Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Toddler: Real-Life Stories of Those Fickle, Irrational, Urgent, Tiny People We Love

Top positive review

TAKE OUT 2 Chapters and you have a GREAT book!

Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2007

First off I want to say -- buy this book! It's perfect for busy Mom's in that it's filled with short essays each written by a different author. Some are laugh-out loud funny, some truly heart-warming and other's make you think "thank goodness I'm not the only one who's made that parenting mistake!".

I wasn't sure I would like the essay format of the book but I ended up really enjoying it. After a long day of racing after the kids the book's format made it easy to relax by reading one chapter before collapsing in bed from exhaustion. :-)

OK so the one reason I didn't give this book 5-stars is that there are two chapters that bring the book down. The chapter "Why Does Your Son Have a Phallus on His Head" written by the books editor came across as Jennifer Margulis's public way of getting some type of revenge at her mother for issues they have. The comments about her mother were embarrassing to hear from a grown woman and had NO relevance. It was just a weird thing to read and again I felt embarrassed for the editor that she added that to her book.

But that was minor compared to the chapter "Slow to Warm". This is the chapter that the reviewer "Shame, Shame" was referring to. (Ok -- who actually says "shame"???...) Wait until you read this chapter! Your jaw is going drop to the floor and you'll be stunned you just read that in a PG rated Toddler book. Don't get me wrong -- I use more than my fair share of swear words! I'm actually surprised my kids first words weren't something that was made up of four letters! :-) But the chapter "Slow to Warm" is basically a porno put into words. Perhaps the author of that chapter is an 800-sex-line operator or works on the HBO set of Real Sex -- but that chapter should NEVER have been added to the book. Hopefully in future additions this chapter will be removed.

Overall DO buy this book. You'll love it. Just be sure to rip out the chapter "Slow to Warm" before you give this as a gift or pass along to your friends!!! :-)
[...]

3 people found this helpful

Top critical review

All critical reviews›

D. Carr

Good read, but horrible language

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2006

This book does capture a fairly diverse view of parenting toddlers, and I am really enjoying seeing myself and my friends in the stories that are aimed specifically at this crazy age group. However, I wasn't prepared for the language I found in several of the stories. If you routinely yell, "f---" or "s---" in response to your kids actions, then you might not think twice about it. I'll admit to letting "damn" slip out a couple of times, but I have never used some of these other words in front of anyone, especially my kids. And I agree with the previous reviewer who was a little shocked by the story where the mom is thinking of graphic sexual phrases in response to a teacher's comment about her preschooler. "Shame, shame," indeed. Overall, this an okay read if you can get past some of it's shortcomings.

4 people found this helpful

Sort by

Filter by

26 total ratings, 26 with reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

Boymom

TAKE OUT 2 Chapters and you have a GREAT book!

Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2007

Verified Purchase

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kimberly Chisholm

every parent needs this toddler!!!

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2005

Verified Purchase

Having perused countless parent-lit collections (and having three children under six) I like to think I've got a pretty good radar for the cloyingly sentimental or overly preachy or too narrow or too out-there anthologies in print. This collection is none of those things. It is SOOOO good. The stories span a wide gamut and have a range of tones--every one of which spoke to this dedicated and thinking and at-times beleaguered parent! There is some racy stuff, some endearing stuff--everything from the highly inspirational to the down-right edgy. This is one "toddler" you'll actually want by your bedside at night! Get a copy now and, like me, you'll be back for a dozen more for all the parents out there who really need to read this book. It's an absolute gem.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Ashley Sanders

Much needed read for parents of toddlers!

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2011

Verified Purchase

This is a collection of short stories by people who have raised a toddler and have lived to tell about it. :-) I love reading a story or two while I'm waiting to pick up my 9 year old from school, especially when my 14 month old is in the back of the car screaming because she no longer likes her car seat! It helps me to know that I am not alone in the wonderful although sometimes challenging toddler years. I haven't read a story yet that I haven't loved and I am a little more than halfway through the book. Highly recommended!

Helpful

Teddyballgame

Serviceable

Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2019

Verified Purchase

Bought this cause a friend wrote one of the stories

Helpful

Jen Singer | Author

Got Toddlers?

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2005

Verified Purchase

If you're living with those little irrational creatures who can switch on and off temper tantrums like a Rockin' Elmo doll, this book is for you. Frequently funny, at-times irreverent and always painfully true-to-life, "Toddler" is a classic that every parent of 1-3 year-olds should read... just as soon as the temper tantrum ends.

