Parenting in America is notoriously challenging: no federally supported parental leave, a lack of mental health support, a crushing combination of workplace pressure and aspirational parental perfection, and the fresh hell that is the playgroup Facebook page. But what if there was a better way?
The simple fact is that parenting looks wildly different across nations. In Please Yell at My Kids, journalist Marina Lopes travels the globe, learning from parents in Singapore, Brazil, Mozambique, Malaysia, Sweden, China, and more to provide practical, actionable ways to reimagine parenting in America. At the heart of many global approaches to parenting lies one simple and not-so-simple element: community. In America, parenting is, at best, a dual mission. But globally, parenthood is more often a team sport played in the center of a community that helps, supports, and occasionally drives you up the wall. What can we learn from Brazilian birth parties, Singaporean grandparents, and Danish babies sleeping soundly outside of coffee shops? And how can that be integrated into the lives of American readers, even if we can't hop on a plane and wing our way to the land of paid parental leave?
From guiding readers on how to define their own non-negotiable values to navigating tricky conversations with their in-laws, Please Yell at My Kids empowers parents to create a supportive community of care, rediscover the joy in parenting, and raise resilient, independent children--without having to go it alone.