50 Best Parenting Books
Once upon a time, we parented in communities, with the accumulated wisdom of generations of family members at our disposal. Now parents are more isolated, but the fact remains that we aren’t meant to do this job on our own. For many of us, parenting books have helped fill the gap.
They say that kids don’t come with an instruction manual — it’s true — but if you’re like me, you’ve found parenting books that speak to you. To meet the daunting task of picking and ranking the top 50 parenting books, I’ve considered a slew of texts in terms of how relevant and popular they are, how scientifically sound, how challenging or fresh their perspective, and how influential they have been to other books in their genre.
Just remember as you stock your library that while we know a lot about psychology and medicine, parenting is not an exact science — it’s an art form. — Heather Turgeon
32 / 50
32
The Philosophical Baby's Rankings
like
The book: Psychologist Alison Gopnik takes an in-depth look at babies’ mental lives.
Why we picked it: This book pulls together absorbing research on infant thinking, emotion, and relationships, but it goes beyond looking at development from the outside. Gopnik also tries to convey what it’s like to be a baby and how infants see the world.
Get it from: Amazon, $11.68