Learning Parenting Through Books

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Here are my thoughts and tips on Parenting Literature:

  1. It is good to read up before your first child arrives, and during the first few years you will find them a useful reference.
  2. Read a variety of subjects. Some important ones include nutrition, growth, sleep issues and illnesses.
  3. IMPORTANT: Books are no substitute for real experience.
  4. IMPORTANT: Eventually you will start to realize not everything you read in books works. What this means is that you have to start applying selectively – some methods authors recommend may not work for your child. Understand that no two children are alike. Different children respond differently to different methods.
  5. Supplement what you read with what you learn in real experience, as well as other sources of information, including from relatives, friends and of course, the internet.
  6. You will likely find discussion more educational than non-interactive sources of information (like books).
  7. Bear in mind that a lot of parenting literature in books are written by non-Asians. You will soon realize that a lot of what they say doesn’t really make sense in an Asian family.
  8. Note in particular the western diet. These books will inadvertently be "converting" you and your child to a western diet, which in some nutritional circles, is not a good thing, because the western diet is sometimes alien to Asians. This is subjective though.
  9. The same applies to what you read on the internet.
  10. For first-time parents: there is this phenomenon where some things in the entire experience of parenting are only known to those who have experienced it. For some reason, there is always some parenting wisdom out there which is never captured in books. You may read a hundred books and webpages and never find the answer to your problem, but the moment you ask someone (a real person), the answer appears immediately.

Point is: if all else (ie. books) fail, ask around.

In conclusion – books are an important foundation for parents, but nothing beats talking to fellow parents. Smile