The Best Parenting Books I’ve Read (So Far)

I’m an avid reader and love to soak up nonfiction books in addition to my frequent fiction reads. Since becoming a mom almost five years ago, I’ve picked up a fair share of parenting books that have helped shape my parenting philosophy. As a Christian mom, many of the titles I’ve picked up have been encouraging in raising children with a foundation of faith, but I’ve found many non-Christian resources extremely helpful as well!

Also, just a reminder that the links below are affiliate links — we get a small commission when you purchase after clicking on the link. A little goes a long way, and we’d appreciate your support!

Here’s a list of my favorites:

1. Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley - this book centers on creating habits for yourself and your home. It offers easy-to-implement practices that you can start right away. It’s an easy read with simple applications after each chapter. We’ve already implemented many of the suggested practices - most recently, saying a prayer of blessing over our kids before bed. I’d highly recommend the read as a Christian parent.

2. Raising Passionate Jesus Followers by Phil and Diane Comer - I’ve gone to conferences that Phil and Diane have led and listened to numerous podcasts through their ministry, Intentional Parents. They have incredible wisdom from what they learned as young parents and are encouraging to listen to and learn from. This book is divided into stages (birth through early adulthood) and offers practical advice tailored to each stage. They’ve encouraged me to embrace more fun in parenting, as I tend more towards expecting rules to be followed above having fun. There’s totally a place for both, but this book has helped me lean into fun more than I naturally would have. This book is another fantastic resource for Christian parents!

3. Hunt, Gather, Parent, by Michaeleen Doucleff - this book changed how I view parenting! Michaeleen travels around the world to learn more about how different cultures parent, challenging the modern/Western parenting norms. And I was intrigued and inspired by the principles these non-Western families held. I’m probably due for another read-through!

4. The Montessori Toddler by Simone Davies - I went to a Montessori school, trained as a Montessori teacher, and worked for many years at a Montessori preschool, so I’m a huge fan of all things Montessori! This book helps break down many of Maria Montessori’s philosophies that can be used directly with toddlers. The author also has a book for babies and school-aged children! As a random bonus, the book's formatting is beautiful, too.

5. Satisfied by Alyssa Joy Bethke - this one may not be directly for parenting, but I found many of the stories to be so encouraging along the journey of motherhood. The chapters are short and easy to read. I read this with some mom friends and found it encouraging to discuss each chapter topic together.

6. Risen Motherhood by Emily Jensen and Laura Wifler - this book helps view motherhood through the lens of the gospel. It tackles topics like community, income-producing work, schooling choices, and more. I read this book with my community and found it more insightful when we read and discussed it together.

7. The Six Needs of Every Child— this book examines children's innate needs and how parents can meet them where they are developmentally. Each chapter has space for reflecting on current wins and struggles in each area (delight, support, boundaries, protection, comfort, and equipping) and how to grow and improve. It's a great scientific-based Christian perspective!

8. Take Back Your Family - this book reframes our current culture of family and individualism and analyzes what it would look like to treat family as a team. This book offers a fun, different perspective of support and camaraderie within families instead of typical sibling “me-against-you” mentalities.

9. Tech-Wise Family—this book is an incredible guide for properly utilizing technology with children and the importance of prioritizing high-quality, non-screen, hands-on activities instead. I highly recommend this read!

10. The Anxious Generation— while this isn’t specifically a parenting book, it is packed with helpful ideas on how and when to introduce smartphones and social media to kids. Most of the book covers how Gen X has become one of the most anxious generations of modern times, but the practical tips are parenting GOLD!

I’ll be adding to this list as I read more! I have so many on my list, and I can’t wait to share them with you!

(updated 8/24!)

The Practice of Blessing Your Children

Recently, I was listening to a podcast by Intentional Parents. In it, the hosts talk about the benefits of speaking blessing over your children. This can look like simply saying, “You are kind” or “I noticed you sharing; I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

In the Bible, a blessing often looks like a paragraph-long speech foretelling the success of your children. While you can do that, I’ve found great benefit from simply noticing the small things my children do and telling them.

When I started this practice, I had difficulty accepting the task. I thought, “Why would I say things that aren’t true about my kids to them??”. My children are currently 4.5 and 3 years old and definitely in a phase of tantrums and fighting and not sharing. They’re good kids, but I felt most of my time was spent on discipline and correction. I was putting a lot of time into trying to fix behaviors. How can I tell them they’re kind when wrestling each other? How can I call them thoughtful when they refuse to share?

But I found that the more I noticed and called out the small kindnesses in my children, the less they actively engaged in less desirable behaviors.

Blessings work similarly to affirmations. With affirmations, we tell ourselves truths over and over again. Hearing “I am strong” or “I am loved” day in and day out or repeated over a few minutes allows those truths to sink into our core. Over time, we come to believe these things about ourselves. When we know we are loved, we can act in love. When we know we are strong, we can face hardships better.

