Raising Tiny Humans: A Handbook for Parenting Toddlers

by Liz Swenson

Liz Swenson’s Raising Tiny Humans is your illustrated field guide to navigating the wild jungle of parenting toddlers.
 
It’s a jungle out there in the wild world of parenting! Just when you think you’ve got it down, a new phase emerges to keep you on your toes. There are plenty of books about the first year and caring for an infant, but once you have a curious, tottering toddler who seems intent on finding danger, it’s a whole different animal!
 
With this full-color illustrated field guide as your constant companion—full of tips, tricks, and a healthy dose of humor—you’ll feel confident embarking on the adventure of parenthood for kids ages one and beyond! With chapters on body and brain development, behavior, and the ever-pressing question of how to help your child become the best human they can be, Raising Tiny Humans is the compass every parent needs to guide them on their way.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Childrens

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 23, 2024

Reviews

[The Bibliophile Doctor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished it quite fast given the format it is in. It makes it fun too. The illustrations are vibrant and colourful and to the point. I liked the way it is written.

It might be good for first time parents who have no time to read or those who do not read at all, coz I do prefer reading about how why what of the things. Like if I'm doing or trying a method I want to know how fullproof it is and how research supports it. This might be my own personal choice.

I like that book isn't preachy like most books are. There are even quotes from people i like reading books of like brene brown, kendi, Michelle Obama, Eric Carle too. And it is lighter on the mind and eyes but in my personal opinion, this gave me vibes of reading a children's book made easier with colour and illustrations and not like an adult book. So as I suggested it might be good for those who don't read much but sadly it wasn't for me.

Thank you Netgalley and familius for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

[Tricia Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

**I received this as an ARC through netgalley**

Raising tiny humans was such an informative read for me as a first time mom to a 2 year old boy. From experience I found myself asking myself what I could do to help making sure i’m setting him up for success in life. This book broke down steps for helping to regulate young children’s emotions and behaviors while teaching them tools that will help them later in life.

“You are the best parent you can be when you love and care for yourself.” This quote resonates with me on every level as I found being a stay at home mom you wear a lot of hats in the household, but you can’t always take care of those needs if you aren’t taking care of yourself as well. You can’t pour from an empty cup, so make sure you are taking time for yourself.

“To show up imperfectly but open to change, is better than not showing up at all.” - Stephanie Dixon
This hit home for me as well because she uses this quote to discuss about how we have to show up for these tiny humans in order for them to show them the way.

Overall this book was such a good read for me and I will be implementing some of the discussed techniques into my household moving forward. This should be a must read/ gift for any new or expecting mother.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of great, quick tidbits and soundbites to remember during the toddler years.

[Steph Ingalls · Rating 1 out of 5]

0/10 do not recommend

Quite frankly this is more of a slideshow of *mostly* subpar parenting advice and tips. If you have any kind of common sense, you don’t need this in your life.

[LeaBeth | BookTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book. Let me just wipe a tear. This book is exactly what I needed when raising littles. And even now, there are so many great principles I can apply! I think this author did a masterful job pouring wisdom into each faucet & phase of child rearing!

I truly enjoyed the heart-felt wisdom, the practical guides, the sweet mantras, and the gentle nature of this book. I love that encourages parents that they can make big changes in small ways!

There were several quotes I really enjoyed:

“What you are not changing, you are choosing!”

“You are a better parent when you are taking care of yourself!”

“Boundaries with empathy & Limits with love!”

I think the greatest part of this book is the “CALLLM” acronym! It really helps parents feel less threatened & intimidated by outbursts! Thank you to this author for such a sweet book!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations, and some great advice about raising tiny humans! Ways to model the best behavior for your littles, and with humor. In a non-condescending tone, this book helped me on the days I was sure I was doing everything wrong.

Thank you Netgalley and Familius for the ARC!

[Natalie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5!!!! What a fun read!!

I can't say I learned anything "new", but the compassion, empathy, and reminders to 'just keep going as you are doing the best you can' was exactly what I needed right now.

[Maddie Gaskin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited about this book, but it kind of fell flat. The cover caught my eye, and with 2 boys under 4y I was ALL IN. Unfortunately, I found this to be mostly fluff. Could have been a quick list of general, common, and basic parenting advice but instead was spread out over 120 pages and interspersed with quotes and overwhelming illustrations, patterns and colors. The advice is sound, and it’s written with a bit of humor, but my brain was both under- and overwhelmed all at once.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Easy-To-Read Parenting Book

This was a great book to read as a sleep-deprived parent of an 8 month old. I can’t wait to see all she becomes and this book was so helpful! I’m excited to put a lot of its advice into action as she gets older.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raising Tiny Humans is a cute, easily digestible, and illustrated guide to navigating parenthood with small ones. Interspersed with images, quotes, and advice for surviving big emotions and big life changes, Swenson has created something that makes it easy to pick up and scan between all the other demands of the day (cleaning, cooking, keeping tiny hands from dangerous things, etc). You can't go in expecting to go too deep, but if you want to have some quick advice handy and also laugh, this is a great resource. I really appreciated the dive into anti-racism and resources around diversity that were provided in the back of the book (shoutout to Sesame Street Community!), as that's not something I've seen integrated into many parenting resources. While nothing here is ground-breaking, sometimes it's enough just to be accessible and fun to read. Thanks to NetGalley for an early review copy, all opinions are my own.

