Customer Reviews

Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family, A

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have 12 children myself, and in a nutshell, I loved the book, just like I knew I would. For one thing, the cover is awfully cute. Which has nothing to do with anything, but I thought I'd mention it.



More importantly, the book is solid. Solid advice. Solid balance. Solid practicality. Solid reassurance.



Mary totally made me believe I could truly raise a large family!!


Which is a relief, when you get right down to it.



Although I'm not 100% sure about the "sane" part. I think you (and I mean this in the most complimentary way possible) truly have to have a little bit of the insane in you to consider raising a family larger than the norm these days. That is, if "insane" can be defined as the audacity to go against the flow, live contrary to popular culture, challenge suppositions, and embrace your inner rebel.



But you know, it's all semantics in the end.



Mary's book addresses the very real issues of space and money and time in the context of hoards of children, but also delves into deeper issues of being emotionally available for both children and spouse, as well as the Myth of the Supermom (oh how I hate that one) and how to encourage sibling friendships.



I found so much sensible and soothing about this book; it was like settling down with a cup of tea and some really good chocolate (referenced multiple times as one of Mary's secret weapons for coping, by the way) and having a lengthy chat with a close, level-headed friend after a particularly tiring day. It refreshed my spirit and strengthed my resolve to do the very best job humanly possible with this parenting gig.



Which subsequently made me wish quite longingly that I lived next door to Mary, not surprisingly.



Even if you are done growing your family and it isn't considered large by the world's definition, this book has so many practical hints on how to save money, make time for your children, foster family fun, and remember that guy you said your vows to, that I would bet just about any woman with any number of children would glean something worthwhile from the reading

I read this book cover to cover as soon as I got it - standing up while making dinner, in between folding loads of laundry, and finally - finally! - after my kids all went to bed at night. I greatly enjoyed Ostyn's funny, poignant, inspirational and incredibly useful musings on raising a large family. I didn't expect I would get any new parenting ideas, but I went away with quite a number of them. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the parenting superhero "Owlhaven" is a real person - she has just figured out what is essential when it comes to parenting her large brood, and what she can be a bit more relaxed about (children's rooms, laundry, for instance). This is a useful book for any mom looking for a bit more sanity in her busy world - no matter how many children she has.

This is the most practical parenting book I've read. Even though we only have 3 kids, I could have been using this commonsense advice since our first child.

You won't find a lot of fluff here, but you will walk away encouraged and armed with new strategies for dealing with real family life. Honest, sound information about what it costs to have a large family, balanced with ideas for stretching the average budget.

I learned that my kids need to work harder around the house, and I should focus on teaching my kids those skills instead of cleaning up their messes. I feel like we can move ahead as a team after reading this book!

Just finished this book, by one of my favorite bloggers, Mary Ostyn, aka "Owlhaven." This book, "A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family" is like a cross between a long conversation with her and an in depth extension of her blog.

Mary has long been one of the women/blogs I check in with, daily, if possible. Her family is a great example of a successful large household. Even better, they are a family built by birth as well as adoption and she too has a love for Ethiopia. So, no surprise, great connections for me there. But the bigger picture is that Mary is a real mom. One who has the normal ups and downs and successes and failings, one who I can relate to. She says she's not a "supermom" in the usual tabloid sense of the term. And maybe she's not. She's better. She's a real mom, who is in the trenches, trying her best and has been for a good while....and therein lies the charm.

This book is an easy breezy read. It is not fluff though, it is full of good ideas, many I hadn't thought of before. Yes, she is extra good at putting in a huge garden (Which both inspires me to find my spade and also to a bit of jealousy) and then canning it all up. So, maybe a bit of that is just not gonna happen here in my house.... However, the low key practical, thoughtful ways of running her home and caring for, loving and living with her big family is very much an inspiration for me. I am thinking about good new solutions around here in our busy house as well.

The book is organized into easy to find chapters, you could skip around if you prefer that mode. But I read the book straight through in a day (ok, I'm a pretty darn fast reader). It is not only tips and tricks, it is also thoughtful reasoning behind her stances on issues and ways of doing things. Helpfully, she admits that she is not an uber organized gal by nature, which makes me like her all the more. I tend to drop books by uber organized gals by nature, since I am alien to them and will never be that. But she has found a middle ground and that is where the treasure lies in this book. It's for real moms. And not only real moms of very large families (And I admit, I am sliding into that category, but still, I remember the smaller days), any size family can find some connection moments in this book.

It's an easy happy read for the start of spring. Pick it up, be inspired, get a deeper glimpse into a popular blog mom's real life: the how's and why's, the what worked, what didn'ts. It might inspire you to try something new....for me, I think I might need to learn a few new card games. And this might just be the year to really put in a garden, I've been dreaming about one....
She says she is no "Supermom"...but I suspect she's got at least a cape in her closet somewhere!
(crossposted on my blog too: "another espresso please")

This is such a practical book--it's completely full of hands-on, real-life tips to help parents (of ANY size family) manage with grace and humor. Mary Ostyn is humble and honest in explaining the challenges and joys of living in a larger-than-average family. I've underlined something on nearly every page!

