The Idle Parent: Why Laid-Back Parents Raise Happier and Healthier Kids - Tom Hodgkinson

There are many parenting styles and twice as many parenting books. I tend to be a semi idler/semi free range kind of parent. As my kids get older, I will do more free-range type of parenting (as I see most Europeans parent their kids). In my opinion, American style parenting is based on too much fear of the bogeyman.

 

With that said, just by reading the introduction, I found this father's parenting method not so much as idle as it was lazy and uninvolved; the writing was even lazier (think "won't someone think of the children" pearl clutching over scheduled activities). I was going to read this for a Pop Sugar Challenge prompt - Career Advice, because I have about another year and half of stay at home parenting ahead of me (Kindergarten for my daughter can not come soon enough!). However, this book started out as all parenting books do - shaming today's parenting and stressed out kids.

 

Just say no to parenting and diet books. They are all the same!