Updated: 6/14/21
(This date will let you know if something has been added since the last time you viewed this page.)
Table of Contents
(Click on these topics to go right to that section)
Selected Books on Parenting
Parenting Websites
Selected Parenting Topics
Selected General Resources
Feelings Group Resources
Selected Books on Parenting
Consider getting a Nashville Public Library card.
You can find most of the books on this list at the Nashville Public Library. The library has both hard copies to check out AND copies you can read on your phone or other electronic device! It is easy to get a library card, just call or stop by the Pruitt Branch right there in the neighborhood. They’ll be happy to help you out with the card as well as having librarians who can suggest other good books on topics you want to know more about.
General Parenting
Positive Discipline by Jane Nelsen
Great book for parenting by supporting and encouraging rather than punishing. This has been around for a long time and people still think it have great suggestions. Here is the Nashville Public Library page that has a list of Positive Parenting books for all ages.
The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read by Phillipa Perry
This British author has written a parenting book about how to raise your kids better than you were raised.
This book is considered a classic on parent-child communication, from children to teens. Another book that has been around a long time.
Raising your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kucinka
There are some kids that are just bullheaded (as my grandmother would say). Here is a book that gives suggestions for how to parenting these challenging kids.
This book focuses on talking to African American kids from early childhood through adolescence about race and racism. It also includes chapters on activism and allyship, police encounters, systemic racism, microaggression and self-advocacy, among others. Really useful resource for thinking through what you want to say when you have The Talk(s) with your black child.
Birth to 5 years old
My Brown Baby by Denene Millner
Wonderful book about raising children of color by an African American psychologist. It starts with pregnancy and takes you through early childhood.
The Black Parenting Book by Anna C Beal
A comprehensive guide written by an African American pediatrician on baby and child care through the first 5 years.
Children (6 to 12 years old)
Adolescents
Raising Teens in the 21st Century: A Practical Guide to Effective Parenting by James G. Wellborn
OK, so this is my book. I like to think it is good. It is written so that you can turn right to a topic and with a quick reading get some solutions that are easy to understand and implement. It covers 78 topics. You can’t find it in the library so if you want a copy (and you are a parent in the Harvest Hands neighborhood) then just email me (jamesgwellbornphd.office@comcast.net) and I will give you a copy of your own.
Parenting Websites
This website is from the author of My Brown Baby. It has a lot of content on it about newborns all the way through later childhood. Some great topics and discussions parenting an African American kid. This seems like a very “real” website, in a very good way.
Successful Black Parenting Online Magazine
Another (I think) great parenting site for African American families that is supported by the American Psychological Association. This site is has a slick design (kind of fancy schmancy with pictures of beautiful, extremely happy people) but covers lots of areas of parenting, including sections on pregnancy through teenagers (Ages and Stages), single parenting (On My Own), grandparents (The Grand Life) and diversity parenting issues (Contributed Posts).
Yet another great website for black moms, specifically. They have sections on a variety of parenting issues written as blog posts (Blog), some role model mothers (Role Mamas) and videos on parenting (Videos). The most unique part of this website is you can become a part of a group of black moms and gender nonbinary parents to participate in conversations and get support (Community).
This is a really cool site that is specifically for dads. The parenting strategies can be useful for any parent but the site is from a dad perspective. There are interactive videos that let you try different responses to see what the outcomes can be. Check it out.
Selected Parenting Topics
A Look Back at National Welfare Rights Organization
“I’m a black woman. I’m a poor woman. I’m a fat woman. I’m a middle-aged woman. And I’m on welfare. In this country, if you’re any of those things, you count less as a human being. If you’re all those things, you don’t count at all. Except as a statistic” A brief biography of Johnny Tillmon, a bada## woman who reformed the National Welfare Rights Organization. Way ahead of her time.
Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences
There is a lot of talk about how negative childhood experiences can have a bad affect your health, emotions and relationships as an adult. But, what really matters is learning what kinds of experiences will lead to healthy, resilient adults with loving relationships. This site is a good place to start to find out the positive, healthy things to add to your life. I especially like this section on personal stories people have written about the hopeful and helpful experiences in their own lives.
Selected General Resources
Body Focused Repetitive Behavior (Hair pulling, skin picking, nail biting)
Imani: Black Young Adults (18+) BFRB Zoom Support Group
Feelings Group Resources
These books and videos are available through Nashville Public Library. If the book is not in the Pruitt Branch, you can ask the Librarian for help finding it.
Books On Recognizing Emotions for 3-10 Year Olds
The Way I Feel by Janan Cain (or you can watch the book together being read on YouTube.)
Listening to My Body: a guide to helping kids understand the connection between sensations (what the heck are those?) and feelings so that they can get better at figuring out what they need by Gabi Garcia (or you can watch the book together being read on YouTube.)
The Boy with Big, Big Feelings by by Britney Winn Lee (Author), Jacob Souva (Illustrator) (or you can watch the book together being read on YouTube.)
The Rough Patch by Brian Lies (or you can watch the book together being read on YouTube.)
The Great Big Book of Feelings by by Mary Hoffman (Author), Ros Asquith (Illustrator) (or you can watch the book together being read on YouTube.)
Visiting Feelings by Lauren Rubenstein (or you can watch the book together being read on YouTube.)
My Book of Feelings by Tracey Ross
The Emotions Book by Liz Fletcher and Greg Bishop (Illustrator) (not in the library but you can watch the book together being read on YouTube.)
Books on Recognizing Emotions for 8-12 Year Olds
The Feelings Book: The Care & Keeping of Your Emotions by Lynda Madison
Just Feel: How to be Stronger, Happier, Healthier and More by Mallika Chopra
Videos on Identifying and Managing Emotions
Inside Out-Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions ; Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness. The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. When Riley’s family moved across the country, she had to learn to have all her emotions work together in her new life.
