Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Review: Let The Baby Drive

My first thought when reading Let the Baby Drive by Lu Hanessian was that I have no business reading this book. I had thought it was going to be a parenting philosophy book, but instead, seemed like it was targeted towards new moms. It just didn't feel right. There was only one problem, the writing was just too dang good - I couldn't put the book down.

Hanessian did an amazing job of putting you in her story - the pure exhaustion from dealing with a colicky baby, the elation of hearing Mommy for the first time, and every emotion in between.

By about half way through the book, though, I realized that I was reading a philosophy book after all. See, Nicholas, the baby and star of our story, is never the Good Baby. While other mothers brag at the pool about how much their children eat, sleep, love long car rides and are generally happy, Nicholas does none of these things well. Hanessian's story then becomes a lead-by-example strategy for dealing with a child who doesn't go along with society's norms.

Of course, I have no evidence as to whether her strategies are good or bad. Though, I can say that most of what she talks about agrees with the training class I took.

Philosophy aside, Hanessian's book is just an absolute fun read. She manages to bring you on the roller coaster of raising a child - all without having to change a single diaper. I give the book a 9/10.

I assume there are bad parenting books out there, though so far, I guess I've gotten really lucky with my picks. Hmmm, maybe you can judge a book by its cover, after all?

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