Do Life Right

While I highly recommend parents-to-be and parent of infants read this entire list, I’ve divided this list into five sections (General Parenting Resources, Parents-To-Be and Parents of Babies, Parents of Small Children, Parents of School Age Children, and Parents of Older/Teenage Children). I have decided to put all five lists together in hopes that it can be an easy print out guide to take to libraries and book stores. In case the list looks different today than the last time you looked, it changes as new books are written or discovered. Not enough time to read a book? Many of these titles can be found in audio book form at your public library.

I’ve left out all parenting books that label children or insist on helping parents make their children “right” and/or “normal”. I’m a firm believer that children are born perfect and only have “issues” when those around the child give normal behavior names. OTOH, learning how to mindfully parent exciting and excitable children is a skill that I’d bet 99.999% of new parents today have never learned (or even witnessed — I never had until I became active in Unschooling communities). These books can help. I find message boards and mailing lists to be even more pertinent and immediate. Find some that fit your needs.

General Parenting Resources:

• Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right by Joel Fuhrman
• Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons by Howard Gardner
• Preventing Childhood Eating Problems: A Practical, Positive Approach to Raising Kids Free of Food and Weight Conflicts by Jane Hirschman and Lela Zaphiropoulos
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money–That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert Kiyosaki (Doesn’t seem like a “typical” parenting book, but it’ll help you financially become a better parent and show you how to not perpetuate any finance myths you may have grown up with.)
• How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor by Dr. Robert Mendelsohn
• Buddhism for Mothers: A Calm Approach to Caring for Yourself and Your Children by Sarah Napthali
• Raising Vegan Children in a Non-Vegan World: A Complete Guide for Parents by Erin Pavlina
• Vegan Family Favorites: Tasty And Satisfying Recipes Even Your Kids Will Love by Erin Pavlina

Parents-To-Be and Parents of Babies:

• Active Birth : The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally, Revised Edition by Janet Balaskas
• Husband-Coached Childbirth : The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth by Robert Bradley
• Mothering Your Nursing Toddler by Norma Jane Bumgarner
• Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation by Pam England and Rob Horowitz
• Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
• The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
• The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding: Seventh Revised Edition by La Leche League International
• The Continuum Concept by Jean Liedloff
• The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers Revised and Updated: The Most Comprehensive Problem-Solving Guide to Breastfeeding from the Foremost Expert in North America by Jack Newman and Teresa Pitman
• The Breastfeeding Book: Everything You Need to Know About Nursing Your Child from Birth Through Weaning by Martha Sears
• The Attachment Parenting Book : A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby by William Sears
• The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two (Revised and Updated Edition) by William Sears
• The Birth Book: Everything You Need to Know to Have a Safe and Satisfying Birth by William Sears
• The Discipline Book: How to Have a Better-Behaved Child From Birth to Age Ten by William Sears
• The Fussy Baby How to Bring Out the Best in Your High-Need Child by William Sears
• Nighttime Parenting by William Sears
• The Birth Partner, Third Edition: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and All Other Labor Companions by Penny Simkin
• Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care: 8th Edition by Dr. Spock (Even Dr. Spock recommended that children be raised vegan!)

Parents of Small Children:

• Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves: Transforming Parent-child Relationships from Reaction And Struggle to Freedom, Power And Joy by Naomi Aldort
• The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them by Elaine Aron
• Whole Child, Whole Parent by Polly Berends
• Radical Parenting: Seven Steps to a Functional Family in a Dysfunctional World by Brad Blanton
• Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen; http://www.playfulparenting.com/
• Kids Are Worth It! : Giving Your Child The Gift Of Inner Discipline by Barbara Coloroso
• What Do You Really Want for Your Children? by Wayne Dyer
• How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Faber & Mazlish
• Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too by Faber & Mazlish
• The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children by Ross Greene
• The Natural Child: Parenting from the Heart by Jan Hunt; http://www.naturalchild.org/book/
• Punished By Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes by Alfie Kohn
• Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason by Alfie Kohn
• The Out of Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Integration Disfunction by Carol Kranowitz
• The Out of Sync Child Has Fun by Carol Stock Kranowitz
• Parenting a Free Child by Rue Kream; http://www.freechild.info/
• Raising Your Spirited Child Rev Ed: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic by Mary Kurcinka
• And the Children Played by Patricia Joudry
• Your Competent Child: Toward New Basic Values for the Family by Jesper Juul
• Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by John and Myla Kabat-Zinn
• Parenting From Your Heart: Sharing the Gifts of Compassion, Connection, and Choice (Nonviolent Communication Guides) by Inbal Kashtan
• Whatever Happened to Mother?: A Primer for Those Who Care about Children by James Kimmel
• Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles: Winning for a Lifetime by Mary Kurcinka
• Connection Parenting: Parenting Through Connection Instead of Coercion, Through Love Instead of Fear by Pam Leo
• Natural Learning Rhythms: Discovering How and When Your Child Learns by Josette Luvmour
• The Parent’s Tao Te Ching by William Martin
• In Defense of Childhood: Protecting Kids’ Inner Wildness by Chris Mercogliano
• Screamfree Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool by Hal Edward Runkel
• Parenting From the Inside Out by Daniel Siegel and Mary Hartzell
• Living Joyfully With Children by Bill and Win Sweet
• Child’s Work by Nancy Wallace

Parents of School Age Children:

• Homeschooling and the Voyage of Self-Discovery by David Albert
• Christian Unschooling : Growing Your Children in the Freedom of Christ by Teri Brown and Alissa Wahl
• The Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence by Gavin De Becker
• Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (and Parents Sane) by Gavin De Becker
• Life Long Learning - Transforming Learning; Discovering Learning Through Living Life In Unlimitless Possibilities by Patti Diamond
• Moving a Puddle, and Other Essays by Sandra Dodd
• The Unprocessed Child: Living Without School by Valerie Fitzenreiter
• Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto
• The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto
• Parent Effectiveness Training: The Proven Program for Raising Responsible Children by Thomas Gordon
• Free at Last: The Sudbury Valley School by Daniel Greenburg; http://www.sudval.org
• The Unschooling Handbook : How to Use the Whole World As Your Child’s Classroom by Mary Griffith
• Escape From Childhood: The Needs and Rights of Children by John Holt
• How Children Fail (Classics in Child Development) by John Holt
• How Children Learn by John Holt
• Instead of Education: Ways to Help People do Things Better by John Holt
• Learning All the Time by John Holt
• Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling by John Holt
• Rich Dad’s Rich Kid, Smart Kid: Giving Your Children a Financial Headstart by Robert Kiyosaki
• No Contest: The Case Against Competition by Alfie Kohn
• Making It Up as We Go Along: The Story of the Albany Free School by Chris Mercogliano
• Homeschooling Our Children Unschooling Ourselves by Alison McKee
• Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children with Sensory Processing Disorder by Lucy Jane Miller
• The Unschooling Unmanual by The Natural Child Project; http://www.naturalchild.org/unmanual/
• Summerhill School: A New View of Childhood by A.S. Neill
• On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld, Gabor Mate, MD
• Be Full of Yourself: The Journey from Self-Criticism to Self-Celebration by Patricia Lyn Reilly
• The Book of Learning and Forgetting by Frank Smith

Parents of Older/Teenage Children:

• The Five Love Languages of Children & Teenagers - 2 Book Set by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell
• Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens: The Secrets About Money–That You Don’t Learn in School! by Robert Kiyosaki
• Guerrilla Learning: How to Give Your Kids a Real Education With or Without School by Grace Llewellyn
• Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers Who Don’t Go to School Tell Their Own Stories by Grace Llewellyn
• The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education by Grace Llewellyn
• The UnCollege Alternative: Your Guide to Incredible Careers and Amazing Adventures Outside College by Danielle Wood