The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)

Wanted to love but as an anxious introspective mother I wouldn't recommend. Have been struggling with the claim that I have permanently damaged my child's psychological health by sleep training ever since this book.

I have 2 children and have now read this book twice. I read the hardback first, which I would possibly recommend because of the exercises. But it was really useful listening to it again, I had forgotten so much.

A sometimes challenging 'alternative' parenting book. Many of the ideas in this book are gaining a lot of traction in parenting communities as 'gentle parenting' or 'authoratitive' parenting methods. In this book, the author provides explanations for why these methods may provide a good childhood experience and the hope for how it will shape the child growing up. There is a liberal use of case studies and reflective exercises to encourage readers to explore how they might use techniques in their own parenting journey. While the author often reiterates that there is no perfect parenting style, perfect family, or guarantee that these methods will work, they are still sometimes presented as a panacea for all parenting woes. Ultimately I found this an interesting read, and while I wasn't wholly convinced by some of the evidence or cases, I did find it useful to help challenge some of my own ideas about parenting.