HOW TO HELP A CLUMSY CHILD Book

Finally gave up and tossed this in the donate box. The goal is good, and I support it. We want to raise children to be a certain kind of adult: respectful, empathetic, self-aware, intelligent, etc. The idea behind this book is a manual on how to do that. But it reads like a scorn showing any weakness in parenting. The message I took away was "When your kid is flying a kite on the beach, and you tell her its time to go home and she keeps flying the kite, if you don't follow through in that exact moment she will be a sociopath." Extreme? YES.

I am sick of fear-factor parenting. Articles and books that are leading great parents to mistrust their gut instincts are unproductive. Should your kids run your life and your house? NO. Is it acceptable for them to watch TV? YES. Not all day everyday, but TV is not going to make your kid a school shooter.

ALSO, I had to skip the entire chapter that basically said mothers shouldn't work when their kids are small. Because the mother has a special bond with the child that no other caregiver, not even the father, can fill in. Bullshit.

Mind you, the underlying point behind this book is good, and the reason I bought it. We should be prioritizing family in our culture, and respectful, quality, meaningful family interactions. Every family does that differently, however, so writing a how-to book is hard. Yes we should put down our phones more, yes we should be outside running around together more. But no, I don't want to be afraid to respond to a text message because that might be the thing that leads my 5-year old to heroin.