To think that surely there are more than 8 people on the whole of MN who have read 'Toxic Childhood' and are excited about the upcoming webchat?

[Shitemum]

Has nobody on here read it?

what is it???? never heard of it

It's ever so good! How kids today are basically not having a great time - none of the freedoms that we had - due in the main to overprotectiveness, helicoptering (is that a word? it should be...) and pressures put on them. It does offer lots of ways to help but not to the main one for me - how do you be the only parent who lets their kid go and 'play out'...? When's the webchat - cba to search about for it!!!

A link www.suepalmer.co.uk/toxic.php

OP I've not read it but looked it up, it seems to be about how technological advances are affecting children. Apart from bringing it to our notice, what is the point of your thread? Are you the author? Fair do's if you are. But if you are or not, what is up for discussion/debate/downright fight here?

elena67 - the webchat is on a 'stickie' right at the top of active convos

larks35 - No im not the author! (Wouldn't be calling myself Shitemum if I were
I just think it's a really important book and am surprised there are not more people posting on the webchat thread.

It's not just another parenting book.

There's still time to read it before the webchat!

I read it and liked it up until the point the author started single-parent bashing. I was v offended by some of the comments and refused to read any further.

i started reading it and found it a bit repetitive and quite uninspiring.... didnt finish it!

I would love to read all the books that come up in the Book Club. But right now I can't afford to buy them and our local libraries are so shite I can't get hold of them.

Went to a seminar where Sue Palmer was a speaker and had a chat with her after. Seemed very nice and sensible.

My Dcs have a great childhood and they do go out to play - I am far too lazy to be over protective and helicopter over them.

Never heard of it

gaelicsheep can you ask your local library to order in books? You'd be doing a public service

I've never looked into that tbh. I could try I suppose. They'd probably charge me though - make me buy the book for them most likely.

I've read the book and found it didn't really apply to my family. Also thought there was quite a lot of scaremongering in it, although I did agree with parts.

I'd say it was a fairly average study of childrens lives today. Nothing special.

I took part in one webchat, jackie wilson I think, but found it was just being used as an excuse to plug her new novel so never went on another webchat after that.

Has the author of "Toxic Childhood" got another book coming out?

oooooo - I may have to get some questions lined up about social constructionism and get my study books out to ask her some questions

I've read part of it. I don't know why I didn't read it all becase the part I read I really agreed with.
I may have got it out for an assignment. I shall get it out again and read it through in full.

toxic childhood sounds a whingy kind of concept to me
bet she likes garibaldis

I dunno just does not appeal to me at all...sounds like another way to blame your parents for fucking up..reeks of 'whingy' i agree ninah...but thats just how 'I' feel.

Lazy of me, but I guess I thought a title like "Toxic Childhood" indicated yet another misery memoir type book.

I cannot be 100% certain, of course, but I don't think my dc are having a toxic childhood of their own. I am doing my best to provide them with a happy chihldhood.

So the title says nothing to me, does not entice me or interest me.

Me too bibbity - I thought it was something about having toxic parents, which might be more interesting.. (as a book, not as an experience - it's shite..)

Heard her speak. Got book out of library. Definitely paid attention to it and will affect our DS's life (eg no tv in his room!)

I enjoyed the book. I think a lot of parents here on MN would agree with most of what she says in her book. It's about how modern children need to lead less "toxic" lives, and spend more time outside and less in front of screens, not fear that there's a paedophile around every corner, etc. I found it very sensible and I was really interested in the part about marketing to children, but in general I felt it was all just common sense to me.

I did see the upcoming webchat but I'm sooo busy at the moment I can't really spend time on the internet

Don't really find the webchats work for me. Have read the book though. And am in the middle of "Detoxing childhood" at the moment.

I have read it and thought it was a statement of the bleeding obvious!

I have heard the author speak a lot. I wouldn't want to read the book.
Because parts I would agree strongly with, and other parts would ring very false.

And most of all because I think people & society are hypocritical... the same people say "We don't want them to grow up too fast" and then they do all sorts of things to discourage them from retaining innocence or learning stuff the hard way (It's all "Blame the parents" for anything that goes even slightly awry, or that even might go slightly awry).

The contradictory messages are too upsetting, alas!!

I found a lot of it a bit facile tbh. Particularly the bit where she spied a girl looking grumpy outside the Uffizi gallery and went into a long spiel about the miserable childhood this child must have and speculating exactly on what her parents must be like. Writing style got right up my nose. And very us and them about working class people. Cherry picking when it came to comparisons with other countries- ascribing successes in Scandinavia for instance to doing the bits she does agree with, and totally ignoring the things common in Scandinavia which are not the things she prescribes.