Ren has a way of making her reader feel like she is right there with you, cheering you on your parenting journey. Her end of the chapter suggestions/hints/reminders are so helpful. As a parent with teenagers, at times through the book I felt so sad that I could not go back in years to implement her suggestions. But I also felt inspired to change what I can, so as soon as I finished the book, I sat down and wrote a letter to each of my children to share my thoughts on their childhood and on how proud I am of both of them. They were so touched by the letters and I wouldn't have written them if I hadn't read this book. It has opened lines of communication that we had lost. I appreciate how Ren emphasises the importance of children knowing they have their parents' unconditional love, and the way that she shares that we can demonstrate this to them. Ren's bookplates are beautiful and the extensive list of further readings is so helpful!
Parents Take Heart is a book written from the heart to touch the hearts of the parents who read it. Ren describes herself as a “parenting midwife, holding the readers’ hand” and that is how I felt from beginning to end. The book feels like a long conversation with the best friend you could ever have. With someone who gently guides you through every parenting dilemma that pops up. I truly felt that Ren was in the room with me, guessing what my next question would be and giving me a whole heap of very useful answers.
Thoroughly enjoyed this parenting book. It is encouraging and practical. I would give this to a mom for a 1st birthday present rather than giving the child a toy. The gift of a great mother is more important. I am the mother to 3 children. This is an excellent guide I wish I’d had. I’d suggest this book as a good one for a weekly parenting class. I highly recommend.
This book is great. Ton of advice about parenting strategies, but I also liked that the author kept emphasising that parents are humans too, they have needs, they make mistakes, they don't always have it all together. There is a big focus on relationship building with children and understanding behaviour. Good resource.
For me personally, I especially was interested in the parenting of different generations and the different types of parenting. Those were interesting! I highly recommend this book. Give it to every prospective parent! If everyone read this book and applied it to their parenting, our country would be in so much better shape!
I loved this book! The advice, tools and guidance provided in this book are as relevant and helpful for new parents as well as parents who in the midst of dealing with middle school and teenage children issues. The book provides great communication strategies that can be used by all adults as they work to create stable relationship with children. The "Take Inspired Action" tips included with each chapter provide comprehensive but concise information about the chapter. If you have, work with or know people who have children, this book is a must!
We as a culture need to practice the tools that Ren presents. We need to learn how to be emotionally present. We need to learn how to regulate our own emotions that get triggered when our child’s emotions become unregulated. How can we teach something that we don’t know? We need to learn how to be authentic and vulnerable as adults and set healthy boundaries for our own self-care. We need to learn how to set healthy boundaries for our children. This book should be required reading for every parent.