SuitabookHow To Train Your Parents
Pete Johnson
- Reading
- Read alongside discussion rather than treating the parents’ behaviour as a simple model. Pause around the move, the new demands and Maddy’s claim, then revisit what the characters appear to want from adults.
- Themes
- Parental achievement pressure: Louis’s parents want him and his younger brother to achieve top grades and join numerous activities after moving to a new area. The situation is presented through a child’s loss of control over his life, but the full judgement of the parents’ behaviour is unclear.
- Attention and independence: Maddy claims she has trained her parents to ignore her, prompting Louis to question whether he really wants that outcome. The contrast invites reflection on autonomy and attention, while the story’s final position on either extreme is unknown.
- Worth knowing
- The family disruption and social adjustment may deserve attention: Louis moves area and school, his parents change their expectations, and his younger brother is also drawn into those demands.