Other Resources
This is not an exhaustive list, but a sampling of the books that we have found most helpful in shaping our philosophies.
Sleep Training and Baby Care:
This is one of the only books we have found to answer the "WHY" of parenting, and to continue helping parents come back to their "Why's" instead of just giving a tutorial or "how-to" of caring for infants and children. Some excerpts are included throughout this website.
Over the years is has been through several editions, two of which we will highlight: First, publishing it for a mainstream audience under it's new name and taking out the explicit Biblical references. Second, there was a major edit after that edition stirred controversy in the pediatrics world. The AAP published a warning against the book after a number of parents came in to their pediatricians with underweight babies. Since then, the book has added important clarifications and guides about weight gain. The AAP has since retracted that warning. The other complaint about the book is what a hard line it draws and how anti- Attachment Parenting it is. This tone can be off-putting, especially to parents who haven't trained their children in the first months. |
The author was a nanny for many years and a mom of two, who now consults parents full time and has a whole company built around her advice. She follows the same principles of "Babywise" for an eating and sleeping routine that would healthily balance those two needs around weight gain, and emphasizes the child's place in the family. However she comes to these conclusions from a non-Christian stance, which you can notice in small parts of her book (comments about reincarnation and quotes from the Buddha). We appreciate the logical way the information is laid out in this book, the easy to reference charts, and the gentle tone she takes with parents who have not trained their child to sleep and eat in a helpful routine.
The Truth About Tummy Time
What you know could save your baby's life. With the great fear of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, parents today want and need an easy-to-read, concise guide to navigate the maze of information surrounding SIDS and the Back to Sleep program. The biggest question we all have is, "What is best for my baby?" Written by Pediatric Physical Therapist and mother of three, The Truth About Tummy Time is that guide.
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The Sleepeasy Solution - (sleeping training an older baby)
Verna’s review:
This book has some wonderful information for starting sleep training (they call it sleep learning) after 4 months. They don’t consider it necessary or helpful before then but mainly because they are writing for babies that back sleep. The book offers a step by step method and a place to journal what you are doing, to help you consistently do each step.
I love that they encourage routines to help baby identify that it is time to go to sleep. These need to be something other adults can do as well, so others can help with the process when you aren’t there. All quotes will be indented and my opinions in parenthesis. Continue reading
This book has some wonderful information for starting sleep training (they call it sleep learning) after 4 months. They don’t consider it necessary or helpful before then but mainly because they are writing for babies that back sleep. The book offers a step by step method and a place to journal what you are doing, to help you consistently do each step.
I love that they encourage routines to help baby identify that it is time to go to sleep. These need to be something other adults can do as well, so others can help with the process when you aren’t there. All quotes will be indented and my opinions in parenthesis. Continue reading
Babywisemom.com
GrowingChild.com
Parenting and Discipline:
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Parenting and Discipline (toddlers):
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Shepherding a Child's Heart
Parenting and Discipline (pre-teen/ teenagers):
Getting to the Heart of Parenting (DVD)
Age of Opportunity
Grandma Says: a Newsletter from Growing Child (example below:)
"Grandma Says" Blog http://blog.growingchild.com/recent-posts
Posted on March 25, 2015
In order to help our children get the message that they can become capable people who can look out for themselves eventually, parents must strive to find opportunities for children to play freely, to explore, and to test developing skills independently of total supervision.
Think back to your own childhood and remember some of your happiest moments. Where were you and what were you doing? Who was with you? Where were the adults in your life at the time?
Now think some more—do you not want these same kind of experiences for your own kids?
So perhaps the first step to becoming a trustful parent is to access your own values—what characteristics do you value and hope for in your children? How can you help them develop? And then, quite practically, try to find or create safe places and opportunities for children to play freely and to explore their growing abilities.
Here’s an example. An elementary-aged girl in my neighborhood came to the door selling Girl Scout cookies, accompanied by both of her parents, neighbors I know. (Obviously I live in a fairly safe neighborhood, where cookies can be sold door-to-door.) The parents did most of the conversation, so I’m not sure what the child gained from this experience.
Imagine it set up differently: the parents sit in the car, and let the child approach the door, and handle the situation by herself. This would be a happy compromise, and a move towards more trustful parenting: the parents are reassured by their supervision, but the child has the chance to try out her ability to cope on her own.
Now you consider your own scenarios, and how you could modify your direct supervision to allow for more freedom.
A second step might be to resist the temptation to be in continuous contact with your children. With today’s technology, it is too easy to be hovering and overly-involved.
Consider what you could do—responsibly—to cut back on contact. I consider it a good thing that kids go to summer camp without devices, so that parents can’t continually text or email.
© 2014 Growing Child, Inc.
Posted on March 25, 2015
In order to help our children get the message that they can become capable people who can look out for themselves eventually, parents must strive to find opportunities for children to play freely, to explore, and to test developing skills independently of total supervision.
Think back to your own childhood and remember some of your happiest moments. Where were you and what were you doing? Who was with you? Where were the adults in your life at the time?
Now think some more—do you not want these same kind of experiences for your own kids?
So perhaps the first step to becoming a trustful parent is to access your own values—what characteristics do you value and hope for in your children? How can you help them develop? And then, quite practically, try to find or create safe places and opportunities for children to play freely and to explore their growing abilities.
Here’s an example. An elementary-aged girl in my neighborhood came to the door selling Girl Scout cookies, accompanied by both of her parents, neighbors I know. (Obviously I live in a fairly safe neighborhood, where cookies can be sold door-to-door.) The parents did most of the conversation, so I’m not sure what the child gained from this experience.
Imagine it set up differently: the parents sit in the car, and let the child approach the door, and handle the situation by herself. This would be a happy compromise, and a move towards more trustful parenting: the parents are reassured by their supervision, but the child has the chance to try out her ability to cope on her own.
Now you consider your own scenarios, and how you could modify your direct supervision to allow for more freedom.
A second step might be to resist the temptation to be in continuous contact with your children. With today’s technology, it is too easy to be hovering and overly-involved.
Consider what you could do—responsibly—to cut back on contact. I consider it a good thing that kids go to summer camp without devices, so that parents can’t continually text or email.
© 2014 Growing Child, Inc.