The Little Things product reviews

It is often said that parents to not have an instruction manual for children, and there are many times we wish we did have some instructions to fall back on when raising a child. As the proud (solo) father of an almost eight year old daughter, I am doing the best I can; and ever keen to learn more on how to be a better parent. One can safely ask other parents for advice and be assured they are not going to bellow "RTFM" at you, because there is no "F****** manual"

Enter "The Little Things" - presented by the wonderful Antonia Kidman - to try to give all parents some form of instruction manual for childraising. This is not a "do this my way" type presentation, rather a set of guidelines that work, can be adapted and added to, and the parent given plenty of room to manoeuvre.

All eight episodes give simple bite-sized chunks of information delivered in a relaxed and informative manner rather than being pontificated to by some stern nanny or matronly type. It brings in ideas from other contributors to each episode. Each episode can be watched time and time again (and is recommended by me to do so, and see each episode at least four times!) and one will never get bored by it, because one will get more from it each time you watch it.

"The Little Things" has much to recommend it, and at the price, there is no reason why every parent should not have a copy. $20 is very little to pay when compared with the benefits of having raised your own wonderful children, and producing well-rounded citizens in a happy, secure and educational environment. "The Little Things" gets a big thumbs-up from me.

As the father of a precocious 5 and half year old boy, I was a little worried this was going to be a bit of a wet-noodle, but it was quite the opposite. Hosted and guided by the delightful Antonia Kidman, the 8 episodes are focussed but fluid, leaving room for you to make your own decisions, clearly not even trying to be a total rulebook, but more an informative and impartial set of guidelines and suggestions, with some clear warnings of what to watch out for as early signs the kids are going off the tracks.

Though each episode is targetting specific areas of parenting, they realise and allow that real life isn't going to run to one thing at a time, especially when it comes to kids. There is enough overlap to give illustrations of how each aspect is going to interact with the others, the whole set giving a clear overall impression of how to give your child(ren) the very best chance at a great life.

I'm not going to go into specifics, that's what the DVD is for... what I am going to say is that this is the third in the series, with the first 2 covering pregnancy to 6 years old... so keep your eyes out for them at your local DVD retailer.

overall, this can not be rated too highly, it's brilliant. The sound can get a little 'fuzzy' at times, with a background -buzz- creeping into the voice-overs, but hardly ever at critical moments, and even then, only for a few seconds. This is a must-have for any parent who ESTLY gives a rat's about their kids. They are the future of our society, so get off your butt and get this now... you need it, no matter how good you think you are... it has something in it you just didn't even consider.