Swim Related

Water Baby by Lauren Heston – A first fun book of water skills. Easy reading for parents wanting to know more about baby swimming. Something to learn and use on every page, beautiful photographs and great illustrations.

We Are all Waterbabies by Michel Odent & Jessica Johnson – Swimming for babies from the view point of an examination of the role of water in pregnancy, labour and the neonatal period, covering water-based exercise during pregnancy, water birth and swimming for babies.

Teaching an Infant to Swim by Virginia Hunt Newman – said to be the mother of infant swimming in the US. Since this internationally popular book was first published, in 1967, hundreds of thousands of children have learned to swim with Virginia Hunt Newman’s gentle, easy to follow instructions For more information about Virginia Hunt Newman visit this website: http://www.wabcswim.com/A01_VirginiaNewman.htm

Water Babies: Teach Your Baby the Joys of Water – from Newborn Floating to Toddler Swimming by Francoise Barbira Freedman – This book Introduces readers to the Birthlight water training approach–a unique series of exercises developed over many years to encourage confidence and enhance enjoyment in water.

Whole Child Development

Active Baby Healthy Brain by Margaret Sasse – every family should have this book! Easy reading, 135 fun activities to maximize your child’s brain development from birth through age 5 1/2. Definitely a good investment.

Itsy Bitsy Yoga by Helen Garabedian – Poses to help your baby sleep longer, digest better, and grow stronger

Baby Yoga – Gentle exercise for babies, mums and dads by Francoise Barbira Freedman — Have fun exercising with your baby and get back into shape at the same time. It is perfect for the period when new mothers need to know how to exercise with care.

Infant Massage: A Handbook for Loving Parents by Vimala Schneider McClure – Written by one of the leading practitioners of the art in the United States today, provides photographs that illustrate each step of the massage process. Specific instructions for premature infants and babies with special needs and modified routines for older babies.

Touching: The human significance of the skin by Ashley Montague – With more than 300,000 copies sold, this landmark book is an impressive examination of the importance of touching. “All professionals concerned with human behavior will find something of value. Parents can gain insight into the nurturing needs of infants.”–Janet Rhoads, American Journal of Occupational Therapy

The Vital Touch: How Intimate Contact With Your Baby Leads To Happier, Healthier Development by Sharon Heller – Using a lively array of anthropological and sociological sources, The Vital Touch presents a provocative examination of the reasons why, now more than ever, we need to make consistent physical connections with our infants and children.

Smart Moves – Why learning is not all in your head by Carla Hannaford, Ph.D – Carla Hannaford tells us why we must move, and shows us how to move to fully activate our potential as learners. This groundbreaking book presents the body’s role in thinking and learning in a popular readable style, thoroughly supported by scientific research.

The Well Balanced Child by Sally Goddard Blythe — A passionate manifesto for a “whole body” approach to learning which integrates the brain, senses, movement and play. Helps parents understand:

• Why movement matters
• How music helps brain development
• The role of nutrition, the brain and child growth
• How to help children with learning and behavioral problems
• Attachment & Parenting

Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate explains the causes of the crucial breakdown of parental influence—and demonstrates ways to “reattach” to sons and daughters, establish the proper hierarchy in the home, make kids feel safe and understood, and earn back your children’s loyalty and love. This updated edition also specifically addresses the unprecedented parenting challenges posed by the rise of digital devices and social media. By helping to reawaken instincts innate to us all, Neufeld and Maté will empower parents to be what nature intended: a true source of contact, security, and warmth for their children. Gives great information about attachment and its relationship to parenting and its importance.

Magical Child by Joseph Chilton Pierce – a classic work, profoundly questioned the current thinking on childbirth practices, parenting, and educating our children. Now it’s daring ideas about how Western society is damaging our children, and how we can better nurture them and ourselves, ring truer than ever. From the very instant of birth, says Joseph Chilton Pearce, the human child has only one concern: to learn all that there is to learn about the world. This planet is the child’s playground, and nothing should interfere with a child’s play. Raised this way, the Magical Child is a happy genius, capable of anything, equipped to fulfill his amazing potential.

Simplicity Parenting Using the power of less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne – A treasure trove of practical, easy to understand tools to guide us in the task of parenting. Today’s busier, faster society is waging an undeclared war on childhood. With too much stuff, too many choices, and too little time, children can become anxious, have trouble with friends and school, or even be diagnosed with behavioral problems. Now internationally renowned family consultant Kim John Payne helps parents reclaim for their children the space and freedom that all kids need for their attention to deepen and their individuality to flourish. Simplicity Parenting offers a blueprint for change: Streamline your home environment, establish rhythms and rituals, schedule a break in the schedule, and scale back on media and parental involvement. It is a manifesto for protecting the grace of childhood.