You’ve heard it before, that “leaders are readers.”
Well, it’s true, and in my opinion, there are no greater leaders in the world than the ones in every home—parents.
William Ross Wallace shared this sentiment of parents as leaders when he said, “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.”
So, if you’re serious about continuing to grow in your parenting as you enter 2025, here are six parenting books I’ve read and highly recommend every parent consider in the new year.
The good news is that you can’t go wrong with any of them; each one will help you become a more godly parent your kids deserve.
This is one of the best parenting books I’ve ever read for Christian parents. Paul David Tripp connects parenting and the Gospel in a beautiful and challenging way that helps parents live out their faith and be Jesus to their kids in everyday life.
“When you are frustrated, mad, discouraged, unkind, abusive, bitter, joyless, vengeful, or irritated as a parent, you don’t so much need to be rescued from your children—you need to be rescued from you… In every moment as you are parenting your children, the heavenly Father is parenting you.”
Parenting is Heart Work by Scott Turnasky
If you’re struggling to deal with child misbehavior or parental frustration, this book provides a ton of practical ideas from a heart-based approach. If you’re looking for strategies to ease the stress in your parenting, this book from Scott Turansky and the National Center for Biblical Parenting will help and encourage you.
“Motivating heart change isn’t easy. You can force a child to change behavior, but you can’t force a change of heart. Real heart solutions in children’s lives start with your own heart as a parent… Parents have to change before their children will change.”
The Intentional Father by Jon Tyson
This book was life-changing for me, and accomplished the author’s goal: It challenged me to take tangible steps to become a more intentional father. This has included taking my two teenage boys on a multi-year journey to manhood called The Primal Path. In my opinion, EVERY father ought to read this book!
“Somebody is going to disciple your son. Somebody is going to give your son wisdom on how to live, and it’s either going to be you and a community of godly men or it’s going to be the world… May it never be said that your son thinks there is more wisdom about life from Google and YouTube than from you. May his richest experiences be ones you curated and planned, not just random, traumatic events that lead to brokenness.”
Godly Parenting In An Ungodly World by Andrew Linder
This is hands-down by far THE BEST parenting book… that I’ve ever written. In all honesty, this book adds my voice to the larger parenting conversation, giving any parent a 20-year head start by learning from our personal experience. In it, I’ll walk you through the four seasons of parenting and help you intentionally reach your child’s heart over their head, no matter where you find yourself on your parenting journey. I wrote this book for you.
“God has entrusted us as parents to be the closest reflection of him that our kids will ever see. While being a godly parent is no guarantee that you will raise a godly child, it is still your best and most biblical option… Godly children are the result of godly parents… Good children are being trained how to behave by following rules. Godly children are being trained how to live by following Jesus.”
Habits of the Household by Justin Earley
I absolutely loved this book. It’s jam-packed full of practical ways to evaluate ordinary everyday moments, from mealtime to bedtime to screen time, and ask how these routine moments can become powerful acts of spiritual formation. If you’re seeking to become a “Deuteronomy 6” parent through the ins and outs of daily life, this book is where the rubber meets the road.
“My habits are forming me into a certain kind of parent. My parenting is forming them into certain kinds of children. We are all together forming each other into a certain kind of family… There is no escaping habits and formation in a family. We become our habits. And our kids become us. Our family is a habit-making machine.”
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
Even though this was not written from a Christian perspective, it’s practical wisdom and comprehensive research on the effects of our kids being raised in a phone-based over a play-based childhood is staggering and convicting. It’s a must-read for every Christian parent concerned about technology’s dangerous grip on this generation and serious about their responsibility to protect and prepare their kids in an increasingly digital world.
“My central claim in this book is that these two trends—overprotection in the real world and underprotection in the virtual world—are the major reasons why children born after 1995 became the anxious generation.”
Which of these will you be adding to your reading list for the new year? I’m looking for books for my 2025 reading list. What other books (parenting or otherwise) would you highly recommend?
