I’ve been reading a lot of parenting books lately. Below are a couple of my favorites…
the birth to five book: Confident Childrearing Right from the Start by Brenda Nixon
This book covers a variety of parenting topics in a calm, reassuring tone. It is broken down into four parenting time frames: infant, toddler, preschooler and anytime. The author is not a medical professional. Rather, she is a parent, writer and speaker. As such, her advice reads like what one (educated, informed) mom would share with another. It’s valuable information, but it’s easy to understand.
I think that the greatest aspect of this book is that Ms. Nixon empowers parents by helping readers to see that there is a wide range of “normal” in kids. I also like that she includes a variety of topics that aren’t necessarily found in non-specialized parenting guides (i.e. “growing a reader”, teaching self-esteem, outdoor safety, and “raising responsible kids”). At the end of each section, the author sets the reader up to win by leaving them with “Success Strategies” that they fill in for themselves For example, in the childproofing section, the success strategy is “To ensure my baby’s safety and my peace of mind, today I’m going to …” This book would make a great addition to any Mom in the City reader’s library!
The Parent Trip by Jenna McCarthy
This book is a trip! The author is very funny and honest. I like that she doesn’t claim to be an expert. (She’s from a journalism, not medical background.) Rather, she simply shares about her personal reality from the time that her maternal instincts kicked in up until considering having a second child. The book pretty much covers the whole gamut of emotions and situations that many expectant and new moms experience. The “trip tips” at the end of each chapter are especially thought provoking in a humorous way. One of my favorites is “(make a list of) Expecting non-water-retaining celebrities with only one chin and delicate ankles who don’t even look pregnant from the back that I fantasize about kidnapping and forcing to eat sixteen triple-fudge sundaes”.
I also admire the fact that Ms. McCarthy shares the various parenting decisions that she made (i.e. breastfeeding, variations of the “cry it out” sleep method, child care, etc.) without making judgments on moms who choose different paths. Although some of my parenting choices have been different than hers, I could appreciate her thought process. Several times while reading the book, I found myself nodding my head in agreement as I remembered similar joys (and frustrations!) while raising my two sons. I truly believe that as moms (of young kids anyway) that we all have much more in common than not. This book just reconfirms that thought. I definitely recommend this for new and expectant moms. It’s an informative yet entertaining read which can be especially great since (let’s admit it) some parenting books can be a bit “dry”.
(To read about what others are reading this month, visit What’s on Your Nightstand.)
*The books mentioned above were sent to me for review purposes.*
