This article, which I wrote, was first published as Book Review: Crazy Things Parents Text by Stephen and Wayne Miltz on Blogcritics. But I liked the book so much, I contacted the author’s reps and we’re doing a giveaway on Daddy by Default. More about that at the end of the post.
Crazy Things Parents Text is a new book from Stephen and Wayne Miltz about the wonderful relationship between children, their parents, and technology. Wait, don’t stop reading yet, it’s not what you think. This book is actually funny. Very funny.
You won’t find any extreme graphics, pop-up dialogue boxes, high res pictures of cute babies, or disheveled parents trying to figure out a cell phone while changing diapers. What you will find are 352 pages filled with the craziest, most unbelievable text messages sent between kids and their parents, covering topics ranging from sports, school, the use of technology (or the parent’s lack thereof), and of course… sex!
The Gen-X generation will be the last whose parents don’t understand or use technology. Sure, some of our parents know their way around a computer, and all of them carry cell phones. But not many text on a regular basis, and even fewer understand the netiquette used on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. And that’s what makes Crazy Things Parents Text so funny.
The authors collected thousands of texts from parents, children, and online sources; culled through them for the most outrageous, and printed them for your viewing pleasure. Part of the book is dedicated to our clueless parents who try to keep up with the younger generation in regard to technology. They make an effort to interact in our lives, to understand our lingo, and in general — to be cool. Most times, they fail miserably and Crazy Things Parents Text captures those failures. Take this one, for example:
Mom: I saw your twat pic you posted, it was cute.
Daughter: What?
Mom: Isn’t that what you said pictures on Twitter were called?
Another part of the book is dedicated to those gems of wisdom our elders have been known to pass down through the generations. What was once rich oral tradition is now passed on through snippets of less than 140 characters, like this one:
From Mom:
Remember this very important thing, when you’re high, stop smoking. You won’t get any higher, you’ll just have less weed.
When I first picked up the book I thought it would take about 15 minutes to read and after that I’d never glance back at it again. I was so wrong.
Here’s what I experienced reading Crazy Things Parents Text (with annotations for our clueless parents):
The introduction had me LOL (laughing out loud). About 20 pages in I was BWL (bursting with laughter). A few more pages and I was FOMCL (falling off my chair laughing), and by the time I was done I had been ROTFLMAO (rolling on the floor laughing my ass off) for about 30 minutes.
Since reading it, I’ve quoted a few texts to family and friends, and now my wife has even picked up the book to read a few lines in her “spare” time (read as: on the toilet).
The book does include sensitive subject matter. It features stories about grandpas taking dumps, kids having sex, drugs, vaginas, penises (D=======8), and many curses. IMOHO (my own humble opinion), that just makes the book funnier, and more realistic.
If you want to experience some crazy dialogue between parents and their kids checkout the book, or head over to the authors’ website where you can submit your own crazy texts at www.crazythingsparentstext.com. You’ll find more texts like this:
Either way you go, Crazy Things Parents Text is sure to entertain, and fun for both the parents and the kids.
Now, for the really fun part. I’m giving away two copies of this book, one to each of two winners. The giveaway post with details will go live tomorrow, so make sure to check back. I’ll post a link here, and list it as a new blog post so you won’t miss it if you follow Daddy by Default on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS.
In the meantime, if you’d like to read a few more Reviews, visit the Product and Entertainment Review Page, and if you’ve experienced some pretty crazy texts from your parents (or kids) leave them in a comment below.
