Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be

Psychologist Kennedy, better known as Instagram’s Dr. Becky, brings her advice to the page in her encouraging debut on how parents can “do better on the outside and feel better on the inside.” She makes a solid case that self-development and child development go hand in hand, and to help readers accomplish both, she lays out 10 parenting principles she lives by. These include the belief that all children are good, that resilience is more important than happiness, and that telling the truth is key to having a strong connection with one’s kids. Then come some strategies for increasing “closeness in a parent-child relationship,” with a focus on behavior issues: validating the intensity of a child’s feelings (“your upset is as big as this whole street!”) can help with tantrums, for example, while talking to a child about their feelings can ease separation anxiety, and recording a reassuring message on a “comfort button” kids can press can calm sleep worries. Kennedy’s points that it’s key to really understand a child and that one-on-one time goes a long way are well delivered, and the book is flush with useful ideas—so much so that end-of-chapter summaries would have been a helpful addition. Frustrated parents will find this well worth their time. (Sept.)