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18 reviews for:
The Happiest Kids in the World: How Dutch Parents Help Their Kids (and Themselves) by Doing Less
Michele Hutchison, Rina Mae Acosta
3.69 AVERAGE
18 reviews for:
The Happiest Kids in the World: How Dutch Parents Help Their Kids (and Themselves) by Doing Less
Michele Hutchison, Rina Mae Acosta
3.69 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
I learned some interesting things about Dutch people and how children are raised in the Netherlands, but the book dragged a bit in the second half, too. It felt like there were too many anecdotes to illustrate every point. Still, I made lots of highlights of interesting facts, so it was worth reading.
This book provides an interesting look at Dutch culture through two foreign moms living in the Netherlands. I approached the text as a teacher rather than a parent, and I felt the “help” was superficial and supported by weak generalizations. If you want to learn a bit more about Dutch culture, then this is an interesting read. If you are looking for parenting advice, skip to the conclusion chapter and pick up a couple gems there. Overall, my opinion of the book is just meh.
This was such a fascinating read. Parenting in the Netherlands is a whole different ball game from parenting in the US/UK. There’s not much practical advice for people in the US (I don’t have kids) but this was so interesting!!
“Good Enough” :)
I called this review “good enough” because one of my favorite takeaways was the idea of good enough parenting. This book was the cure for what my own neurotic, anxious, guilt ridden, sparenting in the US. The Dutch talk about “good enough” parenting and living. There isn’t s drive for perfection like there often is here.
One of the criticism I keep seeing about this book is that it constantly compares Dutch parenting to that in the UK and US, but I felt the writers were upfront about that this is what this book is about.
My only criticism is that I felt like sometimes Dutch parenting was painted with rose colored glasses while UK and US parenting could at times be a bit of straw man. That being said though, I still liked most of the general concepts in this book. They helped me relax and realize my kid is going to be okay. I don’t need to “do it all” for my kids as is often the American way. It helped me recognize it’s important to take care of myself and just let go of somethings.
I do not agree with every piece of advice offered in this book. And some of the advice would be nearly impossible to follow outside of living in the Netherlands, but I loved the broad concepts of it.
I called this review “good enough” because one of my favorite takeaways was the idea of good enough parenting. This book was the cure for what my own neurotic, anxious, guilt ridden, sparenting in the US. The Dutch talk about “good enough” parenting and living. There isn’t s drive for perfection like there often is here.
One of the criticism I keep seeing about this book is that it constantly compares Dutch parenting to that in the UK and US, but I felt the writers were upfront about that this is what this book is about.
My only criticism is that I felt like sometimes Dutch parenting was painted with rose colored glasses while UK and US parenting could at times be a bit of straw man. That being said though, I still liked most of the general concepts in this book. They helped me relax and realize my kid is going to be okay. I don’t need to “do it all” for my kids as is often the American way. It helped me recognize it’s important to take care of myself and just let go of somethings.
I do not agree with every piece of advice offered in this book. And some of the advice would be nearly impossible to follow outside of living in the Netherlands, but I loved the broad concepts of it.
Loved this book. Lots of things we could learn from the Dutch. I also learned many things reading this.
3.5 stars.
This was almost the exact opposite structure/style as "The Danish Way of Parenting". That book was almost entirely parenting advice with very minimal cultural context. This book was almost entirely cultural context with minimal advice or research.
Regardless, I really enjoy this dive into Dutch parenting culture. It seemed to me that a lot of the Dutch way of doing things is like a beautiful marriage of the danish and german parenting cultures. Which creates a very interesting, though a slightly muted approach to children, society, and parenting.
Regardless, there wasn't a ton new or unique here with regard to parenting that you can't find in other books, but the exploration of Dutch culture was new and fresh and unique to me.
This was almost the exact opposite structure/style as "The Danish Way of Parenting". That book was almost entirely parenting advice with very minimal cultural context. This book was almost entirely cultural context with minimal advice or research.
Regardless, I really enjoy this dive into Dutch parenting culture. It seemed to me that a lot of the Dutch way of doing things is like a beautiful marriage of the danish and german parenting cultures. Which creates a very interesting, though a slightly muted approach to children, society, and parenting.
Regardless, there wasn't a ton new or unique here with regard to parenting that you can't find in other books, but the exploration of Dutch culture was new and fresh and unique to me.
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
More like 3.5. I can't put my finger on it but I just didn't enjoy this as much as Bringing up Bebé. I think perhaps, being American, the ideas in here were less adaptable to do here than what was suggested in Bringing up Bebé.
A bit one-sided and obviously skewed toward the authors’ viewpoints. Seemed more of a justification of their lives in the Netherlands rather than a critical examination of Dutch parenting. Did not enjoy the tone; with two authors the book felt a bit disjointed.