Outwitting Toddlers and Other Small Human Beings, by Peggy Robin and Bill Adler, Jr.
Outwitting Toddlers is a collection of more than 600 helpful tips about a broad range of parenting and child rearing issues. Peggy Robin and Bill Adler have compiled parents’ actual experiences based on responses to questionnaires. The gems of advice that resulted have been organized by topic.
This book is refreshing because the authors affirm the hard-won experience of parents. Adler and Robin are parents themselves, of course. It shows in their ability to capture in their title what it is like to be the parent of a toddler. As the mother of two active young boys I immediately identified with that title. The book makes you realize just how adaptable and ingenious people become after the birth of their kids. It also creates a feeling of solidarity with hundreds of parents across the countrywe can outwit our toddlers together!
Many of the tips are highly creative – they would not necessarily be found in a book written by an “expert.” Naturally, some tips contradict others, since parents can reasonably disagree on the best strategy for dealing with a problem. However, if you are looking for some new ideas about how to deal with a particular issue, there are lots of suggestions to be found on almost every topic.
The book is entertaining to read just for fun; the practical, down-to-earth advice is easy to absorb and is guaranteed to make you smile. You can read it a few pages at a time in your rare spare moments. Alternatively, you can use it as a source of practical wisdom when you want to brainstorm about the small, tricky human beings in your house.