IDOLISING CHILDREN (2007)
“a book so controversial it should blast the others off the shelves”
Wendy Tuohy, Herald Sun.
Obsessed with our own youth and wanting perfect, genius children who live in a world of designer clothes and toys, Idolising Children says it’s time for us to find new ways of parenting and a new kind of childhood. We need to remove the guilt that comes with trying to be perfect parents. In his eye-opening book Daniel Donahoo asks us to respect children and allow them to experience childhood with all its ups and downs.
Idolising Children is an “anti”-parenting manual. rather than contributing to the avalanche of advice it simply says to parents “trust yourselves” and then moves on to explore how our obsession with childhood and youth impacts on all our lives.
The book explores how childcare, education, the media and our fertility decision-making could be different if we respected, rather than revered childhood.
Available online for purchase.
ADPROOFING YOUR KIDS (with Tania Andrusiak) (2009)
A sanity-saving book to help parents banish ‘pester power’ from their homes!
Adproofing Your Kids is a hands-on, practical book that offers parents the tools to alleviate the ‘pestering’ behaviour encouraged by marketers and advertisers. It also guides parents in helping their children think critically about the media messages that surround them on a daily basis.
Parents themselves, Daniel Donahoo and Tania Andrusiak began researching this book with their own concerns about the effects of media and marketing on young children today – and soon found that these were shared by families all over. The problems seem to arise from two clear facts: young children today spend more time immersed in electronic media and are subjected to more targeted marketing than any generation before them.
‘… It is only through books like this one … are we going to be able to … support our children to be critical consumers and active resistors of the massive diet of consumerism served up to them everyday. The sooner this book is available to parents the better. But beware, don’t let the advertisers buy it!’
Professor Karen Malone, Regional Director UNESCO Growing Up Cities Asia-Pacific; Chair, Asia-Pacific Child Friendly Cities Regional Network
‘At last, a readable book to support parents in the most difficult job in the world: parenting the media.’
Elizabeth Handsley, Professor of Law; Vice-President, Australian Council on Children and the Media