Parenting Books |

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As a high school student I remember seeking out advice from the “cool “college girls in my youth group about what college to go to, what classes to take, what to professors to avoid, etc. Once in college, I asked upper class-men questions about balance, clubs to join, churches to attend, how to dress for interviews and write a resume. I often asked the women who were mentors to me in my church (who also happened to be Moms raising young children), “How to” questions. How do you teach your kids scripture? How do you teach them to obey? When I was a new teacher, I sought out teachers who were doing an excellent job and asked questions about procedures, routines, grading, and classroom management. During my single days, I asked Bible study teachers who were married questions about dating and marriage. I asked them about motherhood. Wired in me from a young age has been this desire to be a life-long learner. Along with seeking out wisdom from older women I admire, I often go to books for advice. Books can be tricky because parenting is more of an art than a science, and there is no one-sized fits all parenting. Nevertheless, here are some of my favorites (thus far) on parenting. They’ve given perspective and helped with practical and creative solutions:

1. Parenting. I love this book because it talks about getting to the heart. If you are looking for practical tips, I have some other books to recommend. But this one is a great place to get an overall perspective, the “Why” behind your parenting. It’s so good to make sure you and your child’s father have talked about what your goal is in parenting. To have that end goal in mind helps drive every other choice you make.

2. How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen This book is probably my favorite one right now. It is FULL of practical advice, helpful stories where you can see actual verbiage to use when speaking with your kiddos and encouraging cooperation. There are tons of tips from everything to how to make the morning exit go more smoothly, to how to handle conflict, to food battles and lying. While I don’t agree with everything the book says, I LOVE the practical advice and have found the tools suggested very productive with my boys.

3. Love and Logic, the Early Years. I checked this book out on tape from our local library just before Caleb was 2 when he was just beginning to have a lot of tantrums and David was a tiny baby (who has time to read when your baby isn’t sleeping?). I loved being able to listen to it, and like the book mentioned above, I found the anecdotes extremely helpful. The basic ideology behind Love and Logic curriculum is giving children choices (that you are okay with) to help share the control and encourage cooperation.

4. Shepherding a Child’s Heart To be honest, I checked this book out from the library when Caleb wasn’t quite 1 yet, so I do not remember all of it. I think it would be worth reading again now that he is older and that we’ve added two other kids to our crew. It is a classic and has spiritual as well as practical advice. The thing that I always have a hard time balancing as a mom is requiring my kids to obey (even though they are sinners and don’t know Jesus yet), while showing them grace. It is hard to teach them how to behave while not only focusing on outward actions, but also attempting to get to the heart of what they are doing and why. By continuing to point out the motive behind the behavior, we are showing our kids again and again their need for Jesus.

5. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy ChildI LOVE this book. I got it from Half-Price books when Caleb was about 4 months old and we were losing our minds due to lack of sleep. I love that it is divided into ages and gives a practical guide as well as anecdotes. It seriously changed our lives. Too bad, it didn’t work as well for David. The jury is still out on Ethan.

6. Baby 411: Clear Answers & Smart Advice for Your Baby’s First Year In a very practical how-do-I-care-for-my-baby sort of way and is-it-normal-when-blank-occurs, this book can help you know when to panic and when to remain calm. I know there have been many a night this anxiety-ridden and sleep-deprived Mama has convinced herself that her child has the worst possible thing ever by reading Dr. Google. Having a book like this lying around definitely helps as it is a sound resource (and of course, your after hours Doctor line is always a great go-to as well).

And the last one is not a parenting book, but I wanted to include it here as well:

7. Expecting 411: The Insider’s Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth Love this one for many of the same reasons listed above. I made Bryan stop at Barnes and Noble on the way out of town when I had just found out I was pregnant the first time to get this book as a resource because I didn’t know what I could or couldn’t eat, or do, or breath and with every little twinge, I wondered, “Is this normal?” This book even has a section with that exact label. It is wonderful- divided into nutrition, environment, each trimester, when to be concerned, etc. and has a wonderful index, as well. My OBGYN told me to burn my copy of What to Expect when you’re expecting (if I owned one) when I saw her for the first time. Apparently, that book often makes you think your situation will end in the worst case scenario. Expecting 411, however, doesn’t do that at all- and again, as a worrier wanting so desperately to be freed from fear, I was so thankful for this sound resource during pregnancy.

8. Wisdom for Mothers (Motherwise) I love this study so much that I did it twice, once when Caleb was about 5 months and once this past year. Our church does it, and I highly recommend doing it with a group (that’s what made it so amazing) if you can find one.

I will update this list as I read more- I still have so many on my list: Grace Based Parenting: Set Your Family Free, Show them Jesus: Teaching the Gospel to Kids and Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus are on my list of want-to-read right now.

Lastly, I recently read the Gospel-Centered Mom‘s For the Love of Discipline: When the Gospel Meets Tantrums and Time-Outs, and it is definitely one of my new favorites. Read my full review here: For the Love of Discipline Book Review.

And here are my 4 favorite books/studies to give new or expecting moms (click here)

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