100 books like Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles

By Mary Sheedy Kurcinka,

Here are 100 books that Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles fans have personally recommended if you like Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Parent Effectiveness Training: The Proven Program for Raising Responsible Children

Judy Arnall Author Of Parenting With Patience: Turn frustration into connection with 3 easy steps

From my list on gentle, non-punitive, relationship-building parenting.

Why am I passionate about this?

Judy Arnall, BA, CCFE, DTM is a certified brain and child development specialist and master of non-punitive parenting and education practices. She is the bestselling author of 5 print books translated into 5 languages, including Discipline Without Distress and Parenting With Patience. She has also compiled a handy tips book titled Attachment Parenting Tips Raising Toddlers To Teens. Her latest book, Unschooling To University: Relationships matter most in a world crammed with content, is becoming a bestseller in an age of parents seeking educational options. She is the parent of 5 self-directed educated, attachment parented children of which 3 have already graduated university, 1 is halfway through, and 1 is enjoying a Masters program.

Judy's book list on gentle, non-punitive, relationship-building parenting

Judy Arnall Why did Judy love this book?

This is the book that started the whole “learn about parenting” movement. Yes, it has been published for 60 years, but children’s needs have not changed in the past million years, and the premise of non-punitive parenting and relationship skills taught in the book, are still present today in other books under different names. The skills are still essential to learn for building solid parent-child relationships. In this book, parents learn assertiveness skills, active listening skills, and problem-solving skills as well as ideas to resolve value differences with older children. It is totally non-punitive and essential for every parent who wants to meet their children’s social and emotional needs as well as build excellent relationships with their children, without being permissive.

By Thomas Gordon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Parent Effectiveness Training as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

UPDATED 2019 EDITION • The pioneering book that’s guided millions of parents to more effectively resolve conflicts, communicate, and create loving relationships with their children—from Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Thomas Gordon
 
P.E.T., or Parent Effectiveness Training, began in 1962 as the first national parent-training program to teach parents how to communicate more effectively with kids and offer step-by-step advice to resolve family conflicts so everybody wins. This beloved classic is the most studied, highly praised, and proven parenting program in the world—and it will work for you. Now revised and updated, this groundbreaking guide will show you:
 
• How…


Book cover of Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting PDEP

Judy Arnall Author Of Parenting With Patience: Turn frustration into connection with 3 easy steps

From my list on gentle, non-punitive, relationship-building parenting.

Why am I passionate about this?

Judy Arnall, BA, CCFE, DTM is a certified brain and child development specialist and master of non-punitive parenting and education practices. She is the bestselling author of 5 print books translated into 5 languages, including Discipline Without Distress and Parenting With Patience. She has also compiled a handy tips book titled Attachment Parenting Tips Raising Toddlers To Teens. Her latest book, Unschooling To University: Relationships matter most in a world crammed with content, is becoming a bestseller in an age of parents seeking educational options. She is the parent of 5 self-directed educated, attachment parented children of which 3 have already graduated university, 1 is halfway through, and 1 is enjoying a Masters program.

Judy's book list on gentle, non-punitive, relationship-building parenting

Judy Arnall Why did Judy love this book?

This book gives parents a good insight into how their children think and feel at different ages. Equipped with this knowledge, parents can understand how punishment can damage children’s self-esteem, relationships with others, and essential communication with their parents. It discusses temperament and how to problem-solve with children of all ages, instead of punishing them for parenting challenges.

Book cover of Life Span Development: A Topical Approach

Judy Arnall Author Of Parenting With Patience: Turn frustration into connection with 3 easy steps

From my list on gentle, non-punitive, relationship-building parenting.

Why am I passionate about this?

Judy Arnall, BA, CCFE, DTM is a certified brain and child development specialist and master of non-punitive parenting and education practices. She is the bestselling author of 5 print books translated into 5 languages, including Discipline Without Distress and Parenting With Patience. She has also compiled a handy tips book titled Attachment Parenting Tips Raising Toddlers To Teens. Her latest book, Unschooling To University: Relationships matter most in a world crammed with content, is becoming a bestseller in an age of parents seeking educational options. She is the parent of 5 self-directed educated, attachment parented children of which 3 have already graduated university, 1 is halfway through, and 1 is enjoying a Masters program.

Judy's book list on gentle, non-punitive, relationship-building parenting

Judy Arnall Why did Judy love this book?

