The Parenting Puzzle

The Parenting Puzzle is an illustrated, easy-to-use guide through the Nurturing Programme.

Presented in a friendly, informal way, The Parenting Puzzle encourages parents and carers to enjoy bringing up children and get the best out of family life. It helps us understand how emotions influence our actions, and offers many positive, practical ways of guiding children so they learn to handle both their feelings and their behaviour. It suggests ways of helping us feel good - boosting self-esteem in ourselves and in our children and has activities for parents to take part in. Since it first went on sale 27,184 copies of The Parenting Puzzle have been sold.

The Parenting Puzzle captures the exchange of ideas and supportive atmosphere that parents able to attend groups enjoy. It is also a valuable tool for professionals supporting families in one-to-one work and is great as an ongoing point of reference for those who have done the Parent Programme.

You can find out more and buy your copy of The Parenting Puzzle here

Reviews of The Parenting Puzzle

"This is a wonderful book every sense of the word. It is beautifully designed and written with a real understanding of the needs of potential readers. Empathy is not only placed as a core construct of the approach to parenting advocated in the book, but is actually demonstrated throughout in the way the book is put together. I enjoyed reading it and was excited to find myself rethinking issues of importance."
Hilton Davis
Professor of Child Health Psychology, Kings College London

"When parents seek help in a situation of conflict between family members, they have often tried everything they know to change things, but nothing has worked well enough. This is where The Parenting Puzzle comes in, with its tried and tested practical programme. The book can be seen as a skilled, structured and humorous guide on the way to better family relationships. It is not an 'only one way to do it' instruction manual; it encourages and supports parents and children to experiment with their own ideas and to find what works best for them."
Howard Williams
Family therapist, statutory member of adoption and fostering panels, casework fellow in Institute of Marital Studies, Tavistock Institute

"I've read lots of parenting books over the years, first for myself as a new parent and then because I work in this area, and I do think The Parenting Puzzle is one of the best books I've read. The presentation was so refreshing, so accepting of the complexities of parenting. It gives space and options – it isn't a 'how to' manual as so many parenting books seem to be… and yet there is lots of information and the framework is clear, helpful, consistent. I feel it's very empathic. I think people will feel understood, supported and encouraged by the information in the book.

I especially like the way the section on smacking is handled: it is clear and strong without judging or condemning – so crucial if behaviours are to change.

I so liked, and found refreshing, the links between what we have experienced as children growing up, and how we wish to parent – and to be remembered as parents. These links are powerful, profound and yet, I suspect, often missed."
Jenny Martin
Deputy Director, PEEP (Peers Early Education Partnership)

"This book is fun, useful and shows a real-life knowledge of parenting and family life. It also has a deep and loving understanding of how human beings feel and behave. How much less 'quiet desperation' there would be if all parents had this much insight."
Philippa Berry
Care Manager, Community Mental Health Team

"This book is great! I can't wait to share it with the groups I facilitate. I know from both professional and personal experience that the Nurturing Programme really does make a difference. As one of the parents I've worked with said, 'It's like magic!' How wonderful that it is now available for everyone, not just those who can join a group."
Maggie Bell
Child & Family Department, City of Sunderland

"This is an important addition to parenting literature. The great thing about the book is that it is a real how-to guide, full of good practical ideas. Follow them and it makes parenting more fun!"
Henry Stewart
Chair, Antidote

"I was overwhelmed, pleasantly, by the exhaustive exploration of family themes covered here…it's highly effective and highly entertaining – just as family life ought to be and could be if just some of the ideas in this book were taken on board. This is an excellent addition to the parenting bookshelf."
Suzie Hayman, Children Now

"What I like about this course is that it places the emphasis on mutual change, rather than control. Changing what we do and say to our children is often as important as - if not the key to – trying to control what they say and do. The book is clearly laid out and very user-friendly."
Rebecca Abrams, Daily Telegraph

"A new generation of mothers and fathers are looking to break old habits of fear and violence. In The Parenting Puzzle, a marvellous new book about getting the best out of family life, the authors give useful tips on how to control anger – your own and your three-year-old's."
Allison Pearson, Evening Standard

"It's a brilliant book. The parents who have taken part say it has helped them so much with their relationships with their children, and turned difficult relationships into positive and happy ones. One guy told me it has transformed his relationship with his son, and when he employed the techniques he had learned at work he was promoted."
Andrew Smith MP, quoted in review by Philip Seton-Anderson, Oxford Times

"This book pulls no punches and everything that confronts and confuses children is openly discussed, with a clear and attractive layout making it readily accessible to those constrained by time pressures… The scope of this book is, however, far wider than the title suggests. You don't have to be a parent to be a very significant adult in the life of a child. And anyone can learn from its teaching on relationships. The concepts and skills promoted here are the stuff of social responsibility…Above all, this book facilitates communication – and it pays to start young."
Kate Hodgson, The Door

Buy your copy of The Parenting Puzzle here