num_pages: 320
description: A leading social critic goes inside the billion-dollar baby business to expose the marketing and the myths helping parents determine whats worth their moneyand whats a waste Parenting coaches ergonomic strollers music classes sleep consultants luxury diaper creams a never-ending rotation of DVDs that will make a baby smarter socially adept and bilingual before age three. Time-strapped anxious parents hoping to provide the best for their baby are the perfect mark for the parenting industry. 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 claimsand 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.
language: English
title: Parenting, Inc.: How the Billion-Dollar Baby Business Has Changed the Way We Raise Our Children
publisher: Times Books