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I’m not one of those new parents who’s rushing out to read a bunch of parenting books, but this was given to me as a gift by a close friend who told me it gave her a path forward out of the trenches when she had a newborn, so of course I read it. It’s not a perfect book by far, but there is a lot of good stuff in here.

This book’s thesis — that NOT making your life 110% about your child and leaving space for you as a person — was extremely validating. Especially in the face of American parenting culture, which often looks more like martyrdom.  It validated a lot of my instincts that some people on the internet might have told me were selfish or wrong. The idea that it’s genuinely better for my child to learn how to wait rather than have her every need catered to or every word listened to absolutely immediately? So freeing.

The chapters on sleep were also interesting, especially because they aligned really nicely with everything my husband and I had already learned in the Taking Cara Babies newborn class (which I HIGHLY recommend).

(Finally, beware there is definitely some fatphobia here. I wasn’t a huge fan of the chapters that examined “bouncing back” culture. If you’re sensitive or vulnerable to that kind of thing, be advised.)

I liked this better than most parenting books I’ve read. The author felt relatable, being a mother herself and filling the book with personal stories. She is an American mother raising her kids in France and this book is a comparison between American and French parenting. There were some interesting differences and several I would like to incorporate more into my own parenting style (promoting independent play, introducing variety of foods, and maintaining my own identity outside of motherhood).