This past week, I was talking with my colleagues about books that support good behavior for small children. As we talked, I realized I have collected quite a few of these that I should probably share as a resource for my fellow momma hens!

Here's the background. A while back, my son was going through the toddler phase of hitting and pushing at the sitter's. He also was lashing out at me some and hitting me, primarily on custody switch days when he'd return home after visitation with his father. I talked to the pediatrician about it, and she suggested the board book Hands Are Not For Hitting. She said there was a series of books like that that I could get for little man to help with different behaviors.

I got the book. I wasn't sure if it'd work, but it was worth a try. Well, it turns out that repeating some of the lines of the book really helped him focus in on good behavior and helped him to verbally identify negative behavior, too.

So then I went hog wild with some behavioral books – and it really does help to reinforce the kind of positive reactions I want my toddler to emulate.

Here are my top recommendations!

#1: Hands Are Not For Hitting (& other series books)

I shared the story in the intro to this blog post, so I won't reiterate it. But after this book worked so well, I also got my little guy a copy of Listening Time and Tails Are Not For Pulling. The first reinforces the importance of listening carefully and the latter teaches how to love on and care for our pets respectfully and safely.

These are a must-have for kiddos in the toddler age as they learn to share, understand their feelings, and cooperate with others!

#2: When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry…

This was a purchase that I wasn't sure of, honestly. I picked it because I wanted more books that worked as well as the aforementioned book. This one didn't do the exact same thing – instead, it opened up some discussion with my toddler about a much more emotionally mature topic: dealing with anger.

The story is about a little girl who gets so frustrated and angry that she has to walk away, be upset, and calm back down before she returns. The illustrations are colorful and beautiful – they are engaging enough to capture and keep my son's interest and to help him understand the various emotions that Sophie goes through to return in a calm manner.

This is a great read, a huge conversation starter, and a very helpful book. I do really recommend it, but it may need to wait until you've conquered some of the more basic things, like not hitting, first.

#3: Kind Hands Don't Hurt

This book is a perfect book for dealing with aggressive behavior with a toddler. It has activity pages, easy to repeat mantras about how kind hands don't hurt others, and interactive activities you can do with your child.

This book has created a part of our daily routine at the sitter's. Every day that I have little man for drop off, I have him repeat several things – "AJ is not the boss. Kind hands don't hurt. Nice friends share. Big boys use the potty." And the repetition of the phrase "Kind hands don't hurt" has proven really helpful. The sitter reminds him when he's getting close to showing negative behavior, too.

Definitely recommend this one for those of you with kids who can repeat and remember phrases like this!

#4: No Hitting!

This one is REALLY simple, which is good for simple recall that is positive for young kids. It essentially shows situations where a child may want to act out, and then explains that the negative behavior is not appropriate but in easily understood, toddler-friendly language.

After reading it about three to four times, I caught my son "reading" it to himself, repeating some of the situations, on the couch as I got ready for work. Such a useful, relatable, and storytelling way to correct behavior!

I found that there are some others in this series too, but I haven't bought them yet. May be something worth checking out!

We really do love these books – and I hope they'll be useful to you, too!

Bedtime Bonus

As an added bonus, I want to share the two books we read before bed every night that my little one is home with me.

Sleeping independently has been a challenge for us. Little man has two homes, and, from what he's shared with me, he does co-sleep on his visitations with his dad often. I'm NOT knocking co-sleeping – I understand that there are reasons for it and every child is different and has different needs. My personal situation is that my son has two spaces in which he lives and sleeps, and I absolutely believe its important for him to have independence and a positive sleep routine so that he gets consistent rest from house to house.

Part of our bedtime routine – which we've developed over months now and is going well so far – is to read two books every night. My kiddo has these practically memorized and can "finish the sentence" on nearly every page.

Just Go To Bed is a "Critters" book – like what our generation grew up with – and my son ADORES it. It's about a kid avoiding bedtime, but eventually deciding he's ready for bed. God Bless You and Good Night is a sweet rhyming book that was given to me at little man's baby shower. We've rediscovered it, and it's a sweet way to go over a bedtime routine with different animals and pull faith into the goodnight ritual, too.

These are the perfect bedtime tradition, so I hope they'll be welcome additions to your bookshelf, too!

Comment below and let me know what books line your kiddo's shelves! I'd love to hear from you.

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