The 11+ Best Parenting Audiobooks to Listen to on Road Trips
I don’t know about you, but sometimes it can be challenging to find a book that both you and your partner like for your family road trip. However, one thing you have in common with your partner (obviously) is parenting. There are so many challenges with parenting, and some of these audiobooks have had really helpful parenting tips. Listening to these books with your partner can help create conversation while you’re spending long hours in the car. I hope at least one of these books can help you on your parenting journey. Enjoy our list of best parenting audiobooks for road trips!
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We always download an audiobook to listen to together for our family road trips. Dane and I do a “family book club” most months and every few months we choose a popular parenting book to read together. And as always, I’ve read all of the books on this list – you’ll never see me recommending books I haven’t read!
1. Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans
Written by Michaeleen Doucleff
Dane and I both read this book after we received it as a gift from a friend and we loved it. Michaeleen Doucleff visits other cultures with her young child and learns about some of the mistakes she’s been making with her own parenting style. She investigates the way other cultures incorporate children into their homes and communities.
We loved the points she made about including your children in chores and daily household activities and doing less kid centered activities. This is a great parenting book that also incorporates information about other cultures. If you read one book on this list of “best parenting audiobooks for road trips”, make it this one!
Get your copy here!
2. How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
Written by Adele Faber, Elaine Mazlish, et al.
If you want to develop a healthy communication style with your kids, this book from bestselling author Adele Faber is a great place to start. This book gives you tons of practical tips on how to make your relationship with your kid less stressful and more rewarding by building healthy communication skills. You’ll learn how to set boundaries while still acknowledging feelings, and leave your kid feeling like they are understood.
“Parents don’t usually give this kind of response, because they fear that by giving a name to the feeling they’ll make it worse. Just the opposite is true. The child who hears the words for what she is experiencing is deeply comforted. Someone has acknowledged her inner experience.” – Adele Faber, How to Talk so Kids Will Listen, and Listen so Kids Will Talk
Get your copy here!
3. The Anxious Generation
Written by Jonathan Haidt
The Anxious Generation is the book for really anyone with kids. It outlines some of the risks with technology and kids, and proposes another way of introducing technology safely without compromising their childhoods. This was a really good affirmation for me to continue to raise my kids outdoors and focus on community. It offers some healthy strategies to incorporate technology safely while raising your children.
Get your copy here!
4. Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent you Want to Be
Written by Becky Kennedy
Good Inside is one of the best parenting books out there and I give it five stars! This book is great for overwhelmed parents who want to raise compassionate kids with less yelling and stress around the house. The author, Dr. Becky Kennedy is a clinical psychologist and she will give you tools to get through the sticky situations with your kids.
Get your copy here!
5. How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen: A Survival Guide to Life With Children Ages 2-7
Written by Joanna Faber, Julie King, et al.
I read this book after I read “How to Talk so Kids Will Listen”. This one is a lot more applicable for younger kids and is worth reading if you have tiny humans running around your house! Joanna Faber gives you a lot of silly tips (that actually work) about how to incorporate story telling and playfulness into your routines to help make them less of a fight. We’ve implemented a few of these tactics and they really work! Like “Come put your shoes on, your shoes want a hug!”. It sounds silly but I promise, this book will at the very least help you get out the door quicker!
Grab your copy here!
6. Cribsheet
Written by Emily Oster
Cribsheet is a great book that focuses on the data behind common parenting decisions. Knowing the data and if or how much it will affect your child in the long run was super helpful for us going through the baby stage. The major theme – you can relax! Most of the decisions you make regarding big topics like sleep training, potty training, milestones, etc. aren’t going to significantly affect your child in a positive or negative way in the long term. Cribsheet is also a great book to read while you are pregnant so you can be prepared to make these big decisions when the baby is here.
Get your copy here!
7. Oh Crap, Potty Training
Written by Jamie Glowacki
This potty training method worked like a charm for us! Dane and I both read it before we attempted to potty train our kids, and it allowed us time to talk through how we were going to approach things before we got started. Did you ever think you’d be listening to a “how to” guide about your kids pooping and peeing for fun reading while on a road trip? Yeah me neither, but this book will help you if you follow this method for sure. And while I didn’t love everything in the book, it is pretty entertaining!
Get your copy here!
8. The Five Love Languages of Children
Written by Gary Chapman
You’ve read the “Five Love Languages”, now it’s time to read “The Five Love Languages of Children”. This book will give you the tips to make sure your little one always feels loved. You’ll also get a sense of what your kids love language is, so you can prioritize showing them love in this way. This book is similar to the original, but it’s short and a great refresher from a different viewpoint. The five love languages is a good family friendly audiobook to read as well, maybe everyone can learn something!
Link to buy here!
9. Bringing Up Bebe
Written by Pamela Druckerman
This book is touted as the “secret behind France’s astonishingly well-behaved children”. Pamela Druckerman is an American journalist who has a baby while living in Paris. This book compares and contrasts the “French” way with the several different styles of American parenting. There are several differences discussed including the daycare system, the types of food they eat, sleeping tactics, and more. Whether or not you choose to implement these strategies, this book is an interesting read about differences in parenting cultures.
Get your copy here!
10. Expecting Better
Written by Emily Oster
Another of Emily Oster’s books, Expecting Better, is an economist’s review of all the pregnancy data. She reviews topics like drinking coffee while pregnant, whether or not you need to avoid deli meat, and if listening to classical music in the womb will make your baby smarter. Like Cribsheet, this book will help you figure out what you need to worry about and how to relax about having that second cup of coffee. If you are pregnant, this is one of the best road trip audiobooks about pregnancy!
Get your copy here!
11. Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids
Written by Dr. Laura Markham
Are you sick of yelling all the time and having a chaotic, frustrated household? This book (while a little fluffy), will share the science behind kid’s brain development, and your kids emotions. Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids will also help you regulate your own emotions, foster connection with your kids, stop yelling, and stop the power struggles. If you’re interested in gentle parenting, this would be the book for you.
Get your copy here!
12. Siblings Without Rivalry
Written by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
If you’re sick of the fighting between your kids and looking for books on sibling rivalry, this is the best book! There are so many smart strategies to help siblings enjoy each other. We were dealing with a lot of sibling rivalry with a new baby, and this book was so helpful to get us on the right track. Adele Faber is also the author of How to Talk so Kids Will Listen – which we love as well.
Get your copy here!
Other Parenting Books:
The Family Firm:
Another of Emily Oster’s books, although this one was my least favorite of the three. She discusses the data around decisions for school age children. It’s still worth reading; however, many of the questions raised in this book don’t have concrete answers so it wasn’t very satisfying. The book is mostly focused around how to make decisions as a family, which wasn’t as helpful as her previous books in my opinion. This book does bring up a lot of important topics that you can discuss as a family.
Link to buy here!
Let Them Be Kids:
This book was good and I did remember enjoying (most of it) while reading. However, I think it’s generally pretty generic and forgettable so I don’t know that I took a lot away from it compared to other parenting books. It is a Christian parenting book, so if you’re looking for more faith-based resources you may like it.
Link to buy here!
We hope you enjoy this list of the best parenting audiobooks for road trips! Are you looking for other books or podcasts to listen to on your travels? Check out our book recommendations for every destination! Some of our favorites?
