The First Years: A Parent & Caregiver's Guide to Helping Children Learn

Rob Reiner is a principal and co-founder of Castle Rock Entertainment. In addition to directing feature films, he is involved in all phases of Castle Rock's creative activities. Prior to his directorial debut, Reiner acted in many television and feature films and wrote for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. It was, however, his Emmy Award winning portrayal of Michael Stivic, the son-in-law of Archie Bunker in the hit series "All in the Family," that made him a household name. Reiner's credits as a director of feature films include the now-legendary This is Spinal Tap, a parody documentary about a mythical heavy metal group; The Sure Thing, a hate-turned-to-love story of two college students; the sleeper hit Stand By Me, about four boys coming of age in the fifties, for which he received Best Director nominations from the Directors Guild of America and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association; and the much loved fantasy The Princess Bride, adapted for the screen by Academy Award winner William Goldman from his original novel. Castle Rock Entertainment's first feature film release in 1989 was Reiner's When Harry Met Sally..., a chronicle of romance in the 80's which was both a critical and box office success, earning him once again Best Director nominations from both the Hollywood Foreign Press and the Directors Guild of America. He next directed Misery, a psychological thriller based on Stephen King's bestseller of the same title, which earned Kathy Bates an Oscar in 1990. The mega box office hit A Few Good Men, starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore, followed in 1992, garnering another DGA Best Director nomination as well as four Academy Award nominations, including that for Best Picture. In 1994, North was released, starring Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Jon Lovitz, Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Reiner directed the hit comedy The American President in 1995, which starred Michael Douglas and Annette Bening. Ghosts of Mississippi, the true story of the re-prosecution of Byron De La Beckwith, the racist murderer of Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers, followed in 1996, starring Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg and James Woods. Reiner's latest film is 1999's The Story of Us, starring Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer, a romantic comedy exploring the question, "Can a marriage survive 15 years of marriage?" In addition to his work behind the camera, Reiner has continued to act, appearing in such films as Enter Laughing, Where's Poppa, Bullets Over Broadway, Mixed Nuts, Postcards From the Edge, Bye Bye, Love, Sleepless In Seattle, The First Wives Club, Primary Colors, EDtv, and The Muse. Beginning in 1997, Reiner, his wife Michele Singer Reiner, and Ellen Gilbert formed the I Am Your Child Foundation and began a national public awareness and engagement campaign to communicate the importance of the prenatal period through the first three years of life. The campaign was launched with a White House conference on early brain development hosted by President Clinton and the First Lady, and an ABC prime-time special hosted by Tom Hanks, which Reiner co-produced, co-wrote, and directed. The I Am Your Child-produced materials include 12 parent education videos and brochures, in both English and Spanish, hosted by such personalities as Jamie Lee Curtis, Maria Shriver, Andy Garcia, Gloria Estefan, LeVar Burton, Phylicia Rashad, Edward James Olmos, and Cristina Saralegui. The foundation's materials, as well as information about early childhood development are available on the internet at www.iamyourchild.org. Reiner chaired the California Children and Families Initiative for the 1998 ballot, which voters passed to form the California Children and Families State Commission. The Commission is working to implement, on a county-by-county basis, a comprehensive, integrated program of early childhood development services, including health care, quality child care, parent education, and intervention programs for families at risk. Reiner was appointed chairman of the Commission by Governor Gray Davis. Reiner is also an enthusiastic supporter of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The NRDC is a national non-profit organization which combines legal activity, scientific research and citizen education in a highly effective environmental protection program. The NRDC works to preserve and protect the public health and to ensure the conservation and wise management of land and natural resources. Reiner and his wife Michele have three children. Joanne Go, M.S., E.I.S., B.A.T., is Community Education Director at ChildBuilders in Houston, Texas. She has a Master of Science degree in child development, is certified as an early intervention specialist, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in teaching. Janet Pozmantier, M.S., L.P.C., L.M.F.T., R.P.T., developed and currently administers the award-winning parent education program Parents Under Construction. She is a licensed professional counselor, marriage and family therapist, and registered play therapist, with a Master of Science degree in child development. Laurie Segal Robinson, M.A., L.P.C., L.M.F.T., currently works as a parent education consultant to child care centers, assisting them with parent education concerns. She has a Master of Arts degree in clinical psychology, and is a licensed professional counselor and marriage and family therapist.