I have just had the pleasure of finishing a book by Jen Singer titled You’re A Good Mom (and your kids aren’t so bad either). I have been reading this book during my lunch break for the last month — it’s the only time I have to read something of personal interest. I am telling you, this had really made my solitary lunch break something to look forward to. Jen Singer has a great voice and a wonderful sense of humor, which is the main reason the book was such an enjoyable read.
The book is divided into 2 main sections: Why you don’t need to be Super Mom; and why you wouldn’t want to be Slacker Mom. I found myself relating to the first half of the book tremendously. Singer talks about how mothers these days put so much pressure on themselves to be the “perfect” mom with the “perfect” children. How we feel that every moment in our child’s life has to be some sort of learning or enrichment activity — we have to keep them ‘engaged’ and we alone are responsible for their development. That was me, 100%. Feeling all sorts of pressure to give my kid the very best of everything, all the time. So I love the way Ms. Singer gently (ok, actually not very gently at all!) pointed out the fallacy of my ways. In essence, she is talking to overprotective, anal-retentive, overachievers like me and telling us it is ok, indeed preferable, to give our children room to just be… children. Thanks, Jen.
And I found myself on more than one occasion shaking my head in agreement or laughing out loud at something that I had just read.
Now with the second half of the book, I must admit that I could not relate to it so much. There were a few things Jen said that I didn’t necessarily agree with in that section. But to me, that is the beuatiful thing about being a woman, and more explicitly, a mother. Because it means that I can acknowledge that she and I have a differing viewpoint, but still respect her for her ability to so eloquently express hers. Besides, if we all agreed on everything the world would be a pretty boring place right? In no way does my opinion detract from the fact that the second half of the book was just as funny and well-written as the first. If not more so!
This read was a breath of fresh air in the midst of all the mommy magazines and mommy websites that I frequent which do nothing but serve to make me feel a lot like that slacker mom in Jen’s book. She gives sound parenting advice with a large serving of humor, and an even bigger dose of realism. She is a real mom; you know it from the moment you open the book. And from one mommy to another, this one is definitely worth your time.
