Kids don't come with a manual, and parents don't get grades to affirm they're doing things right. These talks speak to the complexities of parenthood, offering unusual insights and hard-won advice.

Need an introduction to TED? Enjoy a mixture of some of our most well-known, hard-hitting and and perspective-shifting talks.

A list of the talks mentioned in TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking. Chris Anderson's comments on each talk (in the grey italics) indicate why they were included in the book. Use the book index for more info.