By: Esther Wojcicki
As a new mother, I felt very overwhelmed with the number of books about parenting. I also didn’t think I wanted to explore that genre, I thought that I had a good idea of how I wanted to raise my baby. I mostly enjoyed reading the fun mom books but, I wasn’t really interested in anything serious. Then one day, I stumbled upon an article written about a woman named Esther Wojcicki, and I was intrigued to learn more about her and her parenting tips. When I heard she was writing a book, I signed up instantly to buy it. I am so glad I made the choice to give this book a chance because it was incredible!
This is one of the few non-fiction books that I couldn’t put down. I wanted to continue reading and learning from this incredible woman. I think this book is one of the most important books for parents. I have vowed to myself to read it once a year, to refresh myself on her great ideas.
She begins the book by asking you, the reader, to reflect on your childhood. Whether your childhood was good or bad doesn’t matter but, being aware of the family culture that influenced your childhood is essential to understanding the parent you are aiming to be. She asks you to stop and answer her quiz to be more aware of how your parents raised you. I found this extremely interesting. It was interesting dissecting the good and bad of my childhood and understanding what I wanted to bring to my children and what I didn’t.
After the childhood exploration portion, she dives into her main parenting focus, which is TRICK. TRICK stands for – Trust, Responsibility, Independence, Collaboration and Kindness. She writes numerous chapters on each concept expressing their importance. This is what she stems her entire philosophy of parenting on. She believes that these five pillars are the most important aspects needed in teaching your children. Wojcicki believes that the TRICK method, will help your your children grow up to be successful adults, whatever path they choose in life.
Each chapter includes scientific research on the benefits of the specific pillar and how she instilled it in her home and how parents can do this in their home. She also expresses how many MANY mistakes will be made along the way, which is completely fine, because were all learning.
She ends her book with an emphasis on the importance of empathy and giving back to your community. She expresses how important it is to teach your kids to care for their neighbor. Some examples of things you can do with your children are included like, taking part in community service, bringing children along to fundraisers, and by showing them how to fight for what they believe in. Teaching young kids this lesson is essential for how they grow into adults and treat other people around them. This chapter was definitely my favorite.
This book is excellent!
Turning Pages with Trish 