The problem with parenting books is that the vast majority contain only a portion of new information. The rest is the same you would find in any quality parenting book. It may be extremely valuable, but I personally become bored reading the stuff I already know. Unfortunately, I have often zoned out before I get to the valuable new information.
In his book Quick Tips for Busy Families, Jay Payleitner has come up with a great way to make the common parenting tips engaging and a format to help even the most impatient reader find helpful information. Payleitner has divided his advice into 144 easy to read entries. Most are a page or two. They have clear enough titles so a parent can easily scan the table of contents and find entries of interest.
As a reviewer, I try to read an entire book before reviewing it – just to make sure I don’t miss something important to share. Which means, while reading many parenting books, I am bored 80% of the time. I am not sure what it is about this author’s style – perhaps his underlying sense of humor and fun – but it made me enjoy reading even the entries about things I have done for years.
Perhaps ultimately, that’s the best thing about this book. It will make even parents who have no time or little interest in reading a parenting book, read more than they might normally. Between the short entries, the sense of humor underlying many “hacks” and the great advice, readers will gain a lot from reading it. Frankly, even though my daughter is now in college, it reminded me of the things we had done and the ones we should continue.
The only word of caution I will give readers is that the advice is not all “Christian”. While the advice is not ungodly and is actually excellent in most cases, quite a bit of it is what I would call “secular” parenting advice. It’s still crucial and helpful information, but won’t help you build your child’s faith, character, etc.
My bottom line is that this is an excellent book for new or even more experienced parents. It’s perfect for parents who don’t have time to read or don’t enjoy reading. It has great advice (I could quibble a minor point here or there, but I don’t think it’s important) for everything from how to keep a young child from getting sick all over your rugs and furniture to how to use Candy Land for punishment (those of you who have played the game can relate!) and much, much more. There are some great Christian parenting tips too – just not the majority of the tips in this book.
I would definitely consider reading or giving this book. Just realize it won’t give you all of the tips you need for Christian parenting. It will give you some important ones though and the secular ones are very helpful, too. It’s worth the time to read and you will probably enjoy it, too!
This book was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review. An affiliate link is included for your convenience.