A book I’m currently reading…

I’ve been scanning the above book since someone gave it to my wife recently on her birthday. Written by an associate director of Paediatrics at the university of Nebraska Medical Centre and another writer, the books main USP is that it’s written as if a baby is a gadget. Toddlers are referred to interchangeably as units, models or toddlers I reckon this probably appeals to blokes’ humour more than women’s - that said, it’s an ok read so far. This isn’t a complete book review - that’ll have to wait until I’ve finished it.

The back cover is as good an example of what you can expect from within the pages:

“At last! A Beginner’s Guide to Toddler technology

Just when you’ve mastered your infant’s maintenance routine, he begins to malfunction, refusing fuel, crying inexplicably, and resisting your attempts to clothe him. Your infant has upgraded to a toddler! But how can you master your toddler’s changing technology?”

At first I thought this would be an entertaining read, but I was surprised by how fast I got bored of the technical jargon-speak. Nevertheless there was some useful info for parents about generally getting through this transitional time.

There’s also a chapter on discipline which includes advice on when and how to spank your toddler unit. Regulars here will know I’ve already decided to eliminate spanking from my list of options, so I wasn’t too excited about this section of the book. I make no judgement about anyone else who does use spanking as an option - it’s just not for me.

Other topics covered by the book include Updates for home and transportation, general care and handling and feeding: understanding the toddler’s power supply. There are others too, but these are the ones I’ve read so far. As far as I can see, the info is basic common sense, but I’d rather read it than not, so in that sense it’s helpful. If anything, it just confirms that we’re on the right track.

I have a lot of reading to do about parenting. Much through books I’m reading, but also, as I’ve recently discovered, there are excellent forums where parents can post questions and read what threads other parents have created. The two I’m looking at right now are the ones at Tamba (you need to be a subscribing member of Tamba to post threads or messages but you can read them) and the other one is Twinsclub. The latter one elicited more responses to a post I created about what car or MPV to buy so I guess this one is the more frequented of the two.

Anyhow, that’s a bit of a tangent. I’ll let you know when I finish this book and give it a final rating.

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