From author and speaker Melanie Dale comes a laugh-out-loud hilarious parenting book that teaches you how to dial back the stress of raising children with the simple premise that we all just need to lighten up a little bit. Most of us thought we’d be amazing parents–and then we had kids. Now we spend what little free time we have comparing ourselves to other parents, comparing our kids to other … our kids to other kids, and panicking that everyone else is nailing it except us. Between constant social media postings to conflicting advice found in parenting books, we often have no choice but to freak out. But there is another way. We all just need to calm the hck down.
Melanie Dale–a special needs parent, adoptive parent, in vitro parent, and reluctant cheer mom–believes we are all putting too much pressure on ourselves and our kids to be perfect. Instead, she argues, we need to take a step back so we can actually enjoy this journey called parenting.
Calm the Hck Down is filled with stories from Melanie’s own life, as well as real-life research for learning how to lighten up about every aspect of parenting–from poopy diapers and germs to family vacations and adolescent angst. She also discusses the pressure to knock it all out of the Pinterest park, the challenge of instilling some kind of faith into your kids, and worrying about their future while still trying to live in the present.
Infused with quirky humor, profound insight, and accessible advice, Calm the H*ck Down gives you the permission to finally relax and enjoy this ridiculous thing we do called parenting.
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“They have super-good leadership skills, aka they are belligerent a-holes.”
I knew after reading that line that this was going to be my type of book. I’ve read a variety of parenting books over the last eight years and this has been my favorite so far. It’s filled with real-life, sometimes messy stories. It’s filled with practical and funny advice for all parents. Melanie has made it clear this is how she does parenting and you can take it or leave it. If if didn’t apply it you then skip the advice. If you’ve master the specific problem or topic she is writing about then skip that. I found this to be very well written and witty. Her stories made me laugh out loud. I’ve never shared more book quotes with friends, but I could literally highlight most of the book to share with others.
“And here’s the kicker. I thought I’d enjoy parenting more. I don’t.Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids and really enjoy a tremendous amount of the parenting action I see. But there are some parts that just aren’t enjoyable. It’s not all fun and games.”
I really feel like Melanie is my spirit parent animal. She totally gets me in a lot of areas. I really feel like her advice to lighten up is just what I needed to hear especially after the dumpster fire that 2020 has been so far. Do yourself a favor and if you feel stressed out/burnt out take some time to read this book.
“Even if we do our best and it all goes to heck, I want us to lighten up and remain mostly calm. Our identity is not wrapped up in however our kids turn out. We can work hard on this parenting gig, but at the end of the day, they’ll make their choices and have lives apart from ours.”
“That’s how we keep going, how this too, whatever this is, shall pass. Through relationships. We pick each other up and encourage each other to keep going. We celebrate the wins and mourn the losses together.”
Whether you’re a new parent, or you’ve been around the parenting block a few hundred times, I highly recommend, Melanie Dale’s “Calm the H*ck Down: How to Let Go and Lighten Up About Parenting.”
Using a combination of humor, her personal experiences and practical parenting ideas and lists, Melanie encourages us to lighten up about different aspects of being a parent, from birth to the teenage years. Grace for yourself, grace for others, grace for your kids! Let this book help you calm down and enjoy the crazy adventure that is parenting!
I wasn’t sure just how much help I’d get from this book dealing with my twelve-year-old daughter, but I ended up getting a lot of help for me. I didn’t realize just how much stress I was keeping myself under worrying about my daughter growing up. While reading, I took notes so that I can make little signs through the house as reminders for me. Also, while reading this book I realized that my daughter’s doing just fine, but I’ve now got techniques to deal with some of the things that might come up, i.e. dating, attitude, and schoolwork.
I thoroughly enjoyed the authors writing style, her ability to have humor throughout kept me coming back for more. This isn’t a quick read, and I wouldn’t suggest you try to skim either. It’s packed full of great ideas, tips, and techniques for dealing with your children from baby to college. I suggest this book for every parent, because each one of us needs help in some area or another. This book will help you while not talking down to you.
*I received an ARC of this story from NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.