Every parent needs a good book on child development from the ages of birth to adulthood to understand how their child is growing in the physical, emotional, academic/cognitive, and social domains of development. When parents and caregivers understand what to expect at different ages, they can adapt their parenting decisions appropriately. Knowing if their child’s behaviour is a discipline issue that needs addressing or simply a development issue that will take care of itself, as a child ages, is the key to successful parenting.

By Robert Feldman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Life Span Development as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A brief, topical overview of life span development
Life Span Development: A Topical Approach helps students to see the "big picture" of development across the entire life span. Throughout this brief version of his hallmark text Development Across the Life Span, author Robert Feldman employs a modular framework that offers instructors maximum flexibility to teach the course however they envision. Concise coverage of all key principles helps instructors cover the whole of the field within a standard term, while a topical approach makes it easier for students to understand the scope of development within particular areas (such as social or…


Book cover of Learning All the Time

Judy Arnall Author Of Parenting With Patience: Turn frustration into connection with 3 easy steps

From my list on gentle, non-punitive, relationship-building parenting.

Why am I passionate about this?

Judy Arnall, BA, CCFE, DTM is a certified brain and child development specialist and master of non-punitive parenting and education practices. She is the bestselling author of 5 print books translated into 5 languages, including Discipline Without Distress and Parenting With Patience. She has also compiled a handy tips book titled Attachment Parenting Tips Raising Toddlers To Teens. Her latest book, Unschooling To University: Relationships matter most in a world crammed with content, is becoming a bestseller in an age of parents seeking educational options. She is the parent of 5 self-directed educated, attachment parented children of which 3 have already graduated university, 1 is halfway through, and 1 is enjoying a Masters program.

Judy's book list on gentle, non-punitive, relationship-building parenting

Judy Arnall Why did Judy love this book?

Here is another game-changing book that is a few decades old, but has spanned a worldwide movement in the knowledge, research, and growth of self-directed education. This book addresses how children learn everything they need to know through self-directed play, projects, and exploration for grades 1 to 12. It also shows the damaging effects of institutional school, bullying, and how direct teaching can stop a child’s curiosity and creativity needed for 20th-century careers. Children do not need school to learn. Learning is everywhere, anytime, and is available to everyone.

By John Holt,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Learning All the Time as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The essence of John Holt's insight into learning and small children is captured in Learning All The Time. This delightful book by the influential author of How Children Fail and How Children Learn shows how children learn to read, write, and count in their everyday life at home and how adults can respect and encourage this wonderful process. For human beings, he reminds us, learning is as natural as breathing. John Holt's wit, his gentle wisdom, and his infectious love of little children bring joy to parent and teacher alike.


Book cover of Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting: Five Strategies That End the Daily Battles and Get Kids to Listen the First Time

Andrew G. Marshall Author Of I Love You, But I'm Not in Love with You: Seven Steps to Putting the Passion Back Into Your Relationship

From my list on raising emotionally rounded children.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a marital therapist with thirty-five years of experience helping couples fall back in love and deal with the fall out from infidelity. I trained with RELATE – the UK’s largest couple counselling charity – and have a private practice in Berlin and lead a team of therapists based in the UK. I have heard over a thousand couples argue – more often than not – about their children. So I am always looking for books that will give a wider perspective and practical advice on how to be a parent without exhausting your marriage and forgetting to still be lovers.

Andrew's book list on raising emotionally rounded children

Andrew G. Marshall Why did Andrew love this book?

How do you get your children out of the door without stressing out them, yourself, and everybody else in the house. This book is full of strategies like not having to ask twice, preparing for success, starting new rules, and the joys of descriptive praise. I find that if parents argue better and communicate more effectively with each other that has a knock-on effect on the children but it works equally well the other way round. If you can communicate more calmly with your children, you can use the skills with your partner too.

By Noel Janis-Norton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING GUIDE TO THE 5 MUST-KNOW PARENTING STRATEGIES

Tired of nagging, pleading, negotiating, or yelling just to get your kids to do the simple things you ask? You don't need to be a Tiger Mom or a Helicopter Parent. There is a better way.

Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting brings the joy back into family life and helps parents to raise confident, responsible adults.

