Book Review: Bringing Up Geeks by Marybeth Hicks

Bringing Up Geeks: How to Protect Your Kid's Childhood in a Grow-Up-Too-Fast World by Marybeth Hicks

Parents left and right complain about the influence of American culture on their children, if they are paying attention to that influence at all. Kids are expected to grow up faster and faster, with the latest gadgets and the sexiest fashions. A reasonable adult recognizes this situation as at least unhealthy. Kids should be kids for as long as possible, not for as short as possible. Marybeth Hicks offers an alternate view from her perspective as a mother of four along with a lot of research she has done into child-raising issues.

Her idea is that children should be GEEKs. Not the classical definition of geek, but acronymically as Genuine, Enthusiastic, Empowered Kids. Rather than following the popular crowd, which to a large extent is led around by media and celebrity culture, she advocates children figuring out what they like for themselves and pursuing those ends. To find what is fun and fulfilling, kids need to develop a love of learning which helps make good choices about what to try and what to pursue. Parents should support those interests and gently guide kids away from the harmful stuff. One key tactic is to have a family life centered on the family, i.e. hanging out at home and learning to love and support one another. With that foundation, kids have an easier time being themselves at school and other activities. It makes them better friends.

The book was written in 2008, so some of the cultural references have faded, like Bratz dolls or Myspace. The principles are easy to discern and apply to contemporary life and culture. She organizes her advice into ten rules, ranging from "Raise a Brainiac" to "Raise a Faithful Kid." The rules are applicable in any culture and are very valuable as our modern culture shifts in all sorts of directions, many of which a smart parent does not want their children to follow. 

The writing is homey and very straightforward. The book centers on examples and storytelling rather than charts and statistics (though she does support her ideas with research and references). A couple of times I felt like she was being too sarcastic or overemphasizing a point, but those were minimal. 

Recommended.