Best Parenting Book?

Happiest Toddler is really good. Rent or get the dvd too so it makes more sense is my suggestion. Any of the Dr Sear's books are great imo. He and his wife have 7 kids so they speak from experience (unlike some "experts"). His advice is very down to earth and makes sense. How to Talk to you Kids book is also exellent. I think it's a bit more focused on older kids; however, it's never too early. The books by Ames are good and give you a good idea of what's going on with your child but not necessarily the techniques or advice that Dr Karp's or Sear's give.

Love and Logic saved us! It's so "logical" - lol. I think there are so many grown ups that have never even learned that actions have consequences. Love and Logic teaches you how to let your kids safely "fail". I mean, at some point, we will all make bad choices and this shows you how letting your kids have some of that control when they are still under your roof teaches them common sense that will last a lifetime. Good luck!

The Happiest Toddler on the Block has been useful for me. You may just want to skim through the books and see if it fits your parenting style.

Good luck!
K.

My DD is a very "spirited" child (which is an actual physical thing as "spirited" kids have larger amounts of adrenile released hence why my 3yr old has slept MAYBE a dozen times through the night since birth) but I LOVE LOVE LOVE raising your spirited child. I feel like it was written just for me lol. But even with my 2nd child its great and I think a must for any mom! Good luck!

There are actually two books I would recommend:

1) "Boundaries With Kids" by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend

2) "Parenting the Strong-willed Child" by Rex Forehand, PH.D. & Nicholas Long, PH.D. This book is a clinically proven 5-week program for parents of two to six-year-olds. My daughter had very dramatic tantrums when she was two and this book helped me a lot.

Best parenting book I ever used was Dr. Spock's.

He took a bad rap some years ago, but that was a false accusation and his book is so clear and has so much info.

The best book I ever read were about kids themselves and what to expect at each age. Those were a series by Louise Bates Ames & Frances L. Ilg. Published by Dell/Delta Pub. Co. when I bought them. Title for your age group would be Your Two Year Old. There is one for each year. It certainly saved my sanity to know that what was going on in our house was close to normal. And how to correct what we couldn't allow.

I recommend all the books to you very highly. I don't know how you read with those two small children. God bless you.

Ditto to getting one that fits your parenting style. I like the Dr. Sears Discipline Book. It has worked for us with two kids so far - both of who have very different personalities,

Others have already mentioned it, but we also love Love and Logic. I don't know if you can get it in a bookstore or not. I got it from the website www.loveandlogic.com. It fit our parenting style perfectly, and gave us some great ideas too. We've used it with our almost 4 year old a ton and had amazing results, and friends of ours say it's even more helpful with teenagers. I have a 10 year old,too, so may be buying that book soon. Right now I have the book for birth to 6 years. I hope you find what you need.

I read a few, though I found several books ridiculous (as in, they didn't work for my beliefs or my family) and I found a few helpful:

The First Two Years (can be found on www.family.org) just made sense to me. Happiest Toddler on the block I sold on eBay after reading the introduction and bits from other chapters... lol I just didn't mesh with the advise
Boundaries With Kids is also a good one.

My suggestion is to read a few and find one that you can get behind MOST of... then alter, as needed to suit your family/beliefs... parenting is NOT exact...

Hugs,
E.

Love and Logic is awesome! It definitely keeps me from raising my voice. It gives the child lots of choices therefore allowing them to choose their own behavior. Love and Logic will work for you all the way through high school!

P.S. I love your name, my daughter's name is K. Win

B. H

I would have to agree that Dr. Sears' The Discipline Book was great. I have two DD's with completely different personalities. I was able to find suggestions for the many various behaviors I was confronted with. It has definitely helped me.

We use two methods...Happiest Toddler on the Block (find the DVD for a quick course...the book was hard to 'get it'.) The DVD we checked out through our Blockbuster Online...but I think you can order it off Amazon now too.

Love and Logic is wonderful and appropriate for any age. We bought the early childhood package on their website, and the Painless Parenting DVD. Both are great.