by Jennifer Bioche

Created on: December 17, 2009   Last Updated: December 21, 2009

Parenting involves a lot of reading about how to get it just right for your child - nutritious snacks, proper development, social skills. And on occasion, a wonderful “tell it like it is” book comes along that realistically portrays the parenting experience, taking us for a moment away from ideals and ambitions.  They are the books that don’t necessarily paint motherhood in a fantasy lime-light, or declare “we’ve got the best job in the world”, but rather, these books take an honest look at the parenting process, and how it affects us adults to raise our children.

Below list the hidden gems of non-fiction titles for parents that will carry you through summer and back into the hustle and bustle of fall and the holiday season. Enjoy!

1. Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety, by Judith Warner, Riverhead Books 2005: Here everything you really want to know about where women have been and where we’re going is outlined in brave and sometimes so-honest-it-hurts observations about today’s parenting culture. “Manic cookie baking at midnight. Play dates as complicated as peace summits. No nights out, No sleep” (as described on the back cover). If you’re feeling alone in “the trenches” of sand box politics and cereal on the floor, Ms. Warner will remind you that you’re not alone.

2. No: Why Kids of All Ages Need to Hear It, and Ways Parents Can Say It,  by David Walsh, PhD, Free Press 2007: Dr. Walsh is a St. Paul-based psychologist who gives parents the golden nuggets for discipline using tried, true and back-to-basics strategies. I have referred to Dr. Wash’s work in my seminars, and his data is well-researched on the notion that parents who say “no” more often have fewer struggles and more harmony in the home. A must read for new and seasoned parents.

3. The Seven Worst Things Parents Do, by Dr. John Friel/Linda D. Friel, M.A.,    Health Communications, Inc. 1999. Here our neighbors in the twin cities deliver again as Minnesota based Dr. John Friel and wife Linda reassure frazzled parents that minimizing children’s activities and focusing on their marriage is actually a good thing. The couple has many other titles to their credit and their easy to read style, using supportive dialogue makes a great pool side companion.

4. Hyper-Parenting: Are You Hurting Your Child By Trying Too Hard? Dr. Alvin Rosenfeld, M.D. and Nicole Wise,      St. Martin’s Press 2000: Nicole Wise, an award winning journalist teamed up with Harvard physician Rosenfeld for a more academic based account of the effects of today’s parenting on our future generation. Not a “how to” book, per say, but filled with well-researched data on the basic idea that less is more.

5. Confessions of a Slacker Mom/Confessions of a Slacker Wife, by Muffy Mead Ferro, De Capo Lifelong, 2004: Ok, browsing my favorite bookstore one day I noticed the catchy cover - retro pumps slumped over a couch, implying exactly what the title promises - how to be a slacker mom and wife in today’s do-it-all culture. The author and I exchanged a few emails; this Wyoming woman is a girlfriend in every sense of the word - witty, wise, a laugh out loud read. Buy one and then a second for a friend.

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Bioche.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.