The following are the 12 best parenting books that every parent should read.
The sign of great parenting is not the Child’s behaviour. The sign of truly great parenting is the Parent’s behaviour.
From general parenting advice to tackling specific struggles, this list of books will help you navigate many of the parenting issues you are facing or you may face.
1. The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will be Glad That You Did) –By Philippa Perry
In this absorbing, clever and funny book, renowned psychotherapist Philippa Perry tells us what really matters and what behaviour it is important to avoid – the vital dos and don’ts of parenting.
Instead of mapping out the ‘perfect’ plan, Perry offers a big-picture look at the elements that lead to good parent-child relationships. Full of sage and sane advice, this is the book that every parent will want to read and every child will wish their parents had.
2. The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind –By Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
This is one of the best books on parenting out there, and helps parents understand the development that goes on in their child’s brain, and then use it to make sense of every step of parenting.
It also focuses on helping parents tackle their kid’s tantrums and raise their child in an emotionally healthy way.
3. No-Drama Discipline –By Daniel j. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
Highlighting the fascinating link between a child’s neurological development and the way a parent reacts to misbehavior, No-Drama Discipline provides an effective, compassionate road map for dealing with tantrums, tensions, and tears—without causing a scene.
Complete with candid stories and playful illustrations that bring the authors’ suggestions to life, No-Drama Discipline shows you how to work with your child’s developing mind, peacefully resolve conflicts, and inspire happiness and strengthen resilience in everyone in the family.
4. All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood –By Jennifer Senior
Thousands of books have examined the effects of parents on their children. But almost none have thought to ask: What are the effects of children on their parents?
Meticulously researched yet imbued with emotional intelligence, All Joy and No Fun makes us reconsider some of our culture’s most basic beliefs about parenthood, all while illuminating the profound ways children deepen and add purpose to our lives. By focusing on parenthood, rather than parenting, the book is original and essential reading for mothers and fathers of today—and tomorrow.
5. How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk –By Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
Internationally acclaimed experts on communication between parents and children, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish “are doing for parenting today what Dr Spock did for our generation” (Parent Magazine). Now, this bestselling classic includes fresh insights and suggestions as well as the author’s time-tested methods to solve common problems and build foundations for lasting relationships, including innovative ways to:
· Cope with your child’s negative feelings, such as frustration, anger, and disappointment
· Express your strong feelings without being hurtful
· Engage your child’s willing cooperation
· Set firm limits and maintain goodwill
· Use alternatives to punishment that promote self-discipline
· Understand the difference between helpful and unhelpful praise
· Resolve family conflicts peacefully
6. The Happiest Kids in the World: How Dutch Parents Help Their Kids by Doing Less–By Michele Hutchison and Rina Mae Acosta
Calling all stressed-out parents: Relax! Imagine a place where young children play unsupervised, don’t do homework, have few scheduled “activities” . . . and rank #1 worldwide in happiness and education. It’s not a fantasy—it’s the Netherlands!
Rina Mae Acosta and Michele Hutchison—an American and a Brit, both married to Dutchmen and raising their kids in the Netherlands—report back on what makes Dutch kids so happy and well adjusted. Is it that dads take workdays off to help out? Chocolate sprinkles for breakfast? Bicycling everywhere?
Whatever the secret, entire Dutch families reap the benefits, from babies (who sleep 15 hours a day) to parents (who enjoy a work-life balance most Americans only dream of). As Acosta and Hutchison borrow ever-more wisdom from their Dutch neighbours, this much becomes clear: Sometimes the best thing we can do as parents is . . . less!
7. The Danish Way of Parenting: What the Happiest People in the World Know About Raising Confident, Capable Kids –By Jessica Joelle Alexander and Iben Dissing Sandahl
What makes Denmark the happiest country in the world — and how do Danish parents raise happy, confident, successful kids, year after year? This upbeat and practical guide reveals the six essential principles that have been working for parents in Denmark for decades:
– Play: essential for development and well-being
– Authenticity: fosters trust and an ‘inner compass’
– Reframing: helps kids cope with setbacks and look on the bright side
– Empathy: allows us to act with kindness towards others
– No ultimatums: no power struggles or resentment
– Togetherness: a way to celebrate family time, on special occasions and every day
A revealing and fresh take on parenting advice, The Danish Way of Parenting will help parents from all walks of life raise the happiest, most well-adjusted kids in the world.
8. Bringing up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting –By Pamela Druckerman
When American journalist Pamela Druckerman had a baby in Paris, she didn’t aspire to become a “French parent.” But she noticed that French children slept through the night by two or three months old. They ate braised leeks. They played by themselves while their parents sipped coffee. And yet French kids were still boisterous, curious, and creative. Why? How?
With a notebook stashed in her diaper bag, Druckerman set out to investigate—and wound up sparking a national debate on parenting. Researched over three years and written in her warm, funny voice, Bringing Up Bébé is deeply wise, charmingly told, and destined to become a classic resource for American parents.
9. How Not TO F*** Them Up –By Oliver James
This book identifies three basic types of mother: the Hugger, the Organiser, and the Fleximum. Outlining the benefits and pitfalls of each, this book shows you how to recognize which style suits you best and outlines simple strategies to reconcile personal ambitions with the needs of your family. Empowering and provocative, Oliver James will help you make the best choices for bringing up a happy, confident child.
10. Parenting the Shit Out of Life –By Mother Pukka and Papa Pukka
Take on the horrors and humor of modern parenting with Parenting The Shit Out of Life. Speaking to people who happen to be parents or might soon be, this honest, sad and laugh-out-loud funny memoir from Mother Pukka and Papa Pukka will provide you with tips and tricks from both his perspective and hers. It may not be easy and you might have no idea what you are doing, but with a tongue-chewing and joke-cracking the Pukkas show you how you too can be parenting the shit out of life.
11. Simplicity Parenting –By Kim John and Lisa M. Ross
Today’s busier, faster society is waging an undeclared war on childhood. With too much stuff, too many choices, and too little time, children can become anxious, have trouble with friends and school, or even be diagnosed with behavioral problems. Now internationally renowned family consultant Kim John Payne helps parents reclaim for their children the space and freedom that all kids need for their attention to deepen and their individuality to flourish. Simplicity Parenting offers inspiration, ideas, and a blueprint for change.
A manifesto for protecting the grace of childhood, Simplicity Parenting is an eloquent guide to bringing new rhythms to bear on the lifelong art of raising children.
12. The Second Shift –By Arlie Russell Hochschild
Fifteen years after its first publication, The Second Shift remains just as important and relevant today as it did then. As the majority of women entered the workforce, sociologist and Berkeley professor Arlie Hochschild was one of the first to talk about what really happens in dual-career households. Many people were amazed to find that women still did the majority of childcare and housework even though they also worked outside the home. Now, in this updated edition with a new introduction from the author, we discover how much things have, or have not, changed for women today.
Thank you for reading. This was my list on the 12 best parenting books. Go ahead and read!
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