A+ Parenting: The Surprisingly Fun Guide to Raising Surprisingly Smart Kids

by Eva Moskowitz, Eric Grannis

Eva Moskowitz, founder of the highly lauded Success Academy Charter Schools, shares her advice for raising smart, successful, and intellectually engaged children. Eva Moskowitz has built a national reputation as the founder and leader of Success Academy Charter Schools, one of the country’s most highly regarded networks of schools, but while most people know Eva for her success in educating 20,000 mainly low-income students who are routinely accepted to our nation’s best universities, she has also been responsible for raising three children of her own. In A+ Parenting , Eva shares what she has learned both as a parent and an educator about raising children to be enthusiastic and successful learners. Eva’s most important message is that parents can and should play a critical role in their children’s intellectual development. Each year, children only spend about 180 days in school; how they spend the remaining 185 days is up to their parents. Children who continue to learn when they are out of school will make far more progress than those who don’t, but parents need not attempt to recreate school at home. Instead, they can encourage their children to engage in fun activities that will have a huge impact on their creativity, intellectual curiosity, and attention span.  A+ Parenting  is every parent’s must-have guide to enriching every aspect of a child’s life, from the morning carpool to the soccer field to the dinner table—without having to hire tutors or carve out more hours in the day. Moskowitz explains how to take the time you’re already spending with your children and make it more fulfilling and intellectually stimulating for them. The book is full of practical guidance such In addition to advice, this book is filled with carefully curated lists of educational activities, including games to play, movies to watch, puzzles to solve, books to read, music to listen to, and experiments to perform. These activities, supported with love and joy, are all parents need to turn their children into lifelong learners.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Family

288 pages, Hardcover

Published October 24, 2023

About the author

Eva Moskowitz is the founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools, and a former New York City council member. She has a PhD in American history from Johns Hopkins University, a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School. She lives in Harlem with her husband and their three children.

Learn more in her new memoir, The Education of Eva Moskowitz: http://bit.ly/EvaMMemoir

Reviews

[Robyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really underwhelmed by the content of this book. The author writes from a place of immense privilege, with recommendations like “don’t let your kids read mediocre books” and “don’t let your kid read an entire book series; they need variety.” Though of course I’d love for my kids to read a variety of high quality literature, wouldn’t it be great if I just raised kids who loved reading?

Overall, wasn’t worth the read. There are much better parenting books out there.

[Sheryl Maupin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Books that are better versed in this topic: Raising Good Humans by Hunter Clarke-Fields and Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy. Please spend your time there.

I hoped to open this book and receive more than anecdotal stories and lists of games/music that supposedly make my child “successful”. As a child therapist, I am confused and aggravated at the overgeneralization and lack of citations for any research for the content in this book. Yes, play therapy uses games and activities mentioned in the chapters to facilitate executive functioning in the brain. However, there was NO research or citations about it being great for emotional regulation, frustration tolerance, anticipation of consequences or other issues that children need help with in the process of social-emotional learning. Sadly, I was disappointed to read chapters with paragraphs discussing why each game/activity was important with no evidence-based materials. There was also a lot of name-dropping of famous intellects in our world. For a writer who has a PhD in American history from Johns Hopkins University and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, I felt sad with what this book contains.

This is good to know: The author is now an American politician who advocates for education reform in our current culture as a member of the Democratic party. A quick Google search got me to information stating that she “owns Success Academy Charter Schools” aka she is the CEO. And her co-writer is her husband.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

