Top Parenting Books for New Parents (Toddlers)

Becoming Parents i.e. to nurture a new life and being responsible by all means for its growth, development, protection and care is the most precious gift that one receives in their entire life. Those moments we cherish with our toddlers are not only memorable for us but also have an everlasting impact on making up of their individuality for a lifetime. This includes addition and subtraction of qualities, temperament development, behavioural constitution, their active plus passive responses and decision-making proficiency and so on…

In the age group of 1 to 4  years, a toddler’s physical growth may be slow but his cognitive development, socio-cultural development, observation capability, and emotional awareness are strengthening themselves each day. Thus, becomes a must to remain on your toes always and be extra careful with your actions when interacting with your child and surroundings. In other words, you are casting a life example of yourself of what to preach and practice for times to come.

Before materializing into proper grownups, their first teachers should be full of patience, kindness, promote proper mannerism and spiritual development of their child. Also, proper toilet training and inculcating good habits like respecting elders, sharing with peers are not as easy a cakewalk as expected. To coax an infant with gentle persuasion and develop a friendly relationship with him or her is time-consuming and requires a lot of effort. You are advised to go through these Top 11 Parenting books listed underneath which according to me will help you develop a strong bond with your offspring if you are anticipating becoming parents soon.

Here I am listing the Top 11 Best Parenting books of all time according to me which will help in the unification of learning and values in your kid and make him or her resort back to you faster than you imagine!

Best 11 Parenting Books of All Time (Updated 2021)

1. How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen so Kids Will Talk(The How To Talk Series) – Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

To face this challenging journey of parenting, this book is bound to become your survival guide through and through. To solve problems with a practical approach and groundlaying today firmly for a better tomorrow is what you should familiarize yourself with. To know children better, we need to spend time with them, share their feelings, acknowledge their likes, dislikes, etc.  After that gradually – we start understanding their reactions, viewpoints, joys, and woes even without their mentioning them. Active listening, engaging them in useful activities, encouraging good behaviour, giving rewards and talking pleasantly with a child ignites self-realization and they start opening up with their parents. An emphatic attachment with toddlers, interacting with them as equals help to take the parents-kid relationship to the next level.  How to carry a step-by-step effective communication has been made easy with the help of reminders, colourful cartoons and exercises for parenting groups within this handbook all easily comprehensible to any layman’s eyes.

2. The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two(Sears Parenting Library)- By William Sears, M.D., Martha Sears, R.N., Robert Sears, M.D., And James Sears, M.D.

Known as the “Baby Bible” by many and recommended by thousands of parents worldwide; this revised and latest edition will help you manage the routinary tasks of your baby. Everything is present inside this publication for scrutinization by first-time parents. A comprehensive study that not only prepares parents for childbirth and problems encountered during pregnancy; starting from diapering to any newborn nutritional requirements, sleep cycle to various stages of development, proper oiling, bath, feeding, positions… but every minute attribute of proper daycare routine is well registered within this copy. It also addresses issues like working and parenting, babyproofing home, temper dealing, up-to-date knowledge of first-aid procedures, vaccinations and much more. It is an invaluable and irreplaceable source of information for soon-to-be parents.

3. The Attachment Parenting Book:’A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Child'(Sears Parenting Library) – by Martha Sears RN, William Sears MD, FRCP

This book focuses on attachment parenting, the building of a healthy relationship and bond formation; between the babies and the caregivers in the early years of their life. Babywearing, kangarooing, co-sleeping, timely breastfeeding, understanding various requirements of your baby by their call or cry, recognizing patterns; both father and mother role in raising their infants, staying alert when with baby trainers, working and intimacy – All BABY “B’S”… are clearly stated and scrutinized within this book. All one needs to do is to buy this paperback and keep referring back to it in case of any confusion.

4. Positive Discipline for Preschoolers: For Their Early Years — Raising Children Who Are Responsible, Respectful, and Resourceful- By Jane Nelson, ED.D,  Cheryl Erwin, M.A., AND Roslyn Ann Duffy

Positive Discipline Series and its tips on child-rearing help you decide, control your anger, and stop you from taking hasty decisions or self-blaming for your child’s anomalous behaviour. This complete book also guides you through various techniques in which you can reduce the anxiety of your toddler in troubled times and make them feel comfortable plus safe when they are with you. It also employs various definite tactics and methods to monitor behavioural changes in a child, how to make them more principled by helping them understand their boundaries and limits, ingraining decent virtues of living thereby developing strong foundations for healthy communication between parents and their child. In short, a resourceful guidebook through the early years of parenting and for training preschoolers befitting school mannerisms to blossom nicely in their school life.

5. The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home by Arlie Hochschild, with Anne Machung

This book brings into limelight gender differences between men and women through social classes and differences in marital roles when it comes to taking care of their offsprings. Hochschild finally came up to the conclusion that everything apart from work that included cooking, cleaning and scheduling of daily tasks was majorly carried out by Women of the home. Left to ponder, Hochschild and her associates carried out a research and marked out three categories of women traditional (who liked to identify themselves as a housekeeper), egalitarian (who want to be at par with her husband in all spheres of life) and transitional (those women who are struggling to play the dual role of both working and housekeeping). “The Second Shift” revolves around the routines of 50 different couples and reflects into the unfair division of labour, responsibilities and its effect on married life even in today’s century.

