Taking the Scenic Route

Parenting Books – a quick review of some that I have read

Browsing amazon.com for parenting books.  I remember when I was pregnant with Zane and checked every parenting book out of the Johnson County Library that they had.  lol.  I just thought I would share some of my favorites and some that I can’t stand. 

Books I would recommend

The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two by Dr. William Sears,MD and his wife Martha Sears, a nurse.  They have 8 kids, at least one of them special needs and this book is simply the best of the best out there for parents.  I still refer to it once in a while for my 3yo.

The Complete Book of Christian Parenting & Child Care: A Medical & Moral Guide to Raising Happy, Healthy Children by Dr. Sears also.  A good companion to the above book, although geared more towards the pregnant, and newborn stages than the more comprehensive “baby book”

I am generally really happy with the entire Dr. Sears Parenting Library.  The Discipline Book and the Family Nutrition Guide are well worn in our house.  Extremely well written and based on solid medical science.  There are several more of the books we want to get. 

Biblical Parenting by Pastor Crystal Lutton is a great book for Christian Parents.  It gives biblical references for Grace Based Discipline.

Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, Energetic Mary Sheedy Kurcinka is a really fabulous book for those of us with intense kids.

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk  Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish has a lot of great ideas for how to communicate with kids.  I have been able to find a lot of useful information even before my child was verbal, but it is truly more valuable once your kids talk.  It is applicable for all ages of interpersonal communication.

Books I don’t really like:

The “What to Expect” series.  I really didn’t like the attitude of the authors even when I was pregnant, but the ‘toddler’ and older books were simply ridiculous. 

Anything by Dobson.  Unless it is ok if you child grows up homophobic, these books are not for you.  The guy has some serious issues.  There was some stuff in his “growing up boys” that was interesting, but what I found of interest can be found in a million other parenting books that don’t have the offensive anti-gay message attached to them.  Not the worst book out there, but I would never recommend it.

The second worse parenting book ever written:  anything by Gary Ezzo.  The guy is a wacko, truly.  His entire parenting philosophy is about the parent’s convenience rather than respecting the child as a human being.  Kids have died following his advice.  Like Sears, he has a Christian version (growing kid’s God’s way) and a secular version (babywise) of his books…and both are horrible.  The feeding schedule advice is totally unrealistic and actually harmful.  The parenting advise is borderline abusive at times.  I actually feel pretty sick when I hear parents following his methods.  Before you buy his books, make sure and read http://www.ezzo.info/babywise.htm to understand why I am so appalled by his books.

The single worst parenting book on the market is “To Train up a Child” by the Pearls.  Without reservation, I would call this a child abuse manual.  Horrifying.  Truly the most disgusting thing I have ever read.  I would not treat a dog so shabbily.  I truly can not imagine how these people have managed to stay out of jail with the level of physical and emotional abuse that they advocate. 

So, there you go.  I could list a bunch more books I like, but I figured I would keep it short.  There are some great books out there, that is for sure, but there are some pretty awful ones too.