May you find resources below that help you in your parenting journey.

CHILDREN

Alexander, Becky. Good Inside: A Guide To Becoming the Parent You Want To Be. Harper Wave, 2022. Dr. Becky has created a space where all parents are welcome. She offers ideas and thoughts in a practical manner that is realistic, and honors where parents are at. And she’s funny! She has a large following on Instagram, and has started a new program that parents can join where you will find videos, podcasts, scripts and more. I highly recommend this book and her community!

Brackett, Marc. Permission to Feel, Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves and Our Society Thrive. Celadon Books, 2019. Dr. Brackett is the Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and has conducted extensive research in emotions and families. This book is written for parents, and offers a great framework for understanding emotions, and some concrete ways of supporting them in young children.

Brown, Brene. The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting: Raising Children with Courage, Compassion, and Connection. Audio CD – Audiobook, CD, Unabridged. This 2 CD audiobook shares a series of guideposts for parents. Brene is very engaging in her presentation and uses a lot of anecdotes to bring her ideas to life. Very thought provoking about the emotional experience of shame and guilt. See also her TedTalks, and other books.

Cohen, Lawrence & Debenet, Anthony. Unplug and Play: The Ultimate Illustrated Guide to Roughhousing with Your Kids. Quirk Books, 2023. This is the most recent edition of the book “The Art of Roughhousing” and includes many ideas for positive physical play with your child/ren that can support building regulation, assertiveness and reduce aggression.

Cohen, Lawrence. Playful Parenting. Ballantine Books, New York. 2001.
“Play is children’s way of exploring the world, communicating deep feelings getting close to those they care about, working through stressful situations, and simply blowing off steam”. This is a wonderfully positive book that really focuses on connection with your children, and it is very inspiring! See also: The Opposite of Worry, a great book for parents who have kids who struggle with anxiety.

Carter, Christine. Raising Happiness. Ballantine Books: New York. 2010.
Engaging book that focuses on specific ideas to make life with young children more joyful and easy.

Clarke-Fields, Hunter. Raising Good Humans: A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids. New Harbinger Publications. 2019. Lots of tools for parents who struggle with their own reactivity, and want to begin making changes in their family to have less reactivity.

Doucleff, Michaeleen. Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans. Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster. 2021. This is an interesting read about the broader context of parenting throughout the world. Contains ideas that challenge much of western thinking about parenting and offers a paradigm shift in how to approach kids. Great information on how to set the stage for greater cooperation and helpfulness from kids!

Gottman, J. & Declaire, J. The Heart of Parenting: Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child. Simon and Schuster, 1997.
This book provides some nice ideas on how to work with your child’s socio-emotional development. Well-written and easy to understand.

Greenspan, Stanley. The Challenging Child: Understanding, Raising and Enjoying the Five “Difficult” Types of Children. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1995.
Do you have a child you consider difficult? This book gives you new insight into how your child experiences the world. A positive book that weaves in anecdotes and brain research with temperament.

Kurcinka, Mary S. Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, Energetic. New York: Harper Collins, 1991. (see also Kids, Parents & Power Struggles)
Temperament strongly influences your child’s behavior. This book is wonderful for parents whose children fit the title, or even fit a part of the title. Very positive book with lots of helpful ideas for supporting spirited children.

Markham, Laura. Peaceful Parents, Happy Kids. New York: Penguin Books. 2012.
One of my most recommended resources for parents on building connection and responding to children in ways that help them thrive. Lots of good tools and language for talking with kids in respectful ways.
See also her book: “Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings” if you have more than one child!

Nelson, J., Erwin, C. & Duffy, R. Positive Discipline for Preschoolers. Three Rivers Press, 2007.
Excellent resource for exploring tenets of positive discipline. Easy to read and gives lots of great examples for applying these ideas in real life.

Race, Kristen. Mindful Parenting. St. Martin’s Griffin, New York. 2013
This book will help both you and your child with concrete steps to slow down, and enjoy the time of young children. Very readable, funny and full of tips for making life easier.

Senior, Jennifer. All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood. Ecco, New York. 2014.
Very interesting analyses of how our current parenting styles different from the past. Helpful in gaining an understanding on why parenting today can be so hard!

Siegel, Daniel J. & Bryson, Tina. The Whole-Brain Child 2011, No-Drama Discipline 2013, plus several more! These are wonderful parenting books that focuses on how to parent in a way that integrates key aspects of your child’s brain. 

Dan  Siegel’s website has nice links to help you understand how the brain functions and how you can use this information in your parenting.  

www.drdansiegel.com

Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, Energetic by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka (1998). This is a classic, yet still very applicable, book for parents who are raising children that are more challenging than the average child.  Very affirming and helpful in understanding how temperament plays a role in your child’s behavior. Includes ideas for bringing out the best in your child!  

The website below provides a tool for taking a “temperament” test your child.  Interesting way to get some insight into who your child is.  

http://www.preventiveoz.org