Based on her forty-plus years of experience, behavioral specialist Noel Janis-Norton outlines a clear, step-by-step plan that will help any parent raise a child to be cooperative and considerate, confident and self-reliant. Transform your family…


Book cover of Free-Range Kids: How Parents and Teachers Can Let Go and Let Grow

Sara Zaske Author Of Achtung Baby: An American Mom on the German Art of Raising Self-Reliant Children

From my list on raising self-reliant children.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a writer who lived in Germany for more than six years with my family. That experience opened my eyes to a different way of parenting in a country that had learned hard lessons about too much authoritarian control. It also taught me that much of what we believe is “true” about raising kids is actually cultural—and therefore, can be changed. In addition to my book about raising kids in Germany, Achtung Baby, I’ve written extensively on raising self-reliant kids, including articles in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Time.com among others.

Sara's book list on raising self-reliant children

Sara Zaske Why did Sara love this book?

No other book – and arguably no other personality – has done more to help loosen the lock-hold helicopter parenting has on our kids than Free-Range Kids and Lenore Skenazy. The book is a primer on ways to give your kids the freedom to grow up while it tears apart many of the paranoid parenting myths: from child predators lurking on every corner to the overblown dangers of choking on uncut grapes. Even better, Skenazy is hilarious and her book is great fun to read.

By Lenore Skenazy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Free-Range Kids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Free Range Kids has become a national movement, sparked by the incredible response to Lenore Skenazy's piece about allowing her 9-year-old to ride the subway alone in NYC. Parent groups argued about it, bloggers blogged, spouses became uncivil with each other, and the media jumped all over it.

A lot of parents today, Skenazy says, see no difference between letting their kids walk to school and letting them walk through a firing range. Any risk is seen as too much risk. But if you try to prevent every possible danger or difficulty in your child's everyday life, that child never…


Book cover of Raising Resilient Children : Fostering Strength, Hope, and Optimism in Your Child

Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero Author Of Adopting Older Children: A Practical Guide to Adopting and Parenting Children Over Age Four

From my list on raising emotionally healthy children.

Why am I passionate about this?

Childhood is a special time but can also be wrought with severe challenges for some children. Children vary in emotional health and resilience, so we must provide extra support to those who struggle. I learned so much from the parents and therapists I interviewed for my book, about their experiences building resilience and emotional health in adopted children. I have a PhD in social work and have worked on federally funded child welfare and child trauma grants. Currently, I am a freelance writer and researcher and teach social policy and research courses at several graduate schools of social work, but my most demanding and rewarding job is being a mom!

Stephanie's book list on raising emotionally healthy children

Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero Why did Stephanie love this book?

This is one of the best books on raising resilient, emotionally healthy children. Generation Alpha is being bombarded by traumatic events which they learn about on YouTube, television, and from grownups around them talking about these events and the news. But there is a way to raise emotionally, healthy children even today and the key is teaching them resilience. There are so many great insights in this book but it’s practical and easy to digest. Our children have lost some of their resilience during the pandemic. It’s up to us, as adults in their lives – parents, teachers, counselors, and coaches – to re-instill a sense of security in our child’s lives but also the idea that once you’ve been through tough times other setbacks in life can seem easier to get through.

By Robert Brooks, Sam Goldstein,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Raising Resilient Children as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This title provides effective, proven advice for raising strong kids. 'A uniquely wise guide for parents. Brooks and Goldstein help mothers and fathers to focus on their child's strengths, not on his or her weaknesses. The result is a happier, more resilient child. This book could really make a difference in the life of a family' -Michael Thompson, author of "Raising Cain". 'Obviously written by talented therapists, Raising Resilient Children is such a well-written, easy-to-read, and helpful book for parents' - T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., author of "The Irreducible Needs of Children". In this seminal parenting work, renowned psychologists Robert…


Book cover of The New Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy, Healthy Children

Katie Ely Author Of Parenting with Focus

From my list on old-fashioned traditional parenting for Christians.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I had my twin boys 29 years ago, I started reading every parenting book I could. I was shocked at what I felt was really bad advice. It was permissive, indulgent, and lacked instilling virtues. It was then that I birthed the idea of writing parenting books with traditional Christian principles. Since then, I’ve spent the last 28 years learning all I could about raising well-behaved children. I also have done much research on the harmful effects of screen time on children. Other works include Rubric Rules: A Cleaning System for Kids and The Parenting with Focus Video Course.

Katie's book list on old-fashioned traditional parenting for Christians

Katie Ely Why did Katie love this book?

I love John Rosemond! I used to read his weekly parenting columns in the newspaper in the 90s. Rosemond is a Christian parenting expert who gives old-fashioned, common-sense advice. You won’t get any permissive nonsense in his books. He gives very practical advice to raise responsible, independent children. This is an older book from 2006, but the advice is timeless.

