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Kelly's Favorites - Books & Cool Stuff

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    • Parenting Books
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  • Thoughtful Independent Play Toys & Gift Guide
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Parenting Books

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  • General
  • Special Needs
  • Health and Wellness
  • Mental Health
  • Development

General

The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life by Julie Bogart

The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life by Julie Bogart

Subject: homeschooling

Nobody Likes me, Everybody Hates Me: The Top 25 Friendship Problems and How to Solve Them by Michele Borba

Nobody Likes me, Everybody Hates Me: The Top 25 Friendship Problems and How to Solve Them by Michele Borba

Punished By Rewards by Alfie Kohn

Punished By Rewards by Alfie Kohn

Democracy and Education by John Dewey

Democracy and Education by John Dewey

The Schools Our Children Deserve by Alfie Kohn

The Schools Our Children Deserve by Alfie Kohn

The Opposite of Spoiled by Ron Lieber

The Opposite of Spoiled by Ron Lieber

Nurtureshock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

Nurtureshock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves by Naomi Aldort

Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves by Naomi Aldort

Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids by Dr. Laura Markham

Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids by Dr. Laura Markham

Parent Effectiveness Training by Dr. Thomas Gordon

Parent Effectiveness Training by Dr. Thomas Gordon

A Moving Child is a Learning Child: How the Body Teaches the Brain to Think by Gill Connel and Cheryl McCarthy

A Moving Child is a Learning Child: How the Body Teaches the Brain to Think by Gill Connel and Cheryl McCarthy

Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

The Whole Brain Child by Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

The Whole Brain Child by Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

Elevating Child Care by Janet Lansbury

Elevating Child Care by Janet Lansbury

Parenting from the Inside Out by Dan Siegel and Mary Hartzell

Parenting from the Inside Out by Dan Siegel and Mary Hartzell

No-Drama Discipline by Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

No-Drama Discipline by Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishment to Love and Reason by Alfie Kohn

Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishment to Love and Reason by Alfie Kohn

Good ideas but not many tools.

Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, M.Ed.

Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, M.Ed.

Tears and Tantrums by Aletha Solter, PhD

Tears and Tantrums by Aletha Solter, PhD

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Helping Young Children Flourish by Aletha Solter, PhD

Helping Young Children Flourish by Aletha Solter, PhD

The Aware Baby by Aletha Solter, PhD

The Aware Baby by Aletha Solter, PhD

CALMS – A Guide to Soothing Your Baby by Carrie Contey, PhD

CALMS – A Guide to Soothing Your Baby by Carrie Contey, PhD

Your Self-Confident Baby by Magda Gerber

Your Self-Confident Baby by Magda Gerber

Dear Parent: Caring for Infants with Respect by Magda Gerber

Dear Parent: Caring for Infants with Respect by Magda Gerber

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

Learning All the Time by John Holt

Learning All the Time by John Holt

Special Needs

At Wit’s End: A Parent’s Guide to Ending the Struggle, Tears, and Turmoil of Learning Disabilities by Jill Stowell

At Wit’s End: A Parent’s Guide to Ending the Struggle, Tears, and Turmoil of Learning Disabilities by Jill Stowell

The Highly Sensitive Child by Elaine Aron

The Highly Sensitive Child by Elaine Aron

The Out of Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for Kids with Sensory Processing Disorder by Carol Stock Kranowitz

The Out of Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for Kids with Sensory Processing Disorder by Carol Stock Kranowitz

101 Games and Activities for Children With Autism, Asperger’s and Sensory Processing Disorders by Tara Delaney, M.S., OTR

101 Games and Activities for Children With Autism, Asperger’s and Sensory Processing Disorders by Tara Delaney, M.S., OTR

Tell Me the Number Before Infinity by Becky Taylor and Dena Taylor

Tell Me the Number Before Infinity by Becky Taylor and Dena Taylor

A beautiful novella from the perspective of a child with a disability.

Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka

Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka

A must for a child that's hard to figure out.

The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene, PhD

The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene, PhD

Super helpful for kids that need a little more flexibility.

The Out of Sync Child by Carol Stock Kranowitz

The Out of Sync Child by Carol Stock Kranowitz

Really helpful for understanding sensory needs.

