Resources

Dr. Tara Recommends
The good news is that there are many wonderful books on mindfulness, self-care, parenting, and wellbeing. It can be hard to weed through the choices. Below are a few of my favorites. My picks emphasize an understanding of the culture we live in and how to find moderation, calm, compassion and joy.
Cool Reads & Parent Tools!
Girls
Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture – Peggy Orenstein
Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls – Rachel Simmons
Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World – Rosalind Wiseman*
Stressed Out Girls: Helping Them Thrive in the Age of Pressure – Roni-Cohen Sandler, PhD
The Female Brain – Louann Brizendine, MD*
The Mother-Daughter Project: How Mothers and Daughters Can Bond Together, Beat the Odds, and Thrive Through Adolescence – SuEllen Hankins, MD & Renee Schultz
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Boys
Masterminds and Wingmen: Helping Our Boys Cope with Schoolyard Power, Locker-Room Tests, Girlfriends, and the New Rules of Boy World – Rosalind Wiseman
Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys – Dan Kindlon, PhD & Michael Thompson, PhD
Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons From The Myths of Boyhood – William Pollack
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Kids & Technology
iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind – Gary Small, MD and Gigi Vorgan
It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens – danah boyd
Talking Back to Facebook – James P. Steyer
The App Generation: How Today’s Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World – Howard Gardner and Katie Davis
The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age – Catherine Steiner-Adair
Website Resources on Parenting, Kids and Digital Media
- CommonSenseMedia.org – Family Education Resources
- Center on Media and Child Health
- The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Media and Children
- SafetyNet.org (AAP Resources)
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Compassion, Mindfulness, and Self-Care
A Still Quiet Place – Amy Salzman, MD
Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm and Confidence – Rick Hanson, PhD
Mindsight: The New Science of Transformation – Dan Siegel, MD
Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind – Kristen Neff, PhD
Daring Greatly – Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW*
The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think Your’e Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are – Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW
I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t) – Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW
The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion – Christopher Germer, PhD*
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Parenting
Nurture Shock – Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids – Madeline Levine, PhD
Too Much of A Good Thing: Raising Children of Character in an Indulgent Age – Dan Kindlon PhD
The Secrets of Happy Families – Bruce Feiler
The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind, Survive Everyday Parenting Struggles, and Help Your Family Thrive – Dan Siegel, MD, & Tina Payne Bryson, PhD
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Teenagers
Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain – Dan Siegel, MD
The Primal Teen: What the New Discoveries About The Teenage Brain Tells Us About Our Kids – Barbara Strauch
The 5 Love Languages of Teenagers – Gary Chapman
What Are They Thinking: The Straight Facts about The Risk Taking, Social Networking, Still Developing Teen Brain – Aaron. M. White, PhD & Scott Swartzwelder, PhD
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