1001 Things to Do With Your Kids

Rating:
Summary: A wealth of ideas!
Review: As single parent of a 22 month old, I am always looking for neat things to do with my daughter that are fun for both of us. This book gives me ideas for now and plenty of ideas as she grows up. For any parent who has had to say, "What are we going to do today?" Buy this book! It focuses on educational activities that really help make your time with your child more fun.

Rating:
Summary: A wealth of ideas!
Review: As single parent of a 22 month old, I am always looking for neat things to do with my daughter that are fun for both of us. This book gives me ideas for now and plenty of ideas as she grows up. For any parent who has had to say, "What are we going to do today?" Buy this book! It focuses on educational activities that really help make your time with your child more fun.

Rating:
Summary: Over-rated
Review: I was disappointed.

The title is "1001 THINGS to do with your kids." The slip cover promises "hundreds of well-organized, creative suggestions" including things to make, do, and build with your kids.

But there are relatively few "things" to do with your kids, in the traditional sense. In fact, the book is less about "things" to do than about advice on parenting and morals. I'm not saying the advice is poor, only that the title is misleading. Here are few examples I have found:

808: "Parents should start talking about the problems of premarital sex as soon as the grade school years . . . ."
802: "Consider providing books that give the facts on sex in kid-terms . . . ."
795: "When a child wants to try something and you must say that she can't do it, be sure to say what she can do . . . ."
527: "Make a rule against pushing and shoving. . . ."
722: "One of the leading causes of home fires is children playing with matches. Keep matches out of a young child's reach . . . ."
787: Love your child for what he is. . . ."

There are "things" under the headings of "racism" "heroes" "dilemmas" "bullies" "love and sex" "dreams" "telling the truth" and so forth. These are great topics for discussion and training, but they don't translate well to "things" to do with your child in this book; here, they are among hundreds of other maxims and proverbial direction to parents. Again, this is all good, but if you are truly looking for a book that lists "things to do" (as opposed to "principals to live by"), don't expect 1001 options in this text.

The book has certain merit, in my view. There are many (though no where near 1001) actual things to consider doing with one's kids. And although some won't strike you has being grounded in much creativity or insight (e.g., 800: "See how many seconds it takes to run around the house."), others might strike a chord and even lead to a family tradition.

Bottom line: This book advocates from a politically conservative perspective and from a distinctly Christian viewpoint. The author assumes the reader shares those same values, and preaches to reinforce them. Many (perhaps most) of the "things" to do are really mini sermons on "how" to raise your kids right. Of the actual "things" to do, many are not interesting or imaginative. After sorting through all of the preaching and the weak ideas about things to do, the reader who was looking only for "things to do with your kids" will no doubt find several good, imaginative things to do. It just takes more effort than the title would suggest to get there, and so it is (1) frustrating for those who agree with the author's religious, moral and political views, but who were looking for a simple long list of great (or even good) things to do with one's kids; (2) really frustrating for those who do not agree with the author's views but who weren't really focused on finding things to do with their kids and (3) exceptionally frustrating for those who don't agree with the author's views and who were looking for a book with a simple list of things to do.

Those who will love this book are only those who agree with the author principally, who want encouragement or advice about the moral, spiritual and social issues that may face parents raising kids, and who want a few, but not many, great ideas concerning "things to do with your kids."

For the record, I seem to agree with many of the author's views, but find the book frustating; my expectations from the title left me feeling a bit duped in the purchase.

Rating:
Summary: Over-rated
Review: I was disappointed.

The title is "1001 THINGS to do with your kids." The slip cover promises "hundreds of well-organized, creative suggestions" including things to make, do, and build with your kids.

But there are relatively few "things" to do with your kids, in the traditional sense. In fact, the book is less about "things" to do than about advice on parenting and morals. I'm not saying the advice is poor, only that the title is misleading. Here are few examples I have found:

808: "Parents should start talking about the problems of premarital sex as soon as the grade school years . . . ."
802: "Consider providing books that give the facts on sex in kid-terms . . . ."
795: "When a child wants to try something and you must say that she can't do it, be sure to say what she can do . . . ."
527: "Make a rule against pushing and shoving. . . ."
722: "One of the leading causes of home fires is children playing with matches. Keep matches out of a young child's reach . . . ."
787: Love your child for what he is. . . ."

There are "things" under the headings of "racism" "heroes" "dilemmas" "bullies" "love and sex" "dreams" "telling the truth" and so forth. These are great topics for discussion and training, but they don't translate well to "things" to do with your child in this book; here, they are among hundreds of other maxims and proverbial direction to parents. Again, this is all good, but if you are truly looking for a book that lists "things to do" (as opposed to "principals to live by"), don't expect 1001 options in this text.

The book has certain merit, in my view. There are many (though no where near 1001) actual things to consider doing with one's kids. And although some won't strike you has being grounded in much creativity or insight (e.g., 800: "See how many seconds it takes to run around the house."), others might strike a chord and even lead to a family tradition.

Bottom line: This book advocates from a politically conservative perspective and from a distinctly Christian viewpoint. The author assumes the reader shares those same values, and preaches to reinforce them. Many (perhaps most) of the "things" to do are really mini sermons on "how" to raise your kids right. Of the actual "things" to do, many are not interesting or imaginative. After sorting through all of the preaching and the weak ideas about things to do, the reader who was looking only for "things to do with your kids" will no doubt find several good, imaginative things to do. It just takes more effort than the title would suggest to get there, and so it is (1) frustrating for those who agree with the author's religious, moral and political views, but who were looking for a simple long list of great (or even good) things to do with one's kids; (2) really frustrating for those who do not agree with the author's views but who weren't really focused on finding things to do with their kids and (3) exceptionally frustrating for those who don't agree with the author's views and who were looking for a book with a simple list of things to do.

Those who will love this book are only those who agree with the author principally, who want encouragement or advice about the moral, spiritual and social issues that may face parents raising kids, and who want a few, but not many, great ideas concerning "things to do with your kids."

For the record, I seem to agree with many of the author's views, but find the book frustating; my expectations from the title left me feeling a bit duped in the purchase.

Rating:
Summary: Good ideas for everyday living
Review: When I recieved this book, I thought that they would be ideas about special things to do together. But it is more about regular everday living--not just special events. It has great advice for daily chores such as shopping, riding in the car etc. It shows you how to make you life easier by having fun with your kids and preventing conflict before it happens. I believe this will be beneficial to my family in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Good ideas for everyday living
Review: When I recieved this book, I thought that they would be ideas about special things to do together. But it is more about regular everday living--not just special events. It has great advice for daily chores such as shopping, riding in the car etc. It shows you how to make you life easier by having fun with your kids and preventing conflict before it happens. I believe this will be beneficial to my family in the future.