by Erin

32. That’s the number of parenting books that I found as I organized my home office this weekend. There are a handful that I have read and loved. Problem is, I’ve never even opened most of them. There are the requisite pregnancy books, including the 2002 version of What to Expect When You’re Expecting, with a cover drawing of a woman in a rocking chair, reading a book with no words in it, looking like she has just lost her very last friend on earth.

Then the “how to feed” and “how to parent” books. I am also the proud owner of “How to Teach your Baby Math” (yes, your BABY). And “How to Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Steps.” Seriously? There are very few difficult things in this life that require one hundred steps.

Why the need for so many books? Because the combination of my “I will be a great parent” aspirations and the feelings I had as a new parent (completely overwhelmed and unsure) made me a little crazy. I had every intention of putting into practice the wise nuggets of information shared in these 32 volumes. Sort of like I had every intention of getting in shape when I joined the gym last year. Turns out in both instances, you actually have to do some work to get results.

But, really, are all the answers in books? Maybe it comes back to our Inner Wisdom again. Perhaps parenting is more like learning to ride a bike: you can read all the books in the world, but you can’t really learn it ’til you DO it. And even though we may wobble a bit and even fall sometimes, we’re all doing it. And some of the time, we’re even going in the right direction!

Related questions:
What is your favorite parenting book?
What is your best one liner advice for moms having a new baby?
What was your best source of support during the first few years of motherhood?

P.S. I donated a bunch of books. Click here for a list of the ones that I kept for round 2.