The Best Progressive Parenting Books to Read

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This article showcases our top picks for the top progressive parenting books. We reached out to industry leaders and experts who have contributed the suggestions within this article (they have been credited for their contributions below).

We are keen to hear your feedback on all of our content and our comment section is a moderated space to express your thoughts and feelings related (or not) to this article This list is in no particular order.


No-Drama Discipline by Daniel J. Siegel

This product was recommended by Aaron Simmons from TestPrepGenie

Focal Point: As a single parent who’s taking care of a child alone, every single day is a challenge for me. I am always insecure about how I should raise my child. Thankfully, this book by Siegel and Bryson is a good aid for parents like me who are struggling with this issue. The book details the most efficient ways on how you should respond to your child’s actions. According to the authors, your actions have a great impact on the future of your child. With this, the tips included in this book is a great start for clueless parents on how they would approach their parenting journeys.


How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk By Adele Faber

This product was recommended by Oliver Baker from Intelivita

The book offers effective step by step techniques on how parents could improve not just their communication skills for their children, but so as their relationship with them. This book tackles ways on how parents could break a pattern of arguments, cope with their child’s negative feelings, set clear limits and still maintain goodwill, express their anger without being hurtful, and resolve family conflicts peacefully.


Teaching Kids to Be Good People by Annie Fox

This product was recommended by Steve Johnson from Boot Mood Foot

As a parent, I always worry about my kids growing up a nice person or someone full of bad habits. It’s heartbreaking to see if they take the wrong path. I have read several books about parenting, but my best suggestion is this one. I always recommend this book to my fellow parents as I find it full of genuine teachings and recommendations on how to converse with our young ones.


Nonnie Talks About Gender by Dr. Mary Jo Podgurski

This product was recommended by Lindsey Smith from N/A

Dr. Mary Jo helps open the door to parent/child conversations about gender in a way with sensitivity, warmth, and respect. This can be a complicated topic for many parents and this book is interactive and helps parents see themselves in the conversations they will be having.


Sex Ed is in Session by Dr. Mary Jo Podgurski

This product was recommended by Lindsey Smith from N/A

Sex is a taboo subject and can be uncomfortable to discuss at any age, but especially gets awakard for parents to discuss with their children. Dr. Mary Jo reaccounts her years of experience teaching sex ed to over a quarter-million young people and shares stories and insights that can help parents and adults address sensitive topics with children with respect and understanding.


Raising the Resistance by Farrah Alexander

This product was recommended by Lindsey Smith from N/A

https://www.amazon.com/Raising-Resistance-Mothers-Practical-Activism/dp/1642503746/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=2404QYUQUY1AH&dchild=1&keywords=raising&linkCode=ll1&tag=prettyprogressive-20&linkId=9c5a9708691360ea58231d6cf1785b8d

This books has practiacal solutions for feminist moms to raise the next generation of resisters by planting seeds of empathy and helping their children better understand political issues.


Parenting with Purpose by Lynda Madison

This product was recommended by John Peterson from Safe Drive Gear

It’s old but gold! The book focuses on toddlers. And I agree that behavioral and discipline problems develop early in childhood. Here you will find some understandings to help the kids resolve their issues before it develops into a habit.


Not Another Parenting Book by Michelle Catanach

This product was recommended by Rachel Devereux from Rachel Devereux

With contributions by 12 co-authors from a range of backgrounds, Not Another Parenting Book takes an inside-out approach to parenting that puts self-compassion at its core. Unlike many mainstream parenting books, it doesn’t offer one-size-fits-all techniques and strategies that leave you feeling like a failure when they don’t work, neither does it shame your parenting styles or choices. Instead, Not Another Parenting Book accepts our uniqueness and fallibility as humans, and leads us to turn inwards so that we can connect with ourselves as a means to connecting with our children. From birth through to the teenage years, this book shares personal anecdotes and professional insight, infused with love and compassion, to let you know that you’re not alone on your parenting journey.


