Nurtureshock: Favorite Book in 2009

A reader emailed me earlier this week to ask what my favorite book of 2009 was. I thought it was a great question, considering how many books I read and review here on this site.

But it isn’t a hard question. Hands down, my favorite book for 2009 was Nurtureshock: New Thinking About Children

This book totally vindicated a lot of my own thinking about children (my children and other people’s children) as well as taught me a tremendous amount about what I do not need to be worrying about. Parenting today is filled with a lot of worry. In fact, if you don’t worry obsessively, you are generally thought to be a bad parent. It’s actually quite remarkable to watch this social pressure in action: worrying is almost part of the club membership these days.

This is not to suggest there is not a lot about raising kids that deserves to be worried about, or to suggest that I do not worry. I do. A lot. Nurtureshock is a great tool for focusing your parental concerns productively and in ways that are based on a lot of scientific study. For that reason alone, it is my favorite book of 2009. The fact that it is really interesting, easy to read, and quite informative is even better.

So thanks, read4efr, for asking!

Tagged as: Add new tag, books, Child, Family, Home, Nurtureshock, NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children, Parent, Peer pressure