulting about complex developmental, learning and behavioural issues. She strives to help parents and children make meaningful changes in their relationships and lives through collaboration, connection, skill development and compassion. When not working in her private practice, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teenage children.

Table of Contents

Part 1 - PREPARE
Chapter 1 - Setting the Stage
Chapter 2 - Quality Time: A Powerful Proactive Strategy  
Part 2 - TEACH 
Chapter 3 - Being a “Skills Detective”
Chapter 4 - Teaching  
Part 3 - MOTIVATE
Chapter 5 - Understanding Reinforcement
Chapter 6 - Understanding Punishment
Part 4 – Prepare. Teach. Motivate. in Action
Chapter 7 - Just Do It! Teaching Cooperation.
Chapter 8 - You Can’t Always Get What You Want. Teaching Your Child to Accept When You Say No or Ask Them to Wait
Chapter 9 - Getting Out The Door. Taking the “Mad” Out of the Mad Dash in the Morning
Chapter 10 – Giving It Up. Teaching Your Child to Transition Away from Screens
Chapter 11 - We Can Handle This Together. Helping Your Child Handle Their Big Emotions
Chapter 12 - To Sleep, Perchance to... Actually Sleep! Teaching Your Child to Sleep in Their Own Bed for the Whole Night
Concluding Remarks
References