I purchased The Montessori Toddler about a year ago. I have never planned on sending my kids to a Montessori school or daycare, and neither my husband or I have ever attended a Montessori school. I was interested in this topic because it’s a huge parenting buzzword; a whole philosophy on a better way to raise kids.
With all of our Childish Reads books, I expected to have a few key points or gems to takeaway. But TBH, I was a bit disappointed.
Continue readingOur last few Child(ish) Reads have been centered on mindfulness and the neuroscience of child development. So when Hunt, Gather, Parent popped up on my forthcoming parenting books alert, I was excited to dive in.
Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans
by Michaeleen Doucleff
I was able to borrow the audiobook from the library and listened for three straight hours, uninterrupted, on a flight earlier this spring. I was buzzing, taking notes on my phone with all the quotes and points I wanted to share for this post.
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Since April was National #OTMonth, I wanted to switch gears from our usual parenting library. So for this edition of Child(ish) Reads, I bring you “Patti reads an OT book”.
I asked Mary for a few title recommendations on occupational therapy concepts that could help the everyday parent understand child development, and I landed on:
Growing an In-Sync Child: Simple, Fun Activities to Help Every Child Develop, Learn, and Grow
by Carol Kranowitz and Joye Newman
I picked this book because The 5 Love Languages have solidly made their way into popular culture. And while you can’t really find out your child’s Myers-Briggs type or Enneagram until much much later, their primary love language does start showing signs early on.
As a parent, I will do anything to understand my kids better. And with most parenting books, I take them with a grain of salt and I can generally pick out an odd pearl or two of wisdom to pass along for my review. For this book, the pearls came from the first 6 chapters, discussing the love languages themselves. Unfortunately, this back half of this book was a bit of a letdown. I rarely say this, but you’re probably fine just reading this review instead of reading the entire book.
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While The Whole-Brain Child is definitely an awesome approach to child-rearing, the neurobiology can be a bit of a bear to get through. For No-Drama Discipline, the authors zero in on disciplining with the Whole-Brain approach and the result seems to be much more practical (or at least as practical as neurodevelopment can be).
No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind
by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
Child(ish) Advice 