With so many parenting books on the market these days, it’s difficult to sort through and choose the ones that will be most applicable to your situation and your life. This is why I’ve provided a few different types of parenting book titles below—from ones aimed to parents of young children, to general parenthood stories, to books targeted directly to fathers. I hope you find that each one of them has something special to offer you and your children!
Father for Life: A Journey of Joy, Challenge, and Change, by Armin A. Brott: In this book, Brott explores how fathers evolve from the time their child is born and on, and how children influence their fathers’ development. The author combines his personal experience with advice from experts and interviews with other fathers, adding up to a “wise guidance on what it means to be a devoted dad over time.”
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish: This is one of the most popular parenting books on the market, and for good reason. Mazlish and Faber delicately and logically explore what it means to effectively communicate with your children. It has been referred to as a “parenting Bible,” and I can’t say I’d disagree.
Raising Boys, by Steve Biddulph: This book explores just what it says in its title; that raising boys is an altogether different task and therefore requires a different approach than raising girls. Being written from a psychologist’s point-of-view, it is filled with bits of scientific information, but is still easy to follow and downright humorous at times. It includes chapters on testosterone, sports, and how boys’ and girls’ brains differ, and focuses on boys’ development through many phases of life.
The Velveteen Father: An Unexpected Journey to Parenthood, by Jesse Green: This is my favorite of the list, which is in part due to the beautiful storytelling and in part due to the fact that the author was an acclaimed writer before turning his subject matter to parenthood—I’m always supportive of dad-writers! This book tells Greene’s story of falling into parenthood unexpectedly and the many unexpected challenges and joys accompanying that lack of preparation. Amazon wrote it best when it said the book explores, “the transformative effects parenthood can have on people who least expect to become parents—and of how we are repeatedly made anew by the love of children who need us.”
As parents, do you enjoy reading parenting books? Have you found any to be particularly helpful or insightful in your own life? Let me know in the comments below!