“Getting to know and enjoy your children as individuals, intentionally focusing on building and maintaining a strong and healthy parent/child connection, and living what you want your children to learn are the best bedrocks of gentle parenting.”  ~ L.R. Knost

A little bit of a confession, if I may:  Sometimes when I read parenting books, I do so with a little trepidation.  It’s just happened too many times… I’ll be reading (and loving) a book, nodding along in agreement, and then I’ll hit a section that will leave me cold.  A veiled suggestion for punishment in a book that claims to endorse no such thing; or a disrespectful and one-size-fits-all “trick” for getting your kids to listen, instead of a gentle reminder to be doing more listening yourself.

And that’s exactly why I’m so excited to be able to wholeheartedly recommend Two Thousand Kisses a Day:  Gentle Parenting Through The Ages & Stages, with no hesitation, and no disclaimers.   That moment of pause simply never happened when reading this book, which I devoured almost entirely in one sitting.  From the first page to the last, it refreshingly does exactly what it promises:  it shows you how to parent gently, with kindness, compassion, and connection, always keeping that strong and healthy relationship with your child at the forefront of your journey.

It is truly a breath of fresh air amongst all the harsh traditional parenting books advocating for punishments, rewards, and control.  It takes you back to what parenting should be:  a respectful partnership.  A dance between parent and child, where everyone’s voices are heard, and everyone’s needs are met.

And while it speaks beautifully to the wonderful parts of parenting, it doesn’t gloss over the hard parts either.  The author also speaks with great candor about a few difficult moments she had with her children, as well as how she handled them as a gentle parent, and what she learned from the process.  It is honest, and it is enlightening.

Covering just about everything you’d need to know, from birth straight through to adulthood (yes, there’s even a section on relating to your grown child.  How cool is that?) she takes you through the issues one by one, logically organized by the ages and stages.  Just a few of the topics you’ll read about:

Co-sleeping

Child-led weaning

Feeding your toddler

Learning to use the toilet (without “potty training”)

Healthy limits

What’s wrong with punishments

How to handle chores

Dealing with childhood anxieties

Being that safe place to fall during adolescence

Gently parenting your teens

Teens and self-esteem

Dealing with the hard issues

She even includes useful sections on topics I don’t believe I’ve ever seen in a parenting book before, such as dealing with “mommy guilt” and determining whether your children are introverts or extroverts.  And through it all, the underlying themes remains true, intact and clear:

Connection.  Trust.  Communication.

It’s an absolutely lovely book, and one that should be on every new parent’s shelf.

You can purchase it through Amazon for under $10, and for the next few days she’s offering a free Kindle edition with every purchased paperback copy.  Here’s what you need to know.