Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

Act natural : a cultural history of misadventures in parenting / Jennifer Traig.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2019]Copyright date: ©2019Edition: First editionDescription: xvi, 336 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780062469809
  • 0062469800
  • 9780062469816
  • 0062469819
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Introduction: Act natural -- Look busy: on outsourcing -- The second coming: on childbirth -- You're doing it wrong: advice manuals through the ages -- Nasty, brutish, and short: the first three years -- Tooth and nail: feeding and fighting -- All the world's a stage: acting your age -- I know you are but what am I?: sibling conflict -- Kids today: on discipline -- Use your words: children's books -- Lullaby and good night: sleep -- Afterword: Second nature.
Summary: "From a distinctive, inimitable voice, a wickedly funny and fascinating romp through the strange, and often contradictory history of Western parenting"-- Provided by publisher.Summary: Why do we read our kids fairy tales about homicidal stepparents? Exhausted, frazzled, and at sea after the birth of her two children, Traig began to interrogate the traditional parenting advice she'd been conditioned to accept at face value. The result is a deft-- and hilarious-- dissection of the history of Western parenting, moving from ancient Rome to Puritan New England to the Dr. Spock craze of mid-century America. Have our techniques actually evolved into something better? Or are we still just scrambling in the dark? -- adapted from jacket
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 306.874 T766 Available 33111009317963
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From a distinctive, inimitable voice, a wickedly funny and fascinating romp through the strange and often contradictory history of Western parenting



Why do we read our kids fairy tales about homicidal stepparents? How did helicopter parenting develop if it used to be perfectly socially acceptable to abandon your children? Why do we encourage our babies to crawl if crawling won't help them learn to walk?

These are just some of the questions that came to Jennifer Traig when--exhausted, frazzled, and at sea after the birth of her two children--she began to interrogate the traditional parenting advice she'd been conditioned to accept at face value. The result is Act Natural, hilarious and deft dissection of the history of Western parenting, written with the signature biting wit and deep insights Traig has become known for.

Moving from ancient Rome to Puritan New England to the Dr. Spock craze of mid-century America, Traig cheerfully explores historic and present-day parenting techniques ranging from the misguided, to the nonsensical, to the truly horrifying. Be it childbirth, breastfeeding, or the ways in which we teach children how to sleep, walk, eat, and talk, she leaves no stone unturned in her quest for answers: Have our techniques actually evolved into something better? Or are we still just scrambling in the dark?

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"From a distinctive, inimitable voice, a wickedly funny and fascinating romp through the strange, and often contradictory history of Western parenting"-- Provided by publisher.

Why do we read our kids fairy tales about homicidal stepparents? Exhausted, frazzled, and at sea after the birth of her two children, Traig began to interrogate the traditional parenting advice she'd been conditioned to accept at face value. The result is a deft-- and hilarious-- dissection of the history of Western parenting, moving from ancient Rome to Puritan New England to the Dr. Spock craze of mid-century America. Have our techniques actually evolved into something better? Or are we still just scrambling in the dark? -- adapted from jacket

Introduction: Act natural -- Look busy: on outsourcing -- The second coming: on childbirth -- You're doing it wrong: advice manuals through the ages -- Nasty, brutish, and short: the first three years -- Tooth and nail: feeding and fighting -- All the world's a stage: acting your age -- I know you are but what am I?: sibling conflict -- Kids today: on discipline -- Use your words: children's books -- Lullaby and good night: sleep -- Afterword: Second nature.

Powered by Koha