Inspiring Parenting Books
not the ones you're probably thinking of
I love reading parenting books. I enjoying learning about and putting into practice ways that can be a better mom. We can do a deep dive on those parenting books another time.
This newsletter is about 3 picture book parents that are, in my opinion, knocking it out of the park. While many picture books don’t show a lot of the parents (because the story is about kids), sometimes they do include parents. And sometimes they’re super great.
Bread and Jam for Frances - Frances refuses to eat anything other than bread with jam - it’s her favourite! So one day her mom decides to start giving her exactly that. Frances’s mom serves regular meals for the whole family, but gives Frances only bread and jam. At first Frances is elated, but she soon gets tired of it and eventually (finally!) asks for something else to eat.
I admire Frances’s mom because she never shouted “ok fine! you’re going to get exactly what you want and then we’ll see if you like it!”. She was calm and in control the whole time, sticking to her decision until Frances caved. This is a situation that could have so easily turned into a no one wins power struggle, but Frances’s mom did not let that happen. It seems to me like the way she stayed in control was by talking less and letting her actions do all of the work.
Bonus - the kids take such fancy lunches to school and that is mom goals. It’s so extra they always have a napkin tablecloth and one day Frances gets a vase with flowers to go with her lunch lol.
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse - Lilly loves school and loves being an excellent student. One day she gets in a bit of trouble and is devastated. Then she feels mad at her teacher and leaves a mean note in his backpack. When Lilly get’s home her guilt and remorse set in and she feels horrible. I love what her parents do next.
They do not call her teacher and fix the whole problem for her. They work together. Lilly writes a new nice note for her teacher, the mom writes one too, and the dad makes a fun snack for Lilly to give to her teacher. Then Lilly has to go to school the next day and still be the one to say sorry. I love how both of the parents got involved to help Lilly fix the situation and they helped her learn good ways to say sorry.
Ada Twist Scientist - Ada is a young girl who has a lot of questions about the world. She is trying, scientifically, to find answers and makes a mess of the house in the process. While in her timeout spot, Ada writes all over the wall because she needs to get her all ideas out. Realizing that a simple timeout is not going to really help their daughter, Ada’s parents decide to organize their home in a way to help their driven little thinker with all of her questions.
I have thought about the parents in this book about once a week since we first read it. Parenting is a lot of give and it’s so easy to get stuck in a mindset that your children are inconveniencing your life. Ada’s parents are such a great example of seeing the good in their child, even (especially) in a very inconvenient moment. They rally to support her interests in the specific way she needs because “that’s what you do”. There is no one size fits all with kids. Ada’s parents are such wonderful examples of meeting their child where she is, supporting her passions, and allowing that to shape what the whole family gets interested in.
Now that I’ve noticed these awesome parents in some of our books, I’m going to be on the lookout for more picture book parents. If you know of other good ones, please share - I’d love to know!