Parent Hacks: 134 Genius Shortcuts for Life with Kids


Asha Dornfest - 2016
    Put the ketchup under the hot dog, minimizing the mess. Strap baby into a forward-facing carrier when you need to trim her fingernails—it frees your hands while controlling the squirming. Or stash a wallet in a disposable diaper at the beach—who would ever poke through what looks like a used Pamper? All these hacks are easy to do, are boldly illustrated, and use everyday items in unexpected ways. And the range—from pregnancy and postpartum, through sleep, eating, bath time, travel, and more—covers all the most critical years when parents really need a little extra help. ​“Just . . . genius.”—Buzzfeed

Parenting a Teen Girl: A Crash Course on Conflict, Communication and Connection with Your Teenage Daughter


Lucie Hemmen - 2012
    Parents everywhere struggle to respond appropriately to challenging behavior, hit-or-miss communication, and fluctuating moods commonly exhibited by teenage girls. More than previous generations, today’s teen girls face a daunting range of stressors that put them at risk for a range of serious issues, including self-harming behaviors, substance abuse, eating disorders, anxiety, and depression. Is it any wonder that parents are overwhelmed?Parenting a Teen Girl is a guide for busy parents who want bottom-line information and tips that make sense—and work. It also offers scripts to improve communication, and exercises to navigate stressful interactions with skill and compassion. Whether your teen girl is struggling with academic pressure, social difficulties, physical self-care, or technology overload, this book offers practical advice to help you connect with your teen girl. Parents and teens alike can enjoy a positive connection once common parent-teen pitfalls are replaced with solid understanding and strategies that work.In this book, you will learn how to: •Maximize your teen’s healthy development•Understand what underlies her moods and behavior•Implement strategies for positive results•Communicate effectively about difficult issues•Enjoy and appreciate time with your teen daughter

Infreakinfertility: How to Survive When Getting Pregnant Gets Hard


Melanie Dale - 2018
    This is a book about surviving it." I felt like a babyless freak. No matter what we tried, I couldn’t get pregnant, even after standing on my head after sex. I was pretty sure I was the only woman on the planet going through infertility, certainly the only one jamming needles into my butt on commercial breaks during my favorite TV shows. Everyone was getting pregnant around me and no one was talking about what happened if you couldn’t. After my experience, I wanted to write a book for other infertile women and couples who feel alone, the book I wish I’d had when I was going through it, filled with dark humor and illustrations of quirky ovaries and whimsical sperm. If you’re like me, you want blunt, honest conversations about all the crazy stuff you’re going through with someone who’s been there and understands at least some of what you’re dealing with and how you’re feeling. And if it can somehow give you permission to laugh without diminishing the pain you’re feeling? Even better. This is the funnest book you’ll ever read about the worst thing that’s ever happened to you. Each chapter covers a different challenge with infertility and is broken into sections, a little of my story and concerns, a blurb from my husband, Alex, kind of a window into his dudely brain, and practical tips on how to cope. Read it yourself, read it as a couple, and if you’re struggling to explain your feelings to friends and family, hurl a copy at them and run away. I really wish you didn’t need this book, but since you do, come on over. You’re not alone.

Parenting Without Borders: Surprising Lessons Parents Around the World Can Teach Us


Christine Gross-Loh - 2013
    Meanwhile the battle over whether parents are to blame for fostering a generation of helpless kids rages on. Christine Gross-Loh (who raised her young children in Japan for five years) exposes the hidden, culturally-determined norms we have about “good parenting,” and asks, are there parenting strategies that other countries are getting right that we are not? This book takes us from Finland, and Sweden to Germany, France, Japan, China, Italy, and more, and examines how parents successfully foster resilience, creativity, independence and academic excellence in their children. Revealing the surprising ways in which culture shapes our parenting, Gross-Loh also offers objective, research-based insight into what strategies are best for children and why.Among her eye-opening findings:Co-sleeping, typical in most of the world’s families, may promote independence in kids.American-style “hoverparenting” is unique in the world and can damage a child’s resilience.Finnish children, who rank among the world’s highest academic achievers, enjoy multiple recesses a day.Our obsession with self-esteem—a concept that doesn’t exist in many countries—may limit a child’s potentialAt last bringing empirical research to the debate, Parenting Without Borders offers new and provocative thinking on the secrets to raising a confident and capable generation.

NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children


Po Bronson - 2008
    In a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel?  Where is intelligence hidden in the brain, and why does that matter?  Why do cross-racial friendships decrease in schools that are more integrated?  If 98% of kids think lying is morally wrong, then why do 98% of kids lie?  What's the single most important thing that helps infants learn language?NurtureShock is a groundbreaking collaboration between award-winning science journalists Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.  They argue that when it comes to children, we've mistaken good intentions for good ideas.  With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, they demonstrate that many of modern society's strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring--because key twists in the science have been overlooked.Nothing like a parenting manual, the authors' work is an insightful exploration of themes and issues that transcend children's (and adults') lives.

The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them Like Grown-Ups


Leonard Sax - 2015
    The result is children who have no standard of right and wrong, who lack discipline, and who look to their peers and the Internet for direction. Sax shows how parents must reassert their authority - by limiting time with screens, by encouraging better habits at the dinner table, and by teaching humility and perspective - to renew their relationships with their children. Drawing on nearly thirty years of experience as a family physician and psychologist, along with hundreds of interviews with children, parents, and teachers, Sax offers a blueprint parents can use to help their children thrive in an increasingly complicated world.

Shepherding a Child's Heart


Tedd Tripp - 1995
    The things your child does and says flow from the heart. Luke 6:45 puts it this way: "...out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Written for parents with children of any age, this insightful book provides perspectives and procedures for shepherding your child's heart into the paths of life.

My Practices of Mothering: the things I actually do to enjoy mothering tinies


Sarah Bessey - 2014
    And a few years ago, I began to write through the stuff that I do (or try to do) to enjoy the day-to-day life with a houseful of tinies. Three years later, it remains one of the most popular series of posts I've ever done at my blog. And now it's an e-book. The book isn't about "advice" or making a one-size-fits-all version of motherhood. It certainly isn't about heaping more guilt or or unattainable standards on anyone. Mothering is very, very hard work. It's constant. It's tiring. I've found that mothering tinies exposed the parts of my heart that I could keep politely hidden from general society. It could break me in the morning, but by evening, I would feel like I've never been more fulfilled or happy in my life. It can also be monotonous (that’s something not too many people will tell you – me? I’ll tell you.) And do you have any idea how many loads of laundry a family of five can generate? (Hint: EPIC AMOUNTS OF LAUNDRY.) But the truth is: I enjoy mothering. I enjoy it a lot. In fact, I love this which surprised me. Even the daily quotidian rhythms of it are good, good, good. I even enjoyed those years when I couldn't leave the house without someone sympathetically commenting "Wow, your hands are full." Not because I have it all figured out and do things right all of the time (I don’t). Not because I’m the best mother in the world (I’m not). Not because my tinies are absolutely perfect and the gold standard of childhood (they’re not - trust me). And not because every day is filled with rainbow-and-unicorns-and-cupcakes (I wish). No, the reason I enjoy mothering tinies on the day-to-day grind is mainly because I do this stuff. And it helps me. I call them Practices because that’s what us Christians have often called spiritual disciplines, but really they’re just things I do over and over again, kneading them like yeast into my life. Everyone has their own "practices." Most of mine come from my own parents but then I picked up a few others from books or friends or mentors. And my practices may not work for you and your family. After all, this is just what worked for me, right then, in that season. As my tinies grow up, my practices shift and change and evolve, as they should. Your own practices will do that, too.

We're Parents! The New Dad Book for Baby's First Year: Everything You Need to Know to Survive and Thrive Together


Adrian Kulp - 2019
     Quick advice—Key childcare tips are broken into short, convenient guides—unlike other new dad books, there’s no reading an entire textbook just to change a diaper. The big moments—Track your baby’s development at a glance with charts that lay out the most important milestones in one place. Who needs other new dad books when you have the expert guidance of We’re Parents! at hand?

