Parenting. Now this is a task to be approached with humility, always ready to learn fresh wisdom. If ever we dare to pat ourselves on the back and think, “I’ve got this whole parenting business under wraps; don’t know what your problem is …” Whoa, our own offspring will be the first to cut us down to size. Probably in a spectacularly loud and embarrassing fashion and probably when we’re running late and probably in line at the grocery store (ask me how I know). Not because they’re manner-less meanies (though, they may play that part some days), but because it’s just what they do at this stage of life. They push (buttons — the metaphorical ones and the big red ones), they pull (hair and the loose threads on sweaters), they stretch us (seemingly beyond the limits of sanity) as they learn and grow and find their way.
Is there a job more demanding or more important than parenting? I’d argue no on both counts. So if ever there was an area in life in which we could all stand to study up, this must be it. To that end, here is a collection of books for parents to educate, to entertain, to sympathize and ultimately to encourage.
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Instructing a Child’s Heart
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Shepherding a Child’s Heart
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What to Expect the Second Year
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Future Men
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Family Driven Faith
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Bringing Up Girls
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Don’t Make Me Count to Three
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The New Dare to Discipline
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Baby Love: Healthy, Easy, Delicious Meals for Your Baby and Toddler
View on AmazonI had a ton of fun with this book. The best part of making baby food is that it almost always turns out perfect (that's mostly down to the fact that you're going to puree it, so accomplishing the finer points of cooking technique -- not so crucial in the end). The second best part is the colors: deep blues from berries, bright aqua from edamame, the richest shade of orange you can imagine from carrots. Oh, and did I fail to mention this part: It's also good for baby!
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The New Strong-Willed Child
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Parenting Without Borders
View on AmazonThis is a really fun book. It'll challenge your culturally-defined assumptions of how parenting should be done. (Did you even know that much of what you believe to be "right" parenting is derived from your culture and often is thought of as wrong in other countries? Consider co-sleeping, for example.) Writing from a U.S. perspective, the author compares American parents' strategies, goals and habits to the norms of other countries in the areas of sleeping, feeding and teaching.
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Father Hunger
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Praise Her in the Gates
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Family Shepherds
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Bringing Up Boys
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Parenting by God’s Promises
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Standing on the Promises
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No More Perfect Moms
View on AmazonI first read this book as part of a moms study group, and it was excellent fodder for discussion. The text is full of reality checks and encourages us to be honest with ourselves and others. The author attacks what she terms the "perfection infection," which certainly hit home for me as a long-time perfectionist.
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Parenting
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What to Expect the First Year
View on AmazonYou probably have What to Expect When You're Expecting, but do you have the next two books in the series? They're equally excellent.