Be The Parent, Please

 
Summary from Goodreads: 

 “Be the Parent, Please is one of the most thought-provoking and jarring books I’ve read in a long time. When I finished the book, I literally thought to myself, ‘I wish I’d read this ten years ago!’ Engagingly written and filled with fascinating studies, this important book should be a conversation changer.” —Amy Chua, Yale Law professor and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and The Triple Package

Be the Parent, Please: Stop Banning Seesaws and Start Banning Snapchat: Strategies for Solving the Real Parenting Problems

By Naomi Schaefer Riley

Published by Templeton Press

Hardcover: 192 pages

January 8, 2018; $24.95US; 9781599474823

Description:

Toddlers on tablets. Pre-teens on Tumblr. Thanks to a variety of factors—from tech companies hungry for new audiences, to school administrations bent on making education digital, to a culture that promotes everyone as the star of their own reality shows—technology is irrevocably a part of childhood, and parents are struggling to keep up. What should be allowed? What should be denied? And, given the ubiquity of technology and its inherent usefulness, what do sensible boundaries even look like?

A noted columnist and mother of three, Naomi Schaefer Riley fully understands the seductive nature of screens. For example, an after­noon of finger painting equals enormous cleanup of both house and hands. But an afternoon of iPad games? Just a swipe and a charger. Or what about car rides around town? Always having toys and books on hand isn’t a given, but your game-loaded smart phone is.

Riley draws us into her story and then walks us through the research on technology’s encroachment into each stage of childhood. She then offers "tough mommy tips": realistic, practical, applicable advice for parents who recognize that unlimited technology access is a problem, but who don’t know where to start in taking back control. These tips cover everything from placating an antsy toddler at your local favorite restaurant to best practices for keeping your teens safe from unsavory sites.

Any parent knows the effects of screens on their distracted, cranky, sedentary, and incessantly anxious-about-what-might-be-going-on-without-them kids. Naomi Schaefer Riley brings her experience, research, and no-nonsense candor to help parents prevent the children from falling under the destructive spell of technology.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Naomi Schaefer Riley is a weekly columnist for the New York Post and a former Wall Street Journal editor and writer whose work focuses on higher education, religion, philanthropy and culture. She is the author of six books, her most recent titled, The New Trail of Tears: How Washington Is Destroying American Indians, (Encounter, 2016). Her book, ’Til Faith Do Us Part: How Interfaith Marriage is Transforming America (Oxford, 2013), was named an editor’s pick by the New York Times Book Review. For more information, please visit http://www.naomiriley.com/

 
Personal Review:In full disclosure, I am not a parent. When I was offered this book I picked it up because I am an Aunt. I have family members who are trying to make sense of what is too much screen time and what does that mean for their kids. I thought maybe their would be some insights in this book that helped to enlighten that.

This book was certainly full of information. It talked about the challenge of dealing with kids sometimes and the desire to passify them (of sorts) with technology. I cannot speak to that experience directly, but I can see where that can be the case.

I found the book informative. Thank you for the opportunity.

 Disclaimer: I was awarded this book. Though I did not pay for the book, the opinions are strictly my own.
Happy Reading!