Unexpected Parenting Books

Unexpected Parenting Books

by Adriana Gomes

As Mother’s Day approaches I thought about the many parenting books I read in my over eighteen years on the job. Starting with the obvious “What to Expect When You Are Expecting” and many others after that. Books on dealing with tantrums, poor sleeping, picky eating, teenagers, I read them all.  But the ones that helped me the most weren’t written as parenting books at all, “Outliers” and “The Female Brain,” wouldn’t strike you as maternal, yet they made me a better mother in many ways.

In “Outliers” Malcolm Gladwell discusses successful people, not from the steady point of their individualities, but analyzing the factors and/or people—such as parents, like in mothers—that contributed to their success in various areas like sports, aviation, law, etc. Why are Asian schoolchildren so good at math? Why are the majority of professional hockey and soccer players born in January? Which factors contribute to these particularities? He also shows us how different cultures foster different talents and why. This is a study on what makes certain individuals and cultures stand out. Its conclusions are surprising and make us think. I adopted many concepts discussed in “Outliers” in the way I raise my girls, like the ten thousand hour rule, with great results.

“The Female Brain” by Louann Brizendine helped me understand the challenges my daughters are facing as their bodies go through the hormonal changes that will make them women. Tough times the teen years. It took me back to my own growing up and made me a much more patient mother. Brizendine explains the hormonal changes that make us who we are start in the womb and continue shaping the changes in our behavior, not to mention our bodies, throughout our lives. I still go back to it often to understand, not only my daughters, but my own continually growing up process.

So, if you would like some parenting advice in an intriguing, yet applicable way, “Outliers” and “The Female Brain” are safe bets. Brizendine also wrote The Male Brain, which I plan to read to try and make better sense of some of my husband’s idiosyncrasies.

Tags: parenting