20 Common Parenting Mistakes and Tips to Help Avoid Them by Diane Pope

I read this on Kindle Unlimited.

First I want to say, I loved the format of this book. This book was short, 68 pages on my Kindle to be exact. The way it was laid out was: parenting mistakes, reasons why it is harmful, and then tips to help. This was so straightforward and got to the point right away. It reads like you went to hear a speaker on parenting and these are the notes you took and things you want to remember. That does mean the entire book was important and there is no fluff. That is probably why it could be as short as it is, every word mattered. 

I am definitely the right audience for this book. This is not for parents neglecting and ignoring their children. It isn’t for people beating their kids. This is for parents already trying really hard who need some guidance or reminders of things they could be doing better. 

I felt so called out in this book, especially in chapters 1 and 2. Those are probably my biggest problems. In particular, overprotection. It is bad. I know I am over protective, but I have anxiety and my mind is always making up ways my child will hurt himself. It probably doesn’t help that I get an insight into which accidents lead to ER visits. I am not overprotective in every area I think, mainly in the way of risky play. It scares me. Luckily I can outsource this to my husband.

I also could do better with consistency, after reading this book I made a list of rules for our house (there are very few) and what the (mostly related) consequences will be. I plan to have a family meeting and talk through this with the plan to be more consistent with consequences across rules broken and adults watching Aryi. 

I didn’t feel nearly as called out in the rest of the book.

This book gives easy to follow, actionable steps into being a better parent. Was it worth it? Girl Math. Kindle Unlimited. Free. Yes. It was worth the free read. It did also help remind me of things that I knew but could totally do better on. I would recommend this book to most parents.