Recommended Reading

On General Parenting

Sidestepping the Power Struggle
LIFE Seminars’ first book, published in 2007 and entitled Sidestepping the Power Struggle, contains everything you need to know about your children's individual temperaments, their stage of development, "normal" and abnormal child behavior at each age, and what events can trigger difficult behaviors. It teaches you how to help children take responsibility for their own lives as they mature and grow into ethical and competent human beings. The book also discusses effective and ineffective discipline techniques. By reading and practicing the recommendations, you will not only become a more effective parent but also enrich the lives of those who matter most. Visit our books and videos page to purchase this book.

On Specific Topics in More Depth

In addition to Sidestepping the Power Struggle, many renowned books provide the reference material behind the topics discussed in LIFE Seminars. These books are excellent sources for further reading on specific parenting topics. LIFE Seminars has partnered with Amazon.ca, providing you a convenient way to browse and purchase these books through an Amazon-based online store. By purchasing through this method, you help LIFE Seminars keep costs down for courses, workshops, and other material, as we make a small (4%) profit from most online purchases.

Here is our list of book references, arranged by topic. Click on the topic to view more details about the books:

General Parenting

• MILLER, Alison & REES, Allison: Sidestepping the Power Struggle. LIFE Seminars (2007)
• MILLER, Alison & REES, Allison: The Parent-Child Connection. LIFE Seminars (2008, in press)

Child Development

• AMES, Louise B. & ILG, Frances - A series of books for various ages
• CAPLAN, Frank: The First Twelve Months of Life. Bantam Books (1978)
• CAPLAN, Frank: The Second Twelve Months of Life. Bantam (1982)
• LEACH, Penelope: Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age Five. Dorling Kindersley (2003)

Teens

• BAYARD, R.T.: How to Deal with Your Acting-up Teenager. Evans (1986)
• SNYDERMAN, Nancy: Girl in the Mirror (Raising Teen Girls). Hyperion (2002)

Boys and Girls

• AYERS, Lauren: Teenage Girls: A Parent's Survival Manual. Crossroad (1994)
• GURIAN, Michael: A Fine Young Man (Raising Boys). Tarcher/Putnam (1998)
• MACKOFF, Barbara: Growing a Girl. Dell (1996)

Sexuality

• HICKLING, Meg: Speaking of Sex. Northstone (1996)
• HINDMAN, Jan & NOVAK, Tom: A Very Touching Book. Alexandria Associates (1998)

Temperament

• CHESS, Stella & THOMAS, Alexander: Know Your Child. Basic Books (1987)
• KURCINKA, Mary: Raising Your Spirited Child. Harper Perennial (1991)
• MARTIN, Heather: A Parent's Guide to Overcoming and Preventing Shyness from Infancy to Adulthood. McGraw-Hill (1981)
• TURECKI, Stanley: The Difficult Child. Bantam (2000)
• ZIMBARDO, Philip: The Shy Child. Dolphin (1982)

Parent-Child Attachment

• BOWLBY, John: A Secure Base: Parent-Child Attachment and Healthy Human Development. Basic Books (1988)
• KAREN, Robert: Becoming Attached: First Relationships and How They Shape Our Capacity to Love. Oxford University Press (1994)

Self-Esteem

• BRIGGS, Dorothy C.: Your Child's Self-Esteem. Main Street (1975)
• McKAY, Matthew & FANNING, Patrick: Self-Esteem. New Harbinger Publications (2000)
• MALLINGER, Allan E. & DeWYZE, Jeannette: Too Perfect: When Being in Control Gets Out of Control. Fawcett Columbine (1992)

Healthy and Unhealthy Families

• BRADSHAW, John: Bradshaw on the Family. HCI (1990)
• BRADSHAW, John: Healing the Shame that Binds You. HCI (1998)
• KHAVARI, Khalil & Sue: Creating a Successful Family. (1989)
• MILLER, Alice: The Drama of The Gifted Child. Basic Books (1996)
• MILLER, Alice: For Your Own Good. Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1990)
• MILLER, Alice: Thou Shalt Not Be Aware. Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1998)
• MISSILDINE, W. Hugh: Your Inner Child Of The Past. Fireside (1991)
• NORTHRUP, Christiane: Mother-Daughter Wisdom. Bantam (2005)

