The Best Parenting Books I Know

I learn more every day about how to be a more inspired parent -- and a happier, more loving person.  I learn from my two teenagers, who have always been my greatest teachers, and from my husband, who was born with the gift of humor and a generous spirit.  I learn from every parent I speak with and watch interact with her child.  I learn from meditation; from every incident in which I find myself moving out of a state of love and into some other feeling -- and from every time I'm able to notice and shift back.

But my ability to understand these lessons, and to talk about them, I owe to the brilliance of so many others who have devoted their lives to helping parents be their best selves. They continue to teach and inspire me every time I pick up their books, even when I'm reading their words for the third or fourth time. I truly stand on their shoulders.

Here they are, in alphabetical order by author.  There are many wonderful books out there that aren't on this list, so I apologize to those authors I've missed.  Some of those books are on individual pages of this website, dealing, for instance, with specific ages or issues.  These are the books that have shaped my own thinking in a broader way. (There are short book reviews, of these and other books on this page.)




AND, LAST BUT NOT LEAST!

I have one other recommendation for every parent.  This isn't a book, but a collection of pdfs written by Patty Wipfler of Hand in Hand Parenting.  In them, Wipfler explains clearly and simply how emotions work, and how you can help your child process his emotions and learn to manage them.  She walks you through exactly what to do and say when your child is angry, sad, frightened, or simply misbehaving. 

Wipfler's basic package includes  How Children's Emotions Work, Special Time, Playlistening, Crying, Tantrums and Indignation, Healing Children's Fears, and Reaching For Your Angry Child and costs $20.

I say many of the same things that Wipfler says, over and over on my website, but somehow Wipfler says it better!  Every parent I have ever recommended these pdfs to comes back to tell me that they've had an Aha! moment and are finding the pdfs invaluable.  Clearly, Wipfler is saying something we all need to hear, and saying it in a unique way that really hits home.  Here's the link to the Hand in Hand website, where you can buy this pdf package.  There are also a lot of free articles covering parenting questions with step by step advice.