The author of this book makes the case that the environments in which a child lives, plays, and studies are even more important than personality in shaping that child's behavior. So, he says, making changes in the people, places, and activities in a child's life can have profound effects on his or her behavior. He identifies ten "behavior settings" in which children and adolescents spend most of their time - home, neighborhood, school, after-school, electronic (TV, computer, and other media), friends, work, faith, recreation and leisure, and sports.

These settings and the presence of interesting, challenging activities and adult mentors can make a big difference in helping children develop into motivated, compassionate, and competent adults.

For parents and professionals, the author discusses what research has revealed about the impact of the ten environments on children's lives. At the end of each chapter, he provides a quiz to help parents develop a profile of their child's environmental strengths and weaknesses and then makes suggestions to improve them.

296 pages.

"This is a fantastic book. A charitable foundation should give copies of this book to all professionals who work with youth and to all parents interested in helping their children become loving, mature, and responsible citizens. Dr. Munger describes clearly and concisely how children's behavior and character are shaped by the time they spend with family, friends, neighbors, teachers, classmates, team members, and alone. Most importantly, he gives realistic, down-to-earth guidelines and suggestions for optimizing the development of children and adolescents." "This book is an amazing synthesis of developmental knowledge and insight all with the aim of improving our children's lives and our communities. I've benefited both professionally and personally from reading this volume."

~ Scott W. Henggler, Director of Family Services Research Center, Medical Univeristy of South Carolina