Description
Parenting trends come and go. Gentle parenting is different – it isn’t a label for a precise set of rules but a method of parenting that embraces the needs of parent and child, while being mindful of current science and child psychology. It means parenting with empathy, respect, understanding – and boundaries.
In The Gentle Parenting Book, Sarah Ockwell-Smith provides a trustworthy combination of what-to-expect information and gentle-parenting solutions to the most common challenges faced by parents with young children. Sarah addresses a wide variety of topics, including coping with a crying baby, introducing solid foods and creating healthy eating habits, potty training, starting nursery and school, sibling rivalry, tantrums, whining and sulking, aggressive behaviour and much more.
And for those parents who have previously used a more authoritarian style of parenting, there’s plenty of advice – and reassurance – on making the transition to a gentler approach. For many, gentle parenting comes as a relief because it chimes with their deepest instincts about the best way to raise their children.
Sarah Ockwell-Smith is the mother of four children. She has a BSc in Psychology and worked for several years in Pharmaceutical Research and Development. Following the birth of her first child, Sarah re-trained as a Paediatric Homeopath, Antenatal Teacher and Birth and Postnatal Doula. She has also undertaken training in Baby Massage, Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy. Sarah specialises in gentle parenting methods and is co-founder of the GentleParenting website (www.gentleparenting.co.uk). Sarah writes a parenting blog (www.sarahockwell-smith.com) which is read by 3 million parents per year, and is the author of BabyCalm, ToddlerCalm,The Gentle Sleep Book, The Gentle Parenting Book and The Gentle Discipline Book. She frequently writes for magazines and newspapers, and is often called upon as a parenting expert for national television and radio.
This book is full of useful tips for how to parent gently. Drawing on her own and others’ experiences, and with her trademark forthright approach, Sarah Ockwell-Smith offers advice and guidance for parenting children in a way that encourages and enables them to grow and learn. While the book is aimed at parents with children from birth to age seven, much of what Sarah has to offer is also relevant for parents with older children, and for relationships in general. In particular, I found her suggestion that we should THINK before we respond to others – that is to consider whether what we have to say is True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary and Kind – to be pertinent, both within and beyond the sphere of parenting.—
Gill Rapley, PhD, co-author of Baby-led Weaning and the 'baby-led' series of parenting booksWhat a lovely book! Sarah Ockwell-Smith uses the term ‘gentle parenting’ to encompass deep insights into the ways that parents can be responsive to the needs of children while maintaining their own inner balance. I love the way Sarah breaks the concept down into clear guidelines – without being strident about one right way to be a parent – and the way she addresses the challenge of shifting from mainstream parenting to more gentle ways. The world can be a harsh place; families don’t have to be.—
Lawrence J. Cohen, PhD, author of Playful Parenting
