Description: This is a humorous manifesto aimed squarely at parents who spoil their children. With catchy titles for short chapters like "Screaming: Is It Necessary?," "Child Labor: Not Just For the Third World," "'Children's Music': Why?" and "Bedti...
Synopsis This is a humorous manifesto aimed squarely at parents who spoil their children. With catchy titles for short chapters like "Screaming: Is It Necessary?," "Child Labor: Not Just For the Third World," "'Children's Music': Why?" and "Bedtime: Is 5:30 Too Early?," author Christie Mellor points out that adults' lives currently revolve around their offspring, a relatively new development. She opens the book with a peroration against parents who do next to nothing when their kids are behaving violently toward their playmates. She later tackles the new practice of people devoting their lives to keeping their children entertained practically every minute. Mellor's retro attitude toward child-rearing seems quite avant-garde in today's climate. The text is illustrated with pictures of vintage paper dolls slightly altered by the author to be holding various alcoholic beverages.