I'm not a social media person and was not aware of Gwenna Laithlandprior to this, but I was intrigued by the description so gave the book a try. I am not a self-help or parenting book kind of mom - or person in general - so this was a bit of a stretch for me, still I was curious enough to give it a go.

For me, this is not a book to sit and read in a solid sitting so much as a piece to pick up and flip through every now and then. I really loved that she included a blurb of each chapter at the end, for those with short attention spans or who wanted to know what the high points were - and I did find myself reading those first then skimming some of the chapters that were less relevant to me personally. On the whole i enjoyed this one. Her sensible and often irreverent take on parenting meshed in many ways with my own, and where it didn't I found myself interested in learning about the divergences. This was an entertaining and interesting look at parenting, even for those of us who don't tend toward parenting books. It was nice to commiserate with someone who's been in the trenches!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book!

Full disclosure: I do not have children. I was interested in this book both as a teacher who has seen a big uptick in behavior problems post pandemic AND someone in their mid-thirties still on the fence about having children.

Teacher perspective: Gwenna says ‘you cannot responsive parent a child that is not your own’. While I completely agree, I also know that many of the skills she talks about including self-regulating as the adult, boundary setting, repetition and consequences are all things I am constantly adjusting in my classroom every year. I have thought a lot about my own responses to bad behavior AND how I can create boundaries and rituals in my classroom that help to show expectations.

As a thirty-something thinking about parenting: I actually found this book oddly comforting. I know… weird. I have been in therapy for a long time. A lot of responsive parenting is about reparenting yourself. The language in this book is similar (although not nearly as dry) as the work I do in therapy. I feel like I understood the basics of this book on an emotional level. However, I feel like it could be really mind-blowing for folks who are new to thinking about their own emotions. (In a good way)

Overall, this book is incredibly clever, easy to read and honest. It is everything you would expect from Gwenna. I gave it four stars because I found it be LONG winded. I think she could have trimmed at least 50 pages off this book and get the same point across.

I would highly recommend this book for parents who are looking to get the most out of parenting for THEMSELVES!

I LOVED this book. So much so that I started reading it out loud to my husband so that he'd be forced to listen to it. I love the concept of responsive parenting and how the author teaches the reader to be an intentional parent. I was able to connect with what she was saying super easily, and this book helped illuminate some of the reasons behind many of my not-so-great parenting moment.

As a mother of three, with two of my kiddos being toddlers, Momma Cusses was a breath of fresh air. This is one of the few parenting books I have ever joyfully read, and didn’t feel totally overwhelmed by.

Gwenna’s humor and writing style made me feel like she was personally hyping me up over FaceTime. I really appreciate her approach to topics that would normally bring about feelings of shame and guilt as a parent — this being said, the way she addresses Mom Guilt & Mom Shame is brilliant!

I loved the distinction made between gentle and responsive parenting. As a new mom four years ago, learning of “gentle parenting” changed everything for me. But I soon realized that a lot of what I thought gentle parenting was left me feeling awful about myself, especially when I lost my cool or found myself overstimulated. Momma Cusses does an excellent job of affirming your worth as a responsive parent, as you unlearn the ways you may have been parented.

This book deserves all of the praise! I’m grateful for the opportunity to have read an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers.

I really enjoyed this! The field guide entries were awesome and it was so smart to put in the TLDR’s at the end of each chapter. I loved the way the whole book was organized and really vibed with the writing style.

I am a big fan of Momma Cusses on TikTok and was thrilled when St. Martin's Publishing Group and NetGalley reached out to me with an e-ARC of her debut novel/field guide for “parenting that won’t make your kid need therapy”

I think Gwenna is a hilarious, kind and caring mother and gives wonderful and helpful tips to current and aspiring parents. If only my parents parented more like her! While she doesn’t claim to be an expert, I do think she has a lot of fabulous advice and that her book will help lots of parents raise a more emotionally intelligent generations.

Thanks for the e-ARC in an exchange for an honest review. I can guarantee I’ll use this in my own parenting journey!

Gwenna is fantastic on TikTok and has some amazing advice and observations. I found the same in this book. She seems like such a genuine, lovely person. This book is a great read for parents full stop. I wish I had had it when my kids were smaller, but they’re still small enough for this to be REALLY helpful.

Love, love, LOVED this!

Momma Cusses gave me all the feels! I had tears welling reading the sweet forward written by Gwenna’s daughter, toppled into bits of mom guilt/regrets, followed by hope and determination, and laughed out loud several times!

I have read, or tried to read, several parenting books and have such a hard time relating to and powering through most due dull writing and unrealistic suggestions. That was NOT the case at all with this book. I flew through it and enjoyed it so much along the way because it was so real and relatable. I found myself writing down a ton of notes and ideas to try with my own “chaos goblins.”

The only downfall is not being able to read this sooner in my parenting journey, but it’s never too late to learn better and do better!

