The Gentle Parenting Book: How to raise calmer, happier children from birth to seven

Product Information

Some parents may find themselves more prepared for this work than others. If you weren’t raised in a healthy or supportive environment as a child, you may find yourself struggling. Only to be met with a reply from a member of the group saying that gentle parenting came so naturally to her and that I'd probably already done a lot of damage and that I needed to promptly 'reset' with my child/children before it was too late. If you're a parent, it can be helpful to know your child's love language so that you can communicate your love more effectively. This is important for raising secure and happy children. Love messages can be expressed in a number of ways, from physical touch to words of affirmation. Acts of service and quality time are also important ways to show children you care. Remember, parenting style is a personal choice. At the end of the day, moms and dads must do what’s best for their own families. Successful Gentle Parents Don’t Give Up

If you’ve ever heard the word Hygge from trendy brands or influencers, you might have wondered what it meant. The word Hygge comes from Danish culture and describes a warm, comfortable sense of togetherness that brings joy. In The Danish Way of Parenting, we get a sense of Hygge in the home. If you're considering getting a parenting book, you've probably noticed that the authors of The Whole-Brain Child are both scientists and parents. Their best-selling book blends scientific research and parenting practices. It's easy to understand and provides practical solutions for parenting. Like anything worth doing, raising kids with a gentle parenting approach requires a lot of hard work. The author also simplifies our job as parents as being faithful to the mission we’ve been called to. As parents, our mission is to care for the little hearts we’ve been entrusted with. Trip helps parents learn how to lovingly lead their children toward what is true and good. Perhaps it happens at the beach, when you're screaming into the wind and sand for your child to stay close to you. They seem content to scurry away, pretending that they have never seen you before. You wonder how you can keep them safe when they aren't even listening to you.

FAQs

and there’s some absence of the realities of life in this approach. i’m VERY interested in a study in 10-20 years on adults who were parented gently Differently Wired: Raising an Exceptional Child in a Conventional World by Deborah Reber is for every parent who has ever felt like their child is a square peg and society’s expectations for them are a round hole. She shares her personal story raising her atypical kid but through that story she explores so many sides of that journey, all through a strength-based lens that leaves you feeling hopeful and not alone. I love this post so much, wow have you hit the nail on the head!!! You can imagine that I came across your post because gentle parenting hasn’t really sat right with me for a while, despite following it since the time my oldest (now 6) was born. It was easy to do GP when he was little and an only child, but now with 2 more siblings and as he’s getting older I can see so many flaws in it. (And I literally cannot even imagine gentle parenting a teenager…it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen). In addition to everything you wrote, these were some other things that really made me lose faith in GP:

Similarly, Pressman advises parents to find voices that connect with their values and that provide information that can help ease the worries of parenting. A good parenting book is a perfect mix of your values as a parent and the issues you’re currently facing with your children. What Are The Four Types Of Parenting Styles? The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children by Shefali Tsabary is not a how-to book of parenting strategies but a philosophical guide for walking the parenting journey with mindfulness. I put down the book feeling like my mind just left a conscious parenting retreat, punctuated with moments of, “Ah, yes,” and feeling spiritually rejuvenated. I highly recommend this book for parents in the advanced class and still return to it every so often to recalibrate my soul and refocus on the real work of parenthood: tending to the invitation from our children to grow into our own enlightenment. This is a great book for parents who want to improve their relationship with their children. It teaches practical strategies to parent children without triggering drama and conflict, and its realistic illustrations of young children make it easy to apply to your own family. The book explains how to connect with your child's brain and build a strong bond with your child. It’s also crucial to keep in mind that no matter how nonsensical and frustrating our child’s feelings may seem to us, they are real and important to our child. It’s vital that we treat them as such in our response.” 7. Balanced and BarefootI found the forums to be - and I'm not mincing my words today - full of grade A bitches. There was one post about someone in the media who has a new campaign about bedtime out at the moment.