This book gives a fly-on-the-wall perspective of how a large family runs--and boy does it run well! Coupled with Mary's offering of wisdom with such gentle grace and good humor, it is a surprisingly perfect blend between the practical "how-to" guide and the emotional support a best friend might offer.

This is now my go-to book after spending the past couple years sifting through dozens of parenting books. It stays on my night stand with a highlighter and notepad/pen. We currently have four children, ages 6 yrs down to 6 months old. We hope to be able to have one or two more.

I found myself nodding in agreement with nearly every page. Mary offers practical advice, as well as clear insights into the emotional life and social dynamic between children and also between parents and children. I now have techniques to try during a sibling squabble (have the offender apologize and do a chore/act of service for the sibling); how to handle a parent/child conflict of opinions respectfully (after child gives an initial civil response, he/she can state her opposing case once, after which the parent can decide whether or not to change their mind, then the child must accept the final decision); as well as insights into how to manage chores among children, track their progress, and how to navigate helping multiple children with homework assignments at once. There's much more, but these are the ones that immediately come to mind.

Another review criticized the fact that there weren't many cooking/shopping tips in this book. Mary's book "Feed Your Family on $75 per Week: and eat well!" addresses those issues. (It's another book I highly recommend; my grocery store price book has been so helpful.)

I'm buying copies of this book for my two sisters-in-law and will recommend it to my girlhood friends, as well!

This book is filled with practical, tested parenting advice. I am tired of reading the theories of child psychologists. I often times wonder if they believe their own drivel. Mary is a stay-at-home mom of ten and she has used the old-fashioned, trial-and-error method of parenting. I say bravo. She is much more believable than those who have spent years earning a degree in how children think and develop. She relies on common sense and the truths of biblical teaching.

My beef with the book is purely technical. I was getting distracted by the phrase, "At the writing of this chapter." It slowed down the flow. Also, she referred to her children at various ages. I think she should have just stuck with the ages at the time she started writing the book. I found my self trying to do the math. Quite distracting.

Overall, the book was a simple, quick read. It was filled with great tips. Real and useable tips. I highly recommend this book to any parent. You don't need to have ten children.

As a mother of four, I poured over this book for advice and ideas. I was specifically looking for creative ways to run our household: organizing, laundry, chores, cooking, etc.

I got all of that and so much more. This book truely inspired me to be open to growth in my own already-large family. I found myself reading these words of wisdom out loud to my husband. We stopped many times to discuss how to best implement many of the author's ideas into our own home. We have spent hours of quality time with this guide.

Best of all, Mrs Ostyn has opened my eyes to the real reason I had all of these children: to love them, not just to get through the day. She is a role model of a mother and was kind enough to put it all in print for the rest of us to follow.

The title of this book cracked me up, because as a mother of "only 2" children, sometimes I do wonder how in the world someone stays sane with a bunch of kids underfoot. Okay, now that I've perhaps alienated all of you with a large family, and maybe piqued the interest of those of you who do not have or want a large family, can I move on to the official review?

I found this book completely delightful. Mary's sense of humor and love for children came through loud and clear. If you are familiar with her blog [...], you probably would have expected this.

For those of you who don't "know" Mary, or who don't think that a book about raising a large family would have anything to offer you, let me give just list a few of the bits of information that were helpful or encouraging to me:

* What do you do if you and your spouse don't agree on family size?
* "Frugality is not deprivation. Frugality is freedom. Frugality gives options" (page 23)
* How to handle children's activities
* Children's Chores
* Encouraging Sibling Friendships

The reason that this book is so readable and so helpful is that Mary manages to write about the way she does things -- what works for her -- without alienating those of us who make other choices. She's a co-sleeping, homeschooling mom of many. I'm a "babies-in-their-cribs," public-schooling, happy mother of two. We disagree on many parenting philosophies, but I know that her choices are right for her, and she doesn't presume that her choices are right for everyone.

So, I don't ever leave reviews. But for this book, I couldn't resist.
For me, this is one of those books that you wonder if the author has been following you around spying on your life, and then decided to write about it. Totally hits home for me in so many areas, though I'm a mom of 4, not 10. Example: One of the first chapters talks about people thinking you're crazy to want another baby. I have encountered that SO many times already, it's just ridiculous. It was just refreshing to hear other Moms talk about their experiences with that, too.
I love her tone--she's not some kind of old-fashioned fundamentalist-idealist (I sometimes expect that to come from certain Christian books about parenting lots of kids? Especially the home schoolers.) but someone who is realistic, practical, funny, candid-- and I really appreciate her perspective. (I would add as a side note...I do hold a differing opinion when it comes to the matter of child discipline, she uses more of a behavior oriented chart-system approach, while I appreciate more of a gospel-heart approach....but this isn't really a book on discipline, so not a big deal for me there.)
Anyway, this has been such an encouraging read for me thus far, thanks Mary Ostyn for writing this book--it came just when I really needed it. :)