Parenting, Inc.: How We Are Sold on $800 Strollers, Fetal Education, Baby Sign Language, Sleeping Coaches, Toddler Couture, and Diaper

In Parenting, Inc., Pamela Paul investigates the whirligig of marketing hype, peer pressure, and easy consumerism that spins parents into purchasing overpriced products and raising overprotected, overstimulated, and over-provided-for children. Paul shows how the parenting industry has persuaded parents that they cannot trust their childrens health, happiness, and success to themselves. She offers a behind-the-scenes look at the baby business so that any parent can decode the claims—and discover shockingly unuseful products and surprisingly effective services. And she interviews educators, psychologists, and parents to reveal why the best thing for a baby is to break the cycle of self-recrimination and indulgence that feeds into overspending.

Pauls book leads the way for every parent who wants to escape the spiral of fear, guilt, competition, and consumption that characterizes modern American parenthood.

Pauls book leads the way for every parent who wants to escape the tempting market of fear, guilt, competition, and consumption that characterizes modern American parenthood.

“You don't have a Crumb Chum chin-to-toe cover to put on your toddler at meal times? You haven't hired your 'momcierge' to organize your childs home library? Or a specialist in thumb sucking, under-sleeping, nail biting, or giving up overnight diapers? Relax. In this riveting book, Paul very much empathizes with the anxieties of eager first-time parents. At the same time, she gently helps us wonder whether we aren't, as a culture, going overboard—and deftly, brilliantly, helps us see the beauty in an alternative. She rings a bell we need to hear.”—Arlie Hochschild, author of The Time Bind and The Commercialization of Human Feeling

“There has been a great deal written about the commercialization of childhood, but Parenting, Inc. makes it clear that the commercialization of parenting is equally extensive and even more troubling. This important book will help parents become aware of how much of their parenting is being forced upon them by an unrelenting sales pitch.”—David Elkind, professor of child development at Tufts University and author of The Hurried Child

"Paul, mother of two, probes the business of parenting, exposing the high price of raising kids in our consumer-driven nation. Paul points out that it costs upwards of a million dollars to raise a child in the U.S. these days, especially if one buys into the theory that baby must have everything on the market. Following the money, Paul dissects the booming baby business, including 'smart toys' that don't really make kids smarter, themed baby showers and parenting coaches and consultants. The text is a tireless rundown of parents' seemingly bottomless pocketbooks when it comes to bringing up baby, and according to Paul this is not just an upscale, cosmopolitan phenomenon—throughout the country parents are reaching deep into their pockets to fuel this spiraling craze. Though Paul incorporates the pithy quotes of a number of experts, such as psychologist David Elkind's observation, 'Computers are part of our environment, but so are microwaves and we don't put them in cribs' . . . [she] isn't preachy, although she does reveal that what babies really need is holding, singing, dancing, conversation and outdoor play."—Publishers Weekly

"Author, journalist, and social critic Paul delivers a scathing commentary on parental consumerism. The subtitle says it all, but for readers needing evidence to entertain their assessment of parental consumer behavior, Paul supplies numerous examples of products parents purchase in an effort to assuage their guilt and/or maximize their children's intellectual performance. Some of the more obvious examples are designer strollers, baby sign-language DVDs, and instructional materials claiming to teach infants and toddlers to read. Paul . . . argues that most of these products can actually hinder development because they overstimulate infants, who may then not achieve even such customary milestones as speech development. Like Judith Warner's Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety, this sine qua non for new parents is highly recommended."—Lynne F. Maxwell, Villanova University School of Law Library, Pennsylvania, Library Journal

In Parenting, Inc., Pamela Paul investigates the whirligig of marketing hype, peer pressure, and easy consumerism that spins parents into purchasing overpriced products and raising overprotected, overstimulated, and over-provided-for children. Paul shows how the parenting industry has persuaded parents that they cannot trust their childrens health, happiness, and success to themselves. She offers a behind-the-scenes look at the baby business so that any parent can decode the claims—and discover shockingly unuseful products and surprisingly effective services. And she interviews educators, psychologists, and parents to reveal why the best thing for a baby is to break the cycle of self-recrimination and indulgence that feeds into overspending.

Pauls book leads the way for every parent who wants to escape the spiral of fear, guilt, competition, and consumption that characterizes modern American parenthood.