WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME...

... that the gurus don't always know best

... that you don't have to 'get your figure back' six weeks after birth

... that you don't need to worry about the other parents at the school gates

... that it's okay to let them eat dirt

... that you don't have to have a naughty step

And most importantly

... that you should never buy a guinea pig?

Drawn from the message boards of mumsnet.com and based on the assumption that if thousands of parents have found a piece of advice to be helpful then you can be pretty sure it's worth knowing, this book shapes that collective wisdom into dozens of dos and don'ts that will lead you through the minefield that is twenty-first-century parenting.