Looking for a good book? Here are some books I’ve been reading, listening to and/or recommending to parents a lot lately. I’m categorizing them by my 3 words of the year: celebration, self compassion, and guts.
Celebration
Raising a secure child: how circle of security parenting can help you nurture your child’s attachment, emotional resilience, and freedom to explore by Kent hoffman, glen cooper, bert powell et al.
To me, celebration is about celebrating all of us — our needs, our relationships, all of it. I am working my way through this book as a foundation to help me as I work to build trust and create a secure bond with my dog, Charlie. And along the way, I am recommending it to a lot of my clients. For more information, see Circle of Security International’s website.
what if it all goes right?: Creating a new world of peace, prosperity, and possibility by mindy audin and gildan media, llc
One of the reasons that I think it’s so important to celebrate all the wins is that we tend to get more of what we focus on. And I think that “What if it all goes right?” covers an important mindset shift along the way! Here’s a video summarizing the idea.
i love you rituals by becky a. bailey, ph.d.
Becky Bailey, creator of Conscious Discipline, wrote a beautiful collection of adaptations on traditional rhymes and nursery rhymes, turning them into a celebration of our children and our relationship with them. My personal favorite is her version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
thankful by eileen spinelli
A sweet children’s book about gratitude, with lots of rhyming and pictures that match the words!
Self Compassion
Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
This is a 20 day journey of meditations to help us embrace our imperfections and accept the fact that we will not get to do everything and we will never be perfect, so that we can do more of what really matters. Check out his website.
rejection proof by jia jiang
When I’m having a rough day or feeling rejected for one reason or another, I go back to Jia Jiang’s book Rejection Proof and listen to his story of how he challenged himself to be rejected and the things that he learned in the process. Check out his website and his TED talk.
self-compassion by kristin neff
We can’t talk about self compassion without mentioning Kristin Neff and her amazing work on self compassion. I’ve been using a lot of her guided practices in my coaching practice lately.
yak, you are good enough and yak struggles with mistakes from slumberkins
Two beautiful children’s books about self acceptance. Highly recommend!
Guts
Healthy Kids, Happy Kids by Elisa Song, MD
The premise of Healthy Kids, Happy Kids is that gut health matters. And when kids have a healthy gut, they feel better and live happier lives. Here’s her website.
the forever dog life: 120+ recipes, longevity tips, and new science for better bowls and healthier homes by rodney habib and dr. karen shaw becker
In many ways, this book feels like the dog version of Healthy Kids, Happy Kids. I’ve been reading it as one of my primary goals for my dog, Charlie, is to help him to live a long, healthy life. Check out their website..