I’m not typically a big fan of self help books but I love Gwenna’s content so I really wanted to read this. It was well written and I felt it stayed true to her typical disposition. It was easy to read and overall enjoyable. I do wish it had been a bit more visually interesting as that was the impression I got from her content and the cover but that’s really my own critique.

This was a very informative and surprisingly charming book that outlines responsive parenting. Told in a humorous yet relatable memoir type style, this book gives readers a look into how one momma raises her littles and the styles that work and didn’t quite work out for her. As a soon to be first time mom, I found seeing examples of parenting to be both informative and thought provoking and very helpful when I consider how I might want to approach things with my own little. Definitely worth the read and thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the free book.
I absolutely adore Laithland's page on Instagram, and I was so excited to get an early chance to read this book. As someone who strives to be a responsive parent, but wasn't parented this way, it can sometimes be hard to find a resource that is relatable. The standard 'scripts' can feel so awkward at times. When I found the page @mommacusses I was so excited. Here was someone trying their best to be a responsive parent and talked in a relatable way. Laithland's voice throughout this book was what I've come to know and love from her. There's sarcasm and humor. But there is also really great and easily digestible parenting advice here. Each chapter breaks down a different parenting topic or struggle and is talked through in simple terms. She also isn't afraid of sharing about her own shortcomings and what it looks like when you mess up, too. This is a book I will return to again and again, and I can't wait to get a physical copy to mark up while reading.

I do follow Gwenna on social media, I do find her tik toks/reels both funny, relatable, and sometimes educational. Having said that I come at this from the point of a casual fan, I can see that this book will lack appeal to people who do not already know who she is.

The book has a great message and lesson, but it felt dragged out to hit the required word count that resulted in it feeling too long despite being fewer than 250 pages.

If you like Momma Cusses on TikTok (Hi Gwenna!!!) but wanted more in depth discussions when she shares her gems and opinions- you’ll love this book.

If I could ONLY change one thing- it would be fun illustrations or charts? I think a bit of illustration would have drawn me in more-
With the cover, I had expected “more” whimsy on the inside if that makes sense.

Still, great starter and great book!!

Reading through the synopsis too quickly, I think I misread what this book was about, thinking it was more a memoir-ish/anecdotal type narrative about the humorous things we see as moms rather than a self-help type of book. But I found the voice to be really relatable, like you're talking to a friend. I find a lot of the books written by so-called experts to be a little too pretentious, so this was refreshing. Really easy to read and accessible.

I think this would be most useful to a new mom, as it's got a lot a good stuff on that mom guilt that you're never quite prepared for, and some actionable ways to go about being a responsive parent.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for making this book available to read in exchange for a review through NetGalley.

Thank you Netgalley for the Arc!

This is the parenting advice book you didn’t know you needed. If you’ve ever watched mommacusses on social media you know she’s hilarious and her relationship with her children is to be envious of. In this book she walks you through the “you can too” and the “you’ve got this” and the “every kid is different every parent is different” of parenting. This book is uplifting, inspiring and funny. The one thing I truly love about it is that it in no way ever makes you feel inadequate instead reminding you that you are human. A definite must read for anyone with or considering having “crotch-goblins”

Since finding Gwenna on social media, I have found comfort in my own parenting abilities as well as gained valuable insight into the approach she uses with her own “beta-version humans”!
This book encapsulates all of the same lessons and takeaways. The way that she uses the term responsive instead of the commonly used and confused “gentle” has been eye opening to the approach. To think of responsive parenting as the opposite of reactive just makes so much sense!
Throughout the book, I can imagine her speaking - with her tones and humor. Some of the humor and nuances are lost in digital text, so I do feel that the book will be taken to the next level if she does a narration.
A great read for millennial parents of various stages of their journeys!! Highly recommend the book, as well as her socials !!

Thank you to Gwenna Laithland, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am not a parent, but as someone who would like to do well for their future offspring, I feel as though this book is a great starting point for learning what to do (and what NOT to do) to help your kiddos feel safe, secure, and appreciated. Laithland’s humor and easy-to-digest explanations help drive home the points she makes. I appreciate the fact that she writes as though the reader is a friend, as it made the book feel more personal. Overall, this guide has a great message, and I could see it being a valuable research for both new and experienced parents.

I loved this book, but I think I would have loved it more as an audio book. I know the author from her social media presence and tried to read it in her voice, but nothing is as good as the real deal. I'm glad that she put in that she wasn't a professional and had no education to back up her ideas, but it sounds like imposter syndrome. She has a ton of great ideas.

I got to read this book before it’s official release through Net Galley and I’m so happy I did! There’s several things I really loved about this book starting with the Foreword written by Gwenna’s daughter. I enjoyed reading her thoughts on this book and her perspective being included adds credibility. I also like that throughout the book Gwenna not only admits to her parenting faults but she walks through what happened and how it affected her children. This book is written in a way that makes me feel like I’m talking to a friend who just gets it. This may not be a how- to guide but it is a great read.

This book was entertaining and felt like you were getting g the information from a friend. Nice y to I feel validated and get some laughs and tips too. I didn’t agree with all of it but enjoyed it.