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Trees Make the Best Mobiles: Simple Ways to Raise Your Child in a Complex World
Books like Simplify Your Life and Don't Sweat the Small Stuff have encouraged millions of readers to slow down and enjoy life more. Now, Jessica Teich and Brandel France de Bravo help new parents- who barely have time to return a phone call or wash a sock- learn to do less, listen more, and spend focused, fruitful time with their children. Practical and fun to read, Trees Make the Best Mobiles urges parents to treat every task-even diapering and feeding-as a chance to connect with their child, and gives calming advice about hot-button issues from pacifier use to temper tantrums. Parents will be relieved to discover that they don't have to buy lots of stuff-a tree outside a baby's window can serve as a mobile-or shuttle kids from one activity to another. In fact, in today's hectic, high-speed world, children need less "stimulation" and more unhurried interaction with the people who matter most. The authors call their approach "present parenting," because they believe being "present in the moment," without resentment or distraction, is the greatest present any parent can give.
- GenresParentingNonfiction
208 pages, Paperback
First published December 20, 2001
About the author
Jessica Teich
5 books12 followersJessica Teich graduated summa cum laude from Yale and received an M.Phil degree from Oxford, where she was a Rhodes scholar. Her previous book, Trees Make The Best Mobiles: Simple Ways To Raise Your Child In A Complex World, appeared in Vanity Fair, People, Us, and The Chicago Tribune, and was featured on the Today show.
For almost a decade, Teich worked as a literary manager at the Mark Taper Forum, commissioning and developing plays. She subsequently received a grant to write and direct a movie for the Directing Workshop for Women at the American Film Institute.
Teich served as head of the biography committee for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and her articles have appeared in The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and numerous other publications. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two daughters, and dog.
For almost a decade, Teich worked as a literary manager at the Mark Taper Forum, commissioning and developing plays. She subsequently received a grant to write and direct a movie for the Directing Workshop for Women at the American Film Institute.
Teich served as head of the biography committee for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and her articles have appeared in The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and numerous other publications. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two daughters, and dog.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
December 30, 2008
This book took no more than two hours to breeze through--I don't think it's worth more time than that. I appreciated many of the principles and picked up a few tricks of the trade, but I knew it wasn't the ultimate parenting book for me when I came to the longest (by far) chapter in the book--choosing the right nanny for your child!
July 15, 2017
Wonderful little book of essays that really got me thinking about how I want to raise our children. Unlike some other readers, I didn't find it preachy or condescending, simply truthful- we need to pay attention to these little creatures rather than distract them. Passive toys, active babies and all that. Just what I needed to read, and I now give it away to all my friends who are pregnant.
If you want a simple, caring book that will get you thinking about what's important for your child (and you), this is the book.
If you want a simple, caring book that will get you thinking about what's important for your child (and you), this is the book.
February 21, 2020
Maybe it says more about me than the book that I can't remember what it advocates for besides no pacifiers and letting your kid be bored sometimes (which I'm for).
January 28, 2022
Liked this better than Janet Lansbury even though it's the same concepts and based on the same parenting philosophy. It's less...insane... Than Janet Lansbury.
October 11, 2011
I picked this up in a used book store on a whim and was so very pleasantly surprised to find that it was written by two RIE parents and is a great low-key introduction to the RIE philosophy. It's not actually published or approved by the RIE board, but these parents clearly know their RIE stuff and have real experience implementing it in our society.
I highly recommend this very friendly book for someone that is a little intimidated by the idea of "RIE" or a structured child care philosophy but would like a few good ideas. The casual tone makes it perfect to dip into during those 10 minute breaks that may be all a new parent gets! This book is still a pleasurable and refreshing read; the writing is very good, often poetic. The chapters are each individual snippets or essays on a particular idea. For example "The Anatomy Lesson" is about respectful diapering.
My only (very minor) problem with this book is that the title is somewhat misleading. People saw me reading the book and said, "Oh a book about natural play objects, cool!" That would be a great book idea, and I'd love to read it, but that's not this book! The subtitle "Simple Ways to Raise Your Child in a Complex World" says it all.
