Am I a Normal Parent? Sara Dimerman, $18.95

If you have ever wondered how you compare to other parents, you are not alone. The thoughts, feelings, behaviors and concerns you have are common to parents everywhere. Author Sara Dimerman looks at issues like parental guilt, regrets, intrusive parenting, letting-go, family history and more — and along the way she shares the stories of parents and offers the reassurance you’ve been looking for.

Becoming the Parent You Want to Be: a Sourcebook of Strategies for the First Five Years. Laura Davis & Janis Keyser, $27.95

One of our favourite books on parenting young children! Respectful, informative and inspiring, Becoming the Parent You Want to Be is full of practical insights into children and into our own journey as parents. This is a practical book that covers so much ground you'll want to read it many times over.

Canada’s Toddler Care Book: a Complete Guide from 1 to 5 Years Old. Dr. Jeremy Friedman, Hospital for Sick Children, $34.95

The complete guide to health care, developmental milestones, nutrition, Canada’s Toddler Care Book addresses the common concerns that all parents have about ther toddlers and preschoolers.

The Canadian Paediatric Society Guide to Caring for Your Child from Birth to Age Five. Diane Sacks, Editor, $29.99

This extensive guide empowers parents to make informed decisions about their child’s well-being by laying out the information in an engaging and informative way. Emphasis is placed on health, development, injury prevention and nutrition.

Organized into age-specific sections, the book features a modular format that allows parents or caregivers to jump in and out with just the information they need. This type of easy-to-apply advice will make this a “go to” resource for generations to come.

Child Sense. Priscilla Dunstan, $32.00

Child Sense shows parents of young children how to use the five senses to make sleeping, eating, dressing and other everyday activities easier. Uncovering the secrets of your child’s sensory personality helps parents understand the way their child instinctively reacts to experiences, people, food, smells and more. By discovering the effects of sensory overload, parents can better understand their child’s behavior, communication and learning styles.

Common Sense Parenting of Toddlers and Preschoolers: Handling the Day-to-Day Challenges of Parenting Young Children Ages Two to Five, CD Set. Steven York & Bridget Barnes, $24.95 Audio CD format, 3 discs

Common Sense Parenting of Toddlers and Preschoolers explains how to calm temper tantrums, stay calm yourself, use time out effectively, and teach your toddler better ways of behaving. The audio book explains the developmental milestones to watch for in young children so parents can set reasonable expectations for their behavior. Learn to balance nurturing behaviors that demonstrate your love and affection with the discipline that all children need to learn and thrive.

Connected Parenting: Transform Your Challenging Child and Build Loving Bonds for Life. Jennifer Kolari, $32.00

Connected Parenting offers a unique form of therapeutic parenting based on Kolari's groundbreaking application of the concept of "mirroring," an instinctive process that helps parents bond with their children and promotes optimum growth and development. Kolari's strategy is highly effective for kids of all ages, and has been proven to reduce a child's anxiety, increase self-esteem, and allow children to become more resilient and flexible. With step-by-step advice and examples from Kolari's years of experience, this is an easy-to-follow guide to strengthening the bond between you and your children.

Darn Good Advice: PARENTING. Jan Faull, illustrated by David Hitch, $21.99

This title offers parenting advice that starts with bringing the new baby into the household, and continues through the toddler period to those important first days at school. Here are tips on dealing with sibling rivalries, juggling childcare with other responsibilities, and simply savoring the satisfactions that come with parenting.

Dealing with Disappointment: Helping Kids Cope When Things Don't Go Their Way. Elizabeth Crary, $14.95

This practical, easy-to-read guide walks parents through the concept of emotional competency, which begins by teaching children to identify and acknowledge their feelings. It provides exercises and examples that demonstrate how children - even toddlers - can cope with their emotions, using self-calming techniques (exercise or a few minutes with a favorite book, for example) and problem-solving tools. Parents who to often find themselves overwhelmed by frustrated children will appreciate the step-by-step recommendations.

Drawing the Line: Ten Steps to Constructive Discipline and Achieving a Great Relationship with Your Kids. Michael Weiss, Sheldon Wagner with Susan Goldberg, $22.99

Whether it's playtime, mealtime, or bedtime when your kids act up, this book will show you solutions based on the experiences of parents just like you, and a method of creating controlled conflict — which eventually leads to no conflict at all.

The Everything® Parent's Guide to Tantrums. Joni Levine, $16.50

From Crib to Kindergarten: the Essential Child Safety Guide. Dorothy Drago, $15.50

From Crib to Kindergarten is an essential guide for parents, grandparents, teachers, caregivers and babysitters. Illustration, checklists and critical information are provided on creating safe environments and dealing with daily activities.

