Why Read Parenting Books?
As single parents, we may feel alone in our parenting. I often found reading books on parenting helped combat that feeling.
Books brought to life that someone else had experienced similar problems to mine and had wisdom to share on how to navigate those parenting issues.
Dr. Dobson’s The Strong Willed Child was one of those books I returned to often when my oldest son was young. It provided encouragement when I was tired and a voice to give me fortitude.
What is the Best Parenting Book to Read?
However, one of my favorite parenting books was published in 2016 when my sons were older. It is a book I return to often and has value for every stage of parenting.
So if you have time to read just one book, I would buy…
Gist: The Essence of Raising Life Ready Kids
The backbone of our parenting philosophy is that the job of parents is to prepare their kids for life. Not counting years one through three, we have about seventeen years to give our kids some kind of view of how life works and enough practice runs for them to develop life skills. We suspect there is not a lot of disagreement about this goal. Yet, why are a huge percentage of kids not life-ready when they turn twenty? ~ Gist
I have the 2016 edition published by Beaver’s Pond Press, but I believe it was updated and re-published under the Focus label in 2019. Also available through Amazon.
Parenting Tip
Often we think it is our child that has to change. One thing I learned when I was teaching young children: when a child was not learning a concept, I needed to look at my teaching style or approach.
It is often the same with parenting. I am not in any means perfect, and sometimes it takes awhile for me to realize, I may be part of the problem! However, when I do, I ask God – What am I missing? What is at the core of the behavior? How can I approach this differently?
God has been so faithful in His response providing insight or the right resource at the right time. God is a good parenting partner!
Focus on the Family interviewed the authors on the podcast titled "Rethinking Your Parenting Strategies".
Click the headphones to listen.
If you desire more resources on parenting, the appendix of my book contains a “recommended reading and resources” section.
Do you have a favorite parenting book? Would you like to see more book reviews on this site? Comment below!
One of the biggest frustrations of parenting in a divorce situation is children are often raised in two homes with two different set of values. Stay tuned in the next blog post we will delve into this topic. Sign up below so you do not miss a post!