Health and Wellness

The Queer & Transgender Resilience Workbook by Anneliese Singh, PhD

The Queer & Transgender Resilience Workbook by Anneliese Singh, PhD

It’s No Accident by Steve Hodges, MD

It’s No Accident by Steve Hodges, MD

A must read if your child is chronically constipated.

Kids Beyond Limits by Anat Baniel

Kids Beyond Limits by Anat Baniel

A really fresh cool take on looking at what kids CAN do, not what they can't, and how parts of the brain can wake up through movement.

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, MD

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, MD

Great info on how sleep works, and again, the supported crying is a take it or leave it last resort. But that shouldn't stop you from getting the rest of the invaluable info.

Subject: sleep

Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems by Dr. Richard Ferber

Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems by Dr. Richard Ferber

Given a chance, this has really good info on how sleep works. If supported crying is not your thing, that part is only 2 pages. The rest is GOLD. There is sleep info through teen years in here.

Subject: sleep

Mental Health

Recess Rules by Jill Vialet

Recess Rules by Jill Vialet

Read together with older elementary kids.

Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys by Michael Thompson, PhD and Dan Kindlon, PhD

Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys by Michael Thompson, PhD and Dan Kindlon, PhD

Healing Stories for Challenging Behavior by Susan Perrow

Healing Stories for Challenging Behavior by Susan Perrow

Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman, PhD

Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman, PhD

When Children Grieve by John W. James

When Children Grieve by John W. James

Critical for any big change in a child's life, not just the biggies

Development

1, 2, 3, The Toddler Years by Irene Van der Zande

1, 2, 3, The Toddler Years by Irene Van der Zande

Baby Knows Best by Deborah Carlisle Solomon

Baby Knows Best by Deborah Carlisle Solomon

Gesell Institute Books by Louise Bates Ames

Gesell Institute Books by Louise Bates Ames

Love the development info - discipline info is not my cup of tea but worth reading it for the rest.

Touchpoints by T. Berry Brazelton

Touchpoints by T. Berry Brazelton

Daily Parenting Inspiration

“My child is not giving me a hard time… my child i “My child is not giving me a hard time…
my child is having a hard time.”

That one shift changes everything.

Less: “Why are they doing this?”
More: “What’s going on for them?”

Hard behavior is often just… hard feelings.

When we see the struggle,
we respond differently.

Less reacting.
More supporting. 💛 #respectfulparent #sandiegomoms #parenteffectivenesstraining #attachmentparenting #rie #PositiveParenting #parentingtips #DefianceOrMisunderstanding
“I didn’t say it was your fault… I said I blame yo “I didn’t say it was your fault…
I said I blame you.” 😅

When kids blame, it feels personal.

But it’s usually not about being right…
it’s about letting out big feelings.

Blame =
“I’m frustrated.”
“I’m overwhelmed.”

Before correcting, try connecting:

“You’re really upset.”
“That was hard.”

Less defending.
More understanding. 💛
“Children do well when they can.” So when they’re “Children do well when they can.”

So when they’re not…
It’s not about won’t.
It’s about can’t (yet).

Less: “Why are they acting like this?”
More: “What’s getting in their way?”

Skills take time.
Emotions get big.
Brains get overwhelmed.

And in those moments,
they don’t need perfection…

They need curiosity - not furiosity. 😋💛

Yup, I made up a word.

#respectfulparent #childrendowellwhentheycan #drrossgreen #parenteffectivenesstraining
End of school = chaos… Then suddenly… no structure End of school = chaos…
Then suddenly… no structure 😅

Or camp… to camp… to camp.

Summer is fun ☀️
But it can also mean:
more pushback
more “I’m bored”
more sibling stuff
more BIG feelings

And when routines change, behavior usually does too.

The good news?
You don’t need more control… you need better tools.

✨ listen without shutting them down
✨ set limits without the battles
✨ handle big emotions (theirs + yours)

Less surviving
More thriving

My summer Parent Effectiveness Training class is coming up 💛
Drop a ☀️ and I’ll send details!

