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Five Favorite Parenting Books

parenting books

5.  Baby 411: Clear Answers & Smart Advice For Your Baby's First Year (KINDLE edition) (Baby:411)

A friend gave this to me before I had my first son, and I read the whole thing while nursing him. I continued to use it as a reference as time went on because it had great information and a very easy-to-use format.

4.  The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer and The Happiest Toddler on the Block: How to Eliminate Tantrums and Raise a Patient, Respectful and Cooperative One- to Four-Year-Old: Revised Edition

I love Dr. Karp. I read Happiest Baby in the wee hours of the night on my Kindle, when Isaac was a newborn. I followed the ideas for sleep and soothing that Dr. Karp suggested, and Isaac was a sweet, content baby. I read Happiest Toddler when Adam was 2 or 3 to help deal with the temper tantrums. The book gave several practical suggestions for dealing with the troublesome toddler years. Both books helped me understand my child’s needs and how to meet those needs in a way that worked for all of us.

3.  Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

Neither of my boys were great sleepers. I tried some other sleeping books that were not helpful, but this one was. Dr. Weissbluth outlines what the sleep needs are for each age and the best way to achieve them. This book is not short, and the information can be kind of hard to find, but if you are desperate enough for sleep, you WILL read it and it WILL work!

 

2.  Love and Logic Magic For Early Childhood

I just read this book recently after posting on Facebook that I was having trouble with my 4 year old. After reading only a few pages, I was able to try some of the strategies with success! It is fairly short and has been a big help for us.

 

1.NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

This is my all-time favorite for parents and teachers, no matter what age your child is. It changed my teaching and guides my parenting daily. Each chapter focuses on a common parenting practice, and then uses scientific research to show a DIFFERENT and BETTER way to do things. My favorite chapter is first: The Inverse Power of Praise, but there are also chapters on racism, teaching your baby to talk, teen rebellion, and other important topics.

 

 

 

What are your favorite parenting books?  Please share them here or on Facebook.

 

(The Amazon links here are affiliate links.)

Would you like to comment?

  1. I have many of those! I am interested in the last one! May have to snag it!!

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  2. You know, I have never read a parenting book. I probably should. Which one should I start with?

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  3. I love your list. My only addition is Sacred Parenting, by Gary Thomas. It really helped me see the bigger perspective.

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