2024 Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge
Jill Elizabeth has read 1 book toward her goal of 285 books.
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2023 Reading Challenge

2023 Reading Challenge
Jill Elizabeth has read 5 books toward her goal of 265 books.
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Book Review: The New Childhood by Jordan Shapiro

This was a very thoughtful and interesting take on parenting in the digital age and I quite enjoyed reading it – although after a while the chapters did feel a bit repetitive…

As the parent of a five-year old, I do struggle with screen time and competing ideas about allowing my daughter to explore online and wanting her to explore the “real” world, and Shapiro provided a thoughtful and provocative take on these ideas. His anecdotes about his own experiences were heartfelt and engaging. His factoids and history lessons were informative and interesting. His takeaway messages at the end of each chapter were great summaries.

BUT, the chapters themselves are not that long and the takeaways felt like either cheat-sheets or repetition. I found myself skimming them because the longer bits of detail and history/personal story were where I found most of the enjoyment and value in the book.

If you’re looking for an insightful and thoughtful commentary on modern childhood experience, it’s a great place to start though… It made me think about my own opinions and biases in a different way, and consider not only how I approach electronics and social media with my children, but why I do so – a perspective and question I had honestly never given much thought before. As a parent, I found that invaluable and worth a little repetition…

My review copy was provided by NetGalley.

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