10 Parenting Books Recommended by Real Moms

This post contains affiliate links.  Which just means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will receive a small percentage of the sale – without your price being any higher!  Thank you for your continued support.  For more information, see my disclosure policy.

When I was pregnant with my first, I read every pregnancy book and magazine I could get my hands on.

And when I had difficulty getting my first sweet babe to sleep through the night, I scoured parenting books for help.

But by the time my second child had come along, I had much less time for parenting books.

And since having my third, I barely have any reading time at all.  Nevertheless time to scour through books at the bookstore or on Amazon to decide on the right one!

So I brought together my favorite blogging mama friends to give us a little overview of their favorite parenting books.  Because if you do find the time to read, you want to know that it’s worth your time, right?!  Let’s see what they say…

10 Great Parenting Books Recommended by Real Moms

1. Parenting with Positive Guidance by Amanda Morgan, MS

“Its short so even a busy parent can read it. Its reflective, looking at the source of a problem as well as the solutions. Its focused on positive options rather than punishment, and it gives clear examples making the theories much easier to understand and therefore put into practice. I’d read lots of other parenting books that embraced positive parenting methods but this was by far the most readable and easy to understand and apply.” The Monko of Taming the Goblin

2. The Food of Love by Kate Evans

“The Food of Love is a breastfeeding book – but so much more! A great introduction to all sorts of attachment/gentle parenting techniques such as co-sleeping, baby wearing, cloth nappies, feeding on demand, etc. The only baby book (and I bought a LOT!!) that I kept going back to again and again.” Ailsa of Love, Laugh, and Learn

3. You Can’t Make Me (But I Can be Persuaded) by Cynthia Tobias

“[This is] a wonderful book on parenting the strong willed child written by a self-proclaimed strong willed child. Gives a lot of easy techniques for dealing with strong will without breaking it (because really it CAN be a good thing). Also gives insights into how the strong-willed child thinks. Basically if you have a strong-willed child (or 3) you should read this book.” Ashley of Life with Moore Babies

4. The Idle Parent by John Hodgkinson

“I’ve read dozens of parenting books, and thought most of them were ‘pretty good,’ but this one just BLEW my mind. If I had enough money, I would have handed a copy to every mother I know. … His premise is that you don’t exist to serve your child, and you don’t have to listen to, watch, or play children’s games that numb your brain and cause you to build resentment towards your children or your position as a SAHM or D. … Teach your children to be useful. THIS is a life with purpose, and a life your children will be happy to life. They will value their experiences with you more than they could ever value any any expensive, easily broken toy you could buy them.” Amanda of The Cookie Train

5. The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel Siegal

“The Whole-Brain Child reviews ’12 revolutionary strategies to nurture your child’s developing mind.’ I love it because Dr. Siegal is masterfully able to take neuroscience and write about it in a practical way that can help any parent ‘survive everyday parenting challenges and help your family thrive.’ (Plus, there are some great illustration/comics that really help drive his points!)” Laura of Play Dr. Mom

6. On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the GIFT of Nighttime Sleep by Gary Ezzo & M.D. Buckman Robert

“I really enjoyed and got a lot out of a somewhat controversial book: On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep. It came highly recommended by all my mom friends and I can see why. Our little ones are able to sleep through even the hard times (like teething and colds) because they learned how to fall asleep on their own and soothe themselves. We have very few wake-ups in the middle of the night for both our girls (21 and 5 months) and our little ones wake up rested and happy.” Leah of Simple. Home. Blessings.

7. Positive Discipline A-Z by Jane Nelson Ed. D., Lynn Lott, & H. Stephen Glenn

“I have way too many parenting books that I have really enjoyed but for a really busy parent that wants to make positive changes I would highly recommend Positive Discipline by Jane Nelson & Lynn Lott. The book has fantastic insight that help parents and children really live in harmony with no need for punishment, control tactics or behavior modification. Instead, the book helps parents learn effective communication, conflict resolution and problem solving while encouraging parents to fully involve children in daily life and help children feel like they belong and that they are capable. It’s an excellent series and there are parenting classes available as well.” Ariadne of The Positive Parenting Connection

8. Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish

“My favorite parenting book is Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. We had a 3-year-old already when we added a 2.5-year old to our family through adoption. I had envisioned them playing as best friends, but the reality was that they fought like cats and dogs half the time. This book provided excellent, practical, easy-to-implement advice on parenting siblings that is helping my kids to become friends, preventing my husband and I from having to referee all the time, and allowing our entire family to live more harmoniously.” Katie of Gift of Curiosity

9. The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp

“The Happiest Baby on the Block really helped me get through those early months with a newborn.  Even with baby number three it was a great reminder of the techniques to soothe a fussy baby.” Krissy of B-Inspired Mama

10. Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp

“The parenting book that began to really change my thinking was Shepherding a Child’s Heart. It helped me to begin focusing more on the heart/character issues that spawn the negative outward behavior.” Becky of This Reading Mama

Find this Helpful?  Share with Friends!

Just click on one of the social sharing buttons at the top or bottom of the post to share on social media.  I’d really appreciate it!

This post contains affiliate links.  Which just means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will receive a small percentage of the sale – without your price being any higher!  Thank you for your continued support.  For more information, see my disclosure policy.