“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King
Truth only, and in this blog, I want to share five magical nuggets I have gained and have been applying to my life, with good results, from five amazing books on parenting I have read.
Read on….
N.B This post was first published on this blog in November 2021. It’s still totally relevant for today and I trust you’ll glean some wisdom that you can apply in your parenting.
Hey Sweet Momma,
Are you a reader?
If yes, well done.
If no, I hope this article and the YouTube video that accompanies it, encourages you to read.
And even more, your reading habit will encourage your kids to read too, so let’s get our read on.
Honestly, it is hard to pick out just ONE lesson from each of these 5 books, but I want to keep it to five only, so each book gets just one slot.
They are all books I hugely recommend, so if you find it anywhere, please buy.
In the YT video, I equally share all my hacks for reading, including the Apps I use to get my reading done.
Ok, let’s get to those lessons.
I begin with my G-mama, Joyce
- The Confident Mom
This book was a gift from my mama, Pastor Mildred, which she bought LIVE for me from the Love Life Women’s Conference in 2016.
I recall her slightly concerned that I may have read it, so she was happy that I hadn’t.
I am taking my one lesson from the chapter on Shaping your Child’s Life, Chapter 13
When we withhold discipline from our kids, we are actually being unloving toward them. By sparing them… we are setting them up for greater pain in their tomorrows. Give your children not only the tender, but also the tough side of love.
This is pretty clear, Moms. Discipline is your friend (and your kids’ friend too)
2. Great Parenting by Pastor Nike Adeyemi
I am picking my one point right from the beginning where she shares Keys to successful motherhood.
Love Your Husband
As a mother, you should let your children see the love and respect that you have for their father
I love this point, and I do love Pastor Nike, and the Adeyemi family really, because no matter how big their church and ministry has gotten, they have prioritized family, and that is so key.
I have read two of her books on parenting and I was almost highlighting everything. I bought them right from Pneuma bookshop in Daystar church.
am amazed at just how much our kids watch and grasp. They truly are like a sponge, so make sure that all they are absorbing from watching you and your husband/their father is only the good stuff. Save the drama for the bedroom.
I always love when children say they never saw their parents fight, or raise voices. Yes, they had disagreements, but in front of the kids. They handled it well.
I think this also shows respect for your kids, in addition to modelling a godly marriage to them.
3. Making Work at Home Work by Mary M. Byers
This book was a sweet gift and I am so thankful for the group that gave it to me. The three books they gave me as gifts after I spoke at their meeting in 2016 or so were back to back winners.
Said that to say that books are such a great gift.
I learned so much from this particular book, especially as my at-home business was just kicking off, and I needed all the wisdom I could get.
Recently, I have read it again for a refresher course and I almost ate it up, haha. I especially love that she is a woman of faith and dedicates a whole chapter to ‘Relying on faith to get you through’ of the 22-chapters of the book.
My excerpt speaks to the mom who is trying to manage work at home and domestic and childcare responsibilities and feels like she is failing at all.
God alone knows what types of insecurities and worries you and I wrestle with. That is why it is so freeing to invite Him into partnership… He understands the pull you feel between work and family. He honors your desire to be a great wife, a fantastic mo, and an outstanding CEO. He knows how hard it is to try to grow a family and business under one roof. He sympathizes when you feel overwhelmed and ill-equipped…. Many times, I have wondered if I should be working at all or focused solely on my household and the people in it…
Frankly, this is not something I relate with because from the beginning, I did so much research on systems and structures, and so grew my business with wisdom. I also read and applied the many other gems she shares here, but I hear this complaint so much from Domestic Queens and I wanted you to know that there is wisdom in GOD, and also men He uses to help you rock out a working life right at home.
I am living proof.
4. NO; Why Kids of all Ages Need to Hear it, and Ways Parents Can Say it by David Walsh
First, give me a professional child psychologist who is also faith-based and I am bought. Reason I love Kevin Leman and (my fave) James Dobson. And when science marries faith in parenting, such beauty is birthed.
Though I can’t really tell if Walsh is a man of faith, his writings resonate with the two I mentioned above, except where he says he doesn’t believe in spanking a child. Everything else just seems like a Believer wrote it.
‘Saying No in a Yes culture’ is the chapter I am spotlighting and here he says
Slow down and take time to listen to your children. Encourage them to communicate by paying attention to what they are saying. They will be more likely to share if you say ‘ Tell me what you did in reading class today.’ instead of ‘How was school today’?
It is the intentionality for me
Sometimes, we don’t respect our kids enough to communicate well, and then pay them more attention. We split attention with our phones and screen time.
I mean, if we are going to say a good NO that is well received and understood, then we need to really understand our kids, and we do this by paying attention to them.
5. Seven Women by Eric Metaxas
Here, Eric profiles 7 amazing women of history and my fave is Susanna Wesley, mother of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement.
I highlighted almost everything that was written about her, and by far, I really enjoyed how she raised and educated very disciplined kids. I appreciate her methods too.
Strict some may say, but just right for me.
She also prioritized the education of all her kids especially in a time when schooling girls wasn’t popular. She is said to be the inventor of home schooling too.
This housewife was so intentional about the kinds of books she schooled her kids with that she wrote books to her own exacting standards.
Phew!!!
Ok my quote spotlight
The children’s daily routine was rigorous. Susanna required them to study for three hours each morning and three each afternoon, six days a week. They began and closed each academic day by singing a psalm and reading from the Bible. Most of her children learned the entire alphabet on their first day of school. Discipline was the order of the day, which the children were accustomed to. They had been subjected to Sussana’s notions of discipline from birth.
The “Mother of Methodism” as she was called later, was manifestly methodical in raising her children. Her babies were fed on a schedule, rather than being fed on demand, as is the preferred method today. But that was just the beginning. “The children were always put in a regular method of living,” she wrote, “in such things as they were capable of, from their birth; as in dressing and undressing, changing their linen, etc….”
After the small children finished their supper and had their baths, they were put to bed awake, “for there was no such thing allowed of in our house as sitting by a child until it fell asleep.” Of course, this sounds much less harsh when we remember how many children she had to bring up.”
I mean, how unreal was this woman!!!
Love love love it!!!
Ok, there you have it. My 5 books, 5 parenting lessons.
I also wrote about books on both my faith and fitness blogs. You can read those posts here;
Healthy living? 5 lessons from 5 books
Don’t forget to check out my YT video on 5 hacks to get you reading, retaining and applying like a Pro.
Reader ZERO to Reader HERO; 5 hot tips
And let me know which of the books you have read, or any wisdom you have gleaned as a mom reading any book.
With so much love
Eziaha.