Favorite Parenting Books & Resources, 2019
Photo by Ed Robertson
There are so many different ways to parent human beings! We have made many changes over the years as our kids and their needs have grown. These are some of my favorite resources that have stood the test of time for us.
PARENTING BOOKS & TEACHING
Loving Our Kids On Purpose: Making A Heart-To-Heart Connection
Faith-based. This parenting book by Danny Silk is great for any parents, including parents of kids with special needs. It is a gentle approach that can be used with foster children. I find these tools are most helpful with school age and older kids.
This is the secular parenting curriculum from which Loving Our Kids on Purpose was developed. I receive their newsletter and keep learning from them weekly. A stellar resource for any age kids.
If you've read the bestselling Boundaries book by Cloud and Townsend, then you'll have a hint of what this book is about. I highly recommend this whole series of books for emotionally healthy relationships.
READING TOGETHER
Especially when my kids were younger I found so many good books at the library using this resource. It also inspired me to make lists and regular trips to the library when I did not feel up to it! Over time I’ve become more familiar with the titles and use the actual book very little. But I highly recommend it for parents and homeschoolers.
PRACTICAL TOOLS
We had a couple of variations of this product when our kids were younger. It's a clock and alarm that lights up when the alarm goes off. If you have young children that are waking you at 4:00 am on the weekends and you want them to stay in bed longer, this visual clock helps them understand what time it is. We have always loved for our kids to come cuddle with us, but we would tell them, "When the clock lights up, it's time to come cuddle." For our kids, it also helped them to learn to play quietly. We told them, it's fine to get up if you read a book in your room or play with toys quietly until your clock lights up. This is definitely a learned skill that takes time. But it helps them grow in maturity without having to be able to tell or understand time.
We have had Time Timers in multiple sizes and also use the Time Timer app on an iPad. These are wonderful tools for motivating a child to finish up homework, provide a timeframe for when the next activity will happen, and many other possibilities. The best part about them is they are visual, especially helpful for kids who struggle with a sense of numbers or passing time. Our autism (ABA) therapist also recommends the small plastic hourglasses in 3 and 5 minute increments, but that might be too distracting for some kiddos who will just watch the sand.