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  • Published: 2 August 2010
  • ISBN: 9781407080093
  • Imprint: Ebury Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 384

How Not to F*** Them Up




Oliver James - leading psychologist and bestselling author of Affluenza - presents research and clear guidance on how to parent in a way that works best for you and your child

As a mother, are you comfortable in your skin?
Want to know how best to be a stay-at-home or working mum?

Babies have very simple needs, yet many parents are overwhelmed with elaborate advice on how to meet them. In How Not to F*** Them Up, leading child psychologist Oliver James argues that your under-threes do not need training; it's getting your head straight as a parent that's important.

Drawing on extensive interviews and the lastest clinical research, James identifies three basic types of mum: the Hugger, the Organiser and the Fleximum. Outlining the benefits and pitfalls of each, How Not to F*** Them Up shows you how to recognise which style suits you best and outlines simple strategies to reconcile personal ambitions with the needs of your family.

Empowering and provocative, Oliver James will help you make the best choices for bringing up a happy, confident child.

  • Published: 2 August 2010
  • ISBN: 9781407080093
  • Imprint: Ebury Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 384

About the author

Oliver James

Oliver James trained and practised as a child clinical psychologist and, since 1988, has worked as a writer, journalist and television documentary producer and presenter. His books include Juvenile Violence in a Winner-Loser Culture, the bestselling They F*** You Up, Affluenza and Contented Dementia. He is a trustee of two children's charities: the National Family and Parenting Institute and Homestart.

Also by Oliver James

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Praise for How Not to F*** Them Up

... it is obvious that James is truly on the side of women and creating a society in which parenting and the issues it raises are shared between both partners.

Louise Carpenter, The Times Magazine

[Oliver James] does a great job of describing some of the problems in modern society and how the demands of the 21st century can affect a person's happiness... [he] uncovers the answer to how to reconnect with what really matters and learn to value what you've already got. In other words, how to be successful and stay sane.

Ana Ivanovic, Tennis Professional, Amazon

Advice that focuses on training you - the parents - rather than your kids. A refreshing approach.

Easy Living

At last, something for the modern mother! A sane voice amid the shrill cacophony of childcare books

Imogen Edwards-Jones

Easily readable, liberating ... a book you can trust.

The Independent

Hugely gripping... it certainly makes you think.

Angels and Urchins

I agree with Oliver James. Caring for a baby or toddler is personal, because you have to tune in to the child's changing needs.

Sue Palmer, The Times

In a perfect world every parent would have a parenting masterclass before the baby arrives. This is the next best thing!

Arabella Weir

Unlike other books of this sort, How Not to F*** Them Up focuses on the wellbeing of the parent as a starting point for meeting the needs of the child... This is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve, and is not afraid to admit his own frailties. As a result his theories come across not as condescension, but as advice from one fucked-up-person to another.

Jake Wallis Simons, The Independent on Sunday