One of the most frequent questions I am asked by mothers is
“Do you have any Gentle Parenting Book Recommendations?”
I am very honest about my motherhood journey, and many of you know that I read gentle parenting books to help me stay grounded, in tune with my children, gentle (of course!), and active. There are so many times where I have shouted out loud, “YES! This is what I am talking about!” while reading these books. I have quotes from these books all over my journal and have also used several quotes in our blog posts, Instagram posts, and facebook posts!
I am NOT a perfect mother.
You all should know this, but I also know how social media and blogs can portray a perfect life. I need these books more than you could imagine; Â I found gentle parenting in what seemed to be a stroke of luck and light. It was a stir deep in my body, and I knew that the popular methods were not going to work for my new family. I can honestly say that gentle parenting has made my life better, my smile bigger, my heart more open, and my tears flow much more freely. Anyone can choose this path…anyone!
My heart is with you.
So many of us are conditioned in a very different way than these books teach and that is why, in my humble opinion, the majority of us need these books. We need the gentle parenting education to pull us out of this “fear over respect”, “time out over time in”, and “children are just children” concept. Each one of the books that I am sharing with you below has changed my perspective, my heart, my rhythm, and my life. In the end, it is our hearts and souls that raise our children, but isn’t it nice to read a beautiful book by a mother who GETS it? Who understands you? Who wants to choose gentle and positive? A mom who knows the struggles of trying to understand and respect a toddler who still eats dirt and throws tantrums like it’s a zombie apocalypse?
Let’s be honest Mamas, it’s not always easy choosing this route but it is so worth it.
**This is not a sponsored post. I also do not know any of these authors in real life (sadly haha). I have linked the books from Amazon USA (you can purchase these in any country where Amazon is offered) and our website receives an extremely small amount of commission if you purchase through the links. We super appreciate it and, of course, I only recommend books/items that I have in my little home. Appreciate all of your support!**
My Personal Gentle Parenting Book Recommendations
The first book that I ever read for Gentle Parenting was this book, Newbies Guide to Positive Parenting, by Rebecca Eanes. This is the first book I recommend to any mom or dad who messages me! It is written in such a way that you feel like Rebecca is sitting across from you, just having a nice cup of tea, and laughing through her experiences with gentle parenting. All of a sudden, you link eyes with her, and she blows your mind with her honesty and easy to follow lessons on parenting.
Rebecca single-handedly changed my World. I finished her book in 1 day and our entire world was turned upside down. We began leaving post-it notes all over the house that stated “love over fear”, “I am a respectful and compassionate parent”, “I will breathe before I speak”, “I will respond instead of react”, and so much more (This gives me a great idea for a mantra post!). Please read this book, if not for you, do it for your children. Message me after! I’d love to chat with you about it.
Newbies Guide to Postive Parenting
Once I was finished with Rebecca’s amazing book, I was hooked. I had to fill my soul with more. The second book that I decided on was suggested to me by a fellow Wild Mama in my small circle. She opened up to me about how this book made her cry for days and how it just tore open her heart. Sounded like I need to read this one! I finished this book in about a month (the boys were a tad bit older and reading time really dwindled) and it was fascinating.
I love this book so much because it really puts the entire thing into perspective: we need to work on OURSELVES before we can ever ask anything of a child.
Ooooh that is a mouthful! Imagine if we fixed all of our issues; self-esteem, depression, overcoming childhood abuse, partner abuse, narcissism, etc. If we all took the time to do this, our children would have a much better chance of a healthy mind and heart. I do not know one person in this entire world who would not benefit from this book. P.s. This is not a “how to” book, this is more of a philosophical guide to walk you through your parenting journey with mindfulness.
The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children
p.s. The audio book is well worth the price
The next book came about after having an interesting day at the park. I was with a few moms and the children ranged from 0-7. Everything was going great until chaos erupted between a 5-year-old child and her mother. It was very hard to understand exactly what had happened, but it seemed as if the child was trying her hardest to express something and the mother was trying her hardest to understand. The mother used all the tactics that I have seen throughout my life and none of them worked.
Low and behold…THIS BOOK.
There should be angels singing in the background! This book slapped me in the face with so much knowledge, I cannot even begin to explain how useful it is. This is my version of a parenting bible…it is that wonderful. Everything that I thought I knew about talking to children was wrong…and I can say that now with full belief because this book made it clear to me what children need. They need to be respected, feel independent, have choices, have space, and more. We are always so tempted to fix problems that do not need to be fixed, to lecture, to blame, to make them feel inferior, and so much more. We are not bad people (I promise!), we just need a little lesson on how to talk to kids:)
How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen:Â A survival guide to life with children ages 2-7
Click photo or Title to purchase!
This next book is not so much Gentle as it is Wild, but just hear me out. The more gentle I became as a mother, the more I found myself in tune with Nature. The more in tune with nature I became, the more intuitive, understanding, empathetic, and compassionate I became. Why is this? Well, I have some ideas. Mother Nature was given that name for a reason, and that reason is, Mother Nature is life-giving.
As mothers, I feel that we have a very deep connection to nature, and this connection only deepens as our children grow and our mother spirit heightens.
It is no wonder that the obvious disconnect from nature is also an obvious disconnect from the feminine. We see it all over the World, from women having no rights to women being raped and beaten without a care from our fellow human beings. Gentle and Wild go hand and hand…so this book will help you on this journey.
How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling In Love with Nature
Click photo or title to purchase!
Gentle Parenting Book Recommendations: Further Reading
I have a few other gentle parenting book recommendations, but I do not want to overwhelm you with too much! We have a very short amount of time to read/listen to books while raising our little ones. Below is a shortlist (with links) if you would like to check out some more.
6. The Whole Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson (The science behind the gentle/positive parent approach. Very informative!)
7. Two Thousand Kisses a Day by L.R. Knost (If you have researched gentle parenting, then you have heard of L.R. Knost! She is a mother of 6 and a remarkable author. Highly recommend this book).
