- Published: 3 June 2025
- ISBN: 9780857506818
- Imprint: Bantam Press
- Format: Trade Paperback
- Pages: 368
- RRP: $36.99
How to Be The Grown-Up
Why Good Parenting Starts with You

















- Published: 3 June 2025
- ISBN: 9780857506818
- Imprint: Bantam Press
- Format: Trade Paperback
- Pages: 368
- RRP: $36.99
Down to earth, anchored in compassion and completely do-able, Dr Martha gives real answers to all the questions every parent wants to know.
Suzy Reading, chartered psychologist, author of Stand Tall Like a Mountain
Martha is my go-to expert for parenting. This book is full of real life examples, lived experiences, useful strategies and so much reassurance
Charlotte Stirling-Reed, bestselling author of How to Wean Your Baby
A wonderful and compassionate resource based on sound evidence. I would be recommending this to parents lots when I worked with children.
Emma Hepburn, clinical psychologist and author of A Toolkit for Modern Life
‘A must-read… written in a supportive, non-judgemental tone which encourages the reader not to give up. I would highly recommend this book to anyone trying to navigate parenthood – through love, patience and dedication.’
Dr Aziza Sesay @talkswithdrsesay
Will help you truly understand your child’s behaviours, and rethink your own too… This book will change how you parent for the better.
Nichola Ludlam-Raine, Registered Dietitian, @mummynutrition
This book is an essential guide for all parents. Empowering, empathetic and educational. It has helped me to think more deeply about my own parenting, and understand myself better.
Clare Bourne, author of Strong Foundations
Grateful to have this on my bookshelf. I’ll be using it for years to come.
Dr Faye Begeti @the_brain_doctor
Martha has a magic way of connecting to the parent, I felt like she was speaking directly to me throughout. She addresses many of the most daunting and overwhelming challenges of parenting and dilutes them with her wonderful understanding and strategies. This is a book I will refer to again and again.
Carla Freeman
Oh the times I’ve looked around for a ‘real adult’ to tell me how to parent! In this warm, powerful book, Dr Martha is exactly that compassionate, confident voice that we all need. Dr Martha supports us in exploring the narratives we learnt within our own childhood, and gently challenges them so that we can feel empowered and equipped to raise confident children…as confident parents. This book needs to take a firm place on the bedside table of every parent. It will powerfully shape the ways we parent our children… and ourselves. Step away from Googling for parenting tips and step towards Dr Martha’s words. The warm, confident guidance all parents crave.
Anna Mathur, bestselling author of Mind Over Mother
This is a helpful and supportive guide that encourages and facilitates self-reflection, and offers detailed, practical help with parenting.
Juno
Focuses on how you can be the best mother or father, by ditching tired family scripts, respecting your child for who and where they are, and controlling your own behaviour.
Psychologies
Brilliant ... From taming tantrums to why tears matter, making mistakes and managing your child's disappointment, all the way through to talking to children about sex, war and mobile phone use, Dr Martha has guidance for almost every sticky moment.
The i Paper
The scripts and behaviours we learned ourselves as children are bound to make certain areas feel tricky and her calm, no-nonsense advice is a soothing antidote to self blame.
The Psychologist