I admit it, Dear Reader. I know NOTHING about parenthood. I’ll never know anything about parenthood, because I’m never, ever having children. I bought this dog in my twenties, see. A dog so EPICALLY untrainable everyone who knew me said, “If this is an indication of what you’d do with a child, DO NOT EVER HAVE ANY.”
I listened.
In my forties, multiple kids love me. Or look up to me. Or whatever. (I don’t want to make their thoughts of me more than they are.) It wasn’t easy to watch a mom-friend cry over her child, a young person I love with ferocious abandon, because this child fears for her safety in a gun-riddled country. I don’t know what it’s like to mold and shape a human being, but I wish I could annihilate her worries.
That’s where the book Science of Parenthood: Thoroughly Unscientific Explanations for Baffling Situations helps clueless, childless folks like me. It’s a visual feast, packed with Jessica Ziegler’s gifted illustrations, but it’s also a love letter to helping future generations grow up to be productive human beings. Instead of being preachy, it’s Jessica and Norine Dworkin-McDaniel’s advice and ‘wow, I wish I would have’ doled out with heaping helpings of humor and empathy.
I love this book.
If you’re still weighing your options for holiday gift ideas, please consider the print version of Science of Parenthood for any-and-everyone on your list. Whether you’re a parent, thinking about being a parent, trying to be a parent, or never going to be a parent, there’s wisdom for everyone. It’s a roadmap to shape the next generation, a book I’m proud to recommend.
6 Comments
what a great idea for a book. my approach, is, and always has been, trial and error. so far, we have all survived ,but some of that was luck )
I don’t think there’s ever any one ‘right’ way to parent. From what I know of you, you did a great job!!
Hi there! I have two kids, the younger is 2. I clearly need this book 🙂
You’ll really enjoy it, Chris.
The way I look at it, our kids turned out great in spite of me. They were/are lucky to have Saint Laura as their mom. I knew I wanted to be a dad when I was a kid. It’s been the greatest blessing of my life.
You’re both great parents.
Comments are closed.