Books
Though there are numerous parenting books that include guidance on promoting social and emotional development, the following are some helpful favorites.
by Jennifer S. Miller, MEd.
This book offers parents an age-by-stage guide to children’s social and emotional development offering specific, research-aligned strategies to support that learning. All parenting is framed through the lens of building confidence through social and emotional skills. Readers will also learn simple, practical strategies for honing their own social and emotional skills to become more effective with the children they love.
Making Grateful Kids: A Scientific Approach to Help Youth Thrive
by Jeffrey Froh, Giacomo Bono
Jeffrey J. Froh and Giacomo Bono introduce their most compelling research, announce groundbreaking findings and share real-life stories from adults and youth to show parents, teachers, mentors and kids how to achieve greater life satisfaction through gratitude. They offer many simple strategies for building habits of gratitude into day to day life and provide compelling evidence for its importance.
Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain: An Inside-Out Guide to the Emerging Adolescent Mind, Ages 12-24
by Daniel J. Siegel (Goodreads Author)
Dr. Siegel is a leading expert in brain science. This book sheds light on the often misunderstood yet critical time in a child’s life in which they straddle childhood and adulthood but don’t fit squarely in either phase. Siegel characterizes the teen years as the most powerful life phase for activating courage, purpose and creativity. He creates empathy for the teenage experience and helps parents understand how to work with and support the teens in their lives.
Parenting Without Power Struggles: Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids While Staying Cool, Calm and Connected
by Susan Stiffelman
Stiffelman shows you how to awake your child’s natural instincts to cooperate by being the confident parent your child needs, teaching you how to parent from a place of strong, durable connection and helping your child navigate the challenging moments of growing up. This is an excellent resource for any parents but particularly for those who find themselves in power struggles with their children.
by Susan K. Greenland
This book offers a step-by-step process of mental training with tools. It shows parents how to teach their children to better respond to stressful life circumstances and guides them to become more thoughtful, resilient and empathetic.
Parenting From the Inside Out
by Daniel J. Siegel (Goodreads Author), Mary Hartzell
Drawing upon research findings in neurobiology and attachment research, Siegel and Hartzell explain how interpersonal relationships directly impact the development of the brain, and offer parents a step-by-step approach to forming a deeper understanding of their own life stories, which will help them raise compassionate and resilient children. This book addresses the patterns that we all form from our own childhood – understanding what they are and how they impact the parents we are today.
Emotionally Intelligent Parenting: How to Raise a Self-Disciplined, Responsible, Socially Skilled Child
by Maurice J. Elias, Steven E. Tobias, Brian S. Friedlander, Daniel Goleman (Goodreads Author) (Foreword)
Parents will learn how to communicate with children on a deeper, more gratifying level. I love the 24 Karat Golden Rule: “Do unto your children as you would have other people do unto your children.” The book offers exercises and guidance on how to raise your own self-awareness and bring emotional intelligence into your family life.
Positive Discipline
by Jane Nelsen
An easy to read guide, Jane Nelsen coaches parents and teachers to be firm and kind, so that any child from toddler to teenager can learn creative cooperation and self-discipline with no loss of dignity.
Positive Discipline A-Z: 1001 Solutions to Everyday Parenting Problems
by Jane Nelsen, H. Stephen Glenn, Lynn Lott
Written as a quick reference guide, this book will teach you methods for raising a child who is responsible, respectful and resourceful by finding practical solutions to parenting challenges such as bedtime hassles, school problems, whining and so much more.
Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages 4-14
by Chip Wood
This comprehensive, user-friendly reference helps those who work with and love children use the knowledge of child development to shape classrooms and schools where all children can succeed, by giving charts on development traits, physical, social, language and cognitive growth patterns and suggestions for curricular areas. Though the text is geared for educators, it remains an exceptional resource for parents who want to understand each age and stage of development.
Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes
by William Bridges
William Bridges spent his life working to understand changes. Whether you are going through the birth of a new baby, a move, a job change or the death of a loved one, this book explains in simple yet brilliant terms how any person can understand the emotions they are undergoing, help ease the transition and launch a new life.
Buildin
g Powerful Learning Environments from Schools to Communities
by Arina Bokas
Named a top pick for teacher professional development by the National Council of Teachers of English, Bokas makes a solid case for the kind of education required to prepare global citizens and develop children physically, socially, emotionally and academically. She uncovers beliefs and assumptions that are now outdated and do not serve our children but still remain drivers of policy and practice. And she offers practical suggestions for deepening trust between families, communities, and schools. Jennifer Miller of CPCK contributed to this book.
© Copyright, 2019, Jennifer Smith Miller. All rights reserved.
