Chicken Soup For The Mother Of Preschooler's Soul

By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Maria Nickless and Elisa Morgan

(Health Communications, $19.95)

You might be a mommy if every shirt you own has spit up on the shoulder. You watch Barney, Arthur and Disney Playhouse. You carry a diaper bag instead of a purse. You discuss babies' bodily functions with women you've just met. Sleeping in is when the clock reads 6:30 a.m.

Many women fantasize about motherhood, imagining picture-perfect days spent with their smiling, cooing baby. But moms of young children soon realize motherhood also comes with such daily challenges as toddler tantrums, toilet training, sibling rivalry and sleepless nights.

This book helps readers connect with other moms through stories they can relate to and laugh over.

Key features include a short-story format for busy moms and stories that apply to both stay-at-home and working moms.

Practical Wisdom For Parents

By Nancy Schulman and Ellen Birnbaum

(Alfred A. Knopf, $32)

This book is organized into two sections -- school and home.

The authors believe that when parents and teachers work together and their expectations are consistent, children are given the best opportunity to thrive.

Schulman, the director of a New York City day care, and Birnbaum, a teacher there, draw on their longtime experience in childhood education.

You'll find hints on everything from choosing a preschool program and dealing with separation to developing a day-to-day routine on the home front, setting limits through discipline, developing morals and ethics in children and encouraging independence.

The No-Cry Discipline Solution

By Elizabeth Pantley

(McGraw-Hill, $20.95)

Raising children may be the most rewarding job of your life.

But when it comes to discipline, it can also be complicated, challenging and frustrating.

Instead of punishment, think of discipline as training that develops self-control and character, writes Pantley, an award-winning parent educator.

She encourages parents to think ahead to the kind of teenager they want their child to grow into.

If you want your teenager to launder his own clothes and put them away, start in the toddler years by having your youngster carry his own clothes to a hamper in his room.

When he's a preschooler, have him put clothes in a hamper in the laundry room or sort them into bins.

When he's school age, have him help sort clean socks, fold T-shirts and put away his own clothes into drawers.

If you want your teen to do as you ask, start in the toddler years by making requests in simple, clear and age-appropriate language.

With preschoolers, make clear and specific requests eye-to-eye. For school-age children, follow through with an action, such as taking them by the hand.