Vote For Our February Parenting Book Club Pick
It is time to vote for our February parenting book club selection. I hope a lot of you made it your New Year resolution to read more and will be joining us. We’re currently having a great discussion about January’s selection, the parenting book NurtureShock.
Here’s a little about February’s parenting book selections and the poll is down below (it will be open for a week, until day’s end on Weds, January 16):
1) Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity by Andrew Solomon
This book is relatively new (released in Nov 2012) and has really been talked about a lot the past few months, making it on to several best seller and best books of 2012 lists. From the Amazon review of the book, “Andrew Solomon’s tome about the ways in which children are different from their parents–and what such differences do to our conventional ideas about family.” I find this book fascinating, what it feels like to parent a child who is so very different from yourself. How much does nurture play a role in the people our children become? Why do good parents have “bad” kids? The author weaves his own personal narrative of being raised in family where he was much different from his parents.
2) Fed Up with Frenzy: Slow Parenting in a Fast-Moving World by Susan Sachs Lipman
Do you feel like your family is on the fast track to nowhere? This books offers not just information about why it is important to slow down and reconnect as a family, but ideas to help you make the most of your slowed down time. You know how you will have days with nothing going on and you look at each other and think, “Now what?” Well, this book has ideas. Even 18 years in to this parenting thing I can use new ideas and a fresh perspective. This seems like it would be a fun easy read about something so many of us complain about. From personal experience, this past winter break we were all down with a mild flu and we did nothing over the break. No trips, no fun day excursions, nothing. We stayed home and watched movies together, baked, did crafts, lounged in pajamas, etc. When my kids went back to school yesterday they all said that it was the best school break ever.
3) Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen
This book is exactly what the title suggests, how to incorporate play into your parenting. Incorporating play and humor as a way to connect with your children. I’ll admit, I am not a big “player” and this books intrigues me because I wonder what I am missing. I know my kids like it when I do things with them, so I am interested in reading about why I should do this more often. It’s never too late to incorporate new things into your parenting.
These are the three books that we will be voting on to read this month. I am not-so-secretly hoping that the first book, “Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity“, wins. I already know that I will read it regardless of the outcome, but it seems like a book that would be great to discuss with other people. Don’t you hate it when you read an interesting book and you then have to try to convince your friends to read it so you can have someone with whom to talk about it?
Vote below (be careful, the randomize voting changes the placement so that it doesn’t always line up exactly with the list above). The poll will be open until Weds, January 16 at day’s end. (editor: I decided to close the poll early today because i learned of some lobbying going on by one of the authors. The point of this poll is so that it reflects the opinions and wishes of this community, you know the ones who will be reading the book pick (not those who already read the book or are voting as a favor to the author).) Then check back on the February book choice, which we will discuss on Tuesday, February 5th.
The winner is Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity by Andrew Solomon. Come back on February 5th when we’ll discuss it.
Here are the discussions for our previous picks: NurtureShock (Jan), How To Talk So Kids Will Listen (Dec), and Five Love Languages of Children (Nov).
