Child(ish) Reads

Child(ish) Reads: Wanted: Toddler’s Personal Assistant

| Patti Webb

In December, I usually pick a fun book to review; mostly to whiz through it and have a light-hearted post. This one changed up a bit on me.

Wanted: Toddler’s Personal Assistant: How Nannying for the 1% Taught Me about the Myths of Equality, Motherhood, and Upward Mobility in America by Stephanie Kiser

Blurb: When Stephanie Kiser moves to New York City after college to pursue a career in writing, she quickly learns that her entry-level salary won’t cover the high cost of living―never mind her crushing student loan debt. But there is one in-demand job that pays more than enough to allow Stephanie to stay in the city: nannying for the 1%. Desperate to escape the poverty of her own childhood, Stephanie falls into a job that hijacks her life for the next seven years: a glorified personal assistant to toddlers on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

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Child(ish) Reads: How to Dungeon Master Parenting

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

I’ve written a ton about video gaming and how my husband is a huge gamer. This includes ongoing Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, roleplaying games, Magic the Gathering, and anything else that uses a D20. So I was super psyched to get How to Dungeon Master Parenting by Shelly Mazzanoble. Yet another super late review for NetGalley, but I wanted to save this one for October.

How to Dungeon Master Parenting: A Guidebook for Gamifying the Child Rearing Quest, Leveling Up Your Skills, and Raising Future Adventurers by Shelly Mazzanoble

The blurb: For years, millions of fans have looked to the beloved roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons for fun, friendship, and entertainment. And now parents and parents-to-be can use D&D to gain inspiration and how-to when it comes to their most challenging and rewarding role yet. Dungeon Masters are not just expert storytellers and arbiters of the rules, they’re compassionate, creative, quick-thinking leaders who embody the same traits that make a great parent.

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Child(ish) Reads: This is So Awkward

| Patti Webb

It’s now October and we usually try to work in our fun, tongue-in-cheek tone throughout for Halloween. The book I picked out for today was an Advance Reader I got from NetGalley (again, tragically late for a review), and as Mary and I started talking about it, it became a little…scary.

This Is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained by Cara Natterson MD and Vanessa Kroll Bennett.

Here’s the blurb: Almost everything about puberty has changed since today’s adults went through it. It starts, on average, two years earlier and stretches through high school . . . and for some, beyond. Gens Z and Alpha are also contending with a whole host of thorny issues that parents didn’t experience in their own youth but nonetheless need to understand: everything from social media and easy-access pornography to gender identities and new or newly-potent drugs. Talking about any of this is like puberty itself: Awkward! But it’s also critical for the health, happiness, and safety of today’s kids.

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Child(ish) Reads: A+ Parenting

| Patti Webb

Of course for Back-to-School month we’re reviewing a school(ish) book. This one thankfully is a much more productive read than last year’s. I received an advance copy of A+ Parenting via NetGalley. Technically the book came out in October 2023, so I hope NetGalley will forgive my tragically late feedback.

A+ Parenting: The Surprisingly Fun Guide to Raising Surprisingly Smart Kids by Eva Moskowitz, with Eric Grannis.

Summary: Eva Moskowitz has built a national reputation as the founder and leader of Success Academy Charter Schools, one of the country’s most highly regarded networks of schools. But while most people know Eva for her success in educating 20,000 mainly low-income students who are routinely accepted to our nation’s best universities, she has also been responsible for raising three children of her own. In A+ Parenting, Eva shares what she has learned both as a parent and an educator about raising children to be enthusiastic and successful learners.

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Article Review: Kids are Losing their Fine Motor Skills – and Screens Might Be to Blame

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

We’re always on the lookout for OT articles in the mainstream. Earlier this year, one finally presented itself from National Geographic: Kids are losing fine motor skills – and screens might be to blame. (This is a paid article.)

Lots of clickbait going on here, sadly. In our TL:DR world, one could easily surmise once again that screens are the bane of our existence and they’re turning our kids inadequate. And according to the article’s 1,300 comments on Instagram, it’s ABSOLUTELY true and we parents should be ashamed of ourselves!!!

Does this really paint the whole picture? No.
Does it lazily blame screens, and then by extension, parents? Yes.

Here’s our quick article review:

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