Top 5 Recommended Reads

These are the books we have a tough time keeping on our shelves. We’ve found them so impactful in our own parenting, and so helpful to so many of the families we’ve worked with. We loan them out CONSTANTLY. These books can make for a great book study with your teaching team or with parents.

Whole Brain Child by Dr. Dan Siegel & Dr. Tina Payne Bryson

Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy

The Power of Showing Up by Dr. Dan Siegel & Dr. Tina Payne Bryson

No Drama Discipline by Dr. Dan Siegel & Dr. Tina Payne Bryson

Reset Your Child’s Brain by Dr. Victoria Dunckley

Current Runner Up (still being read):

Raising Kids with Big Baffling Behaviors by Robyn Gobbel

There are some fantastic reads out there. They can broaden your horizons and deepen your knowledge about child development and the development of parents. The following are several of our other favorites, in no particular order, but somewhat grouped up by theme.

Developing Healthy Attachment:

The Power of Showing Up by Dr. Dan Siegel & Dr. Tina Payne Bryson

Securely Attached by by Mike & Kristin Berry (specific to children affected by Trauma)

I Love You Rituals by Dr. Becky Bailey

Challenging Behaviors:

No Drama Discipline by Dr. Dan Siegel & Dr. Tina Payne Bryson

Raising Kids with Big Baffling Behaviors by Robyn Gobbel

The Explosive Child by Dr. Ross Greene (aimed more at the Elementary Years)

Beyond Behaviors by Dr. Mona Delahooke

Physical Development & the Impact of Nature:

Balanced and Barefoot by Angela Hanscom, OT

Child/Brain Development:

Whole Brain Child by Dr. Dan Siegel & Dr. Tina Payne Bryson

Mind in the Making by Ellen Galinsky

Parent Development & Child Development:

Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy

How Trauma Affects Us as Individuals & Families:

What Happened to You? By Dr. Bruce Perry & Oprah Winfrey

The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog by Dr. Bruce Perry (Warning: heavy/triggering content)

The Deepest Well by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris

Appreciating Cultural Strengths in Parenting:

Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff

The Influence of Your Own Childhood on Your Parenting:

Parenting From the Inside Out by Dr. Dan Siegel & Mary Hartzell

Strong & Clear Communication:

How to Talk so Kids Will Listen, and Listen so Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen by Joanna Faber and Julia King

Sibling Struggles:

Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Mindful Parenting:

Raising Good Humans, by Hunter Clarke-Fields

Classic Wisdom for Brand New Parents:

The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp

Children & Screens:

Reset Your Child’s Brain by Dr. Victoria Dunckley

Play & Development:

Play, How it Shapes the Brain by Dr. Stuart Brown

Rest, Play, Grow by Dr. Deborah MacNamara

Free to Learn by Peter Gray

Tween/Teen Parenting:

Untangled by Dr. Lisa Damour (tween/teen girls)

Fourteen Talks by Age Fourteen by Michelle Icard (tween/teen)

The Emotional Lives of Teenagers by Dr. Lisa Damour

Hold on to Your Kids by Dr. Gordon Neufeld & Dr. Gabor Mate

What did we miss?

What would you add?

While we know you are not all readers, keep in mind a couple of things…audiobooks can be fantastic! Listen while driving, while working out, while doing chores. Try our favorite hack…love the idea of one of these titles? Look for a podcast where the author is interviewed! You’ll often get the main ideas from the author in some helpful “sound bite” sized portions.

Stay tuned, soon we’ll share some of our favorite podcasts!

Make sure you are subscribed, so you don’t miss it 🙂

Jen & Beka