Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be
4.8 | 4,154 ratings
Price: 22.04
Last update: 02-02-2026
Top reviews from the United States
- Nicole LammingThis is the Parenting Book You (and your kids) Need. Full stop.I have a masters in counseling with a focus on child development. I have read ALL the things. And Dr. Becky’s book is my heart’s song finally in print. She shows how we can parent in a way drastically different from generations past, caring about our kids’ feelings and also improving their behavior. She explains—in the most humble way—how to get away from the punishment/consequence paradigm and move towards connection, while being a sturdy leader with boundaries. She takes big concepts and theories and makes them relatable. And, most of all, she TRULY cares about each parent and each kid. It’s the WHY for all her hard work, and it’s what sets this apart from everything else I’ve read (along with her brilliance, evident study in all the relevant material, and incredible ability to story tell.) She is honestly one of the greatest treasures of our generation and I’m eternally grateful to have her as a mentor and friend (if you join her platform/community, she interacts with you personally and she really does become a friend.) Not enough words to give this book the praise it deserves. It will be something I reference and come back to for years to come. Not only is it helping my kids and in my parenting, it is helping me on my own healing journey.
- Megan ThompsonAbsolutely amazing.10 stars! As both a mom and a child and family therapist/parent coach, I have read a million parenting books. This one is easily in the top three if not the best one I've read. I was already a Dr. Becky groupie from her Instagram account and podcast, but this book has made me want to sing her praises from the mountain tops. It is thorough, practical, relatable, actionable, excellently written and organized, and empowering. It is grounded in attachment research, neuroscience and internal family systems theory. She spends as much time in the book increasing parenting tools and skills as she does giving parents grace and reminding them of their inherent goodness and ability to grow, change, and repair with their children. I did so much underlining and will be recommending to all my therapy clients, to my colleagues, and to all parents in general!
- Linda RobertsonA Must Read for Parents of ALL Ages!I am a 59-year-old mom whose relationships have been dramatically changed for the better by Dr. Becky Kennedy. Though her book seems to be written for parents of young children, it is actually an invaluable resource to anyone wanting to understand the people they love the most in order to have deep, meaningful connections with them.
Her Good Inside approach has strengthened my resolve to trust my adult kids, to listen far more than I speak, to prioritize understanding them over convincing them of the rightness of my own ideas, and has helped me tremendously in supporting my kids when they are wrestling with challenges in life.
This is one of those books that you can read or listen to over and over again, and you'll hear something new every single time. What I would give to have had this book when I was raising our four kids...it would have been a total game changer! But even now, it has really empowered me to do transformative repair with my children over things I missed, or things I didn't get just right with them. If you are longing to have a deeper, more emotionally safe connection with your adult kids, this is a phenomenal place to start.
I don't have grandchildren yet, but if I ever do, I'll be MUCH more prepared to be the kind of grandparent who respects our kids' boundaries, who is open to new approaches to discipline (and who understands the research behind recent changes in thought), and who thoroughly enjoys every moment with our grandchildren. I can't recommend this book highly enough! - McKenzie BauerThought-provokingSome parts of this book didn’t seem totally applicable to what I’m going through with my children right now but overall, it had so many incredible takeaways, insights and strategies that will help me see my goodness as a parent and the goodness of my children as the navigate this crazy world.
- J.R. HigueraA MUST READ for ParentsI already know, after finishing this book, I will be reading it again and again. It was so simple yet so powerful. And there is so much for any parent to relate to and apply into their own life. I highly recommend this book.
- mcHighly recommendThis is the best book I have ever read. Not only it helped me much in dealing with my son and other children, but it also helped me to understand myself better.
- Mama NThe most important book a parent will ever readI have so much I want to say about this book and how it changed my perspective to parenting for the better. There are so many books about what to expect when you first find out you’re pregnant and how to go about the next newborn/infant stage. There’s not enough talk about needing to read parenting books beyond the first 12 months.
To be honest, I found this book the most motivating, inspiring and HELPFUL Of them all. This book is definitely geared towards the toddler and beyond years, and I really wish I had read this earlier. Please do yourself a favor and read this book prior to toddler years. Even if you think you know how to go about helping foster your on childs independent, appropriate, and emotional development, as well as sibling/ friendship hardship in the correct manner, I challenged you to read this book to make sure what you’re doing (or plan to do) is truly right.
This book helped me develop the tools (actions and word choices) that I needed to improve my reactions towards undesirable words or actions by my toddler. This in turn has reduced her outbursts (Both physical and verbal) and has given her anymore independent and an emotionally stable/strong relationship with herself and everyone else.
This is especially for those strong willed and emotionally intelligent/ sensitive children.
To be honest, I even learned a lot about how to navigate adult relationships better. I learned a little bit (maybe more than I want to admit) about myself too.
10/10.