This one took a bit to get into . I was not a fan of some of the advice given. It really didn’t keep my interest at all.

I loved Expecting Better, but was underwhelmed by Cribsheet and this suffered from the same parcity of data. It's not the authors fault (it's much easier to measure outcomes in pregnancy) but it means the book doesn't live up to its predecessor and becomes more about the author's decisions than the data. Still I like her writing style.

Emily Oster used to be one of my favorite authors -- I read Expecting Better almost every week of my pregnancy! However, I think she has made a few choices about her reporting that has not settled well with me, specifically on ranking which vaccine one should take. At this point in a pandemic, the vaccine you should get is the one that is offered to you as quick as possible.

With this thought, I have to really reconsider the arguments she makes, and that makes me distrust her advice and her slant as she presents points of data. Yes, she's an economist first, but I wish there would've been a better slant with medical information that some take as complete fact, not just an interpretation of data.

Emily Oster should be read by everyone - not just young parents. Her wisdom and education shines through. I love her newsletter too.

I really respect and enjoy Emily Oster's point of view. I like the data driven approach that allows for parents to examine key decisions for raising children.

I enjoyed the different questions that she raises in the Family Firm. I think I would have liked to see more of that same format like in her previous two books. While I think the framework is important, and yes, everyone should consider everything in their own lives and variables when they make decisions I felt that the framework aspect got a little too preachy. I would've liked more just sticking to the analysis and different options for the different topics.

Will always recommend Emily Oster and her books to parents, and will reference them for years to come.

Emily Oster does it again with a very different but still life changingly useful parenting book that helps parents make their own choices with their own values in a more deliberate and informed way.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a little Type A even for my personality, but as we enter into the school-aged season I really appreciated all of the data around the BIG parenting decisions this age comes with- extracurriculars, school/life balance, screentime. For some who is not particularly analytical, I felt that all of the fact-sharing was very digestible.

Classic Oster, I always appreciate the straightforward discussion of exactly how data is being interpreted and why. My wife, who is an MBA, loved all the emphasis on spreadsheets for family organization. Now I have to get a google sheets, whatever that is...

THE FAMILY FIRM

Data-driven parenting is apparently a thing, and for those so inclined the economist Emily Oster has emerged as the expert of choice.

Not that she’s an expert per se; rather, it so happens that she’s looked at the data in the way that economists are wont to do in oder to have a better grasp of the issues that new parents often confront and the corresponding decisions that they’ll have to make. Breastfeeding? Vaccination? The ideal sleeping position? Oster has compiled enough empirical evidence on these and similar questions to allay the concerns of anxious parents and parents-to-be.

Oster already has written at least two books to share this information with the public. Her latest book, The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years, continues this trend albeit focused on parenting a much older cohort of children, for whom data on typical parenting issues are much more varied.

Thus, The Family Firm is less about principles of parenting and more about a thought process to use when all that is available is incomplete and inconclusive information. Much like a company executive, who has to make good decisions under conditions of uncertainty, parents have to learn how to make good decisions for their children with the best information available to them.

The family-as-firm metaphor is objectively a little clunky, more so given that it’s mentioned in the introductory sections of the book and arguably sparingly thereafter. Yet Oster is right that it’s a useful metaphor, especially for parents of a corporate persuasion who, because they compartmentalize their professional and personal lives, may not see how the decision-making discipline they exert at work should also apply to their families. In that regard, the simplified framework Oster introduces in The Family Firm—frame the question, fact-find, final decision, and follow-up—is certainly practical.

Likewise, the specific issues introduced in the book that parents will inevitably confront are surely an education. Should your child begin formal schooling at the “prescribed” age or are they better off waiting a year or so when they’re objectively a little more mature? Does your child need extracurricular enrichment activities, and if so which ones? At what age should a child be allowed to have a mobile phone? From the outside looking in such queries sound mundane, but they are what many parents struggle with precisely because, well, “it depends.” The data isn’t really conclusive one way or another; yet Oster provides a methodical way of working through the issues with what limited information is available.

Parenting books aren’t for everyone. The Family Firm is arguably no different, but it will go a long way to engendering an appreciation for how data-driven decision-making can make a difference even (and especially!) in this dimension of human life.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I really enjoyed this book, probably because I’m currently existing in the space that this book tries to prepare you for. It calmed my nerves about things (screen time, extracurriculars, kindergarten start times, oh my!) and it gave me real data to mull over, not just one mom’s opinion. Hallelujah!

I really liked the idea of setting a family mission statement, and as someone who literally helps businesses develop this kind of thing for a living, it’s something I’ve considered but haven’t gotten around to yet. I appreciated the provided framework and how to use it once you’ve created it. It may just have been the kick in the pants I need to develop one with my own family.

All in all, I consider myself fairly organized and Type A to a point, but I am definitely not as much so as this author, and would prefer not to consider my family as a business, and to leave room for a bit more flexibility and fewer google docs. If you are a reader who is craving more structure and less stress, you may find this to be the answer for you, though!

I’ll keep reading Emily Oster’s books, and I hope they’ll keep lining up at the right time in my parenting life!

I really enjoyed Expecting Better and Cribsheet so I was excited when I saw that Oster had a new book coming out covering the Elementary School years I was very excited. This book is different than the previous ones, but that is because the data because more complicated as kids get older and what works for one family is completely different than others.

I really liked how she laid this book out however; with broad ideas and then more specific examples such as when your kids start school (should you hold them back a year if they are born later in the year), or how many after school activities should they be in, and when they should get their own phone. This book covers a lot of important topics and like always is written in a way that is very easy to read and enjoy.

I read and enjoyed Oster's previous books and this one is quite different because of the subject matter - she can't actually tell you enough to help you make your decisions because the kind of decisions that you make for school age children are just fundamentally different from the ones you make for babies. Instead, this book attempts to provide a framework for running your family like a business (not in the obnoxious way!), giving templates for how to set your family goals, reassess regularly, and make decisions that align with your goals and principles as a family. I found it very worthwhile reading and intend to try to use it in my own family.

I was really excited for this book because I am familiar with the author and I love both research and parenting, especially researching anything parenting related.. Since I feel compelled to read any and every new book that focuses on both, this book was naturally on my radar.

Overall, it was an enjoyable book. I didn't love it as much as I expected though. For being data driven, I felt there were many parts that were heavily dependent on her opinion and unconscious bias. Statistics can always be spun to what you want them to say, so I found that some of her conclusions were based on specific studies that she had decided to use and not indicative of what is valid for another. I get it, parenting style is highly subjective and what works for one does not always work for another. She has a lot of side commentary throughout and sometimes I found it entertaining and other times I found it kind of grating or overdone. Also, I'm very much a Type A, plan everything to the minute, type of person, but some the interactions she relays in the story just make her family seem so stiff and unrelatable. Perhaps she was really trying to play up how she runs her home like a firm, but it just came off cold to me.

Perhaps the most disappointing thing was that I learned nothing new in this book. Most conclusions pointed to the obvious while a few were just based on her personal conclusions via her research. The book was fine, but I don't feel like it is worth the hype.

For the good, a number of the things she discusses are interesting, but just pretty obvious. So this book may appeal more to those who are novices in the parenting book arena. The writing itself was good and read well. I would lean more toward 3- 3 1/2 stars, but maybe a 4 star for the mentioned demographic, so rounding up to 4.

Emily Oster’s books have all had a profound impact on my parenting. My kids are younger than the subject matter here but I found myself taking notes and discussing a great deal with my husband. Readers will enjoy this one a great deal.

I love Emily's books and this one is no exception. It really opened my eyes to a new way to run a family, and considering I am new at the game, I really appreciate a different viewpoint.

“Child, you cannot age one more year until Emily Oster writes another book?” said mother’s everywhere, waiting patiently for this author’s third parenting book for ages 5-12 years. You possibly became a fan of Ms. Oster’s when you first became pregnant, grabbing Expecting Better and then Cribsheet, postpartum, to help with all of the overwhelming information out there on how to keep a baby alive. Well, stand in line for this one to help you with the next big decisions coming up in parentland for school, sports, busy activities, and keeping your family sane.

Who is Emily Oster? If you are not familiar, she is a professor of economics at Brown University, busy mom of two and known for her books on data driven parenting- giving you the evidence-based research on how to raise a human.

In this book, The Family Firm A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years, Oster offers a "classic business school framework for parents to think more deliberately about key issues of the elementary years." I liked this concept, that instead of making impulsive decisions based on emotions or what other families are doing around you, the book leads you into really thinking about your family’s overall values, and making decisions based on those. Example, your kiddo really wants to play soccer but games and practices go late in the evening. Do we really want to be at the soccer field every night when our family goal is to have dinner together? Do we want to make sure we have a quiet evening, less chaotic, and focus on sleep? What is the best decision for my family?
Oster tackles the big questions that come along at this time, and has dived deep into the data so you don’t have to, letting you know what the literature is saying.

When to start kindergarten? Is good to start early or wait a year and have your child be a bit older?

Private, Public, Charter? And what even makes a good school? Extracurricular activities? Does tutoring make a difference in long term advantages? What about teaching your kids to read at an early age? How beneficial is sports vs being involved in music? Is summer melt real? (the belief that kids loose learning in the summer).

What makes a child happy and confident? How do we raise kids to be nice and effectively interact with others?

Electronics. Learning Based Apps. When to give the phone? How much screen time?

She even shares how all of this had to be adapted during COVID- which I really appreciated.

Good stuff, right? If you tend to struggle with decision making and want more data to help you do that- this is the book. One of the things I enjoyed the most was her tips and tricks to making these decisions in an organized way, and how to engage your partner in the decision-making process, so you (typically the mother) do not have to hold all the emotional load of remembering things, activities, grocery lists, etc. and for that, this was gold for me. If you are the CEO of your Family Firm go grab this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Press for the Advanced Read!

I loved Emily Oster's first two books, and this one was no exception! I love data and numbers and its comforting to have so many at your fingertips while going through motherhood and doubting so much!