The parenting book market is saturated with moms giving funny and poignant testimonials to how tough it is to be a mom in the modern world. But what about dads, where are they?
That’s where author, blogger, and father of three, Clint Edwards enters with his marvelously relatable sense of humor and ability to shred the myths about dads being the fumbling, back-up babysitters when moms are busy while also giving readers a sense of being seen and heard. Edwards proves that dads get the struggle too and we get to laugh along with his ups and downs in parenting.
10 Awesome (Yes, Awesome!) Things About Toddlers
Edwards tells story after story in his new collection of essays called Silence is Scary and Other Stories on Living with the Terrible Twos and Threes in which he expertly captures the uniquely hellish phase that is living with a toddler. From tantrums to more tantrums and all the in-between moments when parents begin to feel like they have control over everything but then…well, you know how this goes. It explodes in your face.
“This book really isn’t a self-help or full of parenting tips. It’s more of group therapy,” Edwards tells Momtastic. “The premise of the book is that if you have a toddler, you are failing. That’s just the facts. They are the great equalizers. Regardless of your race, religion, social status, income, education… if you have a toddler you are elbow deep in poop.”
He’s not wrong. Toddlers are like cutest little dictators ever and parents everywhere (myself included) fiercely love and also fear them.
“I don’t care how well you dress to shop at Target, if you have a toddler, you’ve had to pull the car seat onto the lawn and hit it with the garden hose,” Edwards jokes. “So, don’t feel bad about it. Life with a toddler is supposed to be like this, so try and laugh.”
As a mom of three, I found myself laughing until I was crying through Edward’s book. My big take away? My kids aren’t crazy. I’m not crazy. Ok, maybe we all are but the tantrums and messes, the chaos and the quiet moments are normal and perfect. If I can’t laugh at this parenting stuff then it will consume me, which is a point that Edwards tries to drive home.
5 Tips for Encouraging Independence in Toddlers
“I hope to write books until I die. The question was: what will it be about, and the toddler years were just such an easy target,” Edwards tells Momtastic. “There is so much madness going on there. It’s funny and horrible and yet somehow completely innocent.”
So, of all the essays in the book, which is Edwards’ favorite? Easy, he tells us, it’s the poop story.
“My personal favorite is ‘I’m Done. Wipe My Butt.’ It really wraps up life with a toddler in just a few pages. It also sold the book to my publisher,” Edwards says. “I read it once at a reading where my mother was in attendance and she got really offended by it, so you know it’s good.”
And trust us, it really is good. You can pick up a copy of your own at Amazon
