We know finding two minutes to yourself, let alone to read a book, might be challenging with little ones running around.
So, we picked out a few parenting books to turn to when you do find some time for a summer read.
It’s important for young children to see their parents engaged and excited about reading. Just as it is important for parents to read aloud with their kids, it’s important for parents to model reading for little ones. Watching you read for fun, before bedtime and at the pool, will encourage kids to model your behavior and start laying the groundwork for a lifelong passion for books.
Here are our summer parenting book picks for moms and dads on-the-go:
For the empathetic mom: UnSelfie: A lack of empathy can hurt kids’ academic performance and lead to bullying behaviors. Also, it correlates with more cheating and less resilience. And once children grow up, a lack of empathy hampers their ability to collaborate, innovate, and problem-solve—all must-have skills for the global economy. For the empathetic mom looking to cultivate more of that in her children, UnSelfie explains why developing a healthy sense of empathy is a key predictor of which kids will thrive and succeed in the future.
For the mom who is so over power struggles: Positive Parenting: Popular parenting blogger Rebecca Eanes believes that parenting advice should be about more than just getting kids to behave. Struggling to maintain a meaningful connection with her two little ones and frustrated by the lack of emotionally aware books for parents, she began to share her own insights with readers online. Eanes shares her hard-won wisdom for overcoming limiting thought patterns and recognizing emotional triggers, as well as advice for connecting with kids at each stage, from infancy to adolescence.
For the mom parenting children with special needs: The Life We Never Expected: Hopeful Reflections on the Challenges of Parenting Children with Special Needs: The authors, parents of two children with special needs, share their story which mingles deep pain with deep joy in unexpected places. With raw honesty, they share about the challenges they face on a daily basis—all the while teaching what it means to weep, worship, wait, and hope. Set to be released at the end of June, this will surely be a page-turner for anyone understands the challenges of parenthood.
For the new mom who needs a laugh: Welcome to the Club: 100 Parenting Milestones You Never Saw Coming: Instead of a place to lovingly capture the first time baby sleeps through the night, this book shows what it’s like “The First Time You Try to Install a Car Seat and Curse Yourself for Not Getting that PhD in Theoretical Physics” or “The First Time the Baby Accidentally Head-Butts You in the Lip” (it happens) or “The First Time You Post a Photo of the Baby to Facebook and It Gets More Likes Than Anything You’ve Ever Done.” These 100 rarely documented but all-too-realistic milestones provide comfort, solidarity, and comic relief for new parents, as well as experienced parents who’ve been there.
For the parent who wants to calm the chaos: No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind: We’ve all been there: standing in the middle of the grocery store as your child throws himself on the floor in tantrum because he didn’t get that snack or toy he wanted. Highlighting the fascinating link between a child’s neurological development and the way a parent reacts to misbehavior, No-Drama Discipline provides an effective, compassionate road map for dealing with tantrums, tensions, and tears—without causing a scene.
For the religious mom: Missional Motherhood: For the religious mom, Missional Motherhood offers a look beyond the routine tasks and mundane to-do lists of house- and family-keeping to show that motherhood is anything but insignificant. The author searches scriptures for a spiritual investigation of the mission of motherhood.
For the mom who might be Danish (you won’t know until you read this): The Danish Way of Parenting: What the Happiest People in the World Know About Raising Confident, Capable Kids: What makes Denmark the happiest country in the world–and what are the secrets of Danish parents for raising happy, confident, successful kids, year after year? The first few chapters on teaching empathy, reframing, play and authenticity should be read by everyone, not just moms and parents.
For the tough dad: Raising Men: A retired Navy SEAL uses a unique blend of discipline, leadership, adventure, and grace, to teach other parents how to connect, and reconnect, with their sons and learn “how to raise real men―the Navy SEAL way.” For the dad who’s tough, this “fight for your sons” parenting guide can offer a fresh perspective as the author relates SEAL training and lifestyle to the arena of parenting.
For the Disney princess mom: The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2017: Compiled and written by a team of experienced researchers, The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World explains how Walt Disney World works and how to use that knowledge to make every minute and every dollar of your vacation count. Here we come, Mickey!
