Nicole Honeywill/Unsplash
Parenting is an uphill learning curve, but thankfully, smart, informative people in the world have dedicated their lives to helping moms and dads navigate one of life’s craziest seasons. Whether you need a quick, emotional pick me up, or tried-and-true, data-driven advice, there is a book out there for you. Here are five books for you to consider this summer.
Growing Through Hard Times:
No Happy Endings by Nora McInerny
An honest, heartbreaking, emotionally-resounding memoir, Minneapolis author, podcast host, and business owner Nora McInerny offers a first-person account of the incredible loss she experienced within a two-month timespan—the loss of her husband to cancer, her unborn child, and her father—while still managing to parent her young son. In approachable, conversational language, McInerny shares her journey of healing, her opinions on the phrase “moving on,” and how she found the courage to love and open up again. Besides being an inspiring read, No Happy Endings gives readers the comfort of knowing that there is growth and goodness in even the most heartbreaking circumstances.
Navigating the Toddler Years:
The Montessori Toddler by Simone Davies
If the Montessori way sounds intriguing to you, this book will give you a head start, from what to expect in the classroom to integrating the method into your home. Written by Simone Davies, who has 15 years of experience working with toddlers and parents in a Montessori setting, the book serves as a how-to for parents, grandparents, and caregivers. Davies focuses on children around 1 to 3 years old and offers tools for working with your child through hard times, some Montessori activities you can do at home, and how to bring the chaos levels in your home down a few notches.
The Parenting Bible:
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
Commonly referred to as “the parenting bible,” How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk has sold over three million copies and for good reason. Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish are both internationally acclaimed experts on communication between adults and children. Through their book, they help parents retrain their communication skills through real-life examples, explain the best words to use when your child is having a meltdown, and describe the importance of acknowledging your child’s feelings.
Learning How Your Child Receives Love:
The 5 Love Languages of Children: The Secret to Loving Children Effectively
by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell
A continuation of Gary Chapman’s New York Times #1 Bestseller The Five Love Languages, this book guides you through learning how your child receives and gives loves. Throughout the book Chapman and Campbell explain how speaking your child’s love language (and responding to their outreaches of love accordingly) allows you to assist your child in successful learning. But more importantly, it also helps build a solid foundation of trust and love.
Making Informed Decisions:
Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxing Parenting, from Birth to Preschool by Emily Oster
When it comes to parenting—a world chockfull of opinions—sometimes you just need the evidence, plain and simple. Another New York Times Bestseller, Cribsheet by Emily Oster (a sequel to her book Expecting Better), offers the data and evidence on the most mundane parental advice to the most controversial. With practical and useful advice backed with expert references, this book will give you the tools you need to tackle some of the biggest decisions you’ll make when raising your child from birth to preschool.
