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Outwitting Toddlers
Parents from across the United States offer their advice, practical information, and sleep-saving tips for coping with the demands of caring for infants and toddlers
280 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1993
About the author
Bill Adler Jr.
50 books73 followersBill Adler Jr. is an American writer living in Tokyo.
He's the author of Outwitting Squirrels (The Wall Street Journal: "A masterpiece"; Boing Boing: "One of the funniest books I've ever read"), Boys and Their Toys: Understanding Men by Understanding Their Relations With Gadgets, Tell Me a Fairy Tale: A Parent's Guide to Telling Mythical and Magical Stories, and No Time to Say Goodbye, a time travel novella, and other books.
He's the author of Outwitting Squirrels (The Wall Street Journal: "A masterpiece"; Boing Boing: "One of the funniest books I've ever read"), Boys and Their Toys: Understanding Men by Understanding Their Relations With Gadgets, Tell Me a Fairy Tale: A Parent's Guide to Telling Mythical and Magical Stories, and No Time to Say Goodbye, a time travel novella, and other books.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 24, 2018
Only a year into parenthood, I've read at least a dozen books about this alarming new endeavor, and most of them seem designed to make parents feel bad. We should be raising our children as if they are French, or Norwegian. We must be gentle and firm and speak the language of a child whose only word is "ba". If we follow the detailed instructions of whichever book we're reading, our child - regardless of his personality - will toilet train quickly, uncomplainingly wear shoes and coats, and eat vegetables neatly with a fork.
Outwitting Toddlers is a welcome break from the sermonizing. The book is fiercely pragmatic and has little in the way of unifying theme. Each chapter deals with a specific area of potential issues, ranging from the concrete (clothing, food) to the general (misbehavior). Within the chapter, there is some general commentary as well as a series of examples and case studies. The advice offered is very specific - sometimes a bit overly so, advocating products that have been replaced or superseded two decades after the book's publication.
The book isn't really about outwitting your kid so much as developing a series of compromises and procedures to get through the day. The authors recognize that some things are worth fighting and others are not, and that precisely which issues fall into each category may be highly dependent on both parent and child. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions, just recommendations for things that work for some kids. It's refreshing to be told that (obviously) some kids may take more readily to separation, or travel, or new foods than others - and that it's worth lowering your expectations, to whatever extent safety and practicality admit, in areas that are difficult for your child.
This won't be the only book about toddlerhood I read, for sure. But it's a good starter book, and a helpful reality check.
Outwitting Toddlers is a welcome break from the sermonizing. The book is fiercely pragmatic and has little in the way of unifying theme. Each chapter deals with a specific area of potential issues, ranging from the concrete (clothing, food) to the general (misbehavior). Within the chapter, there is some general commentary as well as a series of examples and case studies. The advice offered is very specific - sometimes a bit overly so, advocating products that have been replaced or superseded two decades after the book's publication.
The book isn't really about outwitting your kid so much as developing a series of compromises and procedures to get through the day. The authors recognize that some things are worth fighting and others are not, and that precisely which issues fall into each category may be highly dependent on both parent and child. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions, just recommendations for things that work for some kids. It's refreshing to be told that (obviously) some kids may take more readily to separation, or travel, or new foods than others - and that it's worth lowering your expectations, to whatever extent safety and practicality admit, in areas that are difficult for your child.
This won't be the only book about toddlerhood I read, for sure. But it's a good starter book, and a helpful reality check.
February 8, 2013
Not sure I really needed to read this book to gain the wisdom it has to offer... it's pretty common sense. That said, there were a couple of ideas here and there that may work.. or not.. in certain situations.
February 25, 2016
Synopsis - just give the kid a toy :)
It's not the worst book ever, just a lot of common sense advice. Might read a little strange for non-Americans. Things like "consider hiring personal chef" and such :)
It's not the worst book ever, just a lot of common sense advice. Might read a little strange for non-Americans. Things like "consider hiring personal chef" and such :)
January 31, 2008
Too funny! Very humorous, and yet so right on!!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews