These gentle parenting books can help you foster trust, empathy, and respect with your kids
When it comes to parenting there’s no one right way to do it. But if raising kids with empathy, respect, and kindness is at the forefront of your parenting strategy, gentle parenting just might be your thing. It focuses on positive communication, and encourages parents to trade discipline and punishment for kindness and understanding to shape behavior and support kids through some of those tougher stages (we’re looking at you, terrible twos and threenage years). Trust, respect, and open communication are the pillars of this theory. The end goal is mutual respect and trust between kids and parents. Curious to learn how you can incorporate these strategies into your everyday? Break open one of these gentle parenting books and get reading.
1. The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson
If you’re parenting a toddler we bet you’ve figured out that using logic to temper their tantrums is about as effective as renaming broccoli “magical trees” to get your kid to eat a vegetable. In The Whole-Brain Child, neuropsychiatrist, Daniel J. Siegel, and parenting expert, Tina Payne Bryson, team up to explain brain development in kids in an easily accessible way for parents. They also offer 12 key strategies to raising happier, calmer kids.
Buy it here, $13
2. Parenting with Love and Logic by Charles Fay & Foster Cline
The Love and Logic approach to raising responsible kids isn’t a new one. In fact, it’s been around for 45 years. But even if you’ve read this one before, a refresher never hurts, especially since the Love and Logic principles can be applied from toddler through teen years. Focused on empowering children to make their own decisions without ceding parental authority, what you’ll find in these pages helps you pair natural consequences with empathetic listening.
Buy it here, $17
Related: 10 Books That Will Help Your Kids with Their Social & Emotional Growth
3. The Conscious Parent by Dr. Shefali Tsabary
If you’re looking for a different take on parenting, try The Conscious Parent. Dr. Shelfali Tsabary explains that although many parents believe it’s our responsibility to mold our kids through discipline and consequences, it’s actually quite the opposite. In this book she show that “our children are born to us to create deep internal transformation within us.” One read will help you embrace a more mindful, conscious approach to parenting.
Buy it here, $10
4. Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids by Dr. Laura Markham
The subtitle of this book says it all—how to stop yelling and start connecting. In it, mom and clinical psycholgist, Dr. Laura Markham, uses brain science and experience to give parents practical tools that help them develop strong, loving connections with their kids. If you’re looking for that Aha! parenting moment, the strategies outlined in this book can lead the way.
Buy it here, $12
5. No-Drama Discipline by Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson
Written by the same team that brought you the first book on our list, No-Drama Discipline gives parents the tools they need to help their kids learn from their mistakes and develop self-control. It provides an “effective, compassionate road map for dealing with tantrums, tensions, and tears—without causing a scene.” Sounds too good to be true, right? Give it a read to find out.
Buy it here, $12.50
Related: 5 Ways to Deal with Toddler Tantrums without Losing Your Cool
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