Much that was written in this book reflects what educators are saying today about what is best for our children, especially concepts like emotional intelligence, the importance of reading to your child, etc. Lots of programs that have been in use were highlighted in this book. So many, in fact, that one book group member commented she wished that there was some prioritization given on all these ideas. Lots of the book could also be classified as 'common sense'.
Another interesting facet was about the importance of quality childcare. We reviewed this book during the week that there was much media backlash about childcare-primarily due to the 'Nanny Trial' in Cambridge and the Clinton's recent childcare 'summit' held in Washington. It is sobering to note that those with family incomes of less than $18000 spend a whopping 25% on childcare, while those over $54,000 spend only 5%. (We are thankful for our engineering salary!) Also valuable were the lessons we could learn from other countries. The group found the message about taking part in your neighborhood important. These days, the community bonds are not what they were when we were growing up. We felt a renewed interest in taking part in 'the village' to help raise our nations children.
Perhaps the best part of the book (especially for the parents in the group) was Mrs. Clinton's sharing of her (and her husband's) parenting blunders. It is refreshing to read that Chelsea once accidentally rolled off the bed on to the floor when her dad was watching her. Chelsea also went through a phase where she would only eat jelly sandwiches for months, prompting a nutritionist to ask if this poor child's parents knew anything about proper feeding of a preschooler. (Little did she know that this was the child of the governor!). It made us all feel a little better to know that no one can be a perfect parent!