By John Rosemond,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The New Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy, Healthy Children as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"In a logical, well-articulated manner, Rosemond provides many examples, making this a practical rather than philosophical reference . . . Rosemond's thorough explanations and real-life examples make this a valuable resource for parents of both young and older children." --Library Journal

Renowned and respected family psychologist John Rosemond blames child-centered parenting books from recent decades for creating a generation of dependent, often defiant children. He sets the record straight in The New Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy, Healthy Children, an updated version of his highly successful book published more than fifteen years ago.

Booms in technology and mass media have…


Book cover of Raising Your Spirited Child

Dona J. Matthews Author Of Being Smart About Gifted Learning: Empowering Parents and Kids Through Challenge and Change

From my list on loving and raising challenging kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love prickly children. I was one myself, and I’ve quite a few of them in my family. I’ve also worked with desperate families over the years, children who are out of control, parents feeling overwhelmed, nobody knowing what to do to find the calm and loving core of connection we all yearn for. I feel the suffering these authors document—the child’s sense of being misunderstood and punished unfairly, and the parent’s desperation. So, when I read a book that offers intelligent and caring solutions driven by science, compassion, and experience, I share it with everyone who will listen. I’m delighted to have a chance here to do that.

Dona's book list on loving and raising challenging kids

Dona J. Matthews Why did Dona love this book?

Mary Sheedy Kurcinka has been working with parents of difficult children for decades now, except she doesn’t think of the kids that way. Instead of ‘difficult,’ she says, we should learn to think of these kids as ‘spirited.’ When we want to describe our kids as irritable, negative, demanding, and strong-willed, she recommends that we admire their sensitivity, insight, confidence, and insistence on getting what they need. This book is packed with practical ideas for creating a peaceful and loving home environment, and for helping parents learn to soothe their own reactions to behavior that might otherwise be experienced as aggravating, trouble-making, embarrassing, and provocative. 

By Mary Sheedy Kurcinka,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Raising Your Spirited Child as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Now in a new updated version, Kurcinka offers parents the most up-to-date research, effective strategies and real life stories for: managing intensity - not just the kids, but parents too; getting the sleep every family needs and deserves; choosing their battles; helping children to hear their instructions; assisting children in getting along with siblings and peers; and, being successful in school and at home. Spirited children possess traits we value in adults, yet find challenging in children. Studies now show that these children are 'wired' to be more reactive to the world around them. The solution, rather than medication or…


Book cover of Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting

Wendy Speake Author Of Triggers: Exchanging Parents' Angry Reactions for Gentle Biblical Responses

From my list on for gentle Christian parenting.

Why am I passionate about this?

Before becoming a mom, my career was as an actress in Hollywood. Once I took on the role of Mother, however, I stepped off of the stage and onto the page. Telling stories about my weary-making days raising children allowed me to encourage other moms to persevere in doing right even when their own kids do wrong. I wrote Triggers with Amber Lia in 2016 and it has been a best-selling parenting resource year after year.

Wendy's book list on for gentle Christian parenting

Wendy Speake Why did Wendy love this book?

Based on the latest research on brain development and extensive clinical experience with parents, Dr. Laura Markham’s approach is as simple as it is effective. Her message: Fostering an emotional connection with your child creates real and lasting change. When you have that vital connection, you don’t need to threaten, nag, plead, bribe—or even punish. This remarkable guide will help parents better understand their own emotions—and get them in check—so they can parent with healthy limits, empathy, and clear communication to raise a self-disciplined child. If you’re tired of power struggles, tantrums, and searching for the right “consequence,” look no further. You’re about to discover the practical tools you need to transform your parenting in a positive, proven way.

By Dr. Laura Markham,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A groundbreaking guide to raising responsible, capable, happy kids

Based on the latest research on brain development and extensive clinical experience with parents, Dr. Laura Markham’s approach is as simple as it is effective. Her message: Fostering emotional connection with your child creates real and lasting change. When you have that vital connection, you don’t need to threaten, nag, plead, bribe—or even punish.

This remarkable guide will help parents better understand their own emotions—and get them in check—so they can parent with healthy limits, empathy, and clear communication to raise a self-disciplined child. Step-by-step examples give solutions and kid-tested phrasing…


Book cover of Parent Effectiveness Training: The Proven Program for Raising Responsible Children
Book cover of Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting PDEP
Book cover of Life Span Development: A Topical Approach

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