There is no right way to be a mother, there are no instructions that come with our kids, and most of us go blindly into parenthood, hoping to do our very best. Limor Friedman, gives us a glimpse of her journey, and some of her "tips" to raising kids, in her book Mom's Journey: Practical Tips for Raising Kids.
#MomsJourney
I don't usually like to read parenting books, because they usually contains a lot of information from people that think they are the expert on a situation, or from someone that doesn't even have kids. Yet, I continue to read them simply because, every so often, you find a book that has a few good ideas, and are written from the point of view, that we are all on the same team, and have the same goal of raising respectful kids that have a bright future ahead of them.
Sadly, this particular book, while it does have a few good ideas, came across mostly as a "I am a better mother than you" judgmental and condescending. From the very beginning, the author had this air about her, that everything that "most" mothers do, is wrong. She uses that phrase a lot, when judging mothers that do things different from her. As if she is a rare gift to mothers everywhere, "do it my way, and you will have all the riches of the world" (sarcasm is dripping down this page!).
Not only does she attack the way we speak to our kids, but attacks the way we live as well...from how we decorate our houses, down to the color of the paint on the walls. Judges the amount and types of toys that we buy for our kids, the way we feed our kids...everything, that is already stressful enough as is, is picked apart by someone who claims to have the worlds greatest, and best behaved children.
What she has failed to address in her rant about what "most" mothers are doing wrong, is those mothers that have kids with disabilities...although at one point she does mention that one daughter does have ADHD, which somehow turns into TWO daughters having ADHD. She makes a statement about how she is appalled when ever she meets a child that is 2 or 3 that can't yet speak...I am guessing that in her world, my son, who was non verbal until he was 5, would have been an abomination.
She talks about having a housekeeper, and a nanny...which in the real world, most people can't afford. I really wanted to like this book, and I wanted to relate to anything in this book...I take a different approach to parenting than most people, and I could never imagine telling another mother that everything she is doing is wrong. That is she wants "perfect" kids, that she has to do things my way.
The other thing that really bothered me, was the authors references to research, yet she never provides a link to any of that research. I have a legal background, and learned early on, that if you mention research, be prepared to provide links to that research, otherwise it means nothing.
There was only one thing that I really like in this book, and it is what will earn it 3.5 stars, and it is the last chapter in the book dedicated just to the mom. The author mentions how we tend to lose ourselves when we become mothers, but that we need to start taking care of ourselves.
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on amazon for $2.99 (Kindle).