My friends and I get together twice a month to just be. Be ourselves and not always mom or caregiver or advocate. Just us.
Recently we were all talking about books and resources we’ve found helpful as parents. Some of us have kids with tough behaviors. My own kids have bipolar and struggle with behaviors connected with their early life in foster care. It’s not always easy to find good resources for the tough behavior issues. So I made up a list of what I’ve found most helpful over the years. Here’s what I use, and what I often share when I’m speaking at parent groups.
Have you read any of these? What are your go-to parenting books?
Books:Chapman, Gary, M.D and Ross Campbell, M.D. The Five Love Languages of Children. Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell, 1997.
Cline, Foster, M.D. and Jim Fay. Parenting With Love and Logic. Pinon Press, 1990.
Faber, Adele and Elaine Mazlish. Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too. Harper-Collins, 1998.
Gallup Youth Development Specialists. Strengths Explorer. Gallup Organization, 2007.
Kurcinka, Mary Sheedy. Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, Energetic. Harper Collins, 1991.
MacKenzie, Robert. Setting Limits with Your Strong-Willed Child : Eliminating Conflict by Establishing Clear, Firm, and Respectful Boundaries. Prima Publishing, 2001.
McCourt, Lisa and Cyd Moore. I Love You Stinky Face. Scholastic, 1997.
Online:
Child Care Aware – recognizing developmental delays and when to get professional help.
The Post Institute – Family-Centered Approach for Helping Families with Challenging Kids.
Mary Sheedy Kurcinka’s website – Spirited Child information and workshops
Karyn Purvis’s website, Institute of Child Development – for families of troubled kids or kids with tough behaviors, especially due to trauma.
My own resources:Living Power Life Coaching community – daily tips, articles and quotes on thriving through challenges.
YouTube channel – – short videos with strategies to deal with specific challenging behaviors in kids and ideas to overcome life obstacles.
On Twitter – where I post and retweet great parenting and life coaching content, and have a great group of followers who love to interact.