Dr. Smialek outlines a reasoned set of parental expectations and responsibilities. She offers a series of steps to help parents prepare their children for school success. She provides strategies and tips to enhance motivation and interest in school, completion of homework and success in the classroom. She provides a set of guideposts for parents to strengthen home-school partnerships. Beyond the classroom, she offers parents a set of strategies to discipline effectively and most importantly to help each child build a true sense of self-esteem. Increasingly, educators, mental health professionals and researchers are demonstrating that children’s mindset towards school, their attitudes and beliefs about their capabilities, teachers, and the work placed in front of them represents the key ingredient in school success.

Finally, this is the first book to offer a set of guidelines for parents to understand and set appropriate limits for their children’s use and interaction with the internet. This section alone makes this a valuable book. Don’t Miss the Bus is a book that I will enthusiastically endorse and recommend to the families I work with. It offers a valuable road map to help parents prepare and guide their children to a successful school career.

Sam Goldstein, Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Utah