Boundaries in Families

• CLOUD, Henry & TOWNSEND, John: Boundaries with Kids. Zondervan (1998)
• KATHERINE, ANNE: Boundaries: Where You End and I Begin. Fireside (1993)
• RICHO, David: How To Be An Adult. Paulist Press (1991)
• RICHO, David: How To Be An Adult in Relationships. Shambhala (2002)
• LERNER, Harriet: The Dance of Anger. Harper (1997)
• LERNER, Harriet: The Dance of Fear. Perennial (2005)
• LERNER, Harriet: The Dance of Intimacy. Perennial (1990)
• HALPERN, Howard M.: Cutting Loose: An Adult's Guide to Coming to Terms with your Parents. Fireside (1990)
• PAUL, Jordan & Margaret: Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You? Hazelden (2002)
• PAUL, Jordan & Margaret: Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By My Kids? Berkley (1995)

Emotions

• GOTTMAN, John: Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child. Simon & Schuster (1998)
• GREENSPAN, Stanley & Nancy: First Feelings: Milestones in the Emotional Development of Your Baby and Child from Birth to Age Four. Viking Penguin (1985)
• GOLEMAN, Daniel: Emotional Intelligence. Bantam (1997)
• LENCIONI, Patrick M., BRADBERRY, Travis & GREAVES, Jean: The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book: Everything You Need to Know to Put Your EQ to Work. Fireside (2003)
• McKAY, Matthew & FANNING, Patrick: When Anger Hurts Your Kids. New Harbinger Publications (1996)
• McKAY, Matthew, ROGERS, Peter D. & McKAY, Judith: When Anger Hurts: Quieting the Storm Within. New Harbinger (1989)

Children and Stress

• HAZEN, Barbara Shook: Why Did Grandpa Die? Western Publishing Co. (1988)
• KERSEY, Katharine: Helping Your Child Handle Stress. Berkley (1986)
• MONAHON, Cynthia: Children and Trauma: A Parent's Guide to Helping Children Heal. Lexington (1993)
• SAUNDERS, Antoinette & REMSBERG, Bonnie: The Stress-Proof Child: How to Recognize Symptoms of Stress in Your Child and What You Should Do About It. New American Library (1986)

Parent-Child Communication

• COVEY, Stephen: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Free Press (1990)
• FABER, Adele & MAZLISH, Elaine: How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk. Harper Resource (1999)
• GINOTT, Haim: Between Parent and Child. Three Rivers (2003)
• GORDON, Thomas: Parent Effectiveness Training. Three Rivers (2003)
• ROSENBERG, Marshall: Nonviolent Communication. Puddledancer (1999)
• TANNEN, Deborah: That's Not What I Meant: How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships. Ballantine (1986)
• TANNEN, Deborah: You Just Don't Understand: Men and Women in Conversation. Ballantine (1990)

Responsibility

• BETTELHEIM, Bruno: A Good Enough Parent. Knopf (1987)
• COLOROSO, Barbara: Kids Are Worth It. Quill Press (1995)
• CRARY, Elizabeth: Pick Up Your Socks. Parenting Press (1990)
• DREIKURS, Rudolf: Children: The Challenge. Fitzhenry & Whiteside (1964)

Values and Empathy

• DOSICK, Wayne D.: Golden Rules: The Ten Ethical Values Parents Need to Teach Their Children. HarperCollins (1995)
• UNELL, Barbara & WYCKOFF, Jerry: 20 Teachable Virtues: Practical Ways to Pass on Lessons of Virtue. Berkley (1995)

Discipline

• BAYARD, Robert T.: How to Deal With Your Acting-up Teenager. Evans & Co (1986)
• DODSON, Fitzhugh: How To Parent. (1978)
• GREENE, Ross: The Explosive Child. Quill (2001)
• LEMAN, Kevin: Making Children Mind, without Losing Yours. Revell (2000)
• WYCKOFF, Jerry & UNELL, Barbara: Discipline without Shouting or Spanking. Meadowbrook (1984)