Wednesday, June 23, 2010

"The More Kids the Better?"


I think I've mentioned before that I wish I'd had more kids. But I have to admit I was a bit taken aback by an opinion piece in this weekend's Wall Street Journal.

It was called "The Case for Having More Kids," so I thought I'd enjoy the article. But it took a strange turn. If I read it correctly, the writer basically argues that little that parents do matters with to respect to how a kid turns out. So you might as well have a bunch of kids and not try to supervise them well or educate them well or spend much time with them teach them values because it doesn't matter. I gotta tell ya. I don't buy it.


Apparently other readers didn't either. Here's a response by a guy named John J. Edwards III, who seems to be going to great pains to distinguish himself, by virtue of his middle initial and generational distinction, from the other John Edwards. I don't blame him.


The reader discussion that follows is interesting, too.


I picked up a cute book on parenting. Nothing heavy. Just some fun, practical suggestions on how to make motherhood a little more... oh ... doable. A little less... oh ... insane.





The book's called, I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids: Reinventing Modern Motherhood. I wish Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile had been writing when my kids were young.


To enter the drawing for this book leave a comment here. Just answer the question:
what is your favorite genre of book? Mystery, romance, sci fi, non-fiction, classics, etc...

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14 comments:

  1. I like chick-lit fiction books. But being pregnant I'm trying to read more "self-help" books on pregnancy. I'd love to read this book!

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  2. I remember when I was expecting my first child, my son, I worried so much whether or not I was going to be a good Mother. I had all these ideas in my head of taking him to t-ball and boyscouts and all the things we'd do. Well, he hates baseball, and he just started scouting and he's already told me he'd "rather have Daddy with him than me". Well, there goes my plan. I don't buy what that article said either. I think that a lot of what the parents do, or in some cases, don't do, has a lot of influence on how the children eventually turn out. I am expecting #4, and I can tell you, I'm just as nervous as when I was expecting #1 that I wouldn't do "A good enough job".

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  3. I like murder mysteries. JD. Robb, James Paterson...all my cheap thrill. For deep reading I do biographies a lot.

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  4. Trish, I saw that on a friend's end table a while back and wanted to read it. I'd forgotten until now!

    I read fiction, romance mostly, but the Christian equivalent of Harlequins. Easy hour long read, cheap, and a few new ones each month. Lighthouse publishing maybe? All romance, no smut, and it always ends in a proposal. They give me hope that it may still work that way for my children.

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  5. A good fiction book that i can read and then watch the movie, and then be so grateful that i read it first. I guess i like the "girl fluff" stuff, who do i contact about making "girl fluff" it's own new genere? :)

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  6. Depends on my mood. I love a good mystery book but for long flights/trips you can't beat a good romance novel! :)

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  7. My favorite genre tends to be classic or mystery, but as I'm growing up, certain non-fiction books are creeping up more and more. But as a former English teacher, I keep returning to the classics - Dickens, Hugo, the Russian greats. They sure knew how to let this reader learn every little last thing she wanted to know about the character motivations, etc.

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  8. I like the classics.

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  9. Most often I prefer to read Christian non-fiction books. Anything by Karen Kingsbury can captivate me from start to finish!

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  10. Hmmm, I like a variety of books. I like both fiction and nonfiction. Suspense, and more light-hearted books, just depends on my moood. I usually have to switch it up, after reading an intense book I go for something light, after reading a memoir, I go for fiction. There are so many good books out there!

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  11. My favorites of late tend to be non-fiction. I enjoy mostly stories involving accomplishments, like climbing Everest.

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  12. I enjoy reading biographies and the occasional romance novel (polar opposites...).

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  13. My favorite books biographies and historical fiction. Hubby and I are reading the biography of Hitler (his choice, not mine - lol). It's interesting to discuss a book together.

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