In general, I liked this book, and I agreed with most things the author had to say. In a nutshell, Moskowitz's plan for raising really smart kids is to raise them like she was raised, and like she raised her own kids. And how she was raised was pretty much how I was raised.
She doesn't advocate for structured homework time, or hiring tutors, or giving kids extra homework or vocabulary drills. There isn't really that much about school and formal education in this book. Her philosophy (and mine, too), is to expose your kids to lots of different things, like museums, board games, comedy, musical theater, simple science experiments, and to let them pursue hobbies or other activities that excite their curiosity. And also, just to talk to them about stuff, explain stuff. And the point is for both you and your kids to have fun while doing these things. She also says that video games and videos should be pretty much off limits, in order to open up time for your kids to explore the real world. I took exception to her chapter on books and reading only because she stressed that your kids should only read what she considers "good" books, at their reading level or slightly above; anything else is a waste of their time. I believe in free-range reading, and don't consider any reading a waste of time.
At the end of the book, she provides 71 printed pages of lists of recommended board and parlor games, music, and comedy. I don't disagree with her choices on the whole, because, well, many of the items/titles listed are books that I read as a child, games I played as a child, or that my children read and played. Her list of comedy routines - easily found on Youtube - include "Who's on First" by Abbott and Costello, "Free to Be...You and Me" by Marlo Thomas, "Number One Hits" by Allan Sherman, and bits by Victor Borge, Tom Lehrer, and Bob Newhart. My family loved Tom Lehrer and my sisters and I can still sing all the songs from "An Evening with Tom Lehrer", but he was very topical, and I'm not sure kids would get the humor without extensive Cliffs Notes to support each song, which were written in the early 1960's. All of these comedy bits and comedians are from the mid-20th Century. She does list Mike Birbiglia and Eddie Izzard ("Dress to Kill" - for high school age kids only), but no one else from the 21st century. She may have wanted to stick to tried-and-true classics so that her book and lists don't date too quickly, but, you know, they are already dated. Or maybe she doesn't think that there are too many books and comedians these days that are as good as those 50-year-old+ classics. But I can see a Millennial or Gen Z parent rolling their eyes at some of these suggestions.
It is obvious that Moskowitz wrote this from her particular bubble. White middle-class girl raised by white, middle class intellectuals in the middle of the last century. I relate to a lot of this book because I had a similar upbringing in some ways. Although she says her parents didn't have much money, they consistently sent her and her brother to summer camps (we couldn't afford that.) So some of her assumptions and advice come across as tone-deaf. She advises parents to send their kids to summer camps that cater to their interests. But a lot of people don't have the money to send their kids to Space Camp, or Science Camp, or Art Camp, and there is never any acknowledgement that such folks exist. Or suggestions about what alternatives there might be if camp is not in your budget. No advice that many museums have free-admission days, or discount days. I'm not sure she knows that they do.
I also disagree with her general approval of private/charter schools. Just because you have to pay a private school is no guarantee that your child will get a better education. And private schools can and do discriminate.
Overall she gives some good solid parenting advice throughout the book, and people who are now guiding their children through elementary and middle school could get some inspiration about how to broaden their kids' perspectives on the bigger world around them. This can be a jumping-off point for parents to think about sharing their music, sharing their thoughts, and remembering that education doesn't - shouldn't - just happen at school.

[Nat · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there’s a lot that I liked in this book, like the helpful resource lists, there are too many cringey bits and too much terrible advice to recommend the book on the whole.

I mean… shaming high schoolers for only doing an hour of homework a day because they’re not being productive enough with their free time? Seriously?

I think this book directly feeds into the childhood anxiety epidemic by pushing parents to prioritize “intellectual” pursuits above all else.

It is also highly Eurocentric, centering white authors and history and (blech) repeatedly using Elon Musk as a positive role model.

But there were many really insightful parts, like breaking down the humor of Monty Python, and honestly so much of what she recommended reflected my own childhood—down to PDQ Bach! It helped me understand what worked well in the media I was exposed to as a child, including classic films and games. In fact, the opening “fun and games” section and the poetry chapter are useful to any parent. Just ignore her rules about screen time and BANNING ALL VIDEO GAMES (wtf).

[☆☆☆Bibliolatrist Jordan☆☆☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall: ☆☆☆(3.4)
Writing style: ☆☆☆
Entertainment ☆☆☆
Facts:☆☆☆☆
Topic:☆☆☆☆
Ending:☆☆☆


While I agree with some of the other reviewers that this book is not geared towards the average parent, as not all of us can send our kids to summer camps or take summer vacations that can be educational, the gist of the book is understood and there are still great takeaways.

For example, she discusses riddles. Since finishing the book, every night, we have had riddles to solve during dinner time. The kids love it.

I also quite connected with the last chapter when she discusses why parents are more likely to have emotional reactions to their children versus a teacher. It's because we are emotionally attached, and their actions directly impact our emotions (pride, embarrassment, ect).

It was a quick read with a generally well developed overview on things you can implement to improve your child's thoughts and direction. I enjoyed it for a quick read.

[D Alighieri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m surprised by how pedestrian this book is. It’s not a bad book, but it’s surprisingly unenlightening — particularly for those who have raised a child. While Moskowitz offers a lot of common-sense advice, much of it is self-evident. She also preaches from certain perspectives that are presented as fact, such as children are inherently competitive. Well, yes and no. Culture and lifestyle have a tremendous impact on the relationship between competition and cooperation.

Finally, while I applaud the accomplishments of the author’s charter schools, part of that success lies with her cult of personality, and the impressive results of her Success Academies have been difficult to duplicate elsewhere.

[Jessica Zimmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

*audiobook* Parts of this were really cool and I did get a lot out of it. Basically about how to make your kids into life long learners and has a lot of ideas about stuff to do with them: reading, avoiding video games, museums, zoos, etc. How to listen to kids and encourage critical thinking.

However, this book made me feel stupid af because they were explaining concepts for children to understand that I literally do not understand as a 34 year old. Also a lot of the suggestions about things like getting your child to have a love of Shakespeare… like be fn for real please 😂

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know those parents who force their kids to do everything and live vicariously through them? Well this author definitely fits in that camp. I was hoping for a more balanced approach. This is not the way I want to parent.

[sajani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read

Giving this as a gift to a new mom. Wish I had this at the start of motherhood. Will follow

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine. I appreciated the lists of games, books, and audiobooks and added some to my holds at the library.

[Yanis Cabrera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book definitely has some good ideas, but it is written from a perspective of privilege; and a lot of the book comes off as promoting Success Academy.

[Andrew Boyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how many fun suggestions there were in this book.