Bowbend Consulting

Must-Read Parenting Books

Our Favorite Books

These are the books I consistently reference in my talks, my work, and my own parenting. I hope you enjoy them and benefit from them as much as I have. (This page contains affiliate links. I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.)

Book cover of 'The Paradoxes of Parenting' featuring a silhouetted adult and child walking hand in hand along a path illuminated by soft light, with a green textured background.

Available Now: The Paradoxes of Parenting by Peyten Williams

Positive Discipline, The First Three Years

Jane Nelson, Cheryl Erwin, Roslyn Ann Duffy

Positive Discipline

Positive Discipline for Teens

Book cover of 'Raising Human Beings' by Ross W. Greene, featuring orange footprints and blue text, focusing on collaborative parenting.

Raising Human Beings

Ross W. Greene

The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins

Book cover of 'Moms on Call: Basic Baby Care' for ages 0-6 months, featuring a smiling baby. Celebrates the 20th anniversary with a badge indicating 'Parents Best for Baby 2026 Awards'.

Moms on Call 0-6 mos

Jennifer Walker and Laura Hunter

Cover of the book 'Moms on Call: Next Steps Baby Care' celebrating its 20th anniversary, featuring a smiling baby in a beige sweater with a crib in the background.

Moms on Call 6-15 mos

Jennifer Walker and Laura Hunter

Cover of the 'Moms on Call' Toddler Book, featuring a young girl with curly hair enjoying a blue popsicle, celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Moms on Call Toddler Book

Justin Whitmel Earley

Positive Discipline A-Z: 1001 Solutions to Everyday Parenting Problems

Jane Nelson, Lynn Lott, and Stephen Glenn

Yardsticks: Child and Adolescent Development Ages 4-14

Chip Wood

The Blessing Of A Skinned Knee

Wendy Mogel

Boundaries

Henry Cloud and John Townsend

Boundaries With Kids

Henry Cloud and John Townsend

A Grown Up’s Guide To Kid’s Wiring

Kathleen Edlemen

How Children Succeed

Paul Tough

Book cover of 'The Worry-Free Parent' by Sissy Goff, featuring a child with outstretched arms against a blue sky.

The Worry Free Parent

Sissy Goff

No Drama Discipline

Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

Are My Kids on Track?

David Thomas, Sissy Goff and Melissa Trevathan

The Whole Brain Child

Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters

Priya Parker

Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Drivign the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men

Leonard Sax

Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through The Seven Transitions Into Adulthood

Lisa Damour

The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money

Ron Lieber

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

Susan Cain

Cover of 'The College Finder' fifth edition, featuring a treasure chest filled with various college-related items and surrounded by books and decorations.

The College Finder

Steven Antonoff and Jay McCann

The Prophet

Kahlil Gibran

Setting Parents Free: How to give your kids what they need and where to run when you drop the ball

Dr. John L. Cox

Parenting: Getting It Right

Andy and Sandra Stanley

The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide To Raising Adolescents and Young Adults

Frances E. Jensen with Amy Ellis Nutt

Book cover of 'Emotional Agility' by Susan David, featuring a fish-shaped cookie adorned with colorful confetti and a white background.

Emotional Agility

Susan David

Cover of the book 'StrengthsFinder 2.0' by Gallup and Tom Rath, featuring the title and subtitle 'Discover Your CliftonStrengths', alongside a sketch of Don Clifton.

Strengths Finder 2.0

Don Clifton

Cover of the book 'The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma' by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., featuring a blue background, abstract figures, and a central human silhouette.

The Body Keeps the Score

Bessel Van Der Kolk

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness

Jonathan Haidt

Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic – And What We Can Do About It

Jennifer Breheny Wallace

Habits of the Household

Justin Whitmel Earley

Cover of the book 'Self-Compassion' by Kristin Neff, featuring a purple and green design with the subtitle 'Stop beating yourself up and leave insecurity behind' and a yellow flower on sand.

Self-Compassion

Kristen Neff

Book cover of 'How to Win Friends & Influence People' by Dale Carnegie, featuring a red and white design with the subtitle 'The Only Book You Need to Lead You to Success' and a sticker indicating it is updated for the next generation of leaders.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Dale Carnegie

Cover of the book 'Mindset: The New Psychology of Success' by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., featuring the subtitle and a quote from Bill Gates.

Mindset

Carol Dweck

Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen

Radical Candor

Kim Scott

Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family

Paul David Tripp

Fourteen Talks By Age Fourteen

Michelle Icard

Book cover of 'Let Them Be Kids' by Jessica Smartt, featuring a dark blue background, a tent, and illustrated trees, with the subtitle discussing the importance of adventure, boredom, and innocence for children.

Let Them Be Kids

Jessica Smartt

Love Poems for People With Children

John Kenney

Love Poems for Married People

John Kenney

Wild Things

Stephen James and David Thomas

Raising Worry-Free Girls

Sissy Goff

Book cover of 'Designing Your Life' by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, featuring a light blue background with colorful dots forming a circular pattern, and the subtitle 'How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life.'

Designing Your Life

Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

Cover of the book 'Children of Paradise: Successful Parenting for Prosperous Families' by Lee Hausner, Ph.D., featuring a silhouette of a child standing at the edge of the water during sunset.

Children of Paradi$e

Lee Hausner

Book cover of 'The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery' by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile, featuring an orange background and a silhouette of a head.

The Road Back to You

Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stablile

Cover of the book 'The Gifts of Imperfection' by Brené Brown, featuring bold typography and a light blue background.

The Gifts of Imperfection

Brené Brown

Cover of 'The 5 Love Languages' by Gary Chapman, featuring a couple embracing on a beach at sunset, with the title and author prominently displayed.

The 5 Love Languages

Gary Chapman

Book cover of 'Blink' by Malcolm Gladwell, featuring a light blue background with abstract white shapes and text including the subtitle 'The Power of Thinking Without Thinking'.

Blink

Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stablile