It’s the same with speaking affirmations to your children. Telling them “you are strong” or “you are loved” day in and day out allows those truths about themselves to take root in their hearts. Soon they’re operating on the truth that they are strong, and kind, and brave, and friendly, and patient. They can act more freely on those characteristics when they know those things to be true.

Children live up to the expectations we put on them. If we expect them to misbehave and be challenging, they will be. If we expect them to be kind, thoughtful, and gentle, they will be. When we see them in their full potential, they can see themselves that way too.

Here are a few steps to begin the practice of blessing your children:

1. Start by noticing. Take the time to watch your children move about their world and interact with peers and family members. Observe the “thank you’s” and the “excuse me’s” and the hugs and the sharing.

2. Call it out. You can say something like, “Thank you for sharing with your sister,” or “I noticed you put away your shoes. That’s so helpful!” or “You’re a great friend.”

3. Repeat it. Make space for blessing every day. Even in the busyness of life, even in the middle of a day full of major toddler meltdowns, find something to bless them with.

Whether you have two-year-olds or twelve-year-olds or even adult children, offering a blessing to your children can make a significant impact on their lives. And honestly, it can change your heart too.

Getting Started With Meal Planning

Meal planning has been integral to my life for many years — even before having kids!

I like to be efficient in grocery shopping and try to run by the store only once weekly, so knowing everything I’ll need beforehand is super helpful to avoid those last-minute grocery runs.

Whether you like to be all planned out or have a lot of flexibility, meal planning can be a great way to clear up some mental space in your week. Sitting down one time to decide your meals for the week will ultimately save you time each day from having to shop and decide on what you want to eat. Less time thinking about and shopping for meals equals more time spent on what matters most to you!

Tips for getting started with meal planning

1. Set aside a time during the week to plan out your meals. This can be the same time every week (I usually plan meals on Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon), or it can be flexible if your schedule looks different every week.

2. Look at your calendar. Plan easy meals on days you have events and more time-consuming dinners on open evenings (if that’s your thing!). Sometimes specific meals should be planned on particular days, and other times, meals can be eaten any day of the week. I usually schedule specific meals for specific days, but sometimes it’s fun to move them around based on my mood or on what sounds the most delicious at the moment!

3. Start with what you have. Look through any produce you may not have used up the previous week. Browse cupboards to see what pantry staples are lying around and plan meals around what’s already in your home. This also helps cut down on food waste and saves money. Win-win!

4. Eat seasonally where possible. Check out this site to see what foods are in season in your area! This helps you save money as these foods are often cheaper in season, helps reduce emissions since the food is often local and doesn’t have to travel as far, and helps us live more in step with our world and its ever-changing seasons.

5. Find recipes. Grab meals from your favorites list, pull out cookbooks, or search the web. I’ve loved Pinch of Yum recently, and Rachael’s Good Eats new cookbook. We also have a highlight on our Instagram with lots of meal plans saved for recipe inspiration!

6. Make a list and shop! Once you’ve compiled your recipes for the week, make a grocery list of every food item you’ll need. Head to your favorite store, and don’t forget to bring your reusable shopping bags!

Make a calendar appointment or set a reminder to do this each week. The more you practice, the easier the habit becomes. Soon enough, you’ll be meal planning like a pro!

Memorizing Scripture with Young Kids

I’ve recently started memorizing scripture with my daughters (4.5 and 3 years old) using these beautiful scripture memorization cards from Pip & J Papery.

While beautiful cards are not necessary to memorize scripture, these have been a fun visual for our kids to practice this new skill. I have a few tips for memorizing scripture with young kids to share today to help you start your memorization journey!

1. Add memorization to your routine.

   Find a time that works for you to incorporate scripture memorization into your daily routine. This could be over breakfast, driving to school, or before bed. We started adding memorization into our bedtime routine, and it’s been so impactful for us! After jammies, teeth brushing, and Bible reading, we recite our verses before praying and hopping into bed.

2. Practice daily.

   Habits take time to form, so be consistent! Practicing at least once daily to keep up the momentum.

3. Start small.

   All of the scriptures we are memorizing are short sentences. I usually have the kids repeat after me a few times before bed each night to help them remember.

4. Perform for family members.

   If your children like to show off new skills, ask them to recite their verses to a friend or family member! They’ll be proud of their achievements and light up from that positive reinforcement.

5. Make it visual

   Here’s where scripture cards come in! Make your own or find some to buy from various brands. Having the visual helps my daughters connect the alphabet letters with the verse and serves as a reminder for me to practice every night. It’s hard to forget a new routine when it’s in a spot you’ll always see it and be reminded of the practice.

