What are the top 5 books that you feel have helped you be a better parent and have helped your children the most?
Charlotte’s Web
The Magic Tree House series
Pinocchio by Collodi (yes, Disney movies were made from this but it happens to be great kid’s lit too)
The Trumpet of the Swan
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
These are all books that helped me at bedtime because he wanted to have them read to him twice… 
I might be a little silly just now because I just video’d my son reading a bunch of silly Lewis Carroll poems.
But I guess you mean books about education & parenting…well, I am not terribly enthusiastic about those books, but I’ve read them…I don’t know if I’d want to make a top-five list…maybe later.
The Scientist in the Crib
The Magic Trees of the Mind
How Smart is Your Baby (Doman) (I skimmed over the other Doman books, but I found this one provided me with enough basic information to do “doman-inspired” programs versus true 11 x 11 make-a-million-BIT-cards-until-3-in-the-morning doman methods). It is aimed at ages 0-12 months and has a lot of physical ideas as well, It gives short overviews about teaching reading, math, and EK if I remember correctly. It also discusses the foundation of the Doman program, how they discovered using it on well-kids and so forth.
The NDD Book (Sears) I LOVED this book, I photo copied all of the recipes and the do eat/do not eat lists last week when I returned it to the library. It takes the usual feed your kid healthy food mantra and tells you WHY and how food affects the brain. I have way more motivation to feed my kids properly (we ate pretty good before) when I know how exactly it impacts their brains. Doing these early learning training programs and feeding your kids garbage is kind of like working out for an hour and then eating an entire chocolate cake…totally counter productive.
I have Becoming the Parent you want to Be, Playful Parenting, Unconditional Parenting, Nurture Shock, and Hold on to Your kids sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, hopefully before they are due and start accumulating overdue fines. lol
I really want to get Pamela Hickein’s Book “Right Brain Education” soon. I have read a bunch of good Montessori books and a few other brain development books but I can’t remember the names offhand. Slow and Steady Get Me Ready is a good one, although you really need to buy, not borrow from the library because it’s a long term program. I would borrow first, and then buy it if you liked it after checking it out. Much of the activities in that book are “homemade” but we own toys that already do the same thing so not all of the activities were applicable to us, but there were some good ideas.
I also like Bringing Up Girls and Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson, but many don’t care for his work because he is ok with spanking or because he writes from a christian perspective.
There are others than I cannot think of at the moment. I love book recommendations, can’t wait to hear the replies.
This topic is one i will definitely like to read. I do not have baby’s or toddler¡s book excpet one that i read many years ago and if i find i will comment on it.
But i mark some i read in amazon and would like to know if anyone read those books and can give me your opinion.
They are:
Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason
Basic Montessori: Learning Activities For Under-Fives
Hope someone can comment on those.
Just a quick reply before I have to put the kids to bed. I haven’t read the montessori book specificly mentioned but there are several of Maria Montessori ebooks free at books.google.com. Just search for Maria Montessori keyword then click the check box on the left for full view.
Also available at books.google.com is a preview for Unconditional Parenting of about 30 pages (last time I checked). It will give you an idea of the first half of the book in which the author cites several studies to support his thesis. In the second half of his book he defines what he thinks “unconditional parenting” is. I didn’t find it useful because it’s very theoretical while lacking real examples of how to achieve the concept (especially with toddlers.) I might have found it more useful if my kids were older when I read it and actually mature enough to reason. I think the author’s intention is to convince people WHY moving beyond rewards and punishments is best but it doesn’t explain HOW. If you are already convinced that is how you would like to raise your children then it isn’t necessary to read, just skip to the how to books (playful parenting and becoming the parent you want to be are the best I’ve read so far and cover parenting toddler/preschooler age.) Unconditional Parenting may be recommended if there is somebody else you would want to convince to move beyond punishments and rewards presuming you could convince them to read it. I have heard that people have an easier time getting others to watch the DVD or even clips on youtube. Hopefully this makes sense I dont have time to edit right now.
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Where the Sidewalk Ends: the Poems and Drawing of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
My kids love these books and after reading them so many times I know they have positively impacted me as well.
ourorobos1,
Can you clarify if you really mean books for parents about toddlers development etc and not children books.?
LOL DadDude!
Just an aside, is it true that the little engine that could is a “she” in new editions?
I read literally hundreds of books while I was pregnant and couldn’t even tell you 5 specific ones that everyone ought to read to be a better parent. I can give generalities.
- A book explaining ‘normal’ development (What to expect books are popular, but I didn’t care for them)
- A book on brain development (What’s going on in there?, Magic trees of the mind, etc.)
- Books with ideas for what to do with your kids (How smart is your baby? program, Itsy Bitsy Yoga, etc.)
- Books about emotional intelligence
- Books about discipline
You need to read more than one book about EI and discipline because they’re all quite different but house random tidbits of good information.
My original thinking was around books for parents that helped teach you to help your kids, but some books mentioned were very memorable in my childhood.
It made me think of getting them in a foreign language I’m trying to teach my son.
Unfortunately I don’t have much time to read so I only have a top 3 that fit this criteria: Becoming the Parent, Playful Parenting, and the Whinnie the Pooh series (I’m counting them as one book.)
I have read all of these books and can make some recommendations that might help you prioritize your list:
First if it is within your budget purchase Becoming the Parent. As my kids get older I am constantly reading sections of the book over and over highlighter in hand and learning something new each time. It is relevant for up to 5 years old and has many different tools relevant at different ages.
Playful Parenting would be a good read around 3 years age since most examples are that age and over. I don’t think I will be reading this again so it’s probably a good one to get from the library.
Unconditional Parenting wasn’t my favorite book but it does have a lot of hype and a huge following so maybe you would like it. It doesn’t offer much in the way of practical solutions but rather draws an ideal. I would suggest taking the book back to the library and getting the DVD instead, I think that would have been a better use of my time. If your library doesn’t have it they may be able to borrow it from another library, I know it is available in the US and Canada. Maybe you could even get some laundry folded while you watch it.
I actually thing Nurture Shock is also an important book to read, but I don’t think it will contribute much to becoming a “better parent†as Ouroboros originally asked. This is also a good one to get from the library, I found it in audio format and got some chores done while I listened.
Hold on to Your Kids is a fascinating analysis of attachment theory in modern society. Apparently “teenage†behavior which we mistake as a natural rite of passage into adulthood is not a universal phenomena. The thesis is that institutionalized childcare/education doesn’t fulfill children’s instinctual need for attachment (providing a mature role model to emulate) and in this void they will reorient toward their peers (to a greater or lesser extent.) Peers do not provide a mature role model leading to dysfunctional behavior we associate with teens but can start much younger. He offers solutions that help work attachment into the current system. The book is very popular among homeschoolers but I would also recommend it to any parent who’s children are entering school or daycare. This is also a good book to get from the library, I also think there is a DVD or audio version available.
Hard to tell…mmmmmmm…most of the books I read helped me to undertand better parenthood and improve the quality of education I give to my daughter.
My daughter loves to read books that have one sentence for page (for now).She is 2.5 years old.
My son is 2 yr.s 4 m. old and he loves books. Here is a link of his current fav. books
http://raisingethan.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/my-24m-2-12-year-old-favorite-childrens-books/
He can also see him read here (double-click on the vid. new window opens to view)
1 - Natural Child : Parenting from the Heart
2 - Under Pressure