Book Review and Giveaway: Little Things Long Remembered by Susan Newman

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, from iRead Book Tours, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it

And now for a book about making your child feel special

something we might forget about during this crazy holiday season!

Synopsis:

As digital devices take over family life in subtle and seductive ways, what will happen to child development and family bonding when children spend more time with screens than they do at school or with their parents?

Life swirls at a hectic pace in most families today. That reality places a high premium on finding family time. Little Things Long Remembered: Making Your Children Feel Special Every Day, is updated for today's digitally driven and time-strapped families, offering hundreds of easy ways to create treasured childhood rituals that your children will look back on fondly.

The book hinges on 10 Cardinal Rules designed to help parents let go of work or social obligations and commit to spending time with their children. Rules include:

At home, focus as much as possible on your kids.

Put away electronic devices so you can really ‘be’ with them

Choose activities you like; children can tell when you are not having fun and are ‘faking it.’

Little Things Long Remembered is designed to help maximize parents and children’s available time. Slow down to grab pockets of time—even a few minutes here and there.

Establishing Ties (gestures that take seconds or a minute or two to strengthen parent-child bonds)

Five Minutes More or Less

Half and Hour to an Hour or So

Weekend Fun

Special Circumstances — When You Travel

Special Circumstances — Sick Days

Special Days — Happy Holidays

Special Days — Memorable Birthdays

Readers are encouraged to pick and choose to match their needs and their children’s ages and personalities. The time you spend with children and what readers choose to embrace from within these pages will become as memorable and meaningful to parents as they will be to children.

Review:

This book is a quick read at only 137 very light pages. It is great for keeping in your purse and reading chapters at a time for new inspiration. If you are a traditionalist, most of the suggestions will be things that you are probably already doing, or have done for your children, as they have been growing up. This book is really aimed at new parents (and would make a great baby shower gift), and those who may not have had hands on parents, who need some ideas about how bring back, or to/keep, connections with their kids, through 'simple things' like making a tent with your child inside on a rainy day, eliminating extra activities so kids have free time to make memories, sending postcards to your child while on business trips, going outside at night to lay under the stars. It has over 500 ideas such as those. It would also make a cute Christmas Party gift item and would easily fit inside a smaller Christmas stocking for packing with an item from one of the suggestions!

About the Author:

Susan Newman, a social psychologist, specializes in child development and family dynamics and has been named one of the 100 Top Psychologists to Follow on Twitter as well as one of 25 Parenting Educators to follow. She has been blogging for Psychology Today magazine about parenting and issues related to raising children for over six years. She has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, and her work has been feature on NPR and major leading newspapers and magazines.Check out her website for more info and links to Susan on Social Media sites.

Giveaway:

15 readers will win their own copy of this book, and 3 will win a copy of The Case for The Only Child: Your Essential Guide

a Rafflecopter giveaway