With a seemingly endless array of parenting books hitting the shelves these days, it can be a bit daunting to try to find a book or two that resonates with your family’s parenting style and values. To help navigate the perhaps conflicting perspectives, we’ve highlighted some of the recent releases whose wisdom, perspectives and suggestions had particular significance for us. In the past few months we’ve even had the opportunity to chat with many of these experts to glean more of their wisdom, perspectives and suggestions for happy homes and positive parenting. —
“Nurture Shock” by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman: This 2007 “New York Times” bestseller debunked age-old parenting myths about child rearing with compelling scientific research. Here, Bronson and Merryman chat with New York Family about their findings, which range from the negative effects of too much praise to what children are likely to become bullies.
“Instinctive Parenting” by Ada Calhoun: If you’re in the market for refreshingly simple advice about parenting, look no further than this release from Ada Calhoun, the founding editor-in-chief of Babble.com, who after furiously preparing for the arrival of her son by reading tons of literature about parenting. In the book, Calhoun urges parents to stop listening to everyone else about how to raise their children, and instead to simply trust your gut. We caught up with Calhoun about everything from over-parenting to reactions that her book has provoked from critics and parents alike.
“When Did I Get Like This?” by Amy Wilson: If you’re in the market for a funny “momoir” that admits that parenting isn’t always smooth sailing, look no further than Amy Wilson’s recent release “When Did I Get Like This: The Screamer, the Worrier, the Dinosaur-Chicken-Nugget-Buyer, and Other Mothers I Swore I’d Never Be." We had the opportunity to catch up with Amy when we featured her in our May "Moms We Love" profile, and her recent personal essay for our July issue–in which she describes her journey to accept her daughter’s infatuation with "princess pink" — is as funny as it is true.
"Someone Will Be With You Shortly: Notes From A Perfectly Imperfect Life" by Lisa Kogan: Speaking of funny, Lisa Kogan ( the writer-at-large at "O Magazine," takes on the trials and tribulations of single parenting in NYC with plenty of love, wit and charm. We recently chatted with Lisa about her book and her experiences parenting in the city, so look for her interview in our upcoming September issue! In the meantime, check out her book at Amazon.com.
“Partnership Parenting”: by Dr. Kyle Pruett and Marsha Kline Pruett: How men and women parent differently is a very interesting, if often overlooked, aspect of parenting, and a look at our differences can ultimately make a parenting partnership stronger and more effective. Husband-and-wife team Kyle and Marsha Pruett chatted with us recently about the different qualities that men and women bring to child-rearing, and how couples can combine their individual strengths in order to co-parent successfully.
“The Happiness Project”: by Gretchen Rubin: NYC mother of two Gretchen Rubin started exploring her own happiness and satisfaction with life on a blog (which eventually lead to a book of the same name) in which she set out to discover what happiness was and how she (and others) could achieve it. We caught up with Gretchen to hear about her findings and glean some of her contented wisdom.
“Mind In The Making” by Ellen Galinksy: We’re intrigued by a recent release from Ellen Galinsky, the president and co-founder of the Families And Work Institute who has contributed to countless books, notably her acclaimed release “The Six Stages Of Parenthood.” In her book, Galinsky reflects on over a decade’s worth of research about what parents (and teachers) can do to help attain the necessary life skills for today’s world and to achieve their goals. Read more about Ellen here.
