Momfidence! An Oreo Never Killed Anybody and Other Secrets of Happier Parenting
By Paula Spencer (Three Rivers Press, $12.95 paper)
Where, oh, where has this little book been? Lose the guilt, love your instincts is pretty much Paula Spencer’s motto, and with that she wipes away all the woulda, coulda, shouldas that haunt some of us 24/7. Spencer has columns in Woman’s Day and Parenting, and, for once, someone spouting parental wisdom is someone who shoulda be.
1. Parenting is “only as hard as you make it.” That’s a direct quote, folks. This certified expert tells us we should “wing it.”
2. Momfidence is “raising your child freehand, rather than with a paint-by-numbers kit.”
3. There is another kid in America who is thriving on a diet of chicken nuggets, Jif, popcorn and Cocoa Puffs.
4. Instead of $100-a-pop meditation sessions, you could just zone out at the dinner table, contemplating what it would be like to be at a white-tablecloth restaurant with waiters offering you espresso.
5. Fifty-six. That’s the number of products that are in the “bathroom safety” category of babyproofingplus.com. And we wonder why we parents get the jitters.
