Book Blog Tour Stop: The Paranoid Parents Guide

The Paranoid Parent's Guide by Christie Barnes

Reviewed by: Chris Routly

About the author:

Christie Barnes, was happily married to writer Peter Barnes, the screenwriter of some of America's most beloved films, including the Oscar nominated Enchanted April, and most popular TV movies, Merlin, Arabian Nights, Leprechauns, A Christmas Carol, Alice In Wonderland, etc. One day he was out walking in the park with their year old triplets and 4-year-old daughter, the next day he was dead of a stroke. Christie Barnes, who had worked with her husband in film and television and as a writer, had to take charge of their large young family and be their guide through all the dangers and fears of today's life. Taking command, she has become a crusader for identifying real dangers to her children and yours and finding ways to fix what can be fix.

About the book:

The Paranoid Parent’s Guide is Confessions of a Slacker Mom meets The Worst Case Scenario Handbook–an irreverent yet imminently practical guide to help parents shun the alarmist parenting culture while keeping their children, sanity, and their budgets healthy.

The debate between helicopter parents versus free-range parents causes confusion for parents who want to find the middle ground while raising independent kids, without being wracked with worry and guilt. Somewhere between Free Range Kids and Perfect Madness is the need for a book that addresses how to parent with common sense in our culture of paranoia. The Paranoid Parent’s Guide is that book.

My take on the book:

I’ve never thought of myself as much of a worrier.

However, when it comes to my son, at times I’m not so different from many parents–the ones whose entire day seems to be filled with time spent worrying about the potential hazards and dangers to children that surely are around every corner, just waiting to pounce.

This generation of parents really does seem to worry more than any other before us. We baby-proof everything, we buy or boycott products based on ever fluctuating recalls and rumors, and we spend far too much time worrying about all the things we think are going to scare, injure or kill our child the moment our back is turned. It’s no stretch to admit that many parents even go so far as to feel like their excessive worrying makes them better parents. But the truth is, the things we worry about the most are the things least likely to ever harm our child, and we waste far too much time, money and sleepless nights worrying.

Enter: The Paranoid Parents Guide: Worry Less, Parent Better, and Raise a Resilient Child (Written by Christie Barnes Published by Health Communications Inc. (HCI))

Christie Barnes is the founder of the Paranoid Parents Stop Worrying storefront in Denver, and paranoidparentsguide.com, where she blogs and collects and shares information to help worried parents become better parents. In this guide, Barnes compiles some of the most important and eye-opening information available about dangers to children.  This is information that doesn’t just dispel the myths about most parents’ biggest fears,  but also sheds light on the things we really should be worried about — and how to most effectively protect our children from those things.

Chapters cover subjects ranging from why we worry to why worrying is actually harmful, and even expose who out there has a vested interest in keeping us worried. Barnes then gets to the meat of the book — at least for me — which is a systematic take-down of the Top Ten Worries of your average worrying parent, with relevant statistics and a big dose of reality check.

Each myth is compared with a Real Danger, and helpful, effective advice is given on how to avoid those things that really are worth worrying about. She then gets age-specific, tackling essential information on what to watch and prepare for through ever stage of your child’s growth.

Frankly, I was surprised to see what the biggest common parental fears are:  kidnapping, school shootings, terrorism, and even school buses made the list. These are generally things I don’t really find myself worrying about much at all, but I was happy to see that Barnes shares the real numbers on these, apparently, very common fears of parents. I really hope that, for parents for whom these are every day fears, the facts and statistics involved help assuage some worry, maybe educate a little, and help them focus more on things that will really make their child safer.

If you’re a parent and find yourself worrying all of the time, definitely pick up this book and get some peace of mind. But I would really recommend this book to any parent who wants the facts on what it is that we need to do to keep our kids safe.  Even if you feel like you’re level-headed about these things, just looking at the real statistics and finding out what few small but vital changes you can make to help protect your family.