[Tory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book before publication.

As a step-mom, I’m new to motherhood, so books like this are very helpful. I love the illustrations and how they tie the concepts together. I really like that this book doesn’t try to sugarcoat parenting and toddler years and make it seem like everything should be perfect. Those kind of books set you up for failure, while books like this are full of praise and motivating words, all of which come from an author who is also a parent. I actually took notes while reading this book. There is a lot of helpful information from potty training, screen time, and food. Basically, everything you should know about raising toddlers.

I can’t wait to implement many of the things in this book.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a super helpful book meant to make sure parents help model the best behaviors for their kids. Compassion for self and others, for example, dot each section. The author specifically offers practical applications for activities before interacting with toddlers.

It doesn't cover everything (how could anything), but I'll be picking up a copy when it releases. I'm currently recovering and reworking my brain from PPD last summer. For parents like me, this book will be a gift.

Parents will find a variety of activities, exercises, personal stories, and recipes. All in succinct format. I didn't know what to expect but definitely blown away.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for access. Reviewed for an honest opinion.

[Kylee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute book that would be an easy “thinking of you” book for moms of toddlers. That being said, it is not the easiest to read with some of the font choices. Some of the cursive was overly loopy and exaggerated which made it more difficult to read.

As a mom of two toddlers, I found the book relatable, but didn’t glean any new insights. Again, if someone purchased this for me I would have appreciated that they thought of me and enjoyed my first read, but I doubt I’d ever open the book again after reading through once.

[Tarah Awai · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the style of this book. It’s quite beautiful. Short, sweet, plenty of illustrations…I actually read this in front of/with my toddler and it kept her interested which gave me a rare opportunity to read a book! It’s definitely targeted to a specific audience and parenting style. Some things don’t resonate at all or do not work for “spicy” children. Uplifting and positive - it’s a good starting point if you’ve never read a parenting book or maybe need to get your partner who doesn’t read, to take a quick glance at one of the infographics but it just doesn’t have a lot of substance

[Marieke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look, I read faster than I learn, and this book makes it realllly easy to read too fast to learn. So I reckon I'll have to read it again soon. I also could've done with more sources. But - it does make it easy to read the book in stretches of maybe two minutes at a time. Plus, the tone is deeply loving and reassuring, something to hold on to when your toddler is on the kitchen floor loudly heartbroken because you put the chocolate flakes on the wrong side of the bread and you're wondering where you went wrong. So there's that.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more of a coffee table book than a handbook. It contains gorgeous illustrations and motivational quotes…but not much substance. The substance that’s included is fantastic! Especially the illustration of the toddler brain. But there are maybe eight pages I would classify as substance. Otherwise, it was like scrolling a brightly colored Instagram feed. Which is not a bad thing; it’s just not what I expected from a “handbook.”

[Julia Shelburne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains advice, inspiring quotes, and colorful art for raising tiny humans (primarily referencing toddlers). Several parts of the book made me laugh, and I learned a few strategies to handle different situations. Sometimes the text was difficult to read because of the chosen format.

Thank you NetGalley and Familius for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. I do wish there was more information/specifics. I kind of felt as if many of the pages were like a caption on an instagram post. Quick little quotes and then on to the next topic. I did like the reminders to take care of yourself as the parent and to set the example to stay calm and how to handle big feelings.

[Natalie Gubler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was recommend by Shawna Lander. This was a impactful 10 minute read. The pages were vibrant and the quotes were beautiful. The formatting in the book I had, it had some of the words/sentences overlapping and I couldn’t tell if that was intentional. A few editing errors but I did find it really helpful with examples, recipes, emotions and activities.

[Shaimaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn’t recommend this book as a parenting book if that’s what one is looking for. It’s more of a pamphlet of helpful tips and sweet quotes about parenting. It scratches the surface of several different topics and never gets in depth about…anything.
The illustrations are nice though.

[Vera · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were tons of helpful ideas for supporting development and avoiding tantrums in this guide. Although there are beautiful graphics, I noticed multiple typos and formatting issues. Overall, I would definitely like to return to this as my toddler grows up.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute. Mostly common sense stuff. There were also a lot of mistakes ("they" instead of "the" multiple times, things like that. I was reading a ebook version, not sure if that could be why?) that I felt were sort of distracting.

[Digitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great inspo quotes and mantras with colorful illustrations!

I was looking for more info on potty training and this book didn’t have much, but it was a breezy read written from a mother’s perspective. You can feel the love the has for her children on the pages.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it in 20 min - the 2nd half of the book had more content than the first. I was craving more than what the content gave. Content is creative but I didn’t learn anything new. Illustrations are great and so are the inspirational quotes. Somethings in book didn’t align with our family values.

[Victoria Halwix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read, gives activities to help accomplish goals for appropriate ages, reminders that you are not raising a robot but a human being!

[Rachel Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing earth-shattering, but it was a cute format and I liked that it was backed by some research.

[Meghan Wageman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange layout, lots of filler pages, tbh it could have been a PowerPoint.

Def needed more editing.

[Christen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Concepts were good, but I couldn’t get past the spelling errors. There are SO many!

[Barbie Dikeolakos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, but more of a poster book with helpful hints/tips than a full parenting book.

[Jessica Thornton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great idea, good advice, a million typos...