I recently purchased several used books on child development and gentle approaches to parenting. Even though I don’t have children of my own, I think it’s good to understand the principles of healthy development so that I can interact positively with the young people I do have in my life (like neighborhood children and friends’ sons and daughters). And if I do become a parent one day, I hope to be well-informed, sensitive, and intentional. Besides, I find ideas about education and how to help children flourish (especially the ideas espoused by Maria Montessori) fascinating in and of themselves.
The books, in case you’re interested:
- Positive Discipline: The First Three Years by Jane Nelsen, Cheryl Erwin, and Roslyn Duffy
- How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin
- How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
- The Joyful Child by Susan Mayclin Stephenson
- Child of the World by Susan Mayclin Stephenson
- The Gentle Parent by L.R. Knost
If you’d like to learn more about Montessori, consider checking out The Montessori Notebook and the Association Montessori Internationale.