If You Forget Everything Else, Remember This: Parenting in the Primary Years

by Katherine Hill

" Remember This oozes wisdom, practical help, and above all, understanding."
--Rob Parsons, OBE, founder and chairman of Care for the Family

From that first angelic role in the nativity play to that first playground love, from cut knees and scuffed shoes, school bullies and World Book Day costume design, life as a parent in the primary years is an emotional roller coaster. Amid the practical chaos of finding swimming goggles, packing lunches, cleaning out the hamster cage, and refereeing sibling squabbles over screen time, many of us long for some help or a little wisdom to get us through.

Here is that help. A brand-new edition brimming with sayings, cartoons, and stories in bite-sized chapters to help navigate this challenging season of parenting and family life, and to reassure parents that they’re not alone; someone else struggles with feeling judged, with knowing when to act and when to "count to ten," and someone else also accidentally killed Finny the class goldfish over Christmas break (and the class will never know the difference). So encourage parents to grab a cup of coffee and a doughnut, wipe the glitter off the table, and if they forget everything else as a parent, they can remember this . . .

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Iain Hamill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice easy read, good reminder for parents to keep the important things central, set boundaries, encourage, discipline, persevere, enjoy!

[Maxine McGregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read with good ideas, made light with the inclusion of illustrations, that are quite comical.

[Derek Winterburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is clear account of some 'common sense' principles for parenting. It is not a detailed 'how to' book, but reflections on simple sentences such as "Remember who you are." Nevertheless I think it is a valuable read.

It definitely is from the same school of thought as Rob Parsons. But instead of his 'Businessman tips' style this Hill writes more in the vein of blog posts and from a mother's perspective. I found the first half of the book to be very familiar ground, but the second half more personal and interesting. In particular the chapter of grandparents was perceptive and the 'Snow Leopard Moment' one salutary.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A parenting book that doesn't judge, or try to tell you what to do, or where you're going wrong, just sensible, this is what worked for us type advice!