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma

Welcome to Dollhouse

Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2003

Verified Purchase

Finally, a literature of Toddlers! Like teenagers, they teeter at the edge of blissful ignorance and knowledge of the world. That makes them full of insight and wonder -- a bridge to consciousness from which we all can learn. These stories keep the full dramatic promise offered by this new genre: they entertain and mystify, providing us all with the wisdom those lucky enough to be parents get from their children. (Full disclosure: I knew the editor-in-chief back when she was a Toddler)

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

D. Carr

Good read, but horrible language

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2006

Verified Purchase

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Holly Scudero

A great collection of stories that will ring true for any parent

Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2015

This clever collection of stories, compiled and edited by journalist Jennifer Margulis (whom I already love for her fantastic book "The Business of Baby"), is sure to resonate with any parent whose child is in (or has passed) the toddler stage. The stories cover a wide range of emotions related to parenting: love in its deepest form, wonder, exasperation, fear, exhaustion, and so much more. Some stories will really tug at your heart strings and may even get you a little weepy (because goodness knows we mothers don't need much of an excuse to cry), while others will have you laughing out loud (because we've BEEN there!).

What's great about this book is that it's so REAL. There is no such thing as a perfect parent, and these stories reflect that, whether in terms of accidentally swearing in front of our little ones, doing things that inadvertently cause them injury (which we then, of course, feel guilty about for the rest of our lives), or even just the ridiculous things we do sometimes to get through the day.

And the best part? It's a book of short stories, which sometimes is, realistically speaking, the only kind of book parents can really read. Got five or ten minutes while your child is eating? Read a story! Child is briefly playing on their own? Pick up the book! This book can easily be read in fits and starts, fitting perfectly into the lifestyle of any parent of a toddler, while providing some much needed literary therapy. I would recommend this book to any parent, no matter the age of their child.

Helpful

AJB

A wonderful book

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2003

TODDLER is a must-read for any parent of a child who has suddenly shape-shifted from a sweet, content, cooing infant to a suprisingly strong-willed 3-foot-tall drill seargant. Often, we mothers and fathers of toddlers keep our war stories to ourselves, trying in vain to sustain the illusion that we do, in fact, wear the pants in our house. But anyone who's actually been the caretaker of a stubborn developing human whose pointed goal of complete independence is continually thwarted by stature, social constraints, and parental interference knows who the boss really is. TODDLER is a kind of parenting tell-all, a first-person, behind-the-scenes glimpse of the toughest reality show there is: raising a child. Parents will be comforted to discover that their kid isn't the only one with inexplicable demands and intense preferences, and it will come as a relief to know that parents have plenty of company in the challenging experience of shepherding their charges through the hard-going terrain of two-year-old life. And yet the book is not all horror stories and I-can't-believe-she-said-that-in-front-of-the-neighbors incidents: while there is none of the treacly "but it's all worth it" sentiment that often pervades writing about life with young children, the book does feature sweet moments reminding us why it is we love our irascible, demanding, incredible toddlers as much as we do. TODDLER is a unique and wonderful book -- and a must-have addition to any mother or father's parenting library.
by Andrea Buchanan
Author of _Mother Shock: Loving Every (Other) Minute of It_(Seal Press)

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

Elizabeth Lyons

A great I-can-identify-with-THAT book for any parent

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2004

This book is truly a must-have for any parent in the throws of toddler-mania, or about to enter it (and possibly even for those who've already survived it and want a good hindsight laugh or two!).

There are more than enough parenting how-to books written by "experts," but what parents need many days is validation through another parent's experience that their life, albeit crazy many days, is perfectly normal. This collection also provides many opportunities for parents to focus on how blessed they are --- even if their living room walls were recently decorated with a colorful mural whose medium is non-washable markers.

by Elizabeth Lyons

author of Ready or Not...Here We Come! The REAL Experts' Cannot-Live-Without Guide to the First Year with Twins (Finn-Phyllis Press)

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Need customer service? Click here

‹ See all details for Toddler: Real-Life Stories of Those Fickle, Irrational, Urgent, Tiny...

5 star		38%
4 star		35%
3 star		17%
2 star		10%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

Toddler: Real-Life Stories of Those Fickle, Irrational, Urgent, Tiny...

›

Customer reviews

Customer reviews

Toddler: Real-Life Stories of Those Fickle, Irrational, Urgent, Tiny People We Love

Top positive review

Top critical review

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Toddler: Real-Life Stories of Those Fickle, Irrational, Urgent, Tiny... › Customer reviews

Customer reviews

Toddler: Real-Life Stories of Those Fickle, Irrational, Urgent, Tiny People We Love

Top positive review

Top critical review

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Toddler: Real-Life Stories of Those Fickle, Irrational, Urgent, Tiny...

›

Customer reviews