9 Parenting Books to Help You Become a Better Parent and Raise Responsible Adults

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Looking for books that’ll help you become a better parent and raise a child who will one day be a responsible, happy, thriving adult? I know I need all the help I can get on this topic! Here are 9 books that I’ve enjoyed on my parenting journey. I’d love to hear your recommendations below!

Christian Books

Boundaries with Kids

Yes, you can say no to your child and still be a loving parent. Discover how setting biblical boundaries can make your parenting better today!

Join Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend, authors of the New York Times bestseller Boundaries, as they share the research and guidance you need to raise your kids to take responsibility for their actions, attitudes, and emotions. What Boundaries has done for adult relationships, Boundaries with Kids will do for you and your family.

Using biblically backed principles, including respect, stewardship, and self-control, Drs. Cloud and Townsend share the lessons they’ve learned firsthand after decades of working with families across the country. The tools and support they provide in Boundaries with Kids will change the way you view healthy boundaries, no matter where you are in your parenting journey.

With wisdom and empathy, they take you through the ins and outs of instilling the kind of character in your children that will help them lead balanced, productive, and fulfilling adult lives. 

You’ll learn how to:

• Define appropriate boundaries and consequences for your kids
• Set limits and still be a loving parent
• Bring balance to an out-of-control family life
• Apply the ten laws of boundaries to your parenting
• Understand the six steps to implementing boundaries in your home

Note: While this is written from a Christian viewpoint, I believe it is still very relevant for non-Christians relevant, with scientific information, and I encourage you to check it out regardless of your religious viewpoints. This one is my favorite book on the list!

Parenting with Love and Logic

Designed for preschool and beyond, this helpful and practical psychology-based parenting method is an invaluable guide for all parents! Teach your children healthy responsibility and encourage their character growth from a young age. Learn to establish healthy boundaries with your children through easy-to-implement steps without anger, threats, nagging, or power struggles.

Trusted by generations of parents, counselors, and teachers to lovingly raise responsible children, Parenting with Love and Logic includes solutions for dozens of specific topics such as tantrums, managing screen time, grades and report cards, chores, getting ready for school, peer pressure, cyberbullying, navigating crisis situations and grief, and much more! Learn how to tame tempers and re-establish a calm, healthy relationship and positive communication with your child today!

The 5 Love Languages of Children

You know you love your child. But how can you make sure your child knows it?

The #1 New York Times bestselling The 5 Love Languages® has helped millions of couples learn the secret to building a love that lasts. Now discover how to speak your child’s love language in a way that he or she understands. Discover your child’s primary language—then speak it—and you will be well on your way to a stronger relationship with your flourishing child.

Strong Mothers, Strong Sons

From the moment a mother holds her newborn son, his eyes tell her that she is his world. But often, as he grows up, the boy who needs her simultaneously pushes her away. Calling upon thirty years of experience as a pediatrician, Meg Meeker, M.D., a highly sought after national speaker, assistant professor of clinical medicine, and mother of four, shares the secrets that every mother needs to know in order to strengthen—or rebuild—her relationship with her son.

Boys today face unique challenges and pressures, and the burden on mothers to guide their boys through them can feel overwhelming. This empowering book offers a road map to help mothers find the strength and confidence to raise extraordinary sons by providing encouragement, education, and practical advice about

• the need for mothers to exercise courage and be bolder and more confident about advising and directing their boys
• the crucial role mothers play in expressing love to sons in healthy ways so they learn to respect and appreciate women as they grow up
• the importance of teaching sons about the values of hard work, community service, and a well-developed inner life
• the natural traps mothers of boys often fall into—and how to avoid them 
• the need for a mother to heal her own wounds with the men in her life so she can raise her son without baggage and limitations
• the best ways to survive the moments when the going gets tough and a mom’s natural ways of communicating—talking, analyzing, exploring—only fuel the fire

When a mother holds her baby boy for the first time, she also instinctively knows something else: If she does her job right and raises her son with self-esteem, support, and wisdom, he will become the man she knows he was meant to be.

Love & Respect in the Family

Bestselling author Dr. Emerson Eggerichs has studied family dynamics for more than 30 years, earning a Ph.D. in Child and Family Ecology. As a senior pastor for nearly two decades, he builds on a foundation of strong biblical principles, walking the reader through an entirely new way to approach the family dynamic.