Growing Up! A Parent’s Guide to Childhood. Edited by Kate Cronan, $22.95

Practical advice and information on parenting children ages three to 14.

Challenge and delight children from the ages of 3 to 6 with these clever activities packed creative play ideas.

The Happiest Toddler on the Block, Revised Edition. Harvey Karp, $17.00; DVD $30.98

The new way to stop the daily battle of wills and raise a secure and well-behaved one- to four-year-old. Dr. Karp reveals that toddlers should be thought of not as pint-size people but as pint-size...cavemen. Learn to speak to them in their own "primitive language" to soothe stormy outbursts.

Help! We've Got Kids™ 2010. GTA’s Complete Children's Resource Directory, 16th Annual Edition. Elisa Morton Palter & Shari Wert, with Deborah Beatty & Tracie Wagman, $7.95

This comprehensive, popular annual directory is the definitive resource for listings of children's products, services, activities and programs in the Greater Toronto Area (Oakville to Pickering and Newmarket to the Lake). The 16th edition of this valuable guide to living with kids in the GTA has over 2000 updated listings and thousands of dollars in coupons. This is a "must have" for parents of children up to age 16.

A practical, down-to-earth guide to finding the right balance between helping and indulging your kids. Learn how giving children too much, over-nurturing them and lack of structure prevents them from learning important life skills. Overindulgence comes from having a good heart but the results don't benefit children. How Much is Enough? provides parents with effective and loving ways to put your children on track for good self-esteem, self discipline and a successful life.

How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way. Tim Seldin, $23.50

A practical parenting program to help build a calm, happy and creative home life for your children, from birth through age six. Based on Montessori methods, How to Raise an Amazing Child is packed with creative activities to help children discover more about their world and foster independence, concentration and respect for others.

I Like Me! Nancy Carlson. $8.50

I Like Me! Is the classic tale of an endearing young pig who feels good about herself and her life. Written by popular children's author and illustrator Nancy Carlson, it is a book that delights children and adults again and again.

A practical and informative handbook, filled with examples of everyday problem situations and concerns. The Incredible Years provides guidelines to help parents deal with behavioral problems of children aged 3-8 years.

Webster-Stratton's book is frequently used as the basic text in parent education groups.

I Want Your Moo: a Story For Children About Self-Esteem. Marcella Bakur Weiner & Jill Neimark, Illustrated by Jairo Barragan, $10.95 (ages 4-8)

This picture book tells the story of a young turkey who doesn't like her "gobble gobble" and has grave self-doubts. Then one day, her "gobble gobble" saves her friend and she sees that she is unique and valuable.

Is It a Big Problem or a Little Problem? When to Worry, When Not to Worry, and What to Do. Amy Egan, Amy Freedman, Judi Greenberg, & Sharon Anderson, $17.25

As a parent, you know that differences in children’s learning styles and temperaments are a given. However, when problem behaviors become the ‘norm’ for a child, a red flag should go up. If they affect a child’s ability to be happy, relate to others, and go about his daily life, there may be a real problem. Is It a Big Problem or a Little Problem is your road map through these ups and downs of early childhood.

Still the most-popular, accessible and comprehensive guide to the entire range of childhood anxieties, the specific problem behaviours associated with anxiety, and the appropriate strategies for supporting anxious children.

Keys to Toilet Training, 2nd Edition. Dawn Sirett, $9.99

Practical and effective approaches to toilet training and common toilet training problems.

Kitchen Table Play & Learn: Activities and Lesson for Building Your Preschooler’s Vital Development Skills. Tara Copley & Andrea Custer, $17.95

Kitchen Table Play & Learn gives you structured yet fun activities to teach your preschoolers the basics of education at home. These 30 lessons include games and activities that develop children's motor skills, number and letter recognition, logic, and visual discrimination, as well as expose them to math, writing, and reading.

Manners
"Children are experts at finding the bad-mannered way out of a situation — whether by lying, disobedience, refusing to share or getting angry…"

Jealousy
"Your first encounter with toy rage can be a real shock … this handy book offers you a full range of ways to deal with your child's jealous feelings, whether they arise out of sibling rivalry … or another cause…"

Letting Go
"Your child's independence is growing by leaps and bounds and sometimes it's hard to know when to draw the line…"

Staying Dry
"Teaching your child to stay dry isn't one of the worst challenges of parenting, but it can be one of the most exasperating…"

How do children learn about the world around them? They touch, taste, see, smell and hear it, of course! With over 200 activities, Learning Games will delight children as they expand their learning by engaging all of their senses. The chapters are organized by each of the five senses, with a bonus chapter of multi-sensory activities.

