The newest arrival on the parenting shelves began, of course, with a status update on facebook New mother Bunny Banyai wrote:
THE newest arrival on the parenting shelves began, of course, with a status update on facebook New mother Bunny Banyai wrote:
''Upside of being a parent: pure love.
Downside: shit on my hands.''
Her former neighbour and a new parent herself, Madeleine Hamilton, spotted a fellow traveller in that brief post and messaged Banyai, 33, asking whether she would like to jointly write a mothering blog.
''I thought it would be a great name for a blog,'' Hamilton, 34, says. And so Sh*t on my hands was conceived, later evolving into a twitter account and now a pocket-sized parenting book. Similar in tone to the picture book Go the F--- to Sleep - in which a father curses at the night-time ritual whereby his child refuses to rest - the women's ''companion to parenthood'' pokes fun at the po-faced advice of many child-rearing manuals, while adding some down-to-earth tips of their own.
The pair met in Northcote a few years back when they rented houses next door to each other, and their writing style smacks of an inner-northern sensibility (some might say snobbery). Witness the tip: ''Names: You will invite the scorn and befuddlement of the world if you give her a traditional name, then disregard its regular spelling and cobble together a bunch of similar sounding letters to render it unique (Jessykah).''
Banyai named her daughter Clementine, Hamilton's are Posy and Patience.
Topics such as crying are handled with equal parts sass and sageness, ultimately concluding that crying is normal for babies. Advice, the women say, that is a much-needed antidote to the parenting experts who assure that an infant's screaming can be solved by a strict routine/potion/electronic cot. ''What's really required is both a stiff drink and upper lip,'' they write.
As a single mother who left her partner when Clementine was about 18 months, Banyai has long railed against the tone of many parenting books, (Hamilton says she was too exhausted to read any). ''Everything I read took a very dim view of single parents and took a very pessimistic view of what to expect, Banyai says.
''If you're contemplating leaving your partner when you have a very small baby you've got plenty of fear already, you really don't need any more.''
They single out Kaz Cooke's parenting books as speaking their language. But whereas Cooke laboured for years to produce impeccably-researched tomes, theirs is based purely on experience and word of mouth. It's the sort of chatty, arch writing women might email to each other in moments of mothering desperation, translated into a book short enough to be read ''while you do your first post-partum poo,'' quips Hamilton.
An Australian history academic, Hamilton has previously written a book about the poster girls of the 1940s and '50s. Banyai works part time in retail. They touch on the thorny topic of childcare, suggesting: ''At all costs avoid participating in the 'Mummy Wars'. This is a phenomenon whereby seemingly rational women flail each other in online forums, newspaper columns and books about when and if mothers of young kiddies should return to work.''
Mostly though, the book is about finding humour in the dark moments all new parents experience. ''That and a lot of dick jokes,'' laughs Hamilton.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
What is the parenting book 'Sh*t on my hands' and how did it begin?
'Sh*t on my hands' began as a Facebook status by new mother Bunny Banyai, evolved into a joint mothering blog with neighbour Madeleine Hamilton, then a Twitter account, and is now a pocket-sized parenting book that mixes humour with down-to-earth parenting tips.
Who are the authors of 'Sh*t on my hands' and what are their backgrounds?
The book is co-written by Bunny Banyai (mother of Clementine), who works part time in retail and is a single mother, and Madeleine Hamilton (mother of Posy and Patience), an Australian history academic who has previously written a book about 1940s–50s poster girls.
What kind of parenting advice does 'Sh*t on my hands' offer?
The authors focus on practical, experience-based advice and humour rather than highly prescriptive manuals: they normalise baby crying, urge parents to avoid heated online 'Mummy Wars', and suggest a bit of humour and resilience — 'a stiff drink and upper lip' — over rigid routines or gadgets.
How does the tone of 'Sh*t on my hands' compare with other parenting books?
The tone is chatty, arch and often irreverent — comparable to the adult-style humour of Go the F--- to Sleep — and contrasts with heavily researched, po-faced parenting manuals by leaning on lived experience and word-of-mouth tips.
Who will enjoy reading this pocket-sized parenting book?
Parents who prefer honest, humorous, real-world accounts to prescriptive guidance — including exhausted new parents, single parents and readers who like short, conversational pieces they can dip into between childcare moments — will likely find it appealing.
Does the book address controversial parenting topics like 'Mummy Wars' or baby sleep routines?
Yes. The authors explicitly warn against getting sucked into 'Mummy Wars' and critique the idea that every infant problem has a one-size-fits-all solution; they treat crying and other challenges as normal and advocate humour and practical coping strategies.
Are there memorable lines or examples that capture the book’s approach?
The book sprang from a frank Facebook post — 'Upside of being a parent: pure love. Downside: shit on my hands.' — and includes blunt, comic advice such as recommending 'a stiff drink and upper lip' as an antidote to over-prescriptive parenting rhetoric.
What makes 'Sh*t on my hands' distinct from established parenting authors?
Unlike heavily researched tomes, this book is rooted in the authors' lived experience and conversational, sometimes snarky, writing. The pair cite writers like Kaz Cooke as speaking their language but deliberately prioritise candid, short-form, relatable content suitable for modern social-media-born audiences.
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