Please Yell at My Kids

What Cultures Around the World Can Teach You About Parenting in Community, Raising Independent Kids, and Not Losing Your Mind

By: Marina Lopes

Acclaimed journalist Marina Lopes travels the world to learn how global cultures parent in community, bringing home practical guidance for American parents on how to stop doing it all, reimagine community, and build their village

The difficulty of raising kids in America is well-known—no federally supported parental leave, a lack of mental health support, a crushing combination of workplace pressure and aspirational parental perfection, and the fresh hell that is the playgroup Facebook page. But what if there was another way?

The simple fact is that parenting, and specifically motherhood, looks wildly different across nations. Please Yell at My Kids is an around the world journey and a practical guide to rethinking parenting. What can we learn from Brazilian birth parties, Singaporean grandparents, and Danish babies sleeping soundly outside of coffee shops? And how can that be integrated into the lives of American listeners, even if we can’t hop on a plane and wing our way to the land of paid parental leave? Journalist Marina Lopes travels around the globe, interviewing and learning from parents in Singapore, France, Mozambique, Indonesia, Japan, Sweden and more to provide practical, actionable ways to reimagine parenting in America.

At the heart of many global approaches to parenting lies one simple, and not so simple thing: community. In America, parenting is, at best, a dual mission, perhaps with one partner playing the role of sidekick and occasional comic relief. But globally parenthood is more often a team sport, played in the center of a community that helps, supports, and occasionally drives you up the wall. From guiding caregivers through how to define their own non-negotiable values, to navigating tricky conversations with their in-laws, Please Yell at My Kids provides listeners with the inspiration and practical tools to build a community of care in their own lives and reimagine parenthood in a joyful new way.

©2025 Marina Lopes (P)2025 Hachette Go

Critic reviews

"Please Yell at My Kids is an eye-opening and insightful read that challenges traditional parenting norms. With practical advice and global perspectives, it beautifully demonstrates the benefits of a community-centered approach to parenting. This book is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to enrich their parenting journey by embracing balance, community, and fun. I highly recommend it!"—Iben Dissing Sandahl, author of the international bestseller The Danish Way Of Parenting

“What a pleasure to read someone smart and funny who is fed up with a culture of parenting (spoiler alert: ours) that's leaving parents with no great ways to make the whole process more fun, social and successful. When Marina tells you about what other cultures are doing, some of the ideas are going to make you go, "OMG!" but others, "OMG—let's start doing that TODAY!" Mix and match these time-tested norms and you may just have a much easier, happier time raising your kids.”—Lenore Skenazy, President, Let Grow, and author of Free-Range Kids