When Parents Text: So Much Said… So Little Understood is a classic product of its era: the website turned book. In 2009, Lauren Kaelin and Sophia Fraioli started WhenParentsText.com, collecting text-message exchanges between parents and their grown children. Readers sent in thousands. Workman Publishing turned the best of them into a book in 2011.
What is in it
The formula is simple. Parents, then still new to texting, send messages that are cryptic, mistyped, overly formal or wildly overshared. Children respond with confusion. Some exchanges hinge on autocorrect disasters. Others on parents’ attempts at abbreviations (“LOL” meaning “lots of love” is a recurring trap). Many on the general awkwardness of parents trying to stay close to adult children by phone.
The website-to-book model
The great advantage of a book like this is that it has already been tested. By the time it reached print, the material had been vetted by a large online audience, and only the best survived. The disadvantage is that most readers have already seen some of it online. The book works best as a gift, especially for parents, who tend to enjoy it more than their children expect.
Why it still works
Parents are far more fluent texters now, and some of the jokes about technology feel dated. But the emotional core has not changed. Behind nearly every garbled message is a parent trying to say “I miss you” or “I worry about you” in a medium that was not built for it.
Verdict
A quick, warm, laugh-out-loud read. Best enjoyed with your own phone nearby, so you can compare notes.
Sources: When Parents Text, Hachette Book Group; Review, Library Journal.
