Listific: The Toplist Resource

In the workplace, you would usually get some sort of on-the-job training before actually handling the day-to-day tasks that will be assigned to you once you ‘officially’ start as an employee. Unfortunately for parents, they do not have the luxury of having on-the-job training when it comes to taking care of their kids. This is especially true in the case of first-time parents.

So if you want to properly raise your child, how can you educate yourself if you don’t have time to attend ‘Parenting 101’ classes? Perhaps the next best thing that you can do is educate yourself with the help of parenting books.

A Multitude of Benefits from Reading Parenting Books

Before counting down the best parenting books which are considered to be essential must-reads for all the moms and dads out there, let us first check on the advantages that you will have when reading one.

Here is a quick look at the benefits that you will get to enjoy when reading books about parenting:

• Instead of focusing on what you are doing wrong as a parent, these books will teach you how to respect the rights of your children while in turn teaching them to respect their own rights as individuals.
• You will feel more confident about how you can improve your parenting skills because these books are written by experts in the field who are parents themselves.
• Reading parenting books are a great way to invest in your personal growth as well as your child’s future.

The Top 5 Most Essential Parenting Books that Every Mom & Dad Should Buy

Whether you’re awaiting the arrival of your first baby, or if you’re already a parent of a young child who is looking for some tips on how to raise your child properly, here are the top 5 most essential parenting books that you should read:

• 5. “What Mothers Do Especially When It Looks Like Nothing” by: Naomi Stadlen

  This is not your run-of-the-mill parenting manual which teaches you how to ‘force’ an eleven-month old baby to sleep through the night. Instead, Naomi Stadlen’s book is gentle yet revolutionary in the sense that it goes beyond the basic skills that a mother should have on how to take care of her child.

  As a psychotherapist, the thrust of “What Mothers Do…” lies in the principle that it is rarely necessary to tell a mother what it is that she needs to do. It may be a slow and often difficult process, but a mother can learn how to trust her child and herself for her to naturally acquire the skills needed to care for her offspring. All in all, the book teaches parents – especially mothers – how that quality ‘quiet’ time spent with the baby is one of the best ways to match the pace by which their babies live.

• 4. “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk” by: Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish

  Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of a parent-child relationship is how they can effectively communicate with each other – which means that one listens while the other one talks. This is exactly what is being taught in the book “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk” by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.

  This parenting book is actually based on a series of workshops developed by the two authors and the subject is how to improve relationships within a household. If you’re having problems connecting with your child, communicating with your child or you don’t know how to make your child actually listen to you, then this parenting book which is applicable to any relationship is jus the answer that you are looking for.

• 3. “Scream Free Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool” by: Hal Runkel

  If you already have a chaotic household especially in the mornings when everyone has to prepare for work and school, how exactly do you keep your cool if one of the kids are being difficult? With this book by Hal Runkel who is a licensed family and marriage therapist, you will learn how to focus less on your child’s behavior and focus more on yours: and how you as a parent react to your child’s behavior.

  New principles like ‘judo parenting’ are taught in “Scream Free Parenting” – which basically involves going with your child’s momentum. The author shares that even at a young age, you can allow your child to make his or her own decisions and live with the consequences later on.

• 2. “Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care: 8th Edition” by: Benjamin Spock

  Your own parents and grandparents may have a copy of an older edition of a Dr. Spock parenting book – and this is the new generation’s version of it. “Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care: 8th Edition” parenting book has been fully revised and expanded for today’s parents.

  It includes everything that you need to know as a parent, from developing the basic skills that you have as a parent to complex topics like how to raise autistic children or what you need to know about international adoption. New parents will find the book especially helpful because it just plain makes parenting a lot easier.

• 1. “The Mother of All Parenting Books: The Ultimate Guide to Raising a Happy, Healthy Child from Preschool through Preteens” by: Ann Douglas

  What better way is there to cap off our list of than with “The Mother of All Parenting Books”? As the title suggests, this essential parenting book penned by Ann Douglas can serve as your ultimate guide on how to raise a happy, healthy child from preschool through their preteen years. After going through the rigors of rearing a young child, the next stage that both the child and the parents undergo is their preschool years and the more difficult teen and preteen years.

  Ann Douglas’ book is a comprehensive guide on what you need to know about kids of this age, how they usually respond to your disciplining ways and how you can choose the best course of action depending on the ‘parenting emergency’ situation that you find yourself in.

  By reading these five essential parenting books, you can arm yourself with as much knowledge as you need on how you can raise your child from being a happy and healthy baby to being a well-adjusted kid.