Some of the ideas in Vicki Lansky’s Practical Parenting Tips (Book Peddlers, June) are just as relevant today as they were when the book was first published by Meadowbrook Press in 1980. For instance, when your child throws a tantrum, whisper in his or her ear: the screaming may stop or the child may giggle. If that doesn’t work, disappear into another room for a while. But other tips—like running the vacuum to make white noise so that a fussy baby will go to sleep—have fallen out of favor when there’s an app for that.
According to Lansky, Practical Parenting Tips, which has sold more than 700,000 copies to date, had been revised and updated four times since its initial publication until 2010, when Meadowbrook reverted the rights to her. As Lansky looked over the book before reissuing it under her Book Peddlers imprint, she realized the book was dated, especially when it came to using technology. After all, the last Meadowbrook edition was released in 2003, before social media and Skype became an integral part of the parenting landscape.
“We took out the stuff about VCRs and tape recorders,” she tells PW Show Daily. “Everyone uses MP3 players these days.”
“It’s a good book, made better,” Lansky insists, disclosing that a “fair amount” of the text was updated. A new cover was added to the new edition.
The greatest transformation as far as Lansky is concerned is that Practical Parenting Tips is now available in digital format.
Lansky signs finished copies of Practical Parenting Tips today in the autographing area at Table 1, 1:30–2 p.m.