The Lesbian Parenting Book: a Guide to Creating Families and Raising Children, Second Edition. D. Merilee Clunis and G. Dorsey Green, $24.50

Written by two experienced lesbian therapists and parents, this completely revised edition of The Lesbian Parenting Book has been updated to reflect the contemporary cultural and political landscape, as well as current trends in parenting.

This wonderful book leads parents, teachers and children through fields, across streams, and over mountains. From making a dam with sticks and stones to cairn lanterns on the beach at night, Nature’s Playground is packed with activities, games, crafts and adventures that will bring children outdoors for year-round fun and bring back memories of one of the chief joys of childhood for adults – exploring the natural world.

A no-nonsense look at the psychological importance of “no” in a child's development, No is filled with practical advice that you can put into apply immediately. Dr. Walsh's numerous anecdotes reinforce his message that establishing healthy limits is not only essential for kids' well-being, it's vital for creating disciplined, productive adults. Most important, No gives parents real, effective strategies for helping their children bloom and grow, giving them the self-discipline and confidence to become healthy, happy adults.

Practical and specific, The No-Cry Discipline Solution shows you how to deal with your child's behavior. Written with warmth and based on one important fact — parents know their children best — Elizabeth Pantley shows you how to deal with childhood's most common behavioral problems.

The No-Cry Separation Anxiety Solution. Elizabeth Pantley, $19.95

Gentle ways to make good-bye easy, from six months to six years.

NurtureShock: New Thinking about Children. Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman, $29.99

In a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel? Where is intelligence hidden in the brain, and why does that matter?  Why do cross-racial friendships decrease in schools that are more integrated? If 98% of kids think lying is morally wrong, then why do 98% of kids lie?  What's the single most important thing that helps infants learn language?

NurtureShock is a groundbreaking collaboration between award-winning science journalists Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. They argue that when it comes to children, we've mistaken good intentions for good ideas. With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, they demonstrate that many of modern society's strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring — because key twists in the science have been overlooked.

Nothing like a parenting manual, the authors' work is an insightful exploration of themes and issues that transcend children's (and adults') lives.

1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2 - 12.Thomas Phelan, $17.95; ; DVD $46.95

Using behavior modifications techniques, Phelan has created an easy to follow program for disciplining children without yelling, arguing or spanking. Video, 120 minutes.

1-2-3 Magic for Kids: Helping Your Children Understand the New Rules. Thomas Phelan & Tracy Lewis, $8.95

Using stories, pictures and learning activities, 1-2-3 Magic for Kids is designed to help parents explain this popular program to their kids.

The Optimistic Child: a Proven Program to Safeguard Children Against Depression and Build Lifelong Resilience. Martin Seligman, $18.95

Dr. Martin Seligman offers parents, teachers, and coaches a well-validated program to prevent depression in children. In a thirty-year study, Seligman and his colleagues discovered the link between pessimism -- dwelling on the most catastrophic cause of any setback -- and depression. Seligman shows adults how to teach children the skills of optimism that can help them combat depression, achieve more on the playing field and at school, and improve their physical health.

The Parent Survival Guide: from Chaos to Harmony in Ten Weeks or Less. Theresa Kellam, $25.95

In The Parent Survival Guide, psychologist Theresa Kellam presents a way to strengthen the relationship with the child that simultaneously promotes the parent's own emotional healing and wellness. Grounded in a research-supported therapeutic technique that uses structured play time as the catalyst for interpersonal connection and growth, Kellam gives parents the skills they need to begin to set aside special playtimes with their children, during which the most important part of the process is simply "being there" in a way that promotes healing, growth, and communication

Parenting From the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive. Daniel Siegel & Mary Hartzell, $16.50

Drawing on research in neurobiology, attachment theory and child development, authors Siegel and Hartzell explore the extent to which our childhood experiences shape the way we parent. They explain how these early relationships affect the development of the brain and offer parents a step-by-step approach to forming a deeper understanding of their own life stories that will help them in raising compassionate and resilient children.

Parenting Preschoolers with a Purpose: Caring for Your Kids & Yourself. Jolene Roehlkepartain, $18.95

Parenting Preschoolers with a Purpose offers refreshing suggestions for parents of 3–5 year olds.

