This book was a life-changing, reassuring, anxiety helping little gem. As a first time Mom, I had so many questions about how plugged in we are as a society and how to help my 5th month old navigate life when sometimes a screen is required to get everything done in a single parent household. Everything was approachable, relatable, and guided back by the author's interviews. Although, sometimes I felt it was a little data heavy, this book made me feel so much better about my parenting overall and gave me a great path going forward as my little one gets older.

This book was a fun and interesting read! Sophie is a relatable author as she constantly relates everything she learns back to her family's life and her two little girls. The book has a very journalistic feel as she interviews many individuals who are involved in the baby tech world. She does have a tendency to ramble and some sections aren't very cohesive. Even after reading the book, it feels like what she has learned from her journey and the point of the book are points that are really quite obvious, so it took her quite a long time to get to a few select points that many may consider common sense. I found that some of her assertions I don't necessarily agree with. For instance, she exerts that it should be the government's job to teach and socialize children while parents should get to do the fun things with them after work, or something to that effect. So she basically idolizes Europe's childcare system. However, many parents don't want to hand that duty off to government or strangers and would prefer to be more involved in their children's lives and teach them during these formative years, even when it is tiring. Yet, the comments she made in relation to that really don't seem to be in line with most points that were made throughout the book, so some parts, such as that, really felt quite odd and out of place. I found myself divided because I thought the book was enjoyable and relatable but it could have used some editing and greater cohesion. Overall, I think many parents would enjoy it though. 3.5/5 stars.

As a new mom just coming out of the newborn stage, I found this book extremely relatable. I tore through it, nodding frequently and stifling laughter so as not to startle my nursing baby.

I've been grappling with the same questions about tracking, shopping, TV, and (yes) books, and I was eager to see where the author landed. I went into this book expecting something like Bringing Up Bebe or Cribsheet, my two go-to recommendations for other new parents who are overwhelmed at the prospect of modern American child-rearing. In many ways, it holds up: I loved the conversations with researchers peppered throughout, and the anecdotes were delightful. The author did a careful job of acknowledging that many of the choices she faced came from a place of privilege. But dang it, I wanted answers! I think this book would have benefited from a summary at the end of each chapter, but I will say that the conclusion brought the book together in a really helpful (and very dear) way. I may not recommend this as often as the others, but it's definitely going on the list.

As a reader who is 6 months pregnant with my first child, it would be an understatement to say that I feel unprepared to navigate the tension between technology and parenting. While I’ve been fretting over how much tech-based baby devices to put on my baby registry or wondering about future screen time rules, having Sophie Brickman’s new book Baby, Unplugged as a companion has been helpful in soothing my anxieties. Brickman has carefully researched a variety of topics that plague modern parents: collecting baby data, online parenting groups, constant photo/video documenting, tech toys, screens, and apps. She doesn’t necessarily give prescriptive advice, but by pulling together experts to weigh in on the topics, it’s clear that each parent can weigh their own values and choices in an ever changing environment. There really are no right answers at this point, but wasting time fretting is taking away from the quality time you could be sharing with your kids.

Many thanks to HarperOne and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this digital ARC.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley.

Unfortunately, I decided to DNF this book just after 20%. I wasn’t finding the information very useful. It seems to me that the author went into her research about baby data with a bias against it. She interviews really interesting people, but doesn’t let their work speak for itself, and often disregards what they say in favor of her own opinion. For her parenting, that’s absolutely fine and probably the best case. But for a book, it just didn’t work for me. This might be a reassuring read for someone who doesn’t want to use a lot of baby gadgets, but if you’re looking for unbiased data to make decisions, I didn’t find it in the first part of the book at least.

Technology and screen time are two of the most polarizing topics for parents these days. If I am being honest, thinking about them can also be incredibly anxiety/guilt-inducing. Do you *need* the latest video monitoring in the nursery, complete with app and emergency calling? Are you on your phone too much in front of your child? You let them watch TV before two--are you stunting their social skills, attention span, and your potential life-long bond?

Brickman shares candidly from the perspective of someone who doesn’t love technology but is married to a partner who is obsessed with the latest tech hacks, even when it comes to baby tech. In Baby, Unplugged, she seeks to find the data surrounding what is actually useful, what is actually educational, what even *is* moderation, and what is truly detrimental when it comes to screens, tech, apps, video games, etc.

I found a lot of value and helpful information in this book, and I do recommend it--with the disclaimer that it is a bit overwhelming at times. My one criticism is that it would have been helpful to have bulleted takeaways at the end of each chapter along with practical actions a la Cribsheet. That being said, I came away better informed, and appreciated all of the perspectives that Brickman included from experts across the field *and* the table. I feel better equipped to recognize marketing geared towards American overachieving parents (looking at you, boutique Montessori subscription service I have been shelling out for) as well as when to let myself off the hook for letting the TV nanny Ted for a couple of minutes while I get ready for work, or when I should push through difficult moments for both of our benefits. One of my biggest takeaways is closely monitoring the tech that we do allow/introduce--for example looking for TV shows that encourage longer attention span and that speak in normal paced dialogue, rather than high-energy technicolor, or as he gets older making sure we are engaged in it together, rather than replacing our interactions with a screen.

One thing to note and love: Brickman acknowledges that she started this book before a pandemic that has asked parents to go absolutely above and beyond, and often be forced into situations where they have no better option than to use tech as support. No shame. No guilt. I was grateful for that on my own behalf, as well as on the behalf of people with older kids. All in all, a great book to add to your parenting arsenal!

Thank you to Net Galley and HarperOne for giving me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was gripping. I was sucked in and could not put it down! The concept was so unique, I loved this book.

This book is both informative and entertaining. I think we are all searching for balance in this fast paced era of technology, internet, and social media. Most importantly when it comes to children this has never been more important. I am someone who often looks to science and research and this book is a wealth of that. This book would make a fantastic gift for any new or expecting parent. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy.

I'm not a parent (yet!) but I've been trying to learn as much as I can before taking the plunge and Sophie Brickman tackles the topic of parent and baby tech very nicely here. It's a thoroughly researched book and I appreciated the ways in which she illustrated her own concerns and how she was handling them with her daughters. Sometimes it almost felt like too much information (ironic, considering the tech overwhelm she wanted to combat) but overall I thought it was interesting and informative.

This is a great book for new parents or soon to be parents, wondering about technology with their kids. I’m not a big fan of it, so it kind of validated what I was saying all along but it did look at it in detail, with lots of research, which I appreciated. I also appreciated that she explained what she used with her own children and why, it made it more relatable.

I started reading Brickman's book on my iPhone while the Hatch machine was chiming away trying to get my infant son to fall asleep on my chest.

This is such a great book to discuss the complexities of technology and data tracking with children at the center of its study.

A lot of information in one book. It might be a bit overwhelming for new or expecting parents. However I love the author’s willingness to try and test different products and give honest feedback. I also loved the personal stories.

This is an interesting viewpoint on the pervasiveness of technology, as I had never investigated it from the viewpoint of raising kids. There was a ton of fascinating research in this book, and I appreciated that the author used that research to illustrate her points without overloading the reader with too much detached-from-the-real-world theory.