Thank you for this review! This is one of those parenting books that's still sitting on my shelf. It seems that other cultures value partnership between parents and children, versus taking a more authoritarian approach that still seems to permeate American parenting styles.
I read somewhere that if you want to capture American parenting in a phrase it would be "Children should be seen and not heard." I can see how that might have been the case but I do feel like there's been a really positive push towards being more authoritative. But I think most Millennials are very familiar with that brand of parenting.
I read this book a while ago... and didn't love it. There's plenty of good ideas, but it kinda felt like they were pushing really hard to summarise a whole cultural way of being into an acronym just for the sake of it. I don't think all Danish parents do it the same.
I can't imagine someone writing "Parenting the Australian way". But if they did, it would probably be just a QR code linking you go episodes of Bluey 😆
Oh I definitely think they tried to find the sweet spot of organization and just enough information to capture a parent's attention. I can definitely see how its pithiness can lend itself to lots of nuances being left out. And if that's what Australian parenting is about, sign us up! #BlueyBinge
I have read this one, too (of course) and I enjoyed it. I agreed with the main tenets.
I am a sucker for any books that feature parenting in the context of other cultures because the nerd in me finds them fascinating. One thing that is a challenge with any of the books written from a different cultural perspective is that the culture part is a huge driver to the different approaches and boiling down the societal, historical, political and cultural influence into practices for an individual family to do gets a little complicated and loses a little bit of it's benefit (or a lot of). So then it becomes a DIY, individualistic solution(which is very American after all) to parenting. That being said I did like this book but I agree it is a little hard because the thesis at baseline is that this way is better so it can feel kind of crappy for American parenting. And I appreciate more of the stance of wow, look how many ways there are to do this.
P.S. you know I love this series, happy to see it back.
P.P.S. Why do we not have cafes at playgrounds??? That seems like amazing.
It really bugs me that we have all these indoor playgrounds and play cafes that can be as expensive as $40 PER KID (🥴) but we can't have public playgrounds situated in a way to make it easier for everyone to socialize.
I'm so glad you weighed in! I know that you're like me in that we love to read parenting books especially if there's a cultural bend to them. I could go on a whole diatribe on the ideas I'd love the US to borrow from Denmark but on the flip side I also believe there are lots of things that would not be possible here because of the demographic makeup of our country. Anyway, you've given me an idea for the next Parenting Bookshelf read.
Hi Sri! Thanks for sharing this book! As a licensed therapist who works with kids and parents (and a parent myself!), I appreciate the parenting principles outlined in it. They align really well with the elements those of us in the US child psychology field are currently encouraging to form healthy attachment and happy kids. As some one who did not grow up in the US, however, I also really appreciate how you highlight the impact of culture on parenting. There are so many different ways to do it!
I have a lot of empathy for parents in the US who face external challenges (lack of social support, financial stressors, inequities and prejudices, just to name a few) as well as internal pressures to do the best they can for their kids. It's hard to be a peaceful, joyful parent in all of that! I am grateful, though, for all the parents I see doing their best to unpack the things that helped and hurt them in their own childhood for the sake of their children. It's hard work, but such a gift to the next generation!
Susan, thank you so much for connecting this with your professional experience and sharing that with us! I do agree that everything in the book is based on solid principles and ones that I think are very humanistic. But, as you say, the bar for success or failure is really dependent on our culture and surroundings! We're going to try but I do wish we had the support system so evident in Denmark. 💗
Thank you for this review! This is one of those parenting books that's still sitting on my shelf. It seems that other cultures value partnership between parents and children, versus taking a more authoritarian approach that still seems to permeate American parenting styles.
I read somewhere that if you want to capture American parenting in a phrase it would be "Children should be seen and not heard." I can see how that might have been the case but I do feel like there's been a really positive push towards being more authoritative. But I think most Millennials are very familiar with that brand of parenting.
I read this book a while ago... and didn't love it. There's plenty of good ideas, but it kinda felt like they were pushing really hard to summarise a whole cultural way of being into an acronym just for the sake of it. I don't think all Danish parents do it the same.
I can't imagine someone writing "Parenting the Australian way". But if they did, it would probably be just a QR code linking you go episodes of Bluey 😆
Oh I definitely think they tried to find the sweet spot of organization and just enough information to capture a parent's attention. I can definitely see how its pithiness can lend itself to lots of nuances being left out. And if that's what Australian parenting is about, sign us up! #BlueyBinge
I have read this one, too (of course) and I enjoyed it. I agreed with the main tenets.
I am a sucker for any books that feature parenting in the context of other cultures because the nerd in me finds them fascinating. One thing that is a challenge with any of the books written from a different cultural perspective is that the culture part is a huge driver to the different approaches and boiling down the societal, historical, political and cultural influence into practices for an individual family to do gets a little complicated and loses a little bit of it's benefit (or a lot of). So then it becomes a DIY, individualistic solution(which is very American after all) to parenting. That being said I did like this book but I agree it is a little hard because the thesis at baseline is that this way is better so it can feel kind of crappy for American parenting. And I appreciate more of the stance of wow, look how many ways there are to do this.
P.S. you know I love this series, happy to see it back.
P.P.S. Why do we not have cafes at playgrounds??? That seems like amazing.
It really bugs me that we have all these indoor playgrounds and play cafes that can be as expensive as $40 PER KID (🥴) but we can't have public playgrounds situated in a way to make it easier for everyone to socialize.
I'm so glad you weighed in! I know that you're like me in that we love to read parenting books especially if there's a cultural bend to them. I could go on a whole diatribe on the ideas I'd love the US to borrow from Denmark but on the flip side I also believe there are lots of things that would not be possible here because of the demographic makeup of our country. Anyway, you've given me an idea for the next Parenting Bookshelf read.
Hi Sri! Thanks for sharing this book! As a licensed therapist who works with kids and parents (and a parent myself!), I appreciate the parenting principles outlined in it. They align really well with the elements those of us in the US child psychology field are currently encouraging to form healthy attachment and happy kids. As some one who did not grow up in the US, however, I also really appreciate how you highlight the impact of culture on parenting. There are so many different ways to do it!
I have a lot of empathy for parents in the US who face external challenges (lack of social support, financial stressors, inequities and prejudices, just to name a few) as well as internal pressures to do the best they can for their kids. It's hard to be a peaceful, joyful parent in all of that! I am grateful, though, for all the parents I see doing their best to unpack the things that helped and hurt them in their own childhood for the sake of their children. It's hard work, but such a gift to the next generation!
Susan, thank you so much for connecting this with your professional experience and sharing that with us! I do agree that everything in the book is based on solid principles and ones that I think are very humanistic. But, as you say, the bar for success or failure is really dependent on our culture and surroundings! We're going to try but I do wish we had the support system so evident in Denmark. 💗