Not Just Black and White by Anni K. Reinking

This product was recommended by Susan Stitt from Front Edge Publishing

What is race? How do we define identity? How does education affect our life and relationships? Welcome to Anni K. Reinking’s world, where even the smallest occurrence of everyday life raises new questions and reflections, involving sociology, anthropology, religion and psychology,” writes Elisa Di Benedetto in the Foreword to Not Just Black and White. “This is Anni’s emotionally and intellectually moving memoir of her life as a white mother raising a black son in multiracial America—but it is so much more than that. While her story is based in the U.S., this is a global story. This book is an extraordinary journey towards awareness and learning. That’s how the world changes for the better—one story at a time that touches us and makes us realize we share far more with our neighbors than might seem to separate us.” America is a racially divided nation. All of us are familiar with the headlines in recent years of white Americans anxiously calling police about innocent black Americans they encounter. Among the troubling news stories are incidents sparked by black young people simply napping in a dorm room, shopping for clothing, touring a campus or holding a business meeting in a coffee shop. National reporting shows that black drivers are more likely to be pulled over by police than white drivers. In some tragic cases, young African Americans have been killed in encounters that were fueled by mistaken impressions or outright racism. Reinking has spent years as a researcher, scholar and educator. Her roles as mother and researcher come together in this important new book. She shares her family’s life in the hope that these stories will foster learning, discussion and new places for reflection and growth. She is honest even about her own occasional stumbling as a mother through cross-racial experiences in which she discovered how much more she has to learn. In telling those true stories, she invites readers to open up their own lives. Writer Christine Michel Carter, who specializes in working with black families and consumers, encourages readers to embrace Reinking’s fresh perspective in this book. “For years I have researched and written for the general public, advocating for equality, uncovering the challenges of black motherhood and revealing the many cultures that reside in our country,” Carter writes. “However, Dr. Anni is doing something I cannot: using stories of her own ignorance in hopes that it will push her colleagues outside of their own comfort boundaries and foster within them a place for growth and reflection.” Ultimately, for millions of Americans, this is a family story for our time. Anni’s father, a longtime Presbyterian minister, encourages all parents and grandparents to enjoy this book, writing, “I think that every grandparent hopes for a better future, not only for their children, but for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”–


Mini ManifestersTM by Annette Estrada

This product was recommended by Annette Estrada from Mini Manifesters

https://minimanifesters.com/shop/ols/products/mini-manifesterstm-a-pocketbook-to-energize-the-young-leaders-of-the-now

Anyone who interfaces with kids and distance learning on a daily basis are feeling the heavy load of meeting academic and enrichment support in the home. As a parent of four, classroom teacher, and a community development entrepreneur, I hear and see the struggle families encounter to keep focus up. I’ve just published a book for any educator, youth development worker, and families that have children to meet the current times! The book is titled Mini Manifesters: A Pocketbook to Energize the Young Leaders of the Now.


Not My Child by Dr. Frank Lawlis

This product was recommended by Jennifer Willy from Etia

Not My Child by Dr. Frank Lawlis is an insightful, compassionate, and encouraging guide for families dealing with an addicted teen or child at risk of becoming addicted to alcohol or drugs. This thoughtful and groundbreaking book details sound medical treatments, as well as alternative and spiritual methods for addressing a societal problem that has reached epidemic levels.


Bless This Mess by Molly Phinney Baskette

This product was recommended by Jennifer Willy from Etia

Bless This Mess by Molly Phinney Baskette is a witty, compelling guide to raising open-minded and morally grounded kids in these crazy times, with an approach that’s rooted in science, psychology, and faith. Readers will gain constructive tools as they learn how to talk to their children about social justice, money, God, ethics, bullying, disabilities, sexuality, and their bodies.


Parenting Forward by Cindy Wang Brandt

This product was recommended by Jennifer Willy from Etia

Parenting Forward by Cindy Wang Brandt quips Christian parents to model a way of following Jesus that has an outward focus, putting the priority on loving others, avoiding judgment, and helping those in need.

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