Your job as a parent will be one of the most rewarding and important job titles you hold in your life. That’s a lot of pressure, right? Many find ourselves digging into parenting books and articles to ensure we can be the perfect parent. It seems that the pressure on parents is greater than ever. We are all receiving information from every which way we turn.
I mean, parents in our society are constantly being fed conflicting opinions, leaving us all with our heads spinning in circles. In the chaos of it all, we’ve lost our ability to follow our own parental instincts.
When our littles are sick, many of us find ourselves Googling the next best course of action. If siblings are fighting, we turn to our Facebook groups for advice. In times that we’re unsure what to do with our days, Pinterest supplies us with a multitude of ideas.
Having access to so much information is great. However, I’m sure many of us can’t help but wonder if parenting was always this complicated.
This list is full of parenting books to help overwhelmed moms and dads find their way to a simpler parenting journey. Our kids don’t always have to be such an intricate puzzle we’re dedicating our entire lives to putting together.
6 Parenting Books About Simplifying Parenthood
- Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids
This is one of my personal favorite parenting books for good reason. It helped me realize parenting doesn’t have to be so complex. This book will be an invaluable addition to your parenting advice collection, helping you realize just how important it is to simplify your child’s life. According to his writer profile, Kim John Payne was a school counselor and private family counselor-therapist for years before writing this book. This led him to learn one important thing- simplicity is key to a thriving childhood. In this book, he gives all parents the wake-up call of the century: children don’t need more; they need simplicity. This book will inspire you, reassure you, and help you bring your family peace without all the bells and whistles you thought were a requirement of raising a child..
- Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans
Why does it often feel like a parents vs. children showdown in so many Western households? Could it be that our ways of parenting may be less effective than we have come to believe? Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff set off to find the answers to this question on a journey with her three-year-old daughter. In exploring the parenting techniques of the Mayans in Mexico, Inuit families above the Arctic Circle, and Hadzabe families in Tanzania, she finds a dynamic that is far less common in Western families. She finds that, rather than control, these parents are building relationships based on collaboration. In her book, Hunt, Gather, Parent, Dr. Doucleff presents a way of parenting that will have you rethinking your entire parenting approach.
- Hands-Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters
Rachel Macy Stafford is a mother, special education teacher, and bestselling author who realized that her too-full to-do list was keeping her away from the most important things in life. In her book, Hands Free Mama, she explains the simple strategies she used to let go of pointless distractions and build a deeper connection with her loved ones, while still keeping up with her responsibilities. Hands Free Mama is a guide for those who feel like multitasking has taken over their lives at the expense of a happy relationship with their families.
- The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
In our consumerism-heavy culture, it is easy to become overwhelmed by all the STUFF. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed in parenthood when your home is packed to the brim with toys, clothes, books, and all the other non-essentials that you were convinced your family just had to have (don’t worry, we’ve all fallen into that trap). In The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Japanese cleaning consultant, Marie Kondo, guides you to building a simple, clutter-free, organized home that is only filled with the items that “spark joy”. This book will help you build a tidy home that promotes the peaceful, calm mindset to help you tackle parenting overwhelm.
Parents know what it means to be stretched to the limit better than almost anyone else. So many of us find ourselves feeling like a rubberband that is about to snap. However, minimalism doesn’t seem attainable for all of us. That doesn’t mean we can’t all intentionally pursue less. Essentialism will help you view your life through a more intentional lens, ridding yourself of excess and actively pursuing simplicity.
- The Happiest Kids in the World: How Dutch Parents Help Their Kids (and Themselves) by Doing Less
The Netherlands have constantly been ranked as one of the happiest places in the world. How do they do it? Rina Mae Acosta and Michele Hutchison, two parents who found themselves thrust into the Dutch culture while raising their children, share the wisdom they learn in this read. Find inspiration to pursue less in your parenting journey with parenting books like The Happiest Kids in the World.
Maybe so many parents are facing overwhelm because we have found ourselves thrust into a culture that overcomplicates the most basic of things. These six books have one thing in common- raising children doesn’t have to be so complicated. Find the inspiration to simplify in these six valuable books today.
