As a child, I grew up with a mom and dad who, like just about every parent, did the best they could with the tools they had. Unknowingly, though, they also carried forward into their roles as parents their own unhealed wounds from the past. Luckily for me, my parents sought to become more self-aware as I grew from child to adult. In this book, we aim to share some of the tools and practices that can help parents find wholeness in themselves from the beginning of the parent-child relationship, and avoid many of the pitfalls that can cause unnecessary conflicts and suffering in family living.
I wrote...
Calm Mama, Happy Baby: The Simple, Intuitive Way to Tame Tears, Improve Sleep, and Help Your Family Thrive
By
Jennifer Waldburger,
Derek O'Neill
What is my book about?
Eye-opening neuroscientific research shows that your stress and unresolved psychological pain directly affect your child's mood, behavior, and health. The good news is that you can learn how to take responsibility for the energy you bring to the parent-child relationship – and allow your child to develop unburdened by a legacy of negative or destructive patterns.
Drawing on their experience in nearly two decades of working with parents in Hollywood and around the globe, Derek O'Neill and Jennifer Waldburger give parents practical tools for finding your center as a parent and a person, regardless of what is happening with your child. Calm Mama, Happy Baby helps you parent intuitively, with confidence.
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The Books I Picked & Why
Parenting from the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive
By
Daniel J. Siegel,
Mary Hartzell
Why this book?
A wonderful exploration of how the past inevitably comes alive in the present when you become a parent – and how you can use pain points as an opportunity for deeper healing. The willingness to do this inner work can be hugely instrumental in the kind of parent you become.
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The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children
By
Shefali Tsabary
Why this book?
Tsabary pulls no punches as she issues a clarion call for showing up in the parent-child relationship with awareness of your wishes and tendencies to control. Rather than falling into the same traps your own parents did by imposing your own ideas of who you think your child should or shouldn’t be, you can serve as your child’s guide – while pointing her to her own inner compass.
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Parenting Without Power Struggles: Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids While Staying Cool, Calm, and Connected
By
Susan Stiffelman
Why this book?
A very practical guide on how to unlock yourself from the inevitable battle of wills that crop up in the parent-child relationship, and instead become the “captain of the ship” who is able to co-regulate your child through the ups and downs of difficult moods and behavior. Stiffelman explains in clear language how co-regulating in this way, over time, helps your child build skills of self-regulation and problem solving - bringing a natural feeling of peace of harmony both in your child and in your relationship.
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The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners
By
Jack Hawley
Why this book?
This classic of Eastern philosophy endures for a reason: it contains timeless, essential teachings for living with a full heart, with ease, and in peace. The passages in this book reverberate with universal truths that can be easily applied to the parent-child relationship. The truths in The Bhagavad Gita are universal because they are self-evident, and the reader will likely have the experience not of acquiring new concepts, but of remembering what is known on a soul level but may have been forgotten.
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True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart
By
Thich Nhat Hanh
Why this book?
To truly love another, we must first learn what true love is. A love that shifts and changes depending on circumstances, or depending on how someone else responds or behaves, is not built on the right foundation and is sure to cause suffering. But a love that emanates naturally from genuine presence, that asks nothing in return – cultivated through lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and freedom—is strong enough to weather any storm, and is perhaps the greatest gift any parent can offer.