Of course, communication is a two-way street. Gentle parenting requires listening as well as talking. Consider all of your child’s behaviors as ways of communicating. Then ask yourself, “What is my child trying to tell me?” Connect What exactly is gentle parenting? It's a parenting style that emphasizes compassion over confrontation, setting clear boundaries for your children, and understanding their developmental needs. It's parenting without shaming or blaming. It's not perfect — nothing in parenting is perfect. And you won't get it right 100% of the time, so you need to give yourself grace for that. Parenting is hard. At some point, you're probably going to absolutely lose it in front of (or even directed at) your children. It seems like every other day a new parenting book is released. How do you know which one to trust? If your toddler spills their milk, the gentle parenting response won't be to scold their carelessness or respond with words of frustration. Instead, your child could be required to help clean up their mess, with your assistance. That helps your child understand natural consequences, and also that they bear responsibility for their actions. The gentle parenting method is trending right now. If you’re on Tik Tok or other social media platforms, you’ve no doubt been exposed to this parenting concept. There’s a reason it’s going viral. Gentle parenting has many benefits that we don’t see with other parenting approaches. Positive RelationshipsThe best parenting books are the ones that align with your values and provide useful advice. “No book can offer advice that will work for everyone, and parents know their kids best. The most helpful way to approach a parenting book is to take from it what feels useful and to feel free to leave the rest,” says Damour. Gentle parenting sounds good, doesn’t it? Despite a few criticisms, it’s hard to argue with a parenting method that’s built on such sound principles as empathy and respect. The real question is—does it work? Of course, the answer is complicated. Gentle parenting doesn’t focus on short-term results Gentle parents must ask themselves what they can do to improve their children’s behavior and overall development instead of just placing demands on their kids. They must be transparent with themselves about their shortcomings and look for ways to continually become better in the role of parent. Instead of bossing kids around, parents gently lend a helping hand when needed and share their wisdom and experience with their children.

Gentle parenting is a long-term solution, though. It doesn’t promise that your toddler will stop throwing tantrums overnight or that your tween will start keeping a tidier room ASAP. Instead, it provides hope that over time, your family dynamics will improve and your child will be healthier and happier. Gentle parenting works… in the long run Marshall Rosenberg is the Mr. Rogers for adults and his book Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships gives life to all of the things I’ve spent my life trying to grow into and share with others. I want to live in the kind of world he advocates and the best way for me to create that reality is through my communication, especially with my children. The approach centers around identifying and communicating your feelings, needs, and requests and within such simplicity lies world-changing brilliance. Gentle parenting aims to strengthen the bond between parent and child while helping the child gain empathy, trust, and confidence. Is gentle parenting effective? I had the pleasure of sharing a conversation with Debbie Reber who was such a joy and you can listen to that episode here. She is the type of girl that teachers refer to as 'spirited'. She is a bundle of stubbornness and strong will. She is fiercely independent, clever, funny and wonderful.Parents that are willing to take a few moments out of their day to give advice, or simply to offer a camaraderie that was not available when Lewis and Holly were little. Their approach is based on research into brain development and focuses on the development of the four quadrants of the child's brain. They offer 12 strategies to help parents raise children who use their entire brain, which leads to a more balanced child with improved emotional and mental health. The authors use illustrations to clarify concepts and show parents how to cultivate their child's healthy emotional and intellectual growth. What you should know This book is a meaty read that I do recommend, though I have to add a few caveats to my recommendation. First, it is glaringly obvious that the primary source of the modern norm of peer-orientation is school and homeschooling would be the solution, but the authors circled around this elephant in the room to the point of absurdity. Second, they advocate for a very steep hierarchical structure to the parent-child relationship where the parent is the alpha that I don’t agree with (we can trust children, we can let them lead, we can be in partnership and collaboration). Third, they are staunchly opposed to technology, so brace for that in the final section of the book. Lastly, you are likely to walk away with a battle posture toward peers as the enemy that I don’t believe to be necessary. If you are centering attachment and living in nourishing connection with your children, friendships can be a lovely component of the attachment village.