Before
becoming a professional librarian and library director, I was blessed to
have spent nearly twenty-five years raising my three daughters. They were in
the midst of their college careers when I finished my master’s degree,
after figuring out just what I wanted to be when I grew up.
Now,
I watch one of my daughters in that incredible role of motherhood – the job I
once had. I marvel at the ease and care
at which my daughter navigates the fresh and sparkling (and treacherous) waters
of motherhood.
As
one of the Baby Boomer Generation, I didn’t have much to go by, other than our
own parenting and grand parenting examples. I referred to Dr. Spock’s Baby and
Childcare (handed down by my own mother) for help for diaper rash, fever, or
infectious diseases. For serious parenting advice, however, I admit I simply
flew by the seat of my pants most of the time.
New
parents today have a overabundance of books (and relatives, peers and
colleagues) to advise, overwhelm and confuse them. If I found Dr. Spock’s tiny
print and numerous chapters more than I could handle, I sympathize
with the poor parent today who has a billion pages on the Internet to
digest. From online magazines, guides
and websites, most questions are answered.
At least in a billion different, confusing ways.
Luckily,
there is amusement and playfulness to be found amongst this
all-too-serious topic. And some of the funniest parents write online blogs,
many of which have been transformed into books.
Robin
O’Bryant began writing Robin’s Chicks, a mommy blog meant to bring tears to
your eyes –either through sarcasm and wit, or poignant, sincere
stories. Her first book, “Ketchup is a
Vegetable: And Other Lies Moms Tell themselves” (2014) is considered a memoir,
or compilation of essays about her own experiences - the joys and
distresses of motherhood. A collection
of reader’s favorite blog entries, “A Second Helping”, is available only in
digital format for the Kindle.
Pediatrician
and mother Wendy Sue Swanson began writing a blog for the Seattle Children’s
Hospital website in 2009. She ascribes
to the philosophy that parents only “want to do what’s right” and they
want honest help. In March 2014, her book “Mama Doc Medicine: Finding
Calm and Confidence in Parenting, Child Health, and Work-Life Balance” hit the
book and library shelves. Swanson shares
her combined education, practice, and
experience in guiding parents through the maze of medical
advice.
Three
very funny and irreverent books on library shelves also began as hilarious
online blogs. The first, “Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures” by Amber
Dusick (2013) focuses on both the sweet and heartwarming moments and the
not-so-cute and “unpleasant surprises."
You can also begin any morning with a smile if you ‘like’ the Facebook
page. The cartoons are very basic – one
might say there is very little artistic quality to them. But they are designed not to impress but to
make you laugh.
“I Just Want to Pee Alone: A
Collection of Humorous Essays by Kick Ass Mom Bloggers” (2013) asks just why parents
can’t get a bathroom break without interruption and other profound questions of
the overwrought, underslept crowd. Essays by 37 bloggers are included in the
book. If you are finding yourself awake a midnight rocking a toddler back to
sleep, keep this book close at hand. But
be careful not to laugh out loud.
The
most recent addition is “I Heart My Little A-Holes: A Bunch of Holy-Crap
Moments No One Ever Told You about Parenting” by Karen Alpert, author of the
blog, Baby Sideburns (2014).
Of
course, Dave Barry (Pulitzer-prizewinning author of a plethora of humorous
non-fiction books, essays, and fiction) began writing about parenthood in 1984
with “Babies and Other Hazards of Sex."
17 years later (in 2001) he wrote “My Teenage Son’s Goal in Life is to
Make Me Feel 3,500 Years Old."
Barry turned 50 in 1997. This
year, at age 67, he added “You Can Date Boys When You’re Forty: Dave Barry on
Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About” to his humor repertoire.
Of course, there is a lot more serious
advice to consider in parenting, to be sure. In this precarious day and age of
being constantly plugged-in, Catherine Steiner-Adair offers “The Big
Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age”
(2013). It’s more difficult than ever parenting in 2014 (take it from me with a
teenaged grandson in the house). My own
daughter and her husband have taken a vow to limit my granddaughter’s online
presence; yet, I still have the amazing opportunity to FaceTime
with little Phoebe several times a week and kiss her sweet image on
an iPad screen. Steiner-Adair attacks the issues: our online lives and
when and where to unplug.
Noël Janis-Norton offers “Calmer,
Easier, Happier Parenting: Five Strategies that End the Daily Battles and Get
Kids to Listen the First Time” (2013) which may sound impossible when the
battles are raging. Problems with mornings, homework, screentime, mealtimes,
bedtime and chores can all be less stressful claims Janis-Norton.
There are dozens more books like
these, including new additions by SuperNanny “Jo Frost’s Toddler Rules: Your
5-Step Guide to Shaping Proper Behavior” (2014) and “The Myth of the Spoiled
Child: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom About Children and Parenting” by
Alfie Kahn.
I’m glad I get to watch my
granddaughter grow up under someone else’s watchful eye. Bedtime or no bedtime,
screen time or none, I’m relieved I don’t have to make the decisions that I
would agonize over. I admit I stumbled and tripped, often second-guessing
myself along the way. I'd like to think
I made it through successfully in spite of my 1951, dog-eared,
yellow-paged copy of Dr. Spock.