With innovative approaches to 40 common challenges, Roehlkepartain offers a fresh perspective on preschooler-specific difficulties such as bed-wetting, sibling rivalry and lying. Parenting Preschoolers with a Purpose teaches parents how to build a web of support with their family, friends and community to promote the physical, social and emotional well-being of both child and parent. Roehlkepartain discusses 15 common issues that parents face, such as sleep deprivation and boredom, and provides simple, effective solutions to each adult dilemma.

Parenting Through Crisis: Helping Kids in Times of Loss, Grief and Change, Barbara Coloroso. $19.99

When families are facing crisis, parents struggle with how to best nurture and support their children. Parenting Through Crisis offers practical guidance through difficult situations and shows caring adults what they can do to help children facing trauma or loss. Barbara Coloroso's deep love and respect for children once again shine in her compassionate look at parenting during times of chaos and uncertainty. Kids are worth it!

Practical Wisdom for Parents: Demystifying the Preschool Years. Nancy Schulman & Ellen Birnbaum, $20.00

The directors of one of America’s most admired preschools, the 92nd Street Y Nursery School in New York City, draw on their fifty years of combined experience—as educators, admissions directors, parents, and respected leaders in early education—to give parents of children between the ages of three and five the guidance they need to feel confident and empowered. Authoritative, comprehensive, and tremendously reassuring, here’s a no-nonsense guide to navigating nursery school life both at home and in the classroom, and a celebration of a very special time in the life of a child.

The Preschooler Problem Solver: Tackling Tough and Tricky Transitions with Your Two to Five Year Old. Carol Baicker-McKee, $21.95

Learn to make the most of these magical years by helping your child successfully negotiate new situations and to manage their expectations — and yours!

Roots of Empathy: Changing the World Child by Child. Mary Gordon, $19.95

With violence, anti-social behaviour, bullying, and aggression among young children escalating at a frightening rate, it is clear that we need to develop a new understanding of childhood. Mary Gordon, an educator who has worked for more than two decades with children from all kinds of backgrounds, has discovered that the solution to bullying and other anti-social behaviour lies within each child's innate sense of caring and compassion. She believes that infusing children with empathy constitutes nothing less than a new paradigm in our approach to child-raising.

Through the Roots of Empathy, her highly successful organization, Mary Gordon creates a rich, rewarding classroom experience that fosters empathy within children. The program brings babies and students together in a symbiotic loving environment that has been proven to reduce aggression and increase tolerance and emotional understanding in children. Currently, the Roots of Empathy has more than 1,100 programs in Canada and is reaching more than 28,000 students in eight Canadian provinces. It is also piloted for programs in Japan and Australia.

In Roots of Empathy: Changing the World Child by Child, the innovative and inspired book based on her groundbreaking research and successful classroom program, Mary Gordon shares her vision of a nation of compassionate and caring children who will pass on their legacy of empathy to their own children.

All of the royalties from this book go back into the Roots of Empathy program.

From pre-trip planning to dealing with challenges along the way, The Rough Guide to Travel with Babies and Young Children is the ultimate comprehensive guide to hassle-free family travel … The guide comes complete with listings of resources, websites and further reading, plus handy checklists, first-hand stories and advice from travel industry experts and parents who’ve been there and done it.

Sidestepping the Power Struggle is a comprehensive, detailed and extremely readable guide to parenting. While it is fun and easy to read, it brings a large measure of hope to those many parents who sometimes are at their wits’ end. Sidestepping the Power Struggle helps parents to understand their child’s inborn temperament. Understanding a child’s true nature makes deciding how to deal with the everyday problems and the major problem much less stressful. For parents who want to make a difference, this book is a well-balanced blend of theory, practical ideas and appropriate anecdotes.

Teach Your Tot to Sign: the Parents’ Guide to American Sign Language. Stacy Thompson, $14.50

Research has shown that very young children can learn sign language before they learn to speak. Teach Your Tot to Sign: the Parents’ Guide to American Sign Language provides parents and teachers the opportunity to teach more than 500 basic American Sign Language (ASL) signs to their infants, toddlers, and young children. Hearing children, deaf children, and children with special needs can benefit from learning the elementary signs chosen for this handy pocket-size book. The book features fundamental signs of great appeal to young children and concise instructions on how to sign; including the critical importance of facial expression. This lively assortment of signs will help every child convey … their thoughts, feelings, and desires to their parents and teachers.

