19 Therapist-Recommended Books for Parents
There’s are so many books for parents in the world telling parents how to help themselves, how to help their kids, and how to help their relationships, but when you’re pressed for time, just choosing a book from the sea of options can feel overwhelming. That’s why we asked our clinicians about which books they recommend MOST for parents.
Whether you’re looking for relationship support, parenting support, or self-care support, we’ve got the book recommendation for you! Here is our team’s list of 19 therapist-recommended books for parents.
Best Books for Parenting Ourselves
After the Rain: Gentle Reminders for Healing, Courage and Self-Love by Alex Elle
Amy Corbett recommends Alex Elle and all of her writing, but particularly this one. Elle is a storyteller who shares 15 lessons in this book that helped her go from a place of self-doubt to that of self-love. It is described as part memoir and part guide, and Corbett says it’s “so grounding and nourishing!” Who doesn’t love that?
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Marie Motley shares this title the most often with clients even years after reading it. This memoir shares Doyle’s story as well as her guidance for women to stop looking for acceptance from everyone around us and to instead tune into ourselves, our own needs, and being at peace with who we are.
Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 7 Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle and Raise Courageous and Independent Children by Reid Wilson and Lynn Lyons
Emily Harlan loves this book for anxious parents and while also a parenting book, it focuses on how the parent role is so critical in a child’s anxiety patterns. Wilson discourages parents from the seemingly instinctual methods of reassurance, avoidance and accommodating children’s fears and instead shares how a different approach can be most effective.
Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power and Thrive by Kristin Neff
Our founder, Sarah Harmon, is passionate about the skill of self-compassion and Neff is the best of the best when it comes to that. Parenting is hard and has hard moments, and self-compassion helps us relate to those moments and ourselves differently.
Parenting from the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive by Dan Siegel
Also recommended by Sarah Harmon, Parenting from the Inside Out is a testament to the power of caring for yourself first. Siegel shares how pivotal our early relationships in life are to how our brain develops - and ultimately, to how we parent as adults. This book guides parents to form loving and secure relationships with their children.
Best Books for Relationships
Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski
Our Director of Couple Support, Rebecca Eudy, shares Nagoski’s book as a top recommendation for couples in her practice. This science-backed book explores how and why women’s sexuality works the way it does. Dr. Nagoski shares how the key to a woman’s fulfilling sex life is ultimately about how she feels about it and is deeply impacted by stress, mood, body image and trust.
How to Not Hate Your Husband After Kids by Jancee Dunn
Emily Harlan loves this comical approach for expecting and new parents on what to expect in before and after baby. Dunn takes the reader through her own experience reviving her marriage from the tumultuous changes they endured as new parents.
Best Parenting Books
For New Parents
Expecting Better: Why Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong – And What You Really Need to Know (and the entire Parent Data series!) by Emily Oster
Emily Harlan recommends any book by Emily Oster including this one. Taking care of yourself during pregnancy and postpartum is overwhelming, and Oster uses data to guide parents to know when to worry, and when to ignore the chatter.
Bottom Line for Baby: From Sleep Training to Tummy Time, Thumb Sucking to Tummy Time – What the Science Says by Tina Payne Bryson, PhD
Parent Coach, Gretchen Herter, references a ton of books in her work with families. For newer parents, Herter suggests Dr. Payne Bryson’s work, which underscores sixty of the most common concerns and dilemmas affecting parents. Payne Bryson provides her science-backed advice to help ease the conflicting information parents receive and make those everyday decisions easier.
For Toddler Parents
Brain-Body Parenting: How to Stop Managing Behavior and Start Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids by Dr. Mona Delahooke
Herter recommends this read for parents of toddlers in particular, as it presents a shift from focusing on the behavior as the problem, but instead the behavior as a symptom of something deeper. This book is all about teaching co-regulation skills that benefit both the parent and the child (as well as their relationship), regulating nervous systems, and building skills instead of punishing behaviors.
No Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos And Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind by Tina Payne Bryson, PhD
Recommended by both parent coach, Gretchen Herter, and couples therapist, Erin Sandler, this one gets a thumbs up from two sides of our team. This method of discipline dives deep into the parent reaction as a formative part of discipline and helps teach how staying calm (and how to achieve that in high-stress moments!) can improve behavior and help deepen the parent-child connection.
For School-Age and Adolescent Parents
Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain by Dan Siegel
It can feel like there is a ton of support for parents of young children, but what about when they develop as teens and the challenges become more complex? This is your answer to understanding more about the teenage brain and why teens do what they do – and how parents can still have meaningful impact in teaching them skill to becoming the wonderful people they’re destined to be.
Untangled, Under Pressure, and The Emotional Lives of Teenagers by Lisa Damour, PhD
This three-book series comes recommended by Parent Coach, Gretchen Herter, and takes the reader through the transitions girls make from childhood to adulthood, the epidemic of stress and anxiety on girls through their teen years, and finally, the emotional lives of teens as they encounter higher stress, academic pressure, and the transition to adulthood all at once.
Enough as She is: How to Help Girls Move Beyond Impossible Standards of Success to Life Happy, Healthy and Fulfilling Lives and Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls by Rachel Simmons
Also recommended by Herter, these two books help parents with the important and complex role of raising girls. Simmons is an educator and a bullying expert who helps parents, children, and educators learn the inner workings of teenage and college girls – from their drive to be “superwoman” to extreme self-criticism, and the complexities around conventional and cyber bullying.
The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart about Money by Ron Lieber
Couples Therapist, Erin Sandler, recommends this book that helps parents raise children who know how to talk about and manage money. While discussions on money may seem taboo in some ways, Lieber writes a guidebook and a valued-based philosophy on how to handle the topic of money and the benefits it can have for children as they grow.
Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be by Dr. Becky Kennedy
Clinician and group therapy leader, Ali Schmitt, recommends this book as her top pick for parents. This book is intended for overwhelmed parents who need more compassion and less stress in their lives. Dr. Becky prioritizes connecting with your kids before correcting them and her approach is laid out in this guidebook for a new way to parent – that may feel better for parents and more effective for kids.
We hope you’ll find this list helpful in your parenting journey, and as always, if you’re looking for deeper support from a trusted therapist or parent coach, contact us to schedule your free consult.
