There are now hundreds of books, leaflets, videos/DVDs and websites all giving advice to parents and those in a child-caring role. Below we give a link to a website with details of many of the resources currently available. The most important thing is to find something presented in a style that suits you: if you find reading a bore, either search around for a video or go for something like Steve Chalke’s Parenttalk Guides or Rob Parsons’ Sixty Minute series, both of which are short, varied and humorous in their presentation. If you enjoy settling down to some serious reading and like to know why you’re being told what you’re being told, you might find Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer’s books rewarding. Take time to browse in your local bookshop (where you may well find that all parenting books are in the ‘Babycare’ section) and look out for something which will help you to work on your child’s strengths - and your own.

Visit the Parenting Education Materials (PEM) website, where you can search an extensive list of books, leaflets, videos and more. When searching on the PEM site, first choose a category, such as teenagers or disability, and then filter the search if you wish by choosing a format, such as books or videos. Click on the green title of any item you are interested in to see a summary of it and details of publisher, price, length etc. When ordering it is helpful to be able to give your bookseller the 10-digit ISBN reference.

This PEM collection can also be hired from us by organisations such as schools, family centres etc (details on the site). The site is also for use by people whose work involves supporting parents, so there are some resources primarily for them, such as ‘programmes’ which are the materials used for running parenting groups.

Please, if you know someone who has difficulty reading, or reading English, tell them about some of the videos you can find on the PEM website.