When frustrated with an unresponsive child, a parent doesn’t declare, “You don’t love me.” Instead, the parent asserts, “You are being disrespectful right now.” A parent needs to feel respected, especially during conflicts. When upset a child does not whine, “You don’t respect me.” Instead, a child pouts, “You don’t love me.” A child needs to feel loved, especially during disputes. But here’s the rub: An unloved child or teen negatively reacts in a way that feels disrespectful to a parent. A disrespected parent negatively reacts in a way that feels unloving to the child. This dynamic gives birth to the Family Crazy Cycle.

This book teaches you to

• see love and respect as basic family needs
• stop the Family Crazy Cycle of conflict
• parent in six biblical ways that energize your children
• discipline defiance and overlook childishness
• be the mature one since parenting is for adults only
• become a loving parent in God’s eyes, regardless of a child’s response

Based on what the Bible says about parenting, this book focuses on achieving healthy family dynamics. Dr. Eggerichs offers unprecedented transparency from his wife and three adult children, who share wisdom gained from the good, the bad, and the ugly of their family life. It’s all here in this eye-opening exploration of the biblical principles on parenting that can help make families function as God intended.

How We Love Our Kids 

Having problems with your kids? What if you are the problem and you just can’t see it? How We Love Our Kids offers a unique approach, to help you as a parent transform your kids by making specific changes in how you love.

• Identify which of the five love styles you have. 
• Discover the surprising dynamics that shape your parenting. 
• Get rid of your “buttons” so your kids can’t push them. 
• Create a close connection with your kids that will last a lifetime. 
• Learn the seven gifts every child needs. 

Based on years of research in the area of attachment and bonding, How We Love Our Kids shows parents how to overcome the predictable challenges that arise out of the five love styles and helps parents cultivate a secure, deep connection with a child of any age. Retool your reactions and refocus on how you love. Start today. Watch your kids flourish and thrive as they receive what was missing in your love. 

Non-Christian Books

Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too

Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish turned their minds to the battle of the siblings. Parents themselves, they were determined to figure out how to help their children get along. The result was Siblings Without Rivalry. This wise, groundbreaking book gives parents the practical tools they need to cope with conflict, encourage cooperation, reduce competition, and make it possible for children to experience the joys of their special relationship. With humor and understanding—much gained from raising their own children—Faber and Mazlish explain how and when to intervene in fights, provide suggestions on how to help children channel their hostility into creative outlets, and demonstrate how to treat children unequally and still be fair. 

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk

This bestselling classic by internationally acclaimed experts on communication between parents and children includes fresh insights and suggestions, as well as the author’s time-tested methods to solve common problems and build foundations for lasting relationships, including innovative ways to

• cope with your child’s negative feelings, such as frustration, anger, and disappointment
• express your strong feelings without being hurtful
• engage your child’s willing cooperation
• set firm limits and maintain goodwill
• use alternatives to punishment that promote self-discipline
• understand the difference between helpful and unhelpful praise
• resolve family conflicts peacefully

Enthusiastically praised by parents and professionals around the world, Faber and Mazlish’s down-to-earth, respectful approach makes relationships with children of all ages less stressful and more rewarding.

The Whole-Brain Child

Daniel J. Siegel, neuropsychiatrist, and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson offer a revolutionary approach to child rearing with twelve key strategies that foster healthy brain development, leading to calmer, happier children. The authors explain—and make accessible—the new science of how a child’s brain is wired and how it matures. The “upstairs brain,” which makes decisions and balances emotions, is under construction until the mid-twenties. And especially in young children, the right brain and its emotions tend to rule over the logic of the left brain. No wonder kids throw tantrums, fight, or sulk in silence. By applying these discoveries to everyday parenting, you can turn any outburst, argument, or fear into a chance to integrate your child’s brain and foster vital growth.

Complete with age-appropriate strategies for dealing with day-to-day struggles and illustrations that will help you explain these concepts to your child, The Whole-Brain Child shows you how to cultivate healthy emotional and intellectual development so that your children can lead balanced, meaningful, and connected lives.

Have you read any of these parenting books? What are your thoughts on them? Do you have any additional recommendations? Let me know in the comments below!