Because I F**king Said So

Because I F**cking Said So is parenting humor at its best. Although it may look like a childrens’ book at first glance (with a very naughty title), this is an extremely candid book about parents and some of the frustrations they encounter while raising children. As a mom of three grown boys, I truly identified with so many scenes in this book.

Although most parents love their children to the moon and back, it can be downright annoying when your child repeatedly asks “why” or complains about things you have gone out of your way to get or do for them.

Let’s face it, we were children once, and we all did the same things to our parents as our children do to us. Things are never right. Things are never good enough, despite your best attempts at making the little ones happy. Of course, their requests are many times irrational. One of my favorite scenes in the book is when the child asks why they have to wear “a coat, hat, shoes, or even pants.” This is so realistic. And even though the answer to why they have to wear clothing is easy enough to explain, the why question is asked not just once, but repeatedly. This is what makes it so exhausting.

The book also visits other common phrases that require the response, “Because I F**cking Said So” including “I promise, last one”, “why not just two more minutes”, and of course, the stalling for bed tactics. Kids are masters at trying to get what they want, while parents have to choose between giving in and letting their child writh around on a dirty floor, or picking the tantruming child up and dragging them back to the car.

The author hit the nail on the head when he wrote about being “a dumpster fire of failed internet parenting tips.” Everyone has the best way to do this or the best way to do that, but when you’re in the thick of it, you just want the chaos to stop.

The illustrations in the book perfectly match the four-line prose the book is written in. From snot on the child’s nose to the little girl banging on the bathroom door, these drawings made me laugh. They really add to the value of the author’s words.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever thought about having children or who has children. Realistic, funny, and direct, this is a good book to read in the bathroom while your child is banging on the door asking you what you’re doing. “I’m pooping!” “Why?” “Because I F**cking Said So.”