Parenting and Education Background

Ask Evelyn

Background, awards and personal notes

"I've always believed that parents want short, clear and practical answers to their questions about children. They want information they can USE, not study! Like today's busy parents, teachers don't have time to read books full of theory and jargon to help or guide children effectively, we need useful ideas and information which we can quickly apply in real life. Years ago, I made a promise to myself and God, to do my best to share short, practical information about children with parents and other teachers through all avenues of media.....and those avenues keep growing!!
Through the magic of this technology, I hope I can become even more accessible to parents and teachers who want practical, "nuts and bolts" advice and ideas. As we learn more about how to use this site, I hope to make it more interactive, so that we can communicate easily."

Evelyn Petersen is an award-winning parenting columnist and child and family advocate. Her parenting advice is based on sound child development principles and field experience, as well as personal experience; she’s a mother of four, a grandmother and a great grandmother. Petersen's advice can be humorous or challenging, but it’s always professional, positive and "nuts and bolts" practical. She believes parents want ideas they can use, not study.

Petersen is an active consultant, an early childhood educator, the author of eight books and 12 parenting brochures, and the producer of three parenting videos and three education training videos. Evelyn's weekly Parent Talk and Teen Talk columns were carried in the Detroit Free Press for 11 years and on the Knight Ridder Tribune Wire to papers across the US for nearly 20 years; currently her column appears in the Nashville Tennessean. Petersen also gives online advice for www.allexperts.com and The National Parenting Center, www.tnpc.com, where she has been a member of the expert panel since 1992.

Ms. Petersen holds degrees in Child Development, Family Life and Education from both Purdue and Central Michigan Universities. Throughout 45 years of teaching, she’s worked with children, parents and teachers from pre-school to post-graduate levels. She has done in depth training and federal compliance reviews for teachers and parents in hundreds of early childhood and Head Start programs in 30 states, including Hawaii, Alaska and 16 Tribal Nations.

Petersen’s three-part video parenting series addresses the questions most often asked by parents about young children, school-age children and teenagers. “Parent Talk” has been recommended by the Family Resource Coalition, National PTA, and the National Head Start Bureau, and has been used by parent and child educators, Tribal Nations, school districts and Head Start programs in every state and in Canada.

Ms. Petersen’s parenting books include "Sams Teach Yourself Today e-Parenting," which blends positive parenting with e-World technology, and a parenting series which includes “Growing Happy Kids,” “Growing Creative Kids,” “Growing Thinking Kids,” and “Growing Responsible Kids,” which won a “Parents’ Choice Recommended” seal award in 1998.

Her curriculum books for early childhood teachers include "1,2,3 Blocks" (McGraw Hill/Frank Schaffer) and "A Practical Guide to Early Childhood Planning" (Allyn & Bacon) now in its second edition. Ms. Petersen is also a regular feature writer and columnist for "Children and Families" magazine, the journal for the National Head Start Association. Petersen was the National Spokesperson for Hasbro-Milton Bradley's "Family Game Night" during a recent 4 year campaign. Ms. Petersen teaches early childhood courses on the internet (bmcc.org) and she can be reached on-line at her web site, www.askevelyn.com or at evelynpetersen@yahoo.com Cell 231-392-2322

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