New York Times Books of the Times reviewer Dwight Garner lauds The Big Disconnect as an essential cheat sheet for parents. “I will never forget the experience of reading Ms. Steiner-Adair’s book…Her summary of what to say to your kids … is so good, so State of the Union-like, that I took a photo of it with my iPhone.”
Excerpt:
Her summary of what to say to your kids … is so good, so State of the Union-like, that I took a photo of it with my iPhone. It’s the most succinct thing in any of these books, so I am going to quote it at length. Harriet and Penn, imagine this is your father speaking: “This is not your computer — I know it has your name on it, but this is my computer (or your school’s computer). I’m your parent, and I reserve the right to see everything that’s going on there. You need to be on the computer in an open place. I have the right to know what your homework assignment is. You can’t be in your room with the door closed. You can’t take it to bed with you. You can’t collapse a screen when I walk by. We have a code of conduct and we expect you to stick with it: Don’t be mean, don’t lie, don’t embarrass other people, don’t pretend to be someone you’re not, don’t go places you’re not allowed to go. Don’t post pictures that Grandma wouldn’t love. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t approve of.”
3 Books Offer Ways to Cut the Cord, If Only Briefly