Parenting, Inc. by Pamela Paul Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Parenting, Inc.
Book Review: Parenting,Plus
Summary: 5 Stars
Pamela Paul captures the culture of commercialism for child-rearing.The anxieties of being a parent have been capitalized on by manufacturers; and, parents are distracted from the realities of raising a baby.Not only is "stuff" stuffed down new parents throats,this is accompanied by false claims of excellence.Pamela Paul has researched her topic and added a dose of intuition, inspiration,common sense and humor to drive her point home. BRAVA!!!!!Book Review: Right on the money!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book finally puts into words what I (and so many others) have been thinking. When did having a baby necessitate a seemingly endless shopping list of 'must buy' consumer goods? And it doesn't stop after infancy. Rather the pressure to over-educate, over-stimulate, and over-indulge in some communities seems to ramp up apace with a child's growth chart. Paul puts all this spending in perspective and offers some context to what has become a multi-million dollar industry: pampering the under 5's. When there are children starving around the world, such excess seems all the more out of whack. Pamela Paul gives you the facts in an anecdote-filled, interesting and comprehensive way. It's up to you to come to your own conclusions. The best kind of zeitgeist journalism.Book Review: Sobering look at raising kids
Summary: 5 Stars
Pamela Paul, who has written lucidly and piercingly about other issues in American culture, here examines the money and mentality of raising children. She begins by discussing baby sign language, and, right away I thought about the choices I made for my children. I never did get around to teaching my kids sign language, I didn't buy the most expensive cribs or cradles. Did I screw up?? Did I damage my children? Paul reassures me that, no, my kids will do just fine, thank you.
This book is interesting from a sociologic perspective. But it's also practical. I think that any new parent (or parent of a pregnant child) should read it to get a clearer vision on what children "must" have, and what children truly need.
The bottom line: children need more of what money can't buy. And if you spend less time going out to earn the money, maybe you'll be home more to give your kids what they need: you!
Book Review: This book is such a great topic, too bad it fell short. Not as good as it could have been!
Summary: 1 Stars
After the first few pages the author lost her outrage and personal voice.
Without the author using a more personal voice it reads like she just fell into line with all the consumerism through out the book. Then it starts to read like a bureau of statistics or consumer reports brochure warning how not to let advertising and marketing dupe you into being a foolish consumer driven parent. Which has it's value for waking up some parents, but was a DULL read and led me nowhere.
With such a brilliant topic ripe for peeling back to shake up this generation of parents, the book was flat! I can not figure out why and how Ms. Paul missed the mark.
Is her own voice as a mother/ author too timid or is she just warning us, and she is not avoiding falling into line with what the marketers want and continues to raise her children as consumers.
I purchased this book full price at my local Barnes and Noble because of Dr Elkinds blurb on the back, he is a guru from the education world supporting and educatiing parents who are unwilling to follow nonsensical parenting fads (we are in the middle of too many).
Everyone should read Dr Elkind's books, my favorite that supported following my intuition about raising children was "Miseducation: PRESCHOOLERS AT RISK" it's a bit old, but absolutely relevant for what is happening today.
Another brilliant book for parents that goes against the grain of mainstream parenting fads is by Dorothy Briggs, "Your Child's Self Esteem" it will help you get off the fast track of parental and child consumerism.
Book Review: You don't need an $800 stroller.
Summary: 5 Stars
Do they have bugaboo strollers where you live? They've hit New York like an invasion of cockroaches -- $800 cockroaches in artfully named colors like "mocha" and "timbre". Ten years ago you couldn't have spent $800 on a stroller if you had tried, but by 2005 or 2006 they had become the norm in many communities.
This book tackles the question of how this happened. Why do parents think that they need an $800 stroller? Why do they think their kids should watch "Baby Einstein" videos? Does the baby really need $80 face cream? Bugaboo strollers are treated in particular detail, with their initial marketing plan and the response by consumers dissected in fascinating detail.
My favorite chapters talked about the companies that supply this stuff -- from entrepreneurs (especially moms) who had a good idea and are looking to turn it into a profit, to the most cynical and crass corporate marketing machines. Many of the products discussed in the book may harm children, but the companies that sell them spend millions of dollars convincing parents that their children will be somehow at risk without them.
Modern society has weakened the extended families and tight-knit communities that once played an important role in the raising of children. Many parents have no good source for advice about the baby that is about to arrive, or has just arrived. Corporations have gleefully filled the void, and neither the kids nor the parents benefit from this.
To be clear -- this book is even-handed, and where Paul sees value in a good or service, she gives detailed credit to the people responsible. Her discussions of the bad stuff are, for me anyway, more fun to read.
I loved the book. About the only thing I wanted more of was the discussion of "kids as fashion items," where toddlers are dressed in expensive clothes and paraded about by egocentric parents. I still do not understand why people do such things.
More Parenting, Inc. reviews:
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