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beccaruth 's review for:
If you’re looking for justification in your choices as a parent, this might be worth a read, but if you already recognize that you have to do what works for you and your family at the end of the day, even if it differs from what other parents do, I think you can save yourself the money. I’d heard such great things about this book, but I really didn’t find it informative, especially for a book claiming to be all about the data. Oster posits herself as an expert because she knows how to interpret data (but quite frankly didn’t have any other qualifications backing her), and her tone in the book comes across as thinking her audience wouldn’t be able to understand it at all, so she dumbs it down to the point it doesn’t even really tell you anything. Additionally, most of what she says is then followed by “but here’s why this actually might not be true/here are the limits/here’s why you should do whatever you want anyway.” I get that’s the point she’s making—it’s all a crap-shoot and there’s no one right way to parent—but if that’s all you had to say a simple TikTok would have made your point. There were many times I found myself thinking, “oh, I read something else that had way more information/clarity about this subject.” And other times still when I wished she would have addressed all aspects of a topic pro- and con- instead of seemingly focusing on sharing data that goes against the norm. In a sense, I guess it could be helpful if you don’t plan to read anything else about parenting and just want the surface-level “I promise you’re not messing up your kids if you do (insert parenting decision here).” I wouldn’t say I’m sorry I read it, because I think the perspective that all decisions are valid if they work for you is a valuable one we need more parents to share, but I also don’t think it’s one I’d recommend to someone genuinely interested in seeing a deep-dive of research.