Thinking Parent, Thinking Child: How to Turn Your Most Challenging Everyday Problems into Solutions. Myrna Shure, $19.95

In her national bestseller Raising a Thinking Child, Dr. Shure introduced parents to her original "I Can Problem Solve" approach to teaching children the critical thinking skills they need to solve problems on their own. Now, in Thinking Parent, Thinking Child, she shows how to apply "I Can Problem Solve" techniques to the issues and problems kids face that concern parents most, such as being a sore loser, acting aggressively, having trouble with friendships or teachers, or experiencing a major loss.

Time-In Parenting. Otto Weininger, $16.95

Time-In Parenting explores the ways in which parents can share their own emotional control in order to teach children self-control, life and problem solving skills. These ‘time in’ sessions help children learn that their parents are not afraid of their emotions and know how to handle them, giving children a feeling of self-confidence and security.

Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason. Alfie Kohn, $16.00; DVD $30.95

Unconditional Parenting addresses the ways parents think about, feel about, and act with their children. It invites them to question their most basic assumptions about raising kids while offering a wealth of practical strategies for shifting from a "doing to" to "working with" style of parenting — including how to replace praise with the unconditional support that children need to grow into healthy, caring, responsible people. This is an eye-opening, paradigm-shattering book that will reconnect readers to their own best instincts and inspire them to become better parents.

• Unconditional Parenting is going to make you think — hard — about the type of relationship you want to have with your child, about your parenting priorities, and about how to avoid many of the mistakes of our predecessors. It's what we've come to expect from Alfie Kohn, and this is unquestionably one of his most persuasive, important works. For your sake and your child's…read it!"

- Ross W. Greene, The Explosive Child

• This book underscores an important parenting principle: Discipline is more about having the right relationship with your child than having the right techniques."

- William Sears, The Baby Book and The Discipline Book

• I found myself wanting to underline every other sentence of Unconditional Parenting, which is different from — and a refreshing challenge to — most other books about raising children. It's entertaining enough so that you can read it quickly, but it's so packed with thought-provoking ideas that you'll want to take your time."

- Barbara Coloroso, Kids Are Worth It!

When I Miss You. Cornelia Maude Spelman, illustrated by Kathy Parkinson, $7.95

This newest title in The Way I Feel series features a young guinea pig who expresses her distress when her mother and father go away. "Missing you is a heavy, achy feeling. I don't like missing you. I want you right now!" Eventually the little guinea pig realizes that sometimes she and her parents can't be together. When that happens, she knows that others can help.

When You’re About to Go Off the Deep End, Don’t Take Your Kids With You. Kelly Nault, $19.99

A step-by-step guide to permanently eliminate chaos and frustration in your home and unleash the “ultimate mom” within you.

Why Do Kids Do That? A Practical Guide to Positive Parenting. Richard Woolfson, $23.95

Packed with practical strategies for dealing with common childhood problems, this easy-to-use illustrated guide helps parents to understand children's behavior from ages two to eight.

Why Should I Eat Well? Claire Llewllyn & Mike Gordon, $9.50
Why Should I Help? Claire Llewllyn & Mike Gordon, $9.50
Why Should I Listen? Claire Llewllyn & Mike Gordon, $9.50
Why Should I Share? Claire Llewllyn & Mike Gordon, $9.50

Part of a child's development is asking questions. The books in the "Why Should I?" series help parents, educators and caregivers teach young children the skills and they need to grow on, while answering some of their more persistent questions.

Other titles in this series include Why Should I Protect Nature?; Why Should I Recycle?; Why Should I Save Energy? and Why Should I Save Water? — all written by Claire Llewllyn and illustrated by Mike Gordon. $6.99 each.

The Wiggle & Giggle Busy Book: 365 Fun, Physical Activities for Toddlers & Preschoolers. Trish Kuffner, $11.95

The Preschooler’s Busy Book: 365 Creative Learning Games and Activities to Keep Your 3 to 6 Year Old Busy. Trish Kuffner, $11.95

The Toddler’s Busy Book: 365 Creative Learning Games and Activities to Keep Your 1½ to 3 Year Old Busy. Trish Kuffner, $11.95

These Busy Books by Trish Kuffner are packed with creative, fun, simple activities to keep toddlers and preschoolers busy. Terrific alternatives to watching TV or playing video games, the books show parents and care providers how to encourage physical, emotional and cognitive growth and stimulate a child’s natural curiosity.

Your Child's Dog: How to Help Your Kids Care for Their Pets. Andrea McHugh, $16.95

This straightforward guide features step-by-step advice on teaching a child to care for and train a dog. Using examples and step-by-step photographs, Your Child's Dog explains how to respond to a dog's needs while at the same time raising a well-socialized and well-behaved companion pet.