• Full Esteem Ahead: 100 Ways to Teach Values and Build Self-Esteem for All Ages, Diane Loomans with Julia Loomans, 335 pages
• The Challenging Child, Stanley I. Greenspan, M.D., 317 pages-Explains the five "difficult" types of children and discusses how to adapt your parenting style to your child's unique personality.
  Fathering, Will Glennon, 219 pages
• Little Things Long Remembered, Susan Newman, 126 pages-ideas for making your children feel special and loved
• SOS! Help for Parents, Lynn Clark, Ph.D., 246 pages-practical guide for handling common, everyday behavior problems which teaches point rewards, listening techniques, positive reinforcement, how to use "time out" effectively, how to give effective instructions, etc.
• Positive Parenting from A to Z, Karen Renshaw Joslin, 425 pages-provides solutions to more than 140 child behavior problems such as tantrums, refusal to go to bed, and nightmares (problems included of children from ages 2-10)
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, Stephen R. Covey
• What to Expect When You're Expecting, What to Expect the First Year, What to Expect the Toddler Years, Arlene Eisenberg
• Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting, Jon Kabat-Zinn and Myla Kabat-Zinn, 416 pages-This book approaches parenting from the Zen Buddhist position of moment-to-moment awareness and will help you slow down, enrich your life as a parent, and nourish the internal life of your children.
• Siblings without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
• How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, 304 pages
• Healthy Child Whole Child Integrating the Best of Conventional and Alternative Medicine to Keep Your Child Healthy, Stuart H. Ditchek, MD et al., 434 pages
• Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby, Tracy Hogg and Melinda Blau, 304 page

• Hands Are Not For Hitting, Martine Agassi, Ph.D., 40 pages, ages 2-6
  The Cat at the Door, Anne D. Mather & Louise B. Weldon, ages 4 and up-181 short stoies capture joys, sorrows, and struggles of childhood, and teach self-respect and healthy values. Each ends with an affirmation.
• ABC Feelings, Alexandra Delis-Abrams, Ph.D., ages 3 & up, uses the alphabet to help children explore and communicate feelings, from A(ccepted) to Z(ippy).
  Andrew's Angry Words, Dorothea Lachner, ages 4 & up, 25 pages
• We Can Get Along, Lauren Murphy Payne, M.W.W., ages 3 & up, 30 pages-teaches children important life lessons from how to think before they speak or act to how to treat others the way that they want to be treated
• Two Homes, Claire Masurel, ages 3 to 6, 72 pages, reassures children that there can be warmth and love in the face of divorce.

Gift Ideas for Baby Showers:

• Baby Sling Carrier
• Carseats
• Snuggle Nests (to prevent SIDS)
• Baby Your Breast Hot/Cold Packs
• Teething Ring
• Burp cloths/Cloth diapers
• Diaper bag
• Grocery-cart cover
• Play center
• Pumping Kit
• Stroller/Jogger
• New Mother Comfort Kit (bath oils and salts, aromatherapy candles, soothing soaps and lotions)
• Coupons to bring dinner over during the first two months after birth

Gift Ideas for Children up to the age of 1:
For the first three months, your baby isn't able to do much more than observe her surroundings. Because her vision is still blurry, she sees bright boldly patterned items best. As your baby grows, she'll enjoy toys that engage her other senses as well. That's why so many toys are designed to promote interaction in a variety of ways: They may make a squeaking or crinkling noise, have a wooden or nubby texture, or be soft and cuddly. Infants tend to mouth toys, and textured ones can help relieve pain.

• Brightly colored, multipatterned crib mobiles (Note: remove from crib once your baby can sit up.)
• Rattles
• Teething toys
• Unbreakable mirrors
• Floor gyms
• Activity boards
• Soft, washable, colorful stuffed animals or dolls with a smiling face
• Small stuffed fabric balls
  

Gift Ideas for 1 year olds:
At this age, your baby will be fascinated by cause and effect and will enjoy any toy that responds to his actions and makes use of newly acquired motor skills. For instance, he'll love toys that allow him to hit a ball with a hammer as well as toys with buttons that cause music to play or characters to pop up. He's too young to actually learn his ABCs, but he'll still enjoy interacting with these toys and being exposed to language.

• Stacking rings
• Nesting cups or boxes
• Push- or pull-toys that make noise or have pieces that pop up or move
• Hammering sets that let kids hammer pegs or balls through holes
• Simple, sturdy musical instruments like tambourines, drums, or maracas
• Shape sorters
• Large play vehicles, such as a school bus or a fire engine
• Puzzles with four or five large pieces
• Rubber ducks or toy boats for bath time
• Classical or folk music
  

Gift Ideas for 2 and 3 year olds:

Your child's play is now more purposeful, and she has the fine motor skills needed to complete a puzzle or build with blocks by herself. She'll start to enjoy pretend play that imitates the actions of people around her. Both boys and girls are very active at this age and will still enjoy their push- and pull-toys.

• Picture books with large pictures and simple text
• Art supplies: watercolor markers w/ large sheets of paper, perhaps on an easel; blunt-nose scissors; white glue; tempora paints (washable); dough; big beads and string
• Dolls with simple clothing and blankets, stuffed animals, and hand puppets
• Props for make-believe play, such as a toy telephone, shopping cart, a tea-party set, a toy kitchen, or a doll stroller
• Water and sand toys
• Ride-on toys and tricycles
• Wagon or a wheelbarrow
• Simple musical instruments (bells, drums)
• Puzzles with 4-20 large pieces
• Construction toys that snap together (Duplo or wooden blocks)
  

Gift Ideas for 4 and 5 year olds:
Pre-schoolers are masters of make-believe. They like to act out grown-up roles and create imaginary situations. Costumes and equipment that help them in their pretend worlds are important at this stage. Gross motor skills can be developed with gym equipment, wheeled vehicles, and a two-wheeled bicycle with training wheels and a helmet. Visualization and memory skills can be sharpened by play that requires use of imagination or mental computation. Simple board games and word/matching games are useful in developing these skills.

• Simple science books, especially about nature and animals
• Art supplies and craft kits: thick crayons, tape dispenser, chalk, and collage materials (broken jewelry, buttons, pasta-anything that can be glued)
• Magnifying glass for nature walks and elsewhere
• Child-sized record or tape player
• Blocks of different shapes, especially wooden pattern blocks
• Construction sets with large pieces, such as Legos or Lincoln Logs
• Puzzles of greater complexity
• Dress-up Clothes
• Simple card games and board games that don't require reading, such as Hungry Hungry Hippos, Yahtzee Jr., or Chutes and Ladders
• Soccer balls and basketballs
• Plastic skates
• Balancing beam
• Bowling pins/ring toss