If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this journey of motherhood it’s that thankfully I’m not the only one who doesn’t have it all figured out.
Being a mom has been the most epic (and scary) journey of my life.
Thank goodness for strong coffee, even stronger friends and awesome resources like these parenting books that I can’t live without.
If you have spent any time on this blog reading my personal posts, or up in my social media on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook, then you may have picked up on the fact that I am a read-a-holic. I freaking love to read and one of my favorite topics of curiosity are my kids. Their little brains fascinate and scare me. Plus the notion that I could (and probably will) in some way screw them up for life, freaks me out.
In my quest for good, down-to-earth, reliable and practical information on raising kids I have found some books that I refer to time and time again. In my collection these are the books that are now well-worn and whose pages (some of them) I practically know by heart. These parenting books I’m going to share are my treasured favorites, riddled with highlights and deeply cherished. They are my go-to parenting books. They are the books I am always recommending and love to talk about with other parents.
So here goes mama, here is my treasured list of best parenting books for moms that I simply can’t live without:
Ten Most Powerful Things to Say to Your Kids
I was never that girl that loved babies or wanted to babysit. Actually I was the furthest thing from it. It wasn’t that I disliked babies, I was just disinterested. Prior to motherhood I had held a baby only a few times in my life and never changed a diaper. So when I became pregnant with my first child in late 2009 I was scared. Legit straight-up scared. I think I hid it well behind my smiles when on the inside I was terrified.
When my first son was born a friend of mine gifted me the book 10 Powerful Things to Say To Your Kids . Admittedly this book sat and collected dust for over a year because well, I had a new baby, who the heck has time to read with a new baby?! BUT once I finally had the chance to sift through the pages I tell you what, lightbulbs exploded in my brain. This book offers 10 simple yet oh so powerful questions we can ask our kids, time and time again throughout their lives to deepen our understanding and strengthen our relationship with them. Plus loads of supplemental priceless advice.
If you want to deeply get to know your kid, at any age, this book is a must-have for your arsenal of parenting books you can’t live without.
Click here to buy the book Ten Powerful Things to Say To Your Kids
How to Really Love Your Child
I initially read this book on a whim because I thought – “well of course my kids know I love them… right?…” My boys were ages 2 and 4 at the time and I was a work-at-home-mom. I bent over backwards to play with them, get them to playdates, regular visits to the library and local kid museum. But did they know I loved them? According to the book many kids, while growing up in a loving home with parents who bend over backwards for them, actually feel unloved.
In his book the late Dr. Ross Campbell gives simple, yet effective strategies such as eye contact, affirmations, spiritual nurturing among other things that allow our kids to truly feel loved. One of my biggest takeaways from this book was when Dr. Campbell talked about our children’s “emotional tank.” We all have emotional tanks and a child’s is especially in need of “refueling” often. A person’s emotional tank fuels how they show up and react in situations. If your child’s tank is empty then he can’t do as well as when it is full. It’s harder for him to focus, be patient, laugh and giggle, just about everything is more challenging when his emotional tank is empty.
Dr. Campbell served as a counselor for more than 30-years and his strategies in this book have served more than 2-million families.
The 5 Love Languages of Children: The Secret to Loving Children Effectively
Another favorite parenting book of mine is co-authored by Dr. Ross Campbell. For the 5 Love Languages of Children he teamed up with Gary Chapman. You might recall Gary Chapman from the book 5 Love Languages and other spin-offs of that book.
The concept of the 5 Love Languages of Children is simple. There are five prominant ways in children feel loved. This mom book is about how to love your child in the way that he or she best identifies and recognizes as love.
The authors explain how to identify your child’s primary love language – and it was fun to identify the primary love languages of both of my boys. This parenting book also provides examples and strategies targeting specific age groups.
Brave Moms, Brave Kids: A Battle Plan for Raising Heroes
I listened to the audio of this book first, then read the Kindle version. I loved it so much that I then bought a hard copy of the book to keep in my nightstand, highlight like crazy, and refer to often. This is a newer book to my list of Mom Books I Simply Can’t Live Without, but it is treasured just the same as those I’ve had longer.
Brave Moms, Brave Kids is for those who want to be intentional, consistent parents while raising their children in God’s word.
This parenting book is a powerful resource for moms at all stages of motherhood. The author, Lee Nienhuis isn’t just “do the best you can” like so many parenting books out there these days. Her authentic writings share wisdom, scripture, and tools for action to help you to find your identity and strength from God – then use that to equip your children.
Lee is a real mom and she lets that shine with humorous personal stories, warmth and compassion. She is in the trenches of this spiritual mom journey with you and is here to challenge your thinking and give you practical actions for your family, and powerful scripture references and stories you won’t soon forget.
Brave moms, Brave Kids put so many things into perspective for me in raising my young boys. I am forever grateful. This is a book I will read again and again and gift to new moms on their spiritual walk with babies.
Managing Your Family’s High-Tech Habits: (From Video-Games to the Dark Side of the Web)
While the internet and technology are an ever-changing place I do realize there may come a day when this book is obsolete. Until then, I cling to it and refer to it often as I navigate this online world with my kids in tow.
This is a book for any parent looking for wise solutions to manage their family tech habits yet still enjoy technology.
I enjoy that this book isn’t just a “tech is bad” book. Rather the authors acknowledge the real benefits of the internet, and technology and how it is useful in our lives. They juxtapose this to the dark and dangers of the web and beyond, and provide useful tips to get through it.
This book is also faith-based although non-faith readers will also enjoy it and get value from it. It provides good, practical and easy-to-follow advice on managing technology in today’s family. It’s a quick read and awesome reference tool.
Click here to buy the book Managing Your Family’s High-Tech Habits: From Video-Games to the Dark Side of the Web
