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Bringing Up Geeks: How to Protect Your Kid's Childhood in a Grow-Up-Too-Fast World | 
 enlarge | Author: Marybeth Hicks
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $8.26
You Save: $5.74 (41%)
New (30) Used (8) from $8.26
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 20318
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 0425221563
Dewey Decimal Number: 649.7
EAN: 9780425221563
ASIN: 0425221563
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Absolutely Brand New & In Stock. 100% 30-Day Money Back. Direct from our warehouse. Ships by USPS. 1+ million customers served-In business since 1986. Happy Customers is Our #1 Goal. Toll Free Support
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Product Description
A breakthrough parenting book that redefines the meaning of geekand inspires parents to free themselves and their kids from the culture of cool.
In a world of superficial values, peer pressure, and out-of-control consumerism, the world needs more GEEKs: Genuine, Enthusiastic, Empowered Kids. Todays culture of cool has changed the way kids grow up. Rather than enjoying innocent childhoods while developing strong, authentic characters, todays kids can become cynicaleven jadedas they absorb the dangerous messages and harmful influences of a dominant popular culture that encourages materialism, high-risk behaviors, and a state of pseudo-adulthood.
Author and mother of four Marybeth Hicks suggests an alternative: bringing up geeks. In this groundbreaking book, she shows parents how they can help their children gain the enthusiasm to pursue their passions, not just the latest fashions; the confidence to resist peer pressure and destructive behaviors; the love of learning that helps them excel at school and in life; and the maturity to value family as well as friends, as well as make good moral decisions.
With a foundation like that, kids will grow up to be the coolest adults.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Fantastic book- definitely worth the time to read!!! August 19, 2008
This is the second book by Marybeth Hicks that I have read. I gave a copy of her first book to two of my best friends as Christmas presents. They loved them. As a parent to two children (one who has special needs) and a stepmother to another (who is grad school) my time is VERY limited. I MADE the time to read her book. She hits the nail right on the head on so many issues. I can't wait to see if she writes a third book!!! Cathy B.
A helpful book! August 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book successfully balances humor with concrete tips about how to raise children who do not succumb to the pressures of our media-driven, sex-saturated society. The author is a family columnist by trade, so she naturally draws heavily from her own experiences raising children. Even if your family or parenting experiences differ from hers, this book is still excellent food for thought. Bringing Up Geeks identifies unhealthy social influences noted by media and child development experts; points out the often counter-cultural traits exhibited by "genuine, enthusiastic, empowered kids;"and offers clear examples of how to help your children cultivate these traits. It's not an easy task to raise children who remain engaged with society but have the courage to resist its pressures. This book will help parents critically examine cultural norms for childhood and child rearing and then equip them with concrete techniques to use with their own families.
 Good Topic, Poor Execution August 6, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
While I believe that Ms. Hicks is passionate about the subject matter, this book is not the parenting guide I was expecting. Be prepared for story after story about how what she did made her kids perfect. There is little outside research (despite a lengthy bibliography to support one-off statistics), and essentially no examples outside her family. The book is poorly organized - each chapter explains why her parenting tip is important, and then goes into the actual tips - the flow is quite painful. I should have looked at the endorsements listed on Amazon before purchasing. (No offense to Pat Sajak, but I'm not sure he's an authority on parenting, sociology, etc.) She also lost my confidence when she mentioned that she thinks TV for preschoolers is ok. I believe her words were, "my kids turned out ok". My advice is to look at this book at a library or book store and read the last few pages of each chapter. I would have given this book one star, but at least Ms. Hicks is trying. If you want a serious book on the subject written by a child psychologist, I highly recommend The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, by Wendy Mogel.
the much needed voice of reason in a permissive parenting world August 5, 2008
Bravo to Ms. Hicks for writing a bold, no-nonsense approach to child rearing. To sum it up -- be a parent and make what should be common sense rules for your kids. This book is a breathe of fresh air in a world that caters to the selfish "me-ism" of kids these days (driven by consumeristic, insecure parents).
Ms Hicks does a good job explaining how you can lovingly protect your kids in a Bratz doll, tweens-dressed-like-hookers world. Kids can grow, thrive, and be very happy without feeling the need to conform to the "cool," media-driven peer group.
The book calls for parents to be parents. Set the rules, enforce them. Allow your kids to be kids, love them and respect them. But be the parent.
Eh, doesn't add much August 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This whole book can be summed up as a general mentality of raising kids, and if you adopt the mentality proposed by the author, the implementations that she suggests are not rocket science. I'm not sure I needed a book on it, at least not this one.
Part of her basic idea is that the juvenile social ladder is a spectrum, ranging from geek to prom queen, and your kid cannot be both (that part may be usually true). The author's view is that geeks are the most well-behaved, smartest, bestest kids there are, and the further down the spectrum you move (i.e. by allowing your kids any involvement with pop culture), your kids are likely to be dumber, more involved in drugs and sex, less well behaved and just not as great kids. It kind of reminds me of how my mom was so scared that I would turn into a Madonna wannabe if she let me watch ANY amount of MTV (no worries - I got my fill at my friends' houses and somehow turned into an appropriately dressed attorney).
I wondered while reading the book whether the author's kids are truly as enthusiastic about their geeky upbringing as the author would have us believe. Maybe.
That being said, she offers some good tips for teaching children internet safety.
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