I honestly laughed through so much of this book and would 100% recommend it to any parent, but especially to a new mom who is freaking out about all things parenting. Melanie shares her own experiences and doesn’t shy away from the tougher topics. I found myself making mental notes about how to handle things like activities and birthday parties when my kids are older. I think I’ll be revisiting this one quite a bit!

Yes, Melanie Dale, I will Calm The H*ck Down now. About so many things. This book was just what I needed right now! Melanie has a way of taking parenting situations and giving them levity with her humor, personal stories, and book/music/movie references. She is able to use her words to draw us in and then lift us up as parents often feel the weight of every single decision rests on their shoulders. A great read for any stage of parenting!

"They have super-good leadership skills, aka they are belligerent a-holes."

I knew after reading that line that this was going to be my type of book. I've read a variety of parenting books over the last eight years and this has been my favorite so far. It's filled with real-life, sometimes messy stories. It's filled with practical and funny advice for all parents. Melanie has made it clear this is how she does parenting and you can take it or leave it. If if didn't apply it you then skip the advice. If you've master the specific problem or topic she is writing about then skip that. I found this to be very well written and witty. Her stories made me laugh out loud. I've never shared more book quotes with friends, but I could literally highlight most of the book to share with others.

"And here’s the kicker. I thought I’d enjoy parenting more. I don’t.Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids and really enjoy a tremendous amount of the parenting action I see. But there are some parts that just aren’t enjoyable. It’s not all fun and games."

I really feel like Melanie is my spirit parent animal. 😂 She totally gets me in a lot of areas. I really feel like her advice to lighten up is just what I needed to hear especially after the dumpster fire that 2020 has been so far. Do yourself a favor and if you feel stressed out/burnt out take some time to read this book.

"Even if we do our best and it all goes to heck, I want us to lighten up and remain mostly calm. Our identity is not wrapped up in however our kids turn out. We can work hard on this parenting gig, but at the end of the day, they’ll make their choices and have lives apart from ours."

"That’s how we keep going, how this too, whatever this is, shall pass. Through relationships. We pick each other up and encourage each other to keep going. We celebrate the wins and mourn the losses together."

This is laugh out loud funny (And I did several times). It’s light-hearted yet practical and makes you feel like you have a friend who has “been there done that” in every aspect of parenting. Many times I ended each chapter feeling very seen and freed up from various “mom guilts” in my life. I recommend this book for anyone who needs some stomach cramping laughter in their life while also wanting to stop taking parenting and life so seriously.

Melanie has done it again. She has written a book that will delight you (especially if you like sarcasm) AND give you something to think about. And the book possibly might encourage you to try new things to make your life calmer. (Topics include, behavior, expectations, work, marriage, and the future to name a few).

I enjoyed this book and I’m not even a parent. In full disclosure, I do like reading non-fiction books about other people’s experiences, including those that don’t look like mine. But even as a non-parent, I found there were many helpful and thoughtful things said in the book that can be applied to my life without kids. Lessons about not quitting and how to have a mindset to tough it out and get through, trying something new and giving yourself grace, and a few tips for preparing the people in our life for future events, both imminent and distant future. So, don’t let the topic of motherhood dissuade you from picking up this book.

I also found Melanie’s views on parenthood refreshing and her parenting stories laugh out loud funny.

CONS:
1. There are some swears in the book, so if that is something you can’t live with, don’t read the book.
2. If you are non-religious and are bothered by any mention of religion, this book may not be for you. Although Melanie talks about her beliefs in a very neutral way, not forcing her beliefs on anyone.

The verdict, for me… this book was well written, delightfully funny, and thought provoking.

I was part of the launch team for this book and I'm so glad! Melanie is like your neighbor who is just a season ahead, sharing her hard-earned wisdom with grace and humor. She addresses everything in parenting, from how to help your middle schooler develop a hygiene routine to how to pass on your beliefs about faith and whether you should talk during movies. I read so much out loud to my husband while he was trying to sleep.

This book came at the exact time I needed it the most! I haven’t laughed so hard and learned so much about parenting, from a practical source! Melanie lightens the load of parenting and helps readers to truly believe they are doing enough as they raise little humans. Her personal stories and tips she’s learned along they way will surly help me to calm the heck down about the little things, so that I can focus on the bigger things in life. Definitely gifting this to other mamas I know!

I had the honor of reading an advanced reader copy on /from NetGalley on the kindle app. It was a pleasurable read. Loved the questions to ask your children or yourself. Great writing style! I suggest!

I tried multiple times to read this book and I just couldn't complete it. Poorly written. Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC.

