Why Doesn't Anybody Like Me?

Author: Hara E. Marano
Status:Library Book
Genre: Nonfiction
Grade: F

No, I have not become totally insecure. This is the actual title of a book with a subtitle "A Guide to Raising Socially Confident Children".

Like most Moms, I want my kids to have the best of everything. When I saw this book in the library it intrigued me. Being the mom of a preteen I know what it is like to live with someone who is not socially confident and I figured any tips I could pick up to help would be welcome.

Unfortunately, this book is a bit of a joke. Ms. Marano is not a teacher, psychologist, doctor or other specialist. She is the editor of Psychology Today magazine but that is as far as her credentials go. That would have been all right if she had written the book as a mom's guide, doing a mother to mother exchange of information. She didn't. Instead she makes sweeping "factual" statements (Being nice makes you popular!) and pulls out nothing to back them with. She will admit that "Although I am witness to only small scenes from a playground and know nothing of the rest of these children's lives" she will go on to say ""I have learned to see what is going on in these seemingly trivial transactions." This would have been a good segue in to where she learned this but she doesn't go there.

She does site research in several chapters of the book but it was not relative to what her subject matter was supposed to be.
The research dealt with the dangers of lack of socialization but really didn't go into depth as to how "to raise a socially confident child". The advice she did give -- don't call your kid a loser sticks out in my mind -- was a bit ridiculous. I couldn't believe any parent interested enough in a subject matter like this ever would do such a thing.

In the end I found the book unhelpful and not as well laid out as I am used to in a self-help style book.

Tea: Don't waste a good cuppa on this stinker.