For years, I have recommended the book How to Talk so Kids Will Listen & How to Listen so Kids Will Talk, and still do today.

First published in 1980, it’s still an excellent roadmap to help parents better connect with their kids. I especially like the exercises and thought-provoking questions sprinkled throughout the book. Parents have told me they help them to better ‘plug into’ their kids.

The authors also recognize that parenting is tough, discussing the stress and inevitable guilt parents feel, even under the best circumstances, and how, as a parent, craziness can turn to joy on an dime.

There’s an excellent updated bibliography for parents seeking more information, and a touching section by one of the authors’ now-adult child reflecting back on her experience growing up as the child of a parenting guru.