Szülők bolygója - A világ legjobb gyereknevelési módszerei

by Mark Woods, Kós Krisztina (Translator)

The core challenges facing parents are the same everywhere, but how each country tackles them is very different. In Planet Parent, Mark Woods meets tiger mothers, stay-at-home dads, hover parents and boomerang babies, pulling together the very best parenting advice in the world.

257 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2015

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating, and often funny, guide to parenting around the world. This book takes us from fertility, through pregnancy and birth, looking after baby, food, education, discipline, praise, over protection, potty training, grandparents and even grandparents – everything is covered. Along the way there are lots of personal tales, as well as reported studies. The style is chatty and fun; making this both a good book to dip into as well as enjoyable to read from cover to cover.

Although this is a fun read, you can certainly learn from other parenting styles and there is much that makes sense from other cultures. I think the French, for example, are sensible for suggesting introducing a wide variety of vegetables into their children’s diet at a very young age, and for making meal times far more formal than may be usual here in the UK. I also found the parts about educational styles around the world really interesting – from early handwriting to the age children start formal schooling, there are so many differences between different cultures. An excellent read and I really enjoyed it.

[Katy Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This was a fascinating glimpse of how parents around the world do what we do. And guess what? Nobody seems to know it all, or do it all right, though some seem to get pretty close (I'm looking at you, Scandinavia!)

It felt a little basic at times, I would have liked to delve into more detail with a lot of issues, but it covered the basics of pregnancy, birth, sleeping, eating, learning, school, teenagers, grandparents…

I read it in a day, and though studies are cited (and referenced at the back), I would have liked more included in the book itself, more examples, more countries. But that's just me, I've studied academic papers before, so this really is much more accessible. And it's also very funny - Mark Woods injects a lot of humour, wry and otherwise into this, making it a very entertaining read for all of us parents who could do with a laugh now and then.

One study I definitely wanted more detail on talked about a ‘link’ between behaviour and the removal of lead from petrol. I didn’t think this was backed-up at all and sounded, from the book, more like coincidence than cause and effect or proved in any way.

I have read other books about the history of breastfeeding/powdered milk as well as the history of birth/labour, and this felt very basic in comparison, though the aim of the book is to give an overall feel for topics relevant to parents in the 21st century. The final sections looking at modern technology illuminating, as well as those focusing on the resurgence of grandparent childcare and childcare options in general (I want to move to Sweden!)

There is room for the author to write follow-ups from this, focusing on each area in turn - I would read them. But as a general book on worldwide parenting, it's excellent - light-hearted, covers a lot of ground, and makes you smile.

The case studies are also good, though again, I would have liked more of them, but hearing parents talk about their experiences around the world, backing up the chapter, was a nice idea.

The one thing I didn't quite understand was summarising the facts from the chapter in a box at the end of each - didn't see the point in this, I skipped them as I'd only just read that information!

I really enjoyed this, it doesn't take long to read, gives some good ideas, makes you feel a little better about your own parenting, and reminds you that 'we're all in the same boat' and that there's often more than one solution to an issue.

With thanks to the author for the sample copy, sent for review purposes.

[Samuel Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any new parent will hopefully come to the same conclusion that I did after only a few weeks; do what you think is best. Every health visitor you see has a slightly different view on feeding or sleeping; some look to the NHS advice book, whilst others use their worldly wisdom. If you do decide to stick to what the NHS says, don't talk to you older sibling as they had their kids a few years ago and were told something completely different. The sands are always shifting underfoot and it is hard for the conscientious parent to figure out what needs to be done. If getting you head around all the opinions in the UK is bad enough, a lot of what we do is nothing like the rest of the world. 'Planet Parent: The World's Best Ways to Bring Up Your Children' by Mark Woods takes a whistle stop tour of many of the important concepts that can keep a parent up at night.

For an educational book, 'Planet Parent' is written in a very engaging and breezy manner that makes it fun to read. Woods writes in a personable style that builds on his own experiences and then pulls in ideas from around the world. Topics from sleep to food are covered as well as ending on teenagers. This means that there is no real depth to a lot of what is written, but it is very interesting. By taking world perspective it really makes you think about what you are doing - some of the poorest people eat better than the richest, or why are many of the world's babies toilet trained by 12 months without ever wearing a nappy, but the in the west we keep them on for a lot longer?

Woods never really gives any answers to the questions you may have, but his structure is such that he is trying to make you think - don't worry and do your best. With a book as slim as this it did feel that the evidence may have been a little cherry picked, but if that means more people are encouraged to feed their children well, I can live with that. This is the type of book that may preach to the converted, but at least you are having a fun time as you are being taught.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a new mother of a three month old, it's reassuring to know there's many varied child rearing methods throughout the world and a lot of the babies still survive! However, I also want to move to Sweden... a good book to delve in and out if when the children let you. Interesting, informative and occasionally amusing.