When Parents Text Too Much Is Utterly Hysterical

When Lauren Kaelin shared a text conversation she had with her mother with her childhood friend, Sophia Fraioli – both of whom found themselves among the thousands of jobless college graduates living back home with their parents –  it led to an eye roll and a, “When parents text, it’s hilarious” from Sophia.  When Lauren responded, “That should be a website!”  www.whenparentstext.com was born.

Now, a year later, the website boasts as many as 2 million hits per month, has been praised by Entertainment Weekly as “A daily dose of hilarity” and has kids across America bragging when mom or dad is featured on the site.

When Parents Text: So Much Said… So Little Understood  is a compilation of the funniest texts from the website, plus never before published content comprising over 50% of the book! It is arranged thematically, with chapters such as: Mealtime, Pix, Holidays, Parental Wisdom, and more. This irresistible little book will provide hours of entertainment for kids and parents alike!

What I Can Tell You: 
This was the perfect book for me this past month. It was perfect because my life was split in a million different directions and most of them involved something to do with work of some kind. I was either running my company, working for 1 of my 4 clients, running a community web page and Facebook page, writing, editing, tweeting, Facebooking, cleaning, shopping, cooking, parenting, etc. If I wasn't doing one of these things, I was taking the kids to the beach or sleeping. So needless to say, diving into a novel wasn't something I could fit into my life.  


When Parents Text was perfect because it is little segments of texts people have received from their parents all broken down into categories like; Noobs (parents first attempts at texting) questions, pix, mealtimes, etc. 


It was a funny read and often often left me laughing out loud or LOL (little old lady) as one mom thought in the book. My poor husband  was interrupted often while watching TV so I could read him something that I just had to share. 


Because the book made up of brief texts, this was the first summer I could read at the beach. I am a hover mom and keeping a trained eye on the kids is a priority. I took this book out each beach visit and read because you could read in snippets and for this nervous Nellie Mom, that means everything. 


I have so many favorites but here are just a few:


Mom: I didn't know you had the twitter! Me too! I'm only friends with Elizabeth Hasselbeck and The Pioneer Woman. Want to be friends?


Mom: Just wondering as to your whereabouts..please check one of the following boxes.
Dead in a ditch
Alive in a ditch with broken fingers
Jail
Mars
Thanks, your roommates


Dad: :I)}
Me: What???
Dad: Me with a beard, I'm smiling.


Mom: Your dentist died. No appt next week. I'll find you a new one. I learned how to make bread.


Dad: I need you to text me
Me: ?
Dad: I'm bored. Sitting on the toilet waiting for the person next to me to leave so that I can release my bowels. What did you have for breakfast?

And, it goes on and on like that. There are 200 texts, nicely organized and ready to make you laugh.

Catch the authors at their first book signing in Montclair NU on September 6th.

The book releases on September 1st. So worth it!

When Parents Text
So Much Said . . . So Little Understood
By Lauren Kaelin and Sophia Fraioli
Published by Workman Publishing Company
September 1, 2011; $10.95 US/$12.95 CAN; 9780761166047

Description
A collection of insanely funny texts between parents and kids, When Parents Text is a surprisingly affecting window into the complicated time when parents aren't ready to let go, and kids aren't ready to be let go. The parents are well-meaning but hopeless, silly and a little corny, and befuddled by the technology. The kids are bewildered yet patient: the perfect straight man. And the authors, two recent college graduates, Lauren Kaelin and Sophia Fraioli, have an unerring editorial instinct to select the funniest, sweetest, quirkiest, most-telling exchanges.

There's the revelatory: Mom: My fingers are saying words. This is amazing. 

The virtual scolding: Dad: I will deal with your sassy behavior when I get home. Meanwhile have some fiber.

The autofill-challenged: Mom: dig up some tadpoles on ur way homo. Me: ummm, what? Mom: It autocorrected me. I mean to say dig up some tadpoles on ur way homo. (4 minutes later) Mom: PICK UP SOME TAMPONS ON YOUR WAY HOME.

The manically inappropriate: Mom: Woo Hoo -- Ruth died, you know Uncle Lyman's wife, BUT I have your Braves tickets and check on the table!!

And the downright inexplicable: Dad: You could poop your pants in the yankee candle store and no one would know.

Launched as a website just last year, www.whenparentstext.com, is a phenomenon that has been featured in The Huffington Post, Entertainment Weekly, College Humor, and more. When Parents Text includes the best of texts from the website, plus more than 50 percent all-new material never before published.

Includes an emoticon glossary and 16-page color insert of MMS texts -- multimedia messaging service, aka, bizarre photos from mom and dad. It's the perfect gift for every text-savvy kid to give to his or her parents.

Author Bios
Lauren Kaelin and Sophia Fraioli, co-authors of When Parents Text: So Much Said . . . So Little Understood, grew up in Montclair, NJ, and have been best friends since sixth grade. After graduating in 2010 from Smith College and the University of Vermont, respectively, they returned home. In between babysitting jobs, emails from DirectLoans, and taking NJ Transit into the city for various hourly-wage jobs, they received some texts. They still live in Montclair.

For more information please visit http://whenparentstext.com, and follow the authors on Facebook and Twitter

Reviews
"An addictive and side-splitting read . . . the underlying relationship between parent and teen is simultaneously touching and hysterical. This should be a best seller -- it is a total moment-in-time classic. Enthusiastically recommended."
-- Library Journal

Diclosure: I received a complimentary copy for my honest opinion