The Family Firm

May 1, 2021

Oster's (economics, Brown Univ.; Cribsheet) latest is a guide to the many decisions faced by parents and caregivers of kids aged five to 12. The book defines the four F's of decision making: frame the question; fact find; final decision; follow up. Its premise is that a family with defined operating practices can make small decisions more easily. Oster describes creating a mission statement for your "family firm," honoring your values and priorities, and then carrying out the details using software, calendars, and schedules. The book includes case studies of real parents' decisions about school choice or social media use, plus a reading list and worksheets that might be helpful. VERDICT This quick read can help parents form a decision making framework. Some of the book's topics (camp, cell phones, etc.) don't adequately address an economically diverse readership, limiting the audience for this book.

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June 21, 2021
Economics professor Oster (Cribsheet) offers a plethora of rational guidance for parents of kids between pre-K and middle school in this eminently practical guide. Logistics, she writes, are “the hallmark of this period of parenting,” and to that end, she applies organizational tools from the business world to family life. Offering charts, graphs, and hard data, Oster covers such topics as the right age to start kindergarten (she discusses “redshirting,” in which parents delay their start), public versus private school (consider feasibility above all), and nutrition (with a chart that estimates how different foods will impact a child’s body mass index). For big choices, her recommendations come down to her four F’s: “Frame the Question, Fact-Find, Final Decision, and Follow-Up.” While Oster’s methods aren’t for everyone—in one anecdote, she uses Google Calendar to schedule a meeting with her eight-year-old daughter about her school schedule, presenting “an agenda and draft schedule in advance”—those who persevere are likely to find the structure to be a useful framework. Business-minded parents willing to stick with the no-kidding-around approach will find this a handy resource for the preteen years. Agent: Suzanne Gluck, WME.

July 1, 2021
Oster (Cribsheet, 2019) uses her background as a professor of economics at Brown University and experience as a mother to help parents ease stress by running their family more like a business, creating a "Family Firm" to tackle the complicated logistics of the elementary-school years. Oster recommends that families even consider creating a mission statement to guide their path. When confronted with a big decision, parents should follow the "Four Fs": "Frame the Question," "Fact-Find," "Final Decision," and "Follow-Up." Oster puts these into application in relatable scenarios throughout the book. Parents will likely face the choices of when to enroll their child in kindergarten, which school to attend, which extracurriculars to fit into their family schedule, when to allow their child to have a phone, and more. As Oster writes, "People will often tell you parenting is a job . . . So maybe it's time to start treating it like one." With Oster's help, rather than fear this next stage of parenting, readers can embrace (and even enjoy) the challenge.

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