I love reading parenting books!  Knowledge makes me feel confident and I find it interesting to learn about different parenting techniques.  I don’t follow any book exactly, but instead I pick and choose what feels right and works for my family.  Don’t have time to read?  Download books on Audible and listen to them while you are driving, nursing, walking, etc.  Here is a list of my favorite books:

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth.  This is like the sleep bible.  It explains in great detail why sleep is so important, the science behind sleep, what to expect and provide for your child by month, and much more.  I have read this book countless times for a refresher and love it more and more each time.

Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems by Richard Ferber.  So this doctor is the one who is associated with the “Cry It Out” method of sleep training, but if you read the book you will see that he describes a sleep training technique that is very gradual and includes checking and comforting your child every few minutes with increased wait time.  This is what I did with A.  My friend who has 5 kids and used this sleep training method with all 5 of her kids with success is the one who recommended it to me, and I take her opinion very seriously because she is raising…..5 kids!!!   Anyway, this book provides lots of valuable information about how to solve really any sleep problem that arises, especially for older children.

The Danish Way of Parenting by Jessica Alexander.  Denmark has been voted as having the happiest people in the world for over 40 years; this book talks about how much of this stems from how their children are raised.  My favorite parts are about modeling and teaching your kids empathy, and about getting rid  of the term “terrible two’s” and replacing it with “The Boundary Stage.”  My husband and I made that one small change and it has made a huge difference in how I view my toddler when he is testing limits – I now see it as a positive developmental stage filled with lots of teachable moments.

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg.  I listened to this on Audible; she has the most calming accent and I can see why she is known as the Baby Whisperer.  This book is where the E.A.S.Y. method of scheduling I use comes from, and she explains how to implement this.  She also talks about caring for yourself, breastfeeding/formula feeding, how to properly give baby a bath, etc.  I don’t follow every technique in her book, but overall I like her style.  She describes a parenting style that is somewhere in between baby-led and parent-led, which I like.

The Me, Me, Me Epidemic by Amy McCready. This is an incredible resource for parenting your kids as they get a bit older.  In a world where so many kids grow up feeling like they are the center of the universe, this book gives you practical tools to use to raise kids that are grateful, contributing members of a family.  I loved this book so much that I took notes on every tool that was described – see my other post to check them out!

No Bad Kids by Janet Lansbury. So when I first became a mom, I figured I would do time outs, counting, stuff like that.  But as I got to know A better, it just didn’t seem like the best fit.  He WANTS to behave, and he wants to know his limits, and I started to wonder if there were other ways that I could help him learn.  This book is it!  It reminds me of how I was when I taught kindergarten; no yelling, no belittling…treating kids with respect, gently showing them how to behave, and building trust.  I’m not trying to be best pals with A, but I also don’t want him to behave just because he is afraid of me or a consequence.  This book explains how to talk to your toddler, how to deal with tantrums, etc.