I hope you’ll jump into this simple practice with your children! the Bible tells us it carries so many benefits! “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” Proverbs 22:6 & “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11

Valentine’s Gift Ideas

I love any excuse to celebrate love and to give gifts, how about you? Today we’ve rounded up a few ideas to gift your friends, significant others, and kids for Valentine’s Day. Check it out!

Citrus Body Bar - any bath essentials make fabulous Valentine’s and Galentine’s day gifts! We love this citrus bar from Beauty Counter! (if you don’t already shop with a consultant, please select Alisa Jeffus during check out! I’d appreciate your support!)

Gourmet Mexican Vanilla - this is hands down the best vanilla we’ve ever baked with! This gift would be perfect for the baker in your life!

Pajamas - always pajamas! Comfy, cozy, cute. You just really can’t go wrong with gifting yourself or your bestie with a pair of these ultra soft Valentine’s jammies.

Live-in tank - I bought myself this tank & high rise undies set years ago and I’m still obsessed with them! Classic cut, perfect for light weight jammies or to wear during the day/under your clothes.

Candles - I’m also a huge fan of gifting candles (and gifting them to myself too), I have my eye on this Palo Santo candle from Chalkfull of Love in their Valentine’s collection. Check out their mugs and other fun items too!

Romance novel - know a bookish gal who’s looking for her next book? Grab a fun romance novel! I’ve linked one of my favorites - The People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. I’ve loved reading this author along with Taylor Jenkins Reid, Abby Jimenez, Carley Fortune, and Ali Hazelwood.

Valentine’s books - books about love, friendship, and sharing are always a great idea, and make the best gifts for kids this time of year. I created an idea list of my favorite PaperPie reads I think kids of all ages will love!

Pajamas - I love gifting my girls pajamas for almost every holiday. Its such a cozy way to celebrate! Our favorite, softest sets come from Plain Jane. We’ve bought multiple pairs for each girl now because we just love the quality!

Bath bubbles - in addition to pajamas, I also love gifting bubbles for every holiday! We’re big fans of Tubby Todd and love all of their scents. Bath bombs would be a fun gift too!

Butterfly wings - I love open ended dress up play and my girls love it to! Grabbing a toy where they can use their imagination is always a great gift! We love this one from Sarah’s Silks!

Kid’s garden bed - start the spring off right with this kid sized garden! They’ll have so much fun getting their hands dirty during planting, watering their plants, watching them grow, and then eating what they’ve grown!

Personalized puzzle - my daughter just learned how to spell her name and I know she’d love putting together this personalized puzzle all day long.

Ember coffee mug - we love this mug that keeps itself warm! Now his coffee will never get cold.

Comfy beanie - we love shopping Patagonia for their sustainability practices, so we always turn to them for outdoor gear and clothes. We love this one to keep your SO warm!

No bleed highlighters- is your partner an avid reader? These highlighters are AMAZING! They don’t bleed and come in aesthetically pleasing colors (read: not obnoxious). You have to check these out!

Gym equipment - support your guy’s fitness goals with these gym essentials or grab some equipment for a home gym! We love this brand!

We hope this list inspires you if you’re giving gifts for Valentine’s this year! Experiences make wonderful gifts as well, so if you’re going gift free, I hope you find a fun way to celebrate your love for your spouse, partner, friends, and kids!

The Best Christmas Books for Young Kids

We love bringing books into our home based on seasonal topics - oceans and sea creatures in the summer, love and friendships for Valentine’s day, pumpkins and bats and spiders for fall, and Christmas books for the last month of the year.

We’ve rounded up our favorite Christmas books for our the most wonderful time of the year. Some we’ve had since I (Alisa) was little and some we’ve added to our collection in recent years.

Keep reading for links to buy each book and a little description of each and why we love them for our young kids.

Here are some of our favorites from PaperPie Books:

1. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Pop-Up - this is the classic tale we all know and love, with beautifully illustrated pop-up pictures! We love being able to pass down timeless Christmas stories, and this book from PaperPie brings this classic to life for young kids with fun pop-ups on every page.

2. The Twinkly, Twinkly Christmas Tree and Twinkly, Twinkly Nativity - both of these books light up story time with bright LED lights! The first is a story about searching for Christmas lights and the second is about the beautiful stars in the sky at the time of Jesus’ birth. These make bedtime reading so magical!

3. The Nutcracker Sound Book - I grew up listening to the musical score from the Nutcracker every year during Christmas and attended the ballet as well! So this book is so special for me to share with my kids — they get to experience the sounds of the Nutcracker right along with the story.

4. Peek Inside the Nativity - the story of Jesus’ birth becomes a delight to read with beautifully cut out holes to see through each page. Peek at animals hiding in the stable or spy innkeepers watching over their inn. So much joy and mystery to experience in this story about the true meaning of Christmas.

