Vanessa Raphaely and Karin Schimke, along with 60,000 parents from the local online group The Village, have put together a book offering parenting advice.
South Africa (18 August 2024) — ‘We Were Perfect Parents Until We Had Children‘ is a compilation of wisdom shared by families raising tweens, teens, and young adults. Vanessa Raphaely, Karin Schimke, and 60,000 parents joined forces to add snippets of advice covering all the nitty-gritty of raising hormonal humans.
Not having children, getting the book to review about raising teens seemed like a tough call but I was immediately filled with sympathy for parents and Good Things Guy readers who would find extreme value in the added support. Also, having been a teen, one with a few difficult moments and grey-hair-inducing tantrums under my belt, how could I not give it a bash?
Dear Mom and Dad and Aunts and Grandparents, I am sorry for the chaotic teen years! ‘We Were Perfect Parents Until We Had Children’ encapsulates all the hair-raising moments a parent or guardian will endure during the teen years and offers a gentle helping hand, a shoulder to cry on and most of all, a window into the lives of others going through the same perils, showing that you are in fact, not alone in your endless worry.
Topics covered in the book range from safety, money struggles, culture clashes, belief system frictions, drinking, drugs and the dreaded eS, Ee, eX.
Vanessa and Karin stress that this isn’t a guidebook to raising tweens, teens, and young adults. However, it is a useful resource that can be read cover to cover, opened on any page, or even read backwards if you want. It is sorted into three sections, ending with a section we love most – hope!
At the end of the day, all a parent wants is to raise a child who grows up to be a good person and becomes a contributing citizen. If this feels overwhelming, just know you are not alone! We share how you can join this amazing village down below, so if you have not joined yet, head on over there.
The Back of the Book
‘I straighten her little tiara every morning – I lift her chin and remind her that she is meant for greater things than playground bullies.’
‘Everything shines in its own time. There is no timetable for life. Timetables are for classrooms, not for people.’
These are just some of the wisdoms shared on The Village, South Africa’s beloved Facebook group for parents raising tweens, teens and young adults.
Having kids is a baffling endeavour beset with sulks, meltdowns, anxiety and disappointment – and that’s just the parents! When you get that call to the principal’s office? When the school acceptances don’t come? When the bedroom door slams and you hear your child sobbing behind it? All awful but the family years are also, to many of us, our most precious time. The trick? To find a way to enjoy our families, love our children and believe in them and ourselves despite the daily challenges. And laugh . . .
In this book, Vanessa Raphaely and Karin Schimke have gathered together experiences and insights from The Village members. These are the gems and remedies from the real parenting experts – the parents – to help you raise your family in your own perfectly imperfect way.
If you would like to learn more about this book, visit its website here. It is also available at all major literary retailers and online.
Interested in more proudly South African books? You can find more of our book reviews here.
What is The Village?
The Village is an online community aimed at parents of tweens, teens, and young adults, founded and managed by Vanessa Raphaely. Having raised three children herself while running a successful career, Vanessa is no stranger to the old adage that ‘It takes a Village to raise a child’.
With a small inkling that she could recreate this sense of community in cyberspace, she launched The Village in 2017—with some very strict rules, the most stringent of which is one simple rule we should all abide by in life: Just Be Kind. The result is an online community of over 60,000 supportive, nonjudgmental, kind, and giving parents from all walks of life.
The content in The Village is primarily user-generated, which is to say it is created by members who post their questions, advice, comments and thoughts on parenting in the modern age. From help and support surrounding teenage mental health to practical solutions for parents looking for alternative solutions for their neurodiverse kids, from subject choices to career guidance, and from skincare to real advice about sex, drugs and rock n roll from parents who have been there and done that.
Vanessa and a small group of trusted admins expertly curate the entire group to ensure that it remains a safe and respectful environment for its Village members.
To join The Village, click here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1718861155110611/
by 