 #respectfulparent #sandiegomoms #parentingtips #parentingmiddleschoolers #PositiveParenting #attachmentparenting #rie #parenteffectivenesstraining #RespectfulParenting
Oof. This is a hard one sometimes! Share your exam Oof. This is a hard one sometimes! Share your examples of a time this happened 🙏🏼🙈
I'm just reading the book "Untangled -Guiding Teen I'm just reading the book "Untangled -Guiding Teenage Girls Through The Seven Transitions into Adulthood" by @lisa.damour ,  and I love it. This one struck a chord with me so I thought I'd share. It's from the section "The Pull of Popular."

What does “popular” actually mean?

Because when you look a little closer, the kids who seem the most “popular” aren’t always the most liked. Sometimes, their influence comes from social power, not genuine connection. And that can come with a lot of pressure—on everyone.

This can be a powerful conversation to have with your child.

Not in a lecture-y way, but with curiosity:
“Do kids actually like being around her, or are they worried about being on her bad side?”
“What makes a friendship feel good to you?”

Helping kids think beyond popularity and toward the quality of their friendships gives them something much steadier to stand on.

Because in the long run, feeling safe, accepted, and able to be yourself matters a whole lot more than being “popular" and then you may just hit that sweet spot of being "popular" because you are well liked!

 #parentingtips #sandiegomoms #respectfulparent #raisingteenagegirls #parentingmiddleschoolgirls
We have dreams for our kids. The friends we hope We have dreams for our kids.

The friends we hope they choose.
The sports we hope they love.
The grades we hope they earn.
The path we quietly map out in our minds…

And then they grow.
And they choose.

Sometimes differently than we imagined.

And that’s where it gets uncomfortable.

Because the real question becomes:
Are we raising children who follow our path…
or children who can find their own?

Letting go doesn’t mean stepping back completely.
It means shifting roles.

From director ➡️ to guide
From fixing ➡️ to listening
From telling ➡️ to being available

It means offering wisdom when it’s invited,
and trusting them enough to figure some things out on their own.

That’s not easy.

But that’s where confidence is built.
That’s where ownership grows.
That’s where they become themselves.

Not a version of us.

If this hits home, this is exactly the kind of skill we work on in Parent Effectiveness Training—how to support your kids without shutting them down.
My next class starts in less than two weeks:
☀️ Tuesday Mornings
🗓️ April 7th – May 26th
⏰ 9:30 am – 12:30 pm (Pacific Time)
📚 Eight classes
And of course, I'm still working on this!

Reg info in first comments/bio 👇👇
My daughter was venting to me about a recent pract My daughter was venting to me about a recent practice…
and of course, I did what many of us do.

I offered a solution, "I mean, you don't really need to go next time; it's optional." 

Her response?

“Mom… I just need to complain, not fix it. I'm still going.”

…Heard. 😅

It was such a good reminder.

When kids come to us upset, our instinct is to help. To fix. To make it better. But sometimes all of our great ideas land like this:

🚪 door closes
😶 conversation over

Because what they actually needed wasn’t a solution.
It was space.

Space to vent.
Space to feel heard.
Space to figure it out themselves.

And when we jump in too quickly with advice, it can unintentionally send the message:
“You can’t handle this.”
or
“Your feelings need fixing.”

Even when that’s the last thing we mean.

Sometimes the most helpful thing we can say is:
“That sounds really frustrating.”
“Ugh, that’s tough.”
“I’m here.”

That’s it.

No fixing. No coaching. No life lesson.

Just connection. 💛

(Still practicing this over here, by the way 🙋‍♀️)

If this hits home, this is exactly the kind of skill we work on in Parent Effectiveness Training—how to support your kids without shutting them down.

My next class starts in less than two weeks:

☀️ Tuesday Mornings
🗓️ April 7th – May 26th
⏰ 9:30 am – 12:30 pm (Pacific Time)
📚 Eight classes
And of course, I did what many of us do.
Reg info in first comment 👇👇

Come learn how to listen in a way that actually keeps your kids talking.

 #PositiveParenting #parentingclasses #ParentEffectivenessTraining #respectfulparent #rie #attachmentparenting #sandiegomoms #parentingtips
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