Some more favorites from other publishers:

1. Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree - I (Alisa) LOVED this book as a child. I don’t necessarily know what drew me in with this story, but I was so delighted to read about this grand Christmas tree that Mr. Willowby bought. His tree is too tall for this house, so he chops off the top. Someone finds it, but it’s too tall for their space as well. And on it goes down through bears and foxes and rabbits and mice. This one Christmas tree winds up blessing so many little families - what a Christmas joy!

2. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - it wouldn’t be Christmas without this classic to read and sing about! We have this edition from A Little Golden Book with the cutest vintage illustrations. Any edition would be lovely to add to your Christmas shelf!

3. Together—I absolutely fell in love with this book, which highlights the beauty of spending time together above receiving gifts during the Christmas season. That’s truly what it’s about, right? Family time, laughter shared, cookies baked, and memories made. I love the simple reminder of presence and family in this book.

4. Where’s Santa Claus? - this lift-the-flap board book is perfect for babies and toddlers. It has soft, felted flaps and fun illustrations. It would make the perfect stocking stuffer!

   *note- I’ve linked all of these to Amazon, but we highly recommend shopping secondhand for books or supporting your local bookstore!

If your Christmas books aren’t already out, we hope you find a fun book to bring home and read with your kids this season! Snuggle up by the fire, grab some hot cocoa, and soak in the memories of reading with your little ones.

Resources for Nourishing Your Family

We know as a new mom or a seasoned mom (or dad!), it’s so important to get reviews and resources from other parents about what you need for your child. I’ve gotten asked about best jammies, best straw cups, mattresses, carseats, strollers, and more!

So we’re here today to share with you some of our favorite resources for nourishing and caring for your family well, no matter the stage you’re in. We’ve used and loved these products for years, and we hope you and your family will enjoy them as much as we do!

1. Lovevery- we are OBSESSED with Lovevery. High quality. Beautiful colors. Mostly wood materials. Montessori-based. They currently offer subscription based play kits for ages birth - 4 years. We’ve been subscribing for almost that whole time for our oldest daughter and every shipment we’re blown away by the items included. Because the toys are high quality and developmentally appropriate, we’ve been able to pass them down to younger siblings. And I’m sure they’ll be passed on to friends when we’re all done. If you’re interested in exploring a play kit and bringing some Montessori activities home, click the link above!

2. Usborne Books- reading is a huge priority in our family (and there are so many studies to back up the positive effects of early literacy), and so we have our kids room packed with all sorts of visually interesting, engaging, interactive, and educational books. Our favorite place to turn is Usborne Books & More! I work as an independent consultant with them, so if you ever need help looking through their large catalog of books, let me know and I can make a list curated specifically to your child’s age and interests. Send me an email to request a wishlist or browse on your own with the link above!

3. Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Early - Justin, a dad of 4 writes, “we had such high hopes for having kids and now it seems more work than love, more exhaustion than fulfillment. At best we feel tired, at worst we feel trapped, in between we feel lonely, and more likely than not, we feel bad about our parenting.” If you can relate to those words, then you may benefit from reading this book.  It is practical, helpful, easy to read filled with wisdom and insight.  Here you can discover simple habits and easy to implement daily rhythms to bring more peace and purpose to your home.

4. Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff - I read this book last year and immediately loved every page. Michaeleen investigates the habits and rhythms of three ancient cultures in how they raise children. These cultures have a history of raising, kind, happy, and well-adjusted kids and Michaeleen is able to translate a few key principles of parenting into our modern Western culture. I was able to try out a few of these principles with my own family with great results! I still implement some of these today, and would love to go back and read this book over and over again.

5. The Dearest Grey - we love this small shop for all things baby/toddler feeding! The bento boxes are our favorite - we pack the girls’ lunches in them every school day. They also offer the cutest silicone suction cups, utensils, bibs, and pacifiers on their website. Check them out if you need baby & toddler feeding essentials!

6. Family Plan Calendar - this calendar is ESSENTIAL to the function of our home. With everyone’s work schedules, coordinating school drop off and pick up, and all of our community events, we are busy! And the Family Plan Calendar makes managing all of it so much easier. Some weeks we just fill out each day’s events, and other days we utilize the whole calendar and add in our meal plan, grocery list, house to-do list, and more. We love ours and have been using it for over a year now!

7. Other Goose - one of our favorite authors started a homeschooling curriculum for ages 3-7. Each week you’ll get a few activity ideas to complete with your child. Once completed you can take notes and rate how much your child enjoyed that activity. It costs $12.99/month and is worth every cent. It’s given us endless ideas of ways to integrate learning into every day home life. Whether you want to homeschool your kids or are just looking for some fun ideas to keep them busy, check this amazing resource out!

We hope you find these recommendations helpful for your family! Sowing into those closest to you is such a joy. It’s so rewarding to see them learn and grow and flourish. We hope your family finds rest and security and love in the home that you choose to intentionally make beautiful.