**Narrated by the Author**

An essential guide for parents and caregivers, this book offers insights, strategies, and understanding to navigate middle childhood (ages 6–12). Dr. Sheryl Gonzalez Ziegler, a seasoned clinical psychologist and mother, highlights ways to foster resilience, encourage open communication, and build lasting connections during this crucial period.

There is a pivotal sea change happening in children’s development. The age of puberty has been trending earlier for decades, and now starts as young as 8 years old in girls and 9 in boys. Bullying doesn’t just happen on the playground, but over text and DM. Depression and anxiety are drastically on the rise. Couple earlier puberty with ill-equipped, developing brains and the onslaught of new media and stressors that never existed when we were kids, and it’s clear that parents need a new guide to raise this new generation.

The Crucial Years is your essential handbook to navigating the often misunderstood and overlooked years of middle childhood (ages 6–12). As a mom and clinical psychologist, Dr. Sheryl Ziegler knows firsthand how challenging these years can be for some and for others how they are years where a parent thinks they can finally catch their breath in between the gap from preschool and middle school. Dr. Ziegler masterfully unlocks the enigma surrounding modern puberty and offers evidence-based strategies, interventions, and answers to middle childhood’s most perplexing questions and concerns. In these pages, she provides:

• Science-based advice to recognize and navigate puberty.
• Candid and actionable guidance for getting your kids to talk about their complicated feelings and understanding their moods.
• Insights into the changing world of gender and sexual identity, body image and disordered eating.
• A clear explanation of the invisible threads linking mood swings, self-confidence, and social media exposure.
• Road-tested, real-world guidance to handle social stress and other pressures.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.