childrensneeds's profile

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John

John Mordechai Gottman has a great gift of explaining how to have an emotionally intelligent marriage. I would also recommend his book on raising an emotionally intelligent child. His writing style is easy to follow but yet full of good advise to make a marriage better. I've enjoyed every page of his books.

Welcome With Love or Hello Baby

This is, along with "Runa's Birth," our favorite book. The illustrations are warm and inviting as they show birth as something natural. I find the actually birth part to be very accurate and exciting, although I have read some find it too graphic. I would hope more children will read this book to grow up viewing birth as something normal, something a woman's body is designed to do well and beautifully. We have read it to our children countless times, and so has my husband. Jenni Overend and Julie Vivas have helped prepare our children for the arrival of their siblings several times and I would never part with this book. I think every child should have the right to be "Welcomed with Love" in a peaceful, warm, family type setting, regardless of it being at home, in a birthing center, or hospital.

In Sheep's Clothing by George K. Simon

I enjoyed reading "In Sheep's Clothing" because I have lots of wolfs around in my in-laws. I realized I've been dealing with them completely wrong over the years. I tried to explain and defend myself when in reality nothing "normal" will work for them. They operate from a different mental level and ability and what will work with any "normal" person will not work with someone emotionally deprived from childhood on. Personality disorders cannot be categorized in nature vs. nurture, it is the lack of nurture they received as babies and children. They manipulate others into taking care of them in ways they need to make up for their own lack of care during their childhood. Neglected or emotionally abandoned people are the ones with the manipulative personalities and dealing with them is very different than dealing with anybody who is emotionally stable. I enjoyed the book and learned how to change my approach with the destructive people my in-laws are. A real eye opener.