Sorry I Peed on You (and Other Heartwarming Letters to Mommy)

Jeremy Greenberg

MSN's resident parenting blogger Jeremy Greenberg, who also travels the world performing stand-up comedy, combines cute, informative letters from 50 precocious toddlers with accompanying full-color photographs inside Sorry I Peed on You (and Other Heartwarming Letters to Mommy).

Wouldn't you love to know what your toddler's thinking when he refuses to stop jumping on the couch? Jeremy Greenberg's hilarious and thoughtful letters give parents a glimpse into the minds of their little ones. Finally, we can hear "first person" how a kid really isn't fooled by broccoli buried in cheese, how he'd really appreciate it if he could start going down the slide by himself, or how he'd like to apologize for peeing on you during the two seconds it took for you to reach for a fresh diaper.

From Daddy's latest four-letter vocab lessons to the dog's (not the toddler's) repeated milk dribbles on the carpet, this hilarious book answers a question every mother of a toddler wants to know: What in the world are they thinking?!

My Take:

As the mother of a particularly hilarious and precocious little three year old, I can say that I completely related to this book and found it hilarious!  That being said, you don't have to have a toddler to get giggle from this book.  If you have ever had any interaction with a toddler, you know how frustrating they can be, and this book helps make light of all those frustrations.  I loved the voice the author gave to the children, here is one excerpt I found quite amusing:

Why is it that you won’t let the dog lick my face clean of the frosting, but when you can’t find a washcloth, you’ll lick your hand and wash me like a cat?  Personally, I think I look very cute covered in cupcake.  And it’s not that I have anything against your saliva.  As mommies go, I’m sure you’ve got some of the best saliva around.  I’m sure your spit is the envy of the moms’ club, and Windex keeps calling to see in they can tap your saliva glands and make the first-ever bottled toddler-face cleaner.

I think we've all dealt with a kid who won't eat their veggies, won't stop jumping on the couch and won't keep their hat on, etc.  Don't you wish you could get inside their head and find out why they object so vehemently?  Well...

I understand that I’ve got amazing, baby-soft skin.  But if the price of this skin is wearing THIS hat, I’d rather look like Nana’s neck.  And the hat’s so itchy, Mommy.  Was it made from poison oak?  Why does it say “lifeguard"?  I haven’t even taken swimming lessons.  Do you have to get ALL my clothes from garage sales?  Daddy’s hats are awesome and say things like “I”m with Stupid” or “Free Breast Exams.”  Can I also offer free breast exams or be with stupid?

 I am a passionate subscriber to the belief that if you don't laugh, you'll cry.  Since every parent out there has probably shed a few tears in aggravation, next time you find yourself in such a situation read this book and save your tear ducts the extra work. 1 Pay Full Price

Do you agree with my review?  Do you think I'm totally off base?  Either way I'd love to hear from you, be sure to leave a comment and tell me how you feel.

This was a tough book to rate, everything is pretty much rated G except for one letter when the kid hears his dad say the "S-Word" and repeats it many times in the letter, which I guess makes the overall rating more like PG-13.

***FTC Disclosure: This book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given, all opinions are my own***

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The Power of Your Child's Imagination

Charlotte Reznick, PhD

Imagine your frustrated four-year-old calming her own anger with a few simple breaths.  Picture your fourth grader visualizing an ice blue pillow to cool his headaches.  Or your worried eleven-year-old improving her concentration by consulting a personal wizard to help with homework.

The Power of your Child's Imagination will show you how to empower your child with easy, effective, and creative skills for surviving--and thriving--in a stressful world.  This indispensable guide provides nine simple tools to help children cope with stress and anxiety by tapping into their imagination to access their own natural strength and confidence.  Dr. Reznick illustrates how each tool can be used every day to deal with problems such as stress-induced headaches and stomachaches, phobias, panic attacks, and social anxiety, bed-wetting and sleepless nights, separation anxiety and fear of the unknown, coping with death, divorce and other losses, hurt, frustration, and anger, trouble with schoolwork and concentration, sibling rivalry and school-yard squabbles.

My Take:

I am generally not one for parenting books.  I feel that each child is an individual, and parenting books just don't account for each child's unique nature.  Many times the books give the most impractical and theoretical advice, you would have been better off not ever reading the dang book.  I can tell you wholeheartedly that this book is different.  It is all about figuring out your child, and using the tools provided by tailoring them to your child's specific needs.  I also feel that many parenting books take children and childhood too seriously, and it feels like the author is trying to transform your child into a little adult.  I think my aversion to this practice is why I was interested in The Power of Your Child's Imagination the moment I read the title.  What??? A book that wants your child to day dream?  Yup!  This book introduces the theoretical concepts, coupled with practical tools to allow you child's imagination to calm their anxiety and stress.  Being the mother of a very fiery and independent red headed toddler, I have come to love this book.  We have already implemented several of the tools given.  Our favorite is one called "balloon breath".  When I try to get my daughter to take deep breaths to calm down, even her little 2 year old mind can feel that it is a bit patronizing, so she'd never cooperate.  With balloon breath, I have her imagine that her tummy is a balloon, and she has to take deep breaths to fill it up all the way, then I have her slowly let the air out of her balloon/tummy, and voila! she's calm.  This book is filled with awesome features, like a "back track alert", warning you about what to do if the kid starts sliding back, "quick tips" (self-explanatory :), "sample scripts" to help you broach some of these sensitive topics gently, and "putting it all together" (again self-explanatory).  I recommend this book to basically every parent out there.  Our kids all have stress and anxiety, this book can really give some wonderful tools to overcome these problems.  I give this book a 1, Pay Full Price Guilt Free.

Do you agree with my review?  Do you think I'm totally off-base?  Either way I'd love to hear from you, be sure to leave a comment and tell me how you feel!

If you are interested in learning more about the author, please visit her at http://www.imageryforkids.com/

To download a free e-book with more information on The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success and Dr. Reznick , visit http://bookpromotionservices.com/reznick/.  For a limited time Dr. Reznick is offering a very special gift to each person who purchases a copy of her book, including over 80 free gifts, please visit http://www.imageryforkids.com/book/ for all details.