I highly recommend this very friendly book for someone that is a little intimidated by the idea of "RIE" or a structured child care philosophy but would like a few good ideas. The casual tone makes it perfect to dip into during those 10 minute breaks that may be all a new parent gets! This book is still a pleasurable and refreshing read; the writing is very good, often poetic. The chapters are each individual snippets or essays on a particular idea. For example "The Anatomy Lesson" is about respectful diapering.
My only (very minor) problem with this book is that the title is somewhat misleading. People saw me reading the book and said, "Oh a book about natural play objects, cool!" That would be a great book idea, and I'd love to read it, but that's not this book! The subtitle "Simple Ways to Raise Your Child in a Complex World" says it all.
December 9, 2008
I am all about simplifying things with the baby. I love the premise "trees make the best mobiles" and I think that there are a lot of extraneous things we do that make our lives more complicated than they need to be, especially once the baby arrives. We don't need to spend hundreds of dollars to entertain a 3 month old? Yesss!!And it's written in short 1-2 page chapters - perfect for a mom with limited time. That being said, I really wanted to like this more than I did.
Some of it seemed....well a little holier than thou which kind of put me off. When one chapter insinuated that a baby using a pacifier will basically lead that baby to be a chain smoker and alcoholic...well, let's just say I wasn't pumping my fist and shouting "Amen!"
I think the sentiment is good and there were some really good suggestions but I was really looking for something that was a little more forgiving and practical.
Some of it seemed....well a little holier than thou which kind of put me off. When one chapter insinuated that a baby using a pacifier will basically lead that baby to be a chain smoker and alcoholic...well, let's just say I wasn't pumping my fist and shouting "Amen!"
I think the sentiment is good and there were some really good suggestions but I was really looking for something that was a little more forgiving and practical.
June 18, 2008
This is pretty much the one and only parenting book I have read. I have never been a fan of "how-to" books unless I am trying to learn something like Photoshop. But this book came my way and for the life of me, I can not remember if I bought it, if someone let me borrow it, or if someone gave it to me, but I am thankful for having the book none the less.
I love this book. I tells you, its okay to live a simple life and it is okay to raise your baby with simple things in this fast and demanding society we live in.
I misplaced my first copy so I bought another just to let my first time parent friends borrow.
I love this book. I tells you, its okay to live a simple life and it is okay to raise your baby with simple things in this fast and demanding society we live in.
I misplaced my first copy so I bought another just to let my first time parent friends borrow.
February 13, 2011
i like it at first and there were some ideas, but it got preachy and by the end i was skimming just to get it over with. no real evidence is presented to back up the ideas given but like i said, there were a few good ideas. the one point that i am trying to adopt is to really be present with your child. i find myself a distracted mommy sometimes...jumping up from playtime to write a quick email, talking on the phone while nursing, etc. i know that these times will fly by, so i am trying to use some of the advice given and focus, sometimes just by quietly bearing witness to his life, on the now with my little man.
January 21, 2013
My children's school gave this book to me to explain their philosophy. I found myself agreeing with most of it, much like how I agree with my Chinese year animal. The advice and descriptions are so bland that they are easy to agree with. I didn't like the overall theme that children will do what they like when they like and how they like because they "naturally" develop. That goes against much of what developmental psychologists have pushed against for the last 20 years. But I think what is most important is to know that time with your child is precious and a reminder to cherish that time never hurts.
February 3, 2011
So disappointing. My baby loves looking at trees so I thought this would be helpful. And I did give it a second pity star because some of the suggestions were nice. But basically some journalist is sharing the 'best' way to raise your baby based on nothing but her personal opinion and bias. If somebody makes claims like this I need something to back it up. This is more of a 'your a bad person if you do X,Y,Z, but with nothing to back it up. I'll admit I couldn't finish it, I was too annoyed. Maybe I should write a book, I've got lots of opinions I could try to pawn off as facts!
January 3, 2010
This book caught my eye at the library. It is geared towards new parents but I thought it would be interesting to skim it. I found it mostly intuitive but I probably would have liked this a lot had I read it when it was more relevant to my life. What I liked the most were the random little tidbits of information about world events and mentions of literary figures and quotes. Very random but made it even more interesting.
June 23, 2011
I loved this quick read. It follows many of the principles I strive for with my parenting and lays each subject out in a short chapter with ideas and theories to model.
It is RIE parenting, a school of thought I recently came across and am loving.
