Mommyish Gift Guide:10 Parenting Books That Won’t Suck Under The Christmas Tree

While a book may not be at the top of your Christmas wish list, there are some people that enjoy a good read””I know I do. Bonus if these people just happen to be parents.

If you have parents, young or old, in your life that are interested in a little “higher learning,” you may want to check out a few of these non-sucky parenting books that have been flying off the shelves. And by flying off the shelves, I mean they have pretty decent Amazon reviews because who goes to bookstores anymore anyway?

If you’ve read any of these parenting books, I’d love to hear your rating. Let me know if these books are worth the trouble of wrapping or if they’d be better off as doorstops. And tell me if I missed any of your faves on this all-inclusive, non-sucky Christmas gift guide­””inquiring minds want to know.

1.    Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman

I’m totally biased on this one because I truly loved this book. Sure, it’s received some criticism because Pamela is all, “French parents are the best blah blah blah,” but she does have some good points. This book was interesting and easy to read. I’ve also tried semi-successfully to embrace the laissez-faire French attitude with my kids.

2.    Free-Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy

This book may not be for everyone, but I personally loved it so much. I mentioned in a different post that I admired Lenore’s ballsy parenting attitude and am trying to find the Free-Range balance for myself. At the very least, this book has some awesome “positive” crime statistics that are hard to find anywhere else.

3.    The Baby Book, Revised Edition: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two by William Sears

I haven’t read this book personally, but it seems perfect for the freaked out new parent, like we all once were. It promises that you will know EVERYTHING about the first two years of your kid’s life, so maybe it’s worth the 17 bucks?

4.    Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

I love me some Jim Gaffigan, and as a parent, I love him even harder. This is my favorite Jim Gaffigan quote, which I’ve used before and I’ll use again, “You know what it’s like having five kids? Imagine you’re drowning. And someone hands you a baby.” Nuff said.

5.    Bottled Up: How the Way We Feed Babies Has Come to Define Motherhood, and Why It Shouldn’t by Suzanne Barston

I haven’t read this book yet, but I’m intrigued. This may be the perfect gift for any new mom you know because at least it provides a complete perspective on breast-feeding and formula feeding. Or, maybe it will just start an unnecessary fight on Christmas morning, who knows?

6.    Self Matters: Creating Your Life from the Inside Out by Phil McGraw

This may not seem like a parenting book per se, but I am not-so-secretly obsessed with Dr. Phil and think he may be my real father. With that fantasy aside, I just think it’s so, so, so important to work on yourself and have a strong personal identity, or else how will you be a good parent? Soapbox over.

7.    Sh*tty Mom: The Parenting Guide for the Rest of Us by Laurie Kilmartin

The title of this book alone has me hooked because who doesn’t want to be a self-proclaimed shitty mom? This snarky parenting guide was written by four shitty moms and may be the perfect gift for the irreverent, bad ass mom in your life, i.e. a Mommyish reader.

8.    Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka

This book is an oldie but a goodie from 1998, but it has tons of positive Amazon reviews. Also, the title makes me laugh because it could pass for a passive aggressive holiday gift for the mom friend you love to hate.

9.    Guide to Pirate Parenting by Tim Bete

A friend got me this book after I had my first baby because I like to do annoying pirate voices for no reason at all. The book kind of makes no sense, but it’s a really fun read””when read aloud in a pirate voice. Yarg.

10. Blank Parenting Book by Yours Truly

Okay, this is totally brilliant, and I’m not sure why I didn’t think of this years ago. You can order your own original fake blank book with a personalized title to torture the parent on your gift list. I have several titles in the works myself: “Everything I Know About Parenting Whilst Tipsy” or maybe “Everything I Know About Twerking Babies.”

BONUS””because this list goes to 11: Don’t think I’d forget the Mommyish all-time favorite, non-sucky stocking stuffer”¦ STFU, Parents by Blair Koenig

If you haven’t read her stuff, do it now, and then go get the book and stuff it in a stocking.

(photo: Getty Images)