Dear devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I have put together a list of books that are helpful in understanding everything to do with your child and the positive alternatives available to mainstream parenting and schooling. I have spent a bit of time researching how to raise a child like the native cultures of the world, especially Indian culture, as I have always noted that Indian children act very differently to their western counterparts and I always wondered why, since having a child myself I have found many reasons why western children are different, some answers were obvious and others a great discovery for me.
Prabhupada mentioned a few tips on parenting, like not leaving your baby alone in another room to cry, looking after your child is more important than Deity worship and a few other things, like a mother should be able to keep her baby quiet all the time because a baby only cries if something is wrong. That last one always got me, I thought babies always cried, but since I delved into the knowledge I have come across I have discovered western parenting styles are way off the mark, as we are in most areas!
Our children need to be attached to us as we are not just their parents but their spiritual guidance aswell. If we break that bond under the false conception that something else, even service is more important, and it is, but we have to keep that attachment bond in order to be their guide. These books are to not just bring up our children like modern culture with a coating of Krishna consciousness, but to get to the core of what is wrong in our culture.
I hope you will find this list helpful, to bring up our children well
could mean they don't have to go through that "phase"
I have included links to Amazon who posts books internationally for
about $11. You can of course buy them at book shops, Ebay, get them
out from the library if they have a copy. Some however are worth
having a copy as a reference or to lend to a friend.
I am still getting through the list myself, but have read quite a few.
I fully recommend "Hold on to Your Kids", it's an excellent read and reference
book, and has many parallels with our philosophy, and helps us to appreciate
more what Prabhupada has given us.
Please feel free to pass this list onto other devotees who might find it helpful.
your servant,
Sudevi dasi (Melbourne Australia)
http://www.kindredmedia.com.au/products/current_issue_of_kindred_magazine/29/1
(This is a magazine which has many informative articles)
http://www.amazon.com/Babies-Joseph-Chilton-Sobonfu-Chamberlain/dp/B000FDK73C/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1203291206&sr=1-1
(A Dvd about pregnancy and birth and how the bond begins a lot earlier
than you may think)
-Attachment Parenting: Instinctive Care for Your Baby and Young Child
(Paperback)
http://www.amazon.com/Attachment-Parenting-Instinctive-Young-Child/dp/067102762X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203289094&sr=8-2
Parenting for a Peaceful World
http://www.amazon.com/Parenting-Peaceful-World-Robin-Grille/dp/1921004142/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203309580&sr=1-1
-The Continuum Concept: In Search of Happiness Lost (Classics in Human
Development) (Paperback)
http://www.amazon.com/Continuum-Concept-Happiness-Classics-Development/dp/0201050714/ref=pd_sim_b_img_3
Three in a Bed (Paperback)
http://www.amazon.com/Three-Bed-Deborah-Jackson/dp/0747565759/ref=pd_sim_b_img_5
Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers (Paperback)
http://www.amazon.com/Hold-Your-Kids-Parents-Matter/dp/0375760288/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203289317&sr=1-1
Connection Parenting: Parenting Through Connection Instead of Coercion,
Through Love Instead of Fear, 2nd Edition (Paperback)
http://www.amazon.com/Connection-Parenting-Through-Instead-Coercion/dp/1932279768/ref=pd_sim_b_img_1
Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love
and Reason [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)
by Alfie Kohn (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/Unconditional-Parenting-Moving-Rewards-Punishments/dp/B000V5ZTV4/ref=pd_sim_b_img_3
Punished By Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's,
Praise, and Other Bribes (Paperback)
http://www.amazon.com/Punished-Rewards-Trouble-Incentive-Praise/dp/0618001816/ref=pd_sim_b_img_2
The Schools Our Children Deserve: Moving Beyond Traditional Classrooms
and "Tougher Standards" (Paperback)
by Alfie Kohn (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/Schools-Our-Children-Deserve-Traditional/dp/0618083456/ref=pd_sim_b_img_2
No Contest: The Case Against Competition (Paperback)
by Alfie Kohn (Author) "Life for us has become an endless succession
of contests..." (more)
http://www.amazon.com/No-Contest-Case-Against-Competition/dp/0395631254/ref=pd_sim_b_img_4
Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community (Paperback)
http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Discipline-Compliance-Alfie-Kohn/dp/1416604723/ref=pd_sim_b_img_5
The Unschooling Handbook : How to Use the Whole World As Your Child's
Classroom (Paperback)
by Mary Griffith (Author) "IMAGINE TWO STUDENTS, each about fifteen
years old, seated at a table working on geometry problems..."
http://www.amazon.com/Unschooling-Handbook-Whole-Childs-Classroom/dp/0761512764/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203290584&sr=1-1
Learning All the Time (Paperback)
http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Time-John-Caldwell-Holt/dp/0201550911/ref=pd_sim_b_img_1
How Children Fail (Classics in Child Development) (Paperback)
http://www.amazon.com/Children-Fail-Classics-Child-Development/dp/0201484021/ref=pd_sim_b_title_4
http://www.amazon.com/Different-Kind-Teacher-American-Schooling/dp/1893163407/ref=pd_sim_b_title_1
http://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Learning-Education-Without-School/dp/0471349607/ref=pd_sim_b_title_3