Calm the Heck Down
The book kept my interest all the way thru. There's a lot of info and suggestions; a delight to read and re-read.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an eARC of this book!
This book was laugh out loud funny. Melanie Dale is a mom of 3 (1 natural and 2 overseas adoptions) and this book is her thoughts and lessons learned about all different aspects of motherhood. While I didn’t learn a whole lot, I was thoroughly entertained. The author is much different than myself but it was still relatable and fun. I loved the christian elements of this book and her connection to faith.
Overall I really enjoyed this book!

Parenting books can be so preachy sometimes and Melanie Dale admits this in the first few pages of this book. She shares how she doesn't like parenting books and that THIS will not be that type of parenting book.

With a good dose of humor, Dale shares her experiences raising her 3 children, 1 who was conceived with fertility treatments and the other 2 were adopted. She boils down what she's gleaned from her experience and offers her advice, all of which is achievable. Dale fully admits that she is not a Pinterest mom and how she parents in a society where everything is celebrated (100th day of school! Gender reveal! etc. etc.) She talked about incidences where there were bathroom disasters, stinky kids (sometimes a result of said bathroom disasters), kids saying embarrassing stuff in public etc. We've all been there and it is refreshing to see someone offering parenting advice and fully admitting they've been in the lows of parenting. Parenting is tough. It is best to face it with humor and to choose your battles. Each chapter ends with a numbered list of things you can try as a parent...and these lists are doable.

This was such a forgettable read. I've picked this book up at least twice and each time I out it down for whatever reason and just completely forgot it existed. While there is some useful information in this book, there is nothing that makes it stand out from every other parenting book.

I wasn’t sure just how much help I’d get from this book dealing with my twelve-year-old daughter, but I ended up getting a lot of help for me. I didn’t realize just how much stress I was keeping myself under worrying about my daughter growing up. While reading, I took notes so that I can make little signs through the house as reminders for me. Also, while reading this book I realized that my daughter’s doing just fine, but I’ve now got techniques to deal with some of the things that might come up, i.e. dating, attitude, and schoolwork.
I thoroughly enjoyed the authors writing style, her ability to have humor throughout kept me coming back for more. This isn’t a quick read, and I wouldn’t suggest you try to skim either. It’s packed full of great ideas, tips, and techniques for dealing with your children from baby to college. I suggest this book for every parent, because each one of us needs help in some area or another. This book will help you while not talking down to you.

*I received an ARC of this story from NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

This is a fantastic must-read parenting! It is down-to-earth and witty and just what every parent needs to hear! She manages to remind the reader to keep a more long term perspective when the day to day seems overwhelming. Not reading with one of the kids one day or cake for breakfast every once in awhile may feel like a fail, but we are doing better than we know and we should try to remember it and savor the moments. With social media overload displaying picture perfect playrooms and ideal moments, we sometimes forget that other parents know what the hard moments are like and just how sweet the good ones are too. Dale reminds us. I especially loved how she touched on relationship with spouse. Bringing a new child to the world can change a lot of things and it is easy to center our lives around our children. She reminded me that I need to try to do better to make time for my husband and I am so excited to utilize what I have learned and also help my anxious type A personality calm the h*ck down!

I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. This is a fun read that also packs in parenting advice for all of us parents. You will even find yourself laughing out loud at certain parts of this book. This is one you will pull out again just for the advice and laughs.

This is another sarcastic parenting book by someone who I don’t know. I guess this genre is just getting boring to me. It’s not that this author isn’t funny and relatable. She is. But this book could have been a couple blog posts. I could not get through it.

This is a super easy and fun book to read THATS got lots of good parenting tidbits. As Melanie says, you take what you think can work for you and ignore the rest. My daughter is 7 and I wish I had read this when she was younger.

Melanie’s writing style is fun. I smiled, I nodded, I even laughed out loud here and there. I also copied about five quotes and put them aside to remind myself about how I want to lead my life as a father.

I’m going to buy this book as a gift for new parents.

#netgalley #calmtheh*ckdown

I would like to believe Melanie and I would be friends. I loved this book so much and will be using it as a roadmap as my two littles get older. I normally don't read parenting books because they can be a bit much. But this one was different than most and makes me realize that as long as my kids are breathing and fed, I am doing good as a parent.

This is another totally unneeded parenting book about how to "do less' written by a layperson. The author's personal anecdotes are entertaining but she doesn't provide anything concrete or valuable that can be applied to my own life. I might be perfect for other parents.

ARC via NetGalley but the opinions are solely my own.