Do Parents Matter?: Why Japanese Babies Sleep Soundly, Mexican Siblings Don't Fight, and American Families Should Just Relax

I bought this book because I was at wits end reading all the western advice on sleep, toilet training etc etc. Definitely put things in perspective and an entertaining read.

Book gives examples of how different cultures approach raising children, including examples from Africa, Mexico, Japan and China (most detailed were of Africa). Examples were interesting, but took away a star because I felt most of the discussions on each culture rather brief. Some really fascinating insights interspersed throughout so 4 stars! I agree with first reviewer- book isn't really inflammatory to argue too hard one way or the other about whether parents matter. Overall, I felt like I had an interesting dinner conversation with a pair of anthropologists, who in the end think american parents shouldn't be so hard on themselves- there's more than one way to raise a child.

The book title was likely written by marketing managers. Ignore it.The book compares selected birth and child rearing practices taken from a small sample African, Asian and Western cultures. The selection demonstrates that kids able to thrive under a wide variety of cultural practices. This suggests that that exacting standards popularized for parents in the US may be ill-conceived.Writing style: Engaging rather then overly academicRange of examples: A modest range. This is not a survey of practices around the world.Is the book repetitive: No. Unlike may parenting books, this one does not suffer from excess fillerAuthoritative: The authors are established Anthropologists. This should be understood as an anthropology text rather than a strict pediatric or psychiatric text. The authors do include some interesting history of the role of pediatricians and psychologists in the history of American child rearing practices.

An amazing array of descriptions of parental behavior. In answer to the author's question which is the title of the book, do parents matter, I would point out that the one pattern the authors do not describe is the parent who does nothing. The variety of what parents do is enormous but they all do something. Wish the authors had given more information about how parenting styles in the various cultures fit into the cultural patterns or do they not accept Erik Erikson's assumptions that how parents nurture their children is preparing those children to meet the needs of the society?

Fun read.

This is an important and interesting book because it show how current 'conventional wisdom' in the US is very different from other views in other cultures. Unfortunately it is more anecdotal and less organized that I would have liked. If you think babies should sleep in there own beds, I recommend it.

As a psychologist, it's great to have such a thoughtful and well-researched counter to offer today's overly responsible, stressed out parents.

Lacks substance

In the end I don't think it delivers on what it promises. It gives the impression that the reader will gain insights into their own parenting by being able to compare with other cultures around the world and to a certain extent, I did. However, quite quickly it reads like a list of cultural practices with little analysis or insight, (in this culture they do this, in another they do this, in this third culture they do that...) as if an anthropologist has written it quickly but hasn't really provided the reflective analysis that the blurb promises.

Interesting

Being a first time parent, I found this book to be a good starting point to dive into the science of parenting. This book is a good starting point in the science of parenting and helps clarifies a lot of misconceptions that the modern Euro-centric and American centric parenting styles have assumed in the name of science which actually is morality disguising as pseudo-science.The title of the book should actually be Does parenting styles matter.

Very interesting book but heavy going at times. Good on child psychology. Refutes many currently held opinions on what is best for babies.

A must for doubting parents