Act Natural

October 15, 2018
Traig (Devil in the Details) explores parenting throughout the ages in this alternately hilarious and disturbing historical survey. A mother of two, Traig emphasizes how difficult parenting is in any era, observing that “to do even a half-assed job is a Sisyphean task.” Though the topics explored in different chapters—childbirth, feeding, sibling conflict, sleep, and children’s literature—are familiar, this is no ordinary childcare book. Traig finds a wealth of shocking “historical horrors”; in ancient Rome, for instance, parents often “exposed,” or abandoned, their unwanted offspring, and in later times sent them to “foundling homes,” which almost invariably proved fatal (infanticide and abandonment, Traig writes, functioned, in an era before safe and reliable birth control, as crude forms of “early family planning”). Alongside such ghoulish details, Traig finds amusingly offbeat ones, such as bizarre names bestowed by Puritan parents on their children for purposes of moral instruction (these include Kill Sin, Fly-Fornication, and Faint-Not). Throughout, Traig exhibits a sardonic wit, as when noting the historical curiosity that many early gynecological texts were written by monks, “who presumably knew less about female reproductive anatomy than anyone on the planet.” This information-rich history lesson is so entertaining it may keep parents up reading well past their bedtimes.

February 1, 2019

From the Puritans to Dr. Spock to the Skinner air crib, we've come up with some bizarre ideas about raising children. Tracing methods both amusing and terrifying, Traig (Devil in the Details; Well Enough Alone) explores the strange side of parenting (a term originating in the 1970s; before that, children were reared). Here, helicopter parenting stands in stark contrast to the horrors of infant abandonment and children adopted as pets (a popular advice manual once suggested dipping baby in salt). Traig further chronicles childbirth (modern readers will sigh with relief for antibacterial soap), the toddler years (scurvy resulting in red gums was often mistaken for teething in 19th-century London), techniques for sleeping and feeding and more. Chapters on children's books and lullabies will put the Brothers Grimm fairy tales to shame. VERDICT This fun, if at times unsettling, cultural history proves an amusing glance back at parenting through the ages, though occasionally the author's opinions stand in the way of presenting history "as is."

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2018
Traig (Well Enough Alone, 2008) takes an in-depth and often-hilarious look at the history of Western parenting. From ancient Rome to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance era to the Puritans, baby boomers' childhoods to today, things have changed dramatically. Parent wasn't even a verb until the 1970s; so how did we get to this point, and why do we do what we do? Parents spend more time and energy on their children than ever. Does it even make a difference? Traig confronts these and many other questions as she explores the history of childbirth, sibling rivalry, and advice manuals; children's food, literature, and sleep; and more. She leaves no stone unturned, examining practices across time, cultures?and even species. With a dry wit, and brutal honesty about her own parenting experience, Traig weaves personal anecdotes throughout this thoroughly researched, incredibly interesting read; she effortlessly balances edification with humor. And in a genre inundated with advice, a parenting book that isn't trying to dole out the latest recommendations is completely refreshing. Much like parenting itself, Act Natural will teach readers something new in one moment and make them laugh out loud the next.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)