3 Best Parenting Books To Read This Year

I always had this idea of what kind of parent I was going to be, and for a long while, I carried out my vision with patience and persistence. Ever since I entered the more challenging years of toddlerhood, this idea has slowly eroded. It’s only gotten harder to keep on my best parenting behavior with two little kids at home with me full time. And soon it will be even harder with three.

Within the last year, I’ve reignited my love of reading. I mostly enjoy reading self-improvement and parenting books. The advice I find in these novels often reiterates what I already know about parenting my children, but they give me new tactics and fresh ideas towards achieving success.

Raising my children is the most important task I will do in my entire life; I don’t want to go about it with just my “gut feelings.”

Best Parenting Books I’ve Read

These three books have enlightened me more than any other literature I’ve found in the world of parenting. They each have helped me identify flaws in my parenting style and weaknesses in my personality which could lead to detrimental effects on my children. More than anything, these books have helped me find a better way and improve on myself as a parent and a person. If you are a mom striving to be the best parent you can be, or struggling through some really tough times with your kids, I highly suggest  you read these, the 3 best parenting books as recommended by me.

1. Parenting With Love & Logic

by Foster Cline & Jim Fay

This novel was originally printed in 1990 and since has become a staple for other parenting books to reference. Its advice is concise and well organized which makes retaining the information so easy. I like to reread this book every so often and I fold over the pages in it to reference again later. Some of the key points I took away from reading this book are:

• Allow your child to make mistakes and experience life’s natural consequences
• The problem is best solved by the person whose problem it is (i.e. Don’t solve your child’s problems)
• The more control over your children you relinquish, the more you will gain
• Encourage your child’s thoughts and autonomy as much as possible

There’s a reason Parenting With Love And Logic has become a classic for child psychologists to recommend and for parents to read. It provides a lot of great advice and the parenting style is not mainstream.

2. Have a New Kid by Friday

by Dr. Kevin Leman

This book I picked up at a garage sale and thought the title seemed very hokey, but it was worth a try. I actually loved it! The author’s sense of humor makes this a fast and enjoyable read. Dr. Leman is a psychologist who writes about raising his five children utilizing some unorthodox methods. I also love his quick reference guide in the back of this book where you can look up his sound advice on some of parenting’s toughest topics, alphabetized for convenience. Some great advice I absorbed from Have a New Kid by Friday:

• Only say something to your child once. If you say it more than once, you are giving your child the opportunity to disregard your words and subconsciously telling your child you don’t think they are quick enough to understand you the first time.
• B does not happen before A is done. If your child isn’t doing what you want, they do not get to do the next thing.
• Allowances can be a useful mechanism in running your house smoothly, teaching your children responsibility, and disciplining your children.

3. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

by Carol Dweck, PhD
This self-help book isn’t specifically geared towards parenting, but it drastically shaped the way I parent my children and the language I use with them every day. Mindset is about identifying where you might have a fixed mindset in areas of life and changing your thinking to a growth mindset. Dweck shares all her research that supports the growth mindset leads to more success in all avenues of life–parenting, careers, sports, relationships, school, etc. From this book I took away some key pieces of enlightenment:

• I mostly function with a fixed mindset and I do not want to pass that on to my children.
• The words we say to our children have profound effects on their self-image. Even something as simple as saying “good effort” rather than “good job” can improve your child’s understanding of themselves.
• Focusing on children’s behaviors rather than personal attributes is extremely important to let them define their inner selves. Avoid labels like the plague.

Even if you don’t usually like to read, give one of these books a try, whichever looked most interesting to you. Like I’ve said in the past, the main attribute that sets good parents apart is their desire to improve. Join me in improving your abilities as a parent and pick up one of the 3 best parenting books to read this winter.