How to Unspoil Your Child Fast: A Speedy, Complete Guide to Contented Children and Happy Parents


Richard Bromfield - 2007
    Feel more confident, competent, and parent more consistently while instilling character and self-reliance in your children today."Describes helpful, pertinent, and loving ways to correct spoiled behavior before it becomes a serious problem."--ParentWorld

Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World


Jill Rigby - 2006
    "And author Jill Rigby says there's a big difference. It's the difference between self-centered and others-centered children, the difference between performance-driven and purpose-focused teenagers."Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World" examines three different styles of parenting--parent-centered, child-centered, and character-centered." "Parent-centered parents are more concerned with their own agenda than their child's best interest. Child-centered parents are more concerned with their child's approval than their child's well-being. Character-centered parents are more concerned with their child's character than their child's comfort. Drawing a distinction between performance and purpose, this book maintains that rather than focusing on what you want your child to "do, "you ask what you want your child to "become. "Finally, Rigby calls for parents to discipline (teach) their children rather than punish them.With wisdom and insight, Jill Rigby shares age-appropriate ways to set boundaries with children without building walls of separation. Whether you're parenting tots or teens, "Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World "offers valuable advice for cultivating a house of respect.

The Smart Stepmom: Practical Steps to Help You Thrive!


Ron L. Deal - 2009
    The book answers women's concerns and questions, including: How can I be a caretaker and a key emotional connector in the family if the children don't accept my influence? How shoud I cope with children who are confused about their family and torn between loyalty to their biological mother and me? When should I step back in conflicts and when should I insist that my husband stand up for me? In addition it addresses the spiritual and emotional climate of the home, providing perspective and guidelines to help stepmothers and their families thrive.

Available Parent: Expert Advice for Raising Successful and Resilient Teens and Tweens


John Duffy - 2014
    Dr. John Duffy's The Available Parent is a revolutionary approach to taking care of teens and tweens. Teenagers are often left feeling unheard and misunderstood, and parents are left feeling bewildered by the changes in their child at adolescence and their sudden lack of effectiveness as parents. The parent has become unavailable, the teen responds in kind, and a negative, often destructive cycle of communication begins. The available parent of a teenager is open to discussion, offering advice and solutions, but not insisting on them. He allows his child to make some mistakes, setting limits, primarily where health and safety are concerned. He never lectures -- he is available but not controlling. He is neither cruel nor dismissive, ever. The available parent is fun and funny, and can bring levity to the most stressful situation. All of that is to say, there are no conditions to his availability -- it is absolute.

The Fat Girls' Guide to Marathon Running


Julie Creffield - 2017
     And ladies, if you are carrying some extra weight and don't look or feel much like a marathon runner right now, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed by the wealth of marathon training advice out there...none of which seems relevant for you. DO NOT PANIC!!!! You have plenty of time to get yourself organised and prepared for the biggest adventure of your life....and plus size marathon runner and life coach Julie Creffield will walk you through every stage of the process with her unique mix of humour, realism and practicality. Covering everything from chesticle chaffing, to mingeries...swamp arse, to blister popping. This book goes where no other book dares to go, with its warts and all account of training as a larger lady. Julie committed to running her first marathon back in 2005 weighing in at 20 stone and unable to run to the top of her road. She has gone on to run 4 marathons, a 40 mile ultra marathon and hundreds of other races as well as inspiring and coaching thousands of women around the world to survive and thrive in the world of long distance running. As the creator of the award winning blog The Fat Girls Guide to Running she has transformed the landscape of plus size running, and has worked closely as a coach with more than 100 women to help them train for their first ever marathon. She knows the kind of doubts that women have about their own abilities, and the complexity of marathon training while working and raising a family. Many of the marathon training books out there are great in an ideal world, but let's face it, how many of us live in that ideal world. This is a marathon book for those of us in the real world...and you won't find a more honest account of what preparing for and completing your first marathon feels like. The book will cover everything from - Deciding if the distance is even for you - Securing your race place - Reviewing your habits and deciding your approach - Creating a robust and doable plan - The types of running sessions you need to include - How to get rid of the negative voices in your head - Avoiding injury - Fuelling your marathon journey - Building your support team - What to expect on race day - How to deal with the aftermath...and what to do with your medal This book will give you the confidence, know how and common sense to see you through what is sure to be some of the toughest months of training you will ever do. It will also help you see that so many of the skills and behaviours you pick up during marathon training are applicable to other areas of your life too. If you want to get to the start line and the finish line in one piece...this is the book for you.

Raising Confident Boys: 100 Tips For Parents And Teachers


Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer - 2001
    Boys who lack appropriate emotional support from the adults close to them are at risk of believing they don't fit in and are likely to act accordingly, engaging in risky behaviors-including at worst using drugs and acting out violently. Raising Confident Boys teaches readers what makes boys prone to low self-esteem and provides practical, effective tips for managing these situations as they arise.