There are so many parenting books available these days, which is beautiful but can also be overwhelming for many parents I talk to. That’s why I’m sharing some of my favorite books written by professionals and my colleagues in the field to help you help your kids. These are some of the best books on the parenting topics you’ve been asking about.
When you search Amazon or go to your local bookstore the parenting section is vast. This makes it hard to know whats worth your time and money. Here are a few of my favorite parenting books right now.
Parenting Books to Read Today
The Happy Kid Handbook: How to Raise Joyful Children in a Stressful World
by Katie Hurley, LCSW
Ever felt the pressure to be the “perfect parent?” You’re not alone. With all the constant advice, how-to’s and constant judgment, it can feel overwhelming. Whatever your parenting advice, remember the most important thing—raising happy and healthy kids! Katie Hurley Teaches you to do just that!
The “Me, Me, Me” Epidemic: A Stepy-by-Step Guide to Raising Capable,
Grateful Kids in an Over-Entitled World
By Amy McCready
Amy McCready calls it the “entitlement epidemic.” You know how it goes, your kid has a tantrum and it can be hard not to give in to their demands, but it reinforces their behavior. In this day and age we need more sound advice to help us parent with confidence. With ever-changing technologies at their fingertips and always asking for more, it’s no wonder kids today are more entitled than ever. But is this selfie generation happy? Amy McCready teaches you how to raise kids with healthy attitudes, empathy and kindness.
When Kids Call the Shots: How to Seize Control from Your Darling
Bully–and Enjoy Being a Parent Again
By Sean Grover
According to therapist Sean Grover, fixing bossy, rebellious, and demanding kids start with fixing parent behavior. When parents learn to overcome their own insecurities and change their behaviors, they can change and fix their kid’s difficult behavior. By directly looking at family dysfunction, Grover teaches parents to overcome child defiance, bullying and manipulative behavior to overcome power imbalances. This positive advice will have parents calmly handling real-life scenario with the bossy kids in their life.
The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them Like Grown-Ups
By Leonard Sax
Physician and psychologist Leonard Sax examines declining psychological health of American children along with rising levels of obesity, depression and anxiety. When parents try to be more lenient with their kids, they may be hurting them instead of helping them in the long-run. By allowing them to get away with seemingly innocent behavior, kids end up with skewed ideas of right and wrong, under more prescription drugs and more susceptible to peer pressure. Sax teaches parents to be more assertive and develop stronger relationships with their kids to help them in the long-run.
The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go so Their Children Can Succeed
By Jessica Lahey
Do you ever try to keep your child from experiencing failure? Most parents do, but we wind up making it harder for them to adjust to adulthood when we keep them from feeling pain and frustration. Lahey creates tools to help parents raise confident kids and explains how disappointment helps children learn to become self-resilient and successful in the future. Frustrations are part of life. When parents are overprotective, they’re not preparing their children to problem solve or deal with the real frustrations of life. Children need to learn to take responsibility for their actions and to practice organization. Lahey teaches parents that it’s healthy to step back and allow children to stumble.
How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare
Your Kid for Success
By Julie Lythcott-Haims
Overparenting hinders maturity and increases children’s risk for developing mental health conditions. Helping too much prevents a child’s ability to develop true confidence and self-awareness. Lythcott-Haims teaches parents how to avoid over-helping their children by providing alternative strategies to ensure kids learn to be confident, competent adults.
Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain
By Daniel J. Siegel, M.D.
There are a number of myths about how the teenage brain works, but how many of them are based on facts? New York times bestseller Dr. Daniel Siegel teaches parents how to turn adolescence into a successful and rewarding time by helping parents teach their kids how to succeed in the real world. By understanding how the brain functions of teenagers can be improved, parents can help their kids navigate through the turbulence and distress of their teenage years.
Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape
By Peggy Orenstein
How do you speak to your daughter about sex? New York Times bestseller Peggy Orenstein shows parents the sexual landscape girls are facing today, bridging the generation gap between parents and girls. By examining myths about the hookup culture and casual sex, Orenstein presents just how girls are navigating through this new social dynamic. It’s not just complicated for parents–girls today are dealing with understanding false expectations, campus assault, the effects of porn and peer-learned sexual myths all while growing up in a social media world. Orenstein helps parents understand the pressures girls are feeling and how to discuss the topic constructively.
Which parenting books would you add to this list? Any parenting books I should add? Let me know your favorites!
Take Good Care,
Emily
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