The Best Child Development Books For Kids To Read Themselves - Northants Families
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From the second our child is born we start thinking and worrying about their development. Are they reaching their milestones on time? Shouldn’t they be crawling yet? and this continues forever.
I have 3 boys – ages 9, 6 and 3 and I have constantly got questions about where they are at in life. My eldest is going through a stage of hating his shyness and I am trying to find ways to try and help him build up his confidence.
My 6-year-old is always really hard to read. When he started reception I couldn’t even tell if he was excited or nervous, I am starting to realise that he just seems to be a really laid back child. However, he is a middle child and I certainly have my hands full with him!
My 3 year old was a really late starter in walking and talking. This seemed to worry the health visitors more than me. I knew he would get there, he just had 2 older brothers to do all his talking and fetch him anything he wanted! He started nursery a couple of months ago, so I am only just starting to see his little personality traits come out.
Last year I signed up to be an Usborne book consultant. It didn’t last long but during that time I got loads of books. A lot of these are really great for supporting children in different stages of their development.
There are also many amazing books I have found through internet research. I am sharing the best of these in this post.
To find out more about each book then click on the book title.
The best child development books for kids to read themsleves.
If there is a particular child development book you are after, you can skip straight to it by clicking one of the links below…
Growing Up – How our bodies change
What Is Sleep? – Lift The Flap
I couldn’t get my eldest to sleep through the night until he was just over a year old. I realised that not only had I let bad habits start – mainly feeding to sleep – but also he needed to be taught what sleep was and why we need it. I didn’t have this book at the time but it’s one I got when my youngest was little and it helps them understand the whole process of going to sleep and why we go to bed each night.
Why do we need a potty? – Lift The Flap
What is Poo? – Lift The Flap
I am currently potty training my youngest (I know, I left it late but after 2 rounds of potty training already I admit, I have been putting it off) Before we started we read Why do we need a Potty? and he has absolutely nailed doing he wees in the potty or even on the toilet with one of those steps and seats. Poos are a different matter however, he always does them in his pants! It was a similar story for my eldest and I think they both have had some kind of fear over it. These books are great for helping with this. Suitable for ages 3 – 5 years.
At various times of growing up, every child is going to have several questions about their body. I haven’t had to deal with too much of this yet but I can see it’s not going to be long with my eldest. When it does happen, I want to be ready, so I got a few books. I have also left these on his bookshelf in his bedroom so he is free to look at them in his own time and space.
Questions and Answers About Growing up.
The first is a simple lift the flap book. It covers, the main developments they will face such as when they need to start shaving or wearing a bra, why they have to do certain things like washing themselves, sharing and going to school. It explains the point of things, such as deep voices, hairy faces and our private parts and some of the changes our bodies go through. Suitable for ages 7 – 11 years.
These gender-specific books explain to your child the changes they can expect to happen as they approach puberty. It covers physical changes as well as mental. It is well illustrated with a timeline of what they will experience and when. They are suitable for ages 9 – 11 years.
Where Do Babies Come From? – Lift The Flap
The guaranteed question, ‘where do babies come from?’ I got a really simple lift the flap book that answers all the first questions. It doesn’t give the specifics and includes the way humans and animals are made, develop and grow. This book offers a simple way to explain where babies come from for younger children. Suitable for ages 4 – 6 years.
A book I looked at a while ago but thought was too advance for my then 7-year-old is ‘What’s Happening To Me?‘ I will probably get it in the next year. There are different versions for boys and girls. The book covers things more specifically such as their voice breaking, girls’ breasts growing, hormones and mood swings.
My middle child finds it hard to understand and express his feelings. When he doesn’t understand what’s going on in his head he tends to just get angry and push everyone away.
It’s really frustrating as it always leads to more drama than was necessary and often ends up with his brothers or other family members getting upset as a result.
I got him this book to look at together. It talks about how everyone has feelings, how to recognise different feelings in yourself as well as other people, how we can sometimes experience a mixture of feelings at once and then gives example situations and encourages you to think about how each one would make you feel. Suitable for ages 3 – 5 years.
Such a massive topic and so incredibly important. We all worry, some more than others. We all have our own insecurities, but it’s not always obvious what they are. With the accessibility of social media and online gaming our children have, we need to be on the ball more than ever with their mental health.
Luckily there are loads of child development books that are aimed at their mental health. Here are a couple of my faves.
Last year my eldest asked for a journal so I got him this. It is aimed at kids aged 6-12 and was developed by a Psychotherapist and a Parenting Expert. This journal has nearly 2000 5* reviews on Amazon.
Happy Confident Me gives the child that chance to write down and/or illustrate their thoughts and feelings each day. It helps teach them how to focus on the positive things in their life, to project positivity in their lives and increase their confidence.
At the time of writing, this is Amazons #1 best seller in Books on Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance for Young Adults. It focuses on anxiety in children ages 7-11. It contains info and activities that help a child identify why they feel anxious in the first place and then gives tips and tricks on how to deal with these feelings.
This book is about beating stress and letting go of your worries. It talks about why we worry, ‘what if’ worries and how to worry less. There are tips and tricks as well as actionable activities. Suitable for ages 9 -12.
This is more of a general mental health book. There are no activities in this book but it does cover a wider variety of mental health issues a child might face at some point in their life. It is suitable for kids ages 11 and up.
For a child, it is easy to think that the way their family is is the way all families should be. But of course, that is not the case at all, plus, families can change all the time. This book demonstrates all the ways that families can differ in simple illustrated ways. Suitable for ages 4-6 years.
Along with this is a similar book that focuses on All About Diversity. Suitable for ages 3-5 years.
I absolutely love this book. As the name suggests it talks about a child who is afraid of the dark. It touches on why he is, how he tries to hide his feelings and why there is no need to fear the dark.
What makes this book great is that each page is filled with carefully placed and shaped holes that illustrate things such as twinkly stars, bats in the sky or the light of a torch. Suitable for ages 3 – 5 years.
Can you recommend any child development books? Let us know in the comments below!
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