6. NurtureShock: Why Everything We Thought About Children is Wrong – by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

Dealing with normal questions encountered these days such as Why children are so morally deviated and full of spitefulness towards others? and Why modern-day parenting strategies are not working? Within the Kindle edition at Amazon, our authors have delved deeper into the topic to hit upon numerous strategies and hidden techniques that can be used to cultivate better behavioral-health strategies by utilizing their latent talent in a finer manner. This book encompasses a cleverer and sensible way in which by devising a combination between child’s psychology and cognitive science we can help them lead a better childhood life by addressing the unsolved issues that children face in their everyday life. From all parenting books for difficult toddlers, I found this the most dependable one.

7. The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children by Alison Gopnik

Going through the pages and the hard-core research author Alison Gopnik carried out about different ways children respond and learn; she highlights the fact that though caring is important, you shouldn’t force your child to function or stick to a constant code-of-conduct. Children are supposed to be very different, and unpredictable from their parents in each and every aspect we can think of. They are supposed to discover their unparalleled qualities, creative horizons and explore them regardless of the fact what anybody thinks about them. We are not supposed to make them work on a set of particular guidelines to match societal expectations or peers pressure. Instead, we are supposed to channelize their energy and provide them with a happy carefree environment to figure out their pathway themselves.

8. The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting: Raising Children with Courage, Compassion, and Connection. – Brené Brown Ph.D. L.M.S.W.

In a world, where everybody is running after “perfection” to “become perfect individuals”; PERFECT is not attainable and ceases to exist. To teach children to work incessantly, realizing self-worth and self-importance and the value of love, compassion and hard work is what we should sort after. Securing them from vulnerability, rendering in them a sense of belongingness and believing in their capabilities will motivate them to face the difficulties of life with a smile. Hope to succeed, the gratitude of what they have in their life, and the joy of living is what adds meaning and also paves way for real progress in life.

Synopsis in a few lines- Compete with yourself, not with others. Nothing is or will become perfect. Don’t run after perfection, take a break and enjoy your life. As soon you will solve one problem, another will arise.

Mindful parenting by everyone in the family is evenly responsible for child character development at various stages in their life.

9. Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting (The Peaceful Parent Series)by Dr. Laura Markham

For the Right outcome, we need to know where the origins of our problem lie?

To know your limits as an adult, to keep a check on your own emotions and personal trauma is of vital importance. Never take out your frustration on little ones by threatening, punishing, yelling, or in other harmful ways. Quietening them for your selfish motives, ego satisfaction or by bribing them is another practice you should never think of enacting in the very first place. This paperback incorporates all the practice tools and proven effective measures that will help you observe changes in your relationship with your child if you follow it rigorously. To respect the child, giving them space, your attention and time are important for the awakening of eternal relationships between the two.

As an author rightly says: “Fostering emotional connection with your child creates real and lasting change.”

If you succeed in doing so, you will need no other medium to connect with your child, regulate their emotions and understand them better than anyone else.

Motherhood instincts and the sixth sense will usually guide her, letting her relate with the crux of the problem before her child actually runs into it.

10. Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers – by Gordon Neufeld & Gabor Mate M.D. 

This book on perusal will take you to the core of unfortunate consequences in the lack of guidance and parents’ involvement in their children’s lives. It will introduce you to approaches that will help you reconcile with your sons and daughters, maintain a proper hierarchy within the family and resolve the problems members of a family encounter on daily basis. Holding on to your kids when they need you the most is crucial otherwise they reach out to strangers for directions, explanations of their inadequate behavior and escapism in the outside world. We all know, Outsiders are a source of danger as they are ready to cheat and use you for the fulfillment of their own selfish motives. Mistakes become crimes when no one is there to help you and guide you. Timely recognization and amendments are necessary so that conditions and circumstances work in your child’s favor before stress, in due course, takes its toll on him or her.

11. No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

This book encases the major aspects and unravels the intricacies around a developing small child’s brain. How neural connections form during this age, tips and facts behind their unpredictable responses, tantrums, uncontrollable laughter and tears, mood swings; all with details have been explained in this hardcover. To deal with ease, love and compassion by adopting a different course of action each time a problem arises and adjusting your comeback according to an issue and its sensitivity are some points that will help new parents to avoid making mistakes. Following clearly-defined principles plus practices that help to strengthen the bond between the caregivers and the child before choosing to discipline the kid is a prerequisite. In other words, having mental and emotional attachment with the baby so that he responds in a required manner and understands you effectively always helps keep out the unnecessary drama in life.

With beautiful illustrations and factual stories, this book focuses on the fact that in the process of upbringing, some moments offer invaluable opportunities to bring out the true-hidden sanity of the child not only by solving the problem but molding the emotions of a toddler so that he or she develops insights to be able to differentiate between the right and the wrong facets of life.

Parenting Books are the most conveniently accessible and prove to be a rich source of enlightenment for the newbies who are struggling to get the core basics right. Both mothers and fathers have an equal and distinctive role to play in a kid’s life. Initial years spent with your kiddos are of utmost importance and conscious upbringing during this period will set the stage for the rest of the family’s life.

Co-reading with your little ones as small as 4 months old is a healthy practice and a sign of positive parenting. This is even beneficial to parents as they continue to read and probe for more particulars that help them stay updated with the latest information floating around about how to communicate with their child in every situation possible.

Final Remark

Out of all books on parenting, my personal favourite book is The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting: Raising Children with Courage, Compassion, and Connection – Brené Brown as it suffices the main essence of our discussion that nobody can be perfect in any task let alone Parenting. All you need is to provide your child with wings to fly, protect them from outside harm and keep an eye on them so that they don’t get sidetracked from the path of progressive development in their life.