If you have a toddler (or will soon) and read nothing else in this book, read the 3pg chapter "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to: temper tantrums."
It is RIE parenting, a school of thought I recently came across and am loving.
If you have a toddler (or will soon) and read nothing else in this book, read the 3pg chapter "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to: temper tantrums."
April 7, 2012
Although I got a couple of decent tidbits from this book (which I have learned is about as much as you can expect from most parenting books), the overall tone was too condescending for me to really enjoy reading it. I mean "sleep begets sleep." What kind of advice is that? If I could get my kid to sleep more I certainly would.
Anyway, it's easy to pick up while your nursing and read a chapter here and there.
Anyway, it's easy to pick up while your nursing and read a chapter here and there.
September 12, 2007
How I learned to stop worrying and love my child...I took away: if you can do nothing else, just sitting down for 20 minutes a day and either doing something your child likes or even simply paying attention to what he's doing can make a huge difference! Parenting based on empathy & respect. Just makes sense. Trees really did make the best mobiles!
November 6, 2009
Maybe I am not normal, but this parenting philosophy didn't really sit for me. They discouraged using high chairs.... seriously?!?!?! They did make a few good points about babies needing one on one time with parents rather then more toys and activities, but I just wasn't a fan. Maybe it is because Will and Lily had AWESOME non-tree mobiles.
October 30, 2011
Some fine essays. But nothing new or revolutionary in terms of ideas. Not particularly well written. It's just one more book by some mom's who want to share their parenting philosophy with the world. Kind of annoying in that it has a whole lot of "shoulds" without scientific studies or real philosophical analyzation.
July 11, 2015
This parenting book is meant to ease parents' guilt and assure them that babies/small children don't need every new-fangled toy that's guaranteed to make them smarter and develop faster. What they need is you, their parent(s). It also offers better ways of communicating with small children with regards to discipline, tantrums, and frustration.
July 1, 2009
This was very, very bad. It was like talking to a woman in the grocery store who "knows" how to raise children... but doesn't actually have any of her own. It was all rambles and opinions. I liked the sentiment but most of it is common sense or great in theory.
October 11, 2010
Some suggestions I really like, some I don't. Overall, I like the idea and the theme of the book and the nice, short chapters. Yes, much of this is probably common sense, but it can be good to be reminded to slow down, enjoy life/your family, and stop accumulating too much (overstimulating) stuff.
October 20, 2011
It got a little preachy by the end, but still a nice read with some great parenting advice/philosophy.
Thank you for this neat little book, Sarah! I'm about 1/4 of the way through it and like it a lot so far. It's very yogi, very much the type of parent I'd like to be...
Thank you for this neat little book, Sarah! I'm about 1/4 of the way through it and like it a lot so far. It's very yogi, very much the type of parent I'd like to be...
June 22, 2012
this is a horrible baby book and the title is the only good
piece of advice. To be fair I only read about a third of it and skimmed the rest. The blogger who writes in The trivial pursuit of
happiness was reading it and I thought the cover looked cute so kudos to the publisher.
piece of advice. To be fair I only read about a third of it and skimmed the rest. The blogger who writes in The trivial pursuit of
happiness was reading it and I thought the cover looked cute so kudos to the publisher.
April 20, 2013
Meh. I like the theme of simplification, but this didn't do much for me. Every section starts kinda cheerily and forced with odd statements or quotations. The advice is not backed up with even personal experiences.
February 20, 2009
Great contemplations on slow parenting, in bite-size chunks for the busy parent!
March 12, 2009
eh, like most parenting philosophy books-- take what you will, leave what you don't like. most of it is common sense.
March 25, 2009
Most of this stuff is pretty obvious, but it's a great reminder. Well-written, funny, in nice very short chapters (perfect to read while holding a baby!). Simplify, simplify, simplify.
January 8, 2012
By far the best insights into parenting. Keep it simple, be present and use the natural world are key points that I reflect on continually.
June 19, 2012
Mostly really great, although I think that bits of it are a little too idealistic. Still, the goals are admirable.
October 14, 2012
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11464584
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11464584
June 16, 2013
I expected this to be a bit more counter-cultural, but it still has a bunch of MUST DOs and outdated parenting advice mixed in with her good ideas.
July 29, 2014
Unscientific and overly basic.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews