Every day is a new learning in parenthood. First-time parents often find it difficult to understand the requirements of their toddler without the help and support of experienced family members. And in today’s nuclear family setup getting this support becomes more difficult. Parenting books for toddlers work as a guide and support system to show the proper direction in this parenting journey.
Parenting books for toddlers are specially written to address the problems parents face with their little ones and their possible solutions. While some parents get benefitted by reading these books, some may feel they are not that helpful. This is because they fail to recognize the appropriate book for themselves. The experience, nationality, and problem-solving approach of the author should have some similarities with the reader. Otherwise, these parenting books may not feel relevant. That is why we have compiled a list of best parenting books for toddlers, which will come handy for the parents.
In This Article
Why Are Parenting Books Important?
There can be a lot of reasons why parenting books are important for new parents. Parenting books prepare new parents about the situations they may have to face with their toddlers and how to tackle them. Also, one can even learn a different approach to parenting their second or third child after reading a parenting book. Your toddler is like a lump of clay, they will become what they see and learn from you. For this, you need to have clarity about your parenting approach. And parenting books give you this clarity and confidence.
Top 16 Parenting Books For Toddlers
There are various parenting books for toddlers available in the market. But according to a study published in Wiley Online Library, the success of a parenting book will depend on the approaches taken by the parents to learn about parenting. That is why you need to choose your parenting book wisely.
First, you need to know what problems you are having with your toddler. Is it regarding their discipline or mannerisms, their eating or sleeping habits, their potty training, or just an overall understanding of how to deal with a toddler? Here we have some suggestions on top 16 parenting books for toddlers that address these vital problems of toddlerhood. Go through our brief understanding of these books to ultimately select the best parenting book for you.
1. Toddler Discipline for Every Age and Stage by Aubrey Hargis
This book delivers different tools and ideas for incorporating discipline in your toddler in a day-to-day scenario. This book will help you to understand the behavioral challenges your toddler faces every day if and when their curiosity, confidence, and independence are curbed. You will get an overview of the physical, mental, and social development of your toddler and how it can impact their behavioral traits. You will get helpful and age-appropriate tips from the author about how to communicate with your toddler and nurture them to be more kind and strong beings.
2. The Montessori Toddler by Simone Davis
This book will help you to see things from your toddler’s perspective. Here the author arranges Montessori activities for toddlers for their overall growth based on the theory and principles of Maria Montessori. This book will also provide you with more than 100 practical solutions to daily troubles you may face with your toddler like brushing, potty training, endless questions, sibling disputes, etc. The book also teaches you how to remain calm with your toddler and make a relationship of love and respect.
3. The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Harvey Karp
This book by the renowned pediatrician and child development specialist Harvey Karp is a bestseller in US. It is a perfect guidebook for expecting parents that boosts the patience, cooperative skills and self-confidence among couples to raise their kids successfully. Here the author categorizes toddler behaviors into 3 groups- red light, yellow light, and green light. Greenlight behaviors are good behaviors that you will have to encourage in your toddler. Annoying behaviors are in yellow light and unacceptable behaviors are in red light that you will have to stop. The author provides quick tips and solutions for today’s working parents.
4. No Bad Kids: Toddler Discipline Without Shame by Janet Lansbury
The author with her 20 years of experience as a parent-child consultant, and RIE teacher and her firsthand knowledge as a student of Magda Gerber, one of the pioneering child specialists, is probably the best in this field. This book is a collection of the author’s top articles where she talks about common toddler behaviors and parenting tactics that can develop a lifelong parent-child bond of love and respect.
5. Oh Crap! Potty Training by Jamie Glowacki
Potty training your toddler is one of the tricky and not-so-pleasant parts of parenting. This book will give you 6 proven steps to potty train your toddler successfully. You will be amazed to know that your toddler can get potty trained way before you think. The ideal time will be between 20 to 30 months. This book with its witty humor is interesting to read. You will also get answers to all your potty training-related questions here. With the useful tips and methods of potty training thousands of parents have already got quick results.
6. Oh Crap! I Have a Toddler by Jamie Glowacki
This book points out the problem of how toddlers are often misunderstood by their parents. Their natural curiosity to explore the world around them is often perceived as bad and destructive behavior. Parents then unnecessarily try to control them and mold their behaviors according to their wishes. This can lead to further tantrums and a reduction in cognitive development. Here the author delivers 5 components to raising a toddler successfully- engaging the mind, working with the body, understanding the behavior, dealing with the behavior, and creating a toddler-friendly environment.
7. How to Parent Your Anxious Toddler by Natasha Daniels
One thing you must check during toddlerhood is that your toddler should not get overdependent on you. Otherwise, the problems of separation anxiety and social anxiety will develop in them. This book explains to you the reasons behind your toddler’s anxious behavior and how to eradicate them. This book resolves not only common issues related to eating, sleeping, bathing, and touching but also specific anxious behaviors like hair picking or skin picking.
8. How Toddlers Thrive by Tovah P Klein
A recent study by NIH claims that the experience your toddler gets at the age of 2 to 5 years decides whether they are going to thrive in their life or remain an underdog. This book will let you know why toddlerhood is a crucial and turbulent time and how your words and guidance can lead them to a successful future.
9. New Toddler Taming by Dr Christopher Green
This book truly understands the difficulties that parents go through while raising a toddler. The sudden change in behaviors that were not so easy to subdue as written in books, is well understood by the author. Thus the author instead of giving one-way advice provides helpful options and suggestions to the parents. The book is sympathetic in tone and provides you with the endurance to cope with the tantrums rather than considering yourself a failed parent.
10. Precious Little Sleep by Alexis Dubief
Parents often suffer from their toddler’s irregular sleeping habits. This book gives you effective and flexible strategies to improve the sleep quality and sleep duration of your toddler. The author with her experience as a sleep expert gives you practical solutions to improve your toddler’s sleep.
11. What to Expect: The Toddler Years by Heidi Murkoff
This book gives you a clear understanding of what you can expect from your toddler between the age of 2 to 3 years. So you will be prepared to tackle all the toddlerhood problems such as fussy eating, potty training, sleep disruption, non-stop questioning, etc.
12. Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron
Feeding your toddler right is very important for their overall growth and healthy living. This book gently shows you ways to observe organic eating and organic living. Starting from how you can choose organic food for your toddler to how to grow organic vegetables at home, you will get advice on all from this book.
13. The Pediatrician’s Guide to Feeding Babies and Toddlers by Anthony Porto
This book can be another helpful guide for your toddler’s nutrition. Here you will get nutrient-rich mouth-watering recipes for your toddler, parenting stories as well as recommendations based on the latest pediatric guidelines. You will get to know suggestions from pediatric and nutritional experts who themselves are parents.
14. Helpful Phrases by Rachel Norman
Making your toddler listen and do what you are saying is a difficult job. This book gives you 16 chapters full of short but impactful phrases that you can use to instruct your toddler. This book will help you to make your toddler obedient and a good listener.
15. Positive Discipline: The First Three Years by Jane Nelsen
The first three years of your toddler is the most crucial time that shapes their behavioral traits. The behavioral patterns and the disciplines you instill in them during this time will live in them for life. This book will help you to set effective boundaries for your toddler behaviors, build healthy communications, and forge a strong bond with your little one.
16. Mommy! I Have to Go Potty! by Jan Faull
This book about potty training gives you solutions for bedwetting, night training, bowel retention, constipation, and soiling. You can also get to know when your toddler is ready for potty training and how to effectively potty train them.
So, parenting books for toddlers help you to deal with your toddler in different ways. They will help you to channel the energy of your toddler constructively. They will make you understand the reasons behind your toddler’s fussy behavior. With the knowledge and useful tips then you can smartly handle all the hurdles you get in your parenting journey.
FAQ’s
1. Is it Good to Read Parenting Books?
Reading parenting books is good to get an overview of how your parenting should be and what you should avoid. But do not judge your parenting based on these books as every child is different.
2. What Are The Benefits of Parenting Books?
Parenting books help you to foster healthy habits and self-esteem in your kid. They aid you to reduce negative behavior in your child and build an emotional bond between you two.
