First of all congratulations to all the parents for surviving another World Book Day (or, as I call it, Spring-Halloween).  Whether you made it, bought it, borrowed it, or supported your child who was too anxious to dress up — well done.

The link between literacy and health is real. I’ve posted many times on the the library (seriously, get a library card.  Why don’t you have one?)

Here are some of the books that I recommend to my patients and families that I work with:

Women’s Health

anything by the amazing Dr. Jen Gunter, including the Vagina Bible, The Menopause Manifesto, and her new book on menstruation, Blood.

Vaccine and Understanding Health Misinformation: 

• “The Irrational Ape” by Irish author David Robert Grimes

• “Bad Advice” by Dr. Paul Offitt

• “Vaccines didn’t cause Rachel’s Autism”  by Dr. Peter Hotez, Rachel’s father, paediatrician, and researcher

Food: 

• 101 Square Meals – it’s FREE

• Cancer Prevention and Survival:  Expert Cookbooks from not-for-profit Breakthrough Cancer Research

• Gut Health:  What every women should know about her Gut by The Gut Experts (Irish registered dietitian Elaine McGowan and Consultant Gastroenterologist Prof. Barbara Ryan)

Sleep

While it’s not right for everyone, reading a book before bed is a common part of many healthy bed time routines.  Some people journal or meditate, but for many escaping into the pages of book to unwind and disconnect before bed is part of their pre-sleep routine.  Whether it’s you’re managing a football team, wine-tasting with billionaires in Napa, marching across Gaul with Caesar, undercover spying in the Kremlin, or courting at her ladyship’s ball … getting lost before bed is something many find helpful, and benefits our brains in a way that screens just can’t.

Parenting

I talked about this recently when I posted Child Anxiety.  Your library has shelves filled with books (look for “special collection” and/or ask your amazing librarian to help!)  to help you discuss difficult topics with your children, from potty training to smoking to sexual development, from bullying to anxiety, to making friends to starting school, to being shy to being different in any number of ways. Reading a child book on the subject together, especially before a young child’s “first” (first airplane trip, first hospital stay, first day of school, first younger sibling arrival…) can really be a wonderful parenting hack. And can help you navigate those tricker pre/teen discussions later. You can see a selection of topics below (these photos are from the Ashbourne, Co. Meath Library)