Parenting is a fascinating and diverse job, one that I am continuously learning to improve upon for the wellbeing of my kids and family. It’s no easy task, that’s for sure! Learning new strategies and viewpoints on how to raise happy, healthy and kind children is something I find great value in and will certainly be a lifelong learner on the subject.
Being a health minded mom, I enjoy reading books with a focus on helping my kids reach their potential and supporting their growth and development. These books listed below are a collection of a few books I have found worthy of sharing. Each tackles a topic near to my heart and written by professionals in their field. All the authors listed discuss creating a supportive childhood from several different aspects from physical to mental wellbeing and beyond. These books have been both informative and transformative for me as a parent and in the methods in parenting my children.
Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving your Child from an Oversanitized World
B. Brett Finlay, PHD and Marie-Claire Arietta, PHD.
This book is a great read for soon to be parents, or those with babies and young children. It discusses the foundation of a healthy microbiome and the unfortunate over sanitization of our modern world. The truth is we are too obsessed in the modern world with sterile environments devoid of any bacteria at all. What this is doing to our children and us too is making us sicker and less resilient to the illnesses around us. Worth reading every chapter, the book will explain the problems with over sanitization and how to create healthy environments for our future generations.
Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids
Kim John Payne
I love this book for so many reasons. While I am not a minimalist, living a more minimal life speaks to my heart. I didn’t realize growing up how much time I spent taking care of my stuff and it wasn’t until I became a mom that it hit me. I had way too much stuff to manage and honestly so did my first child. Toys would be stashed away only to be forgotten minutes later. Overwhelm followed and a better childhood didn’t come from having more toys. It was in the first few years of motherhood that I realized I had to let go of stuff before it completely took over my life, my child’s life and my home. Over the past few years it’s been a slow journey to less and I have found each year it gets a little bit better…finding more life by having less stuff.
If you are looking to find more joy for your family by not only having less stuff to manage, but also more space in your days this book is well worth a read.
The Montessori Toddler
Simone Davies
What I really enjoyed about this book is the simplicity with which Montessori teaches children about everyday life through play. This is a great book for parents of toddlers who want to create a simple and supportive environment based on Montessori principles at home. While we don’t practice exclusive Montessori at home, I appreciate many aspects of this book in how it enables kids to learn basic things in everyday life. Watching your child explore the world around them is the most wonderful experience as a parent and this book helps to simplify and support parents in doing just that.
I am always reading new books and will be sure to include other titles as I find them. Any great parenting books you love, please share 🙂
Xx Meg
