Child(ish) Reads

Child(ish) Reads: I Left My Homework in the Hamptons

| Patti Webb

“There is a commonality among all parents, riven with fear, wanting something better for our children and not knowing how to go about getting it.”

I decided to switch up our usual Childish Reads. Most of the books I choose are on child or parenting development, but this book covers a completely different age group and parent demographic.

I Left My Homework in the Hamptons: What I Learned Teaching the Children of the One Percent by Blythe Grossberg

I Left My Homework is a collection of personal stories and lessons from a former tutor of the children of the 1%. We’re covering not just high schoolers but those from super-rich families. What can their experiences empirically tell us about parenting and how our best intentions can sometimes create the perfect stress storm for our kids.

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Child(ish) Reads: But You’re Still So Young

| Patti Webb

So in case you haven’t noticed, this blog is run by two Millennial moms and we lean into it hard. For this Child(ish) Read, I chose this book because I wanted to learn more about Millennial thinking and sociology; specifically about the reasons we are the way we are and how this directly affects how we parent.

But You’re Still So Young: How Thirtysomethings Are Redefining Adulthood
by Kayleen Schaefer

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Child(ish) Reads: Thirty Million Words

| Patti Webb

This book appeared on my radar earlier this year. Author Dana Suskind, M.D. just came out with a new title, Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child’s Potential, Fulfilling Society’s Promise, and this was one of her previous books listed in her bio. Thirty Million Words was available from my library, so I gave it a try on a work trip in April.

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Child(ish) Reads: The School for Good Mothers

| Patti Webb

Surprise! This is the first time Child(ish) Reads has reviewed a fiction title. So, a couple rule changes:

  1. I’m not going to spoil the ending.
  2. There will be no actual “advice”.
  3. Judgement-free zone here. Let’s call it a mix between a book review and coffee chat.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Blurb: Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. She can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with Harriet, their cherubic daughter, does Frida finally attain the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she is just enough.

Until Frida has a very bad day.

The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida. The ones who check their phones, letting their children get injured on the playground; who let their children walk home alone. Because of one moment of poor judgment, a host of government officials will now determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion.

Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that a bad mother can be redeemed. That she can learn to be good.

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