Parenting is hard.
And while we would love to think it would come naturally, it does not.
There are a lot of parenting books and advice and “experts” in the world claiming to have all the answers. There has been published advice for centuries and not all of it is good.
So how do you find parenting books that have sound advice?
You look for ones that teaching parenting that mirrors God and how He parents.
Here are my top five parenting books that I plan to read over and over again.
- Flourishing Families by Dr. David and Amanda Erikson
- This book should be read by every Christian family. They really show that you can parent Not by the rod and how to parent calmly. They use scripture to show God’s mercy and judgements and how we can do the same.
- Different by Nathan and Sally Clarkson.
- This book is written by a mother and her son. It’s their story of dealing with his ADHD, OCD, and Anxiety as a child and teen. This book is NOT a how to deal with this, rather it is their experience. Honestly it helped me understand my son better and after reading this I’ve been able to adjust my own parenting to help him.
- The Soft-Spoken Parent by Dr. Wally Goddard
- This book is for the LDS community as it sites modern prophets and scripture from the Book of Mormon. It list ideas for 55 days on how to be a more soft spoken parent. It’s amazing and I highly recommend reading one idea a day.
- Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne
- This book is eye opening for a generation that grew up in clutter. If you feel overwhelmed by your home and kids this is the book you need to read. Yes it has a focus on declutting your home but for good reason. Cluttered spaces and schedules do more harm than good on kids.
- Between Parent and Child by Haim G. Ginott
- This is the GOAT of parenting books. It’s one I needed to mark up and plan to read it again. If you want to “gentle parent” but also be firm this is the book to read.