Parenting Books

I read a lot, especially for someone who has younger children at home. There are plenty of people out there who read more than I do, but I only know a few of those people. I have been averaging about 100 books a year for the last several years. That is a far cry from the nearly 250 books I read before having kids, but it is still a pretty good number of books to get through every single year.

I don’t write this to boast. Some people like to read, while others don’t. While we think reading is pretty great around here, we understand that it’s not something that everyone loves. That’s totally fine. The reason to let you know how much I read each year is simply to give some context for the rest of this article - I read enough to feel like I can comfortably be in the upper tier of readers in terms of quantity of books read per year.

As a parent, you might ask me what some of the best parenting books are that are out there. I’d respond and say that I’m really not sure. Parenting books aren’t really my thing. That doesn’t mean that they’re bad, just that they’re not for everyone. Some people really enjoy reading parenting books, even if they aren’t a parent. But not everyone does, and that’s a totally valid reason not to read them.

I usually read about one book that is directly related to parenting per year. I read a handful of additional books that can be used in parenting on a regular basis as well. Am I a terrible parent because I don’t read a bunch of books about parenting? It’s possible that I’m not as good of a parent as I could possibly be. However, I too often find that parenting books simply don’t make me be a better parent.

Sure, many of these books have good messages and ideas on how to be a better parent, but I find it hard to really apply them in my daily life, or how it actually applies to me. Besides that, I find that I actually enjoy applying other principles that I learn about being a better person in general to my life - it makes me a better parent while also making me a better person all around. I simply enjoy it more.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t read parenting books. Many parenting books are actually really good and have some great information in them. But don’t feel bad if you’re not reading a bunch of parenting books per year. If you have specific questions or problems that you’re trying to solve for your kids, then seek out the books that will help you to solve those problems. But don’t just read parenting books because you think it makes you look better.

Find books that you enjoy reading, and read those. Find books that help answer questions you may have or that talk about ways you want to improve, and read those. Focusing on books that you will actually read and stick to is far better than suffering through another book that you’re not really paying attention to and that you have no plan to implement in your life. That’s just a waste of time.

If you like to read parenting books, then go for it. But don’t feel like you have to. Read something that you’ll want to pick up again tomorrow.