38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally!, August 9, 2006
This review is from: 12 Simple Secrets Real Moms Know: Getting Back to Basics and Raising Happy Kids (Paperback)
Finally, a real book for real moms offering real practical guidance for raising real children! I should know. I'm a mom of nine (yes, 9) children, aged 5 to 17. I've bought, read, skimmed, and peeked in almost every mothering/parenting book there is out there, and never found one that really offered sound direction or reassurance until now. It's put everything I've learned about being a mom (so far) into a wonderful, clear, and uplifting format (easy to pick up where you left off and read when you can catch a moment), and teaches me so much more. It should be a mandatory "manual" for all mothers!
The other thing I love about this book is that it promotes the fact that as moms we need to take care of ourselves, pursue our own interests, and not loose our identity in our families. Something I've worked hard to do myself and one of my biggest secrets for being "successful" in my calling as a mother. This book not only encourages you to eliminate the "supermom" image from your life, but tells you how to do it. Then helps you develop your own individual identity as a mother and set up your own mission statement or mothering plan from what Borba calls "A Mother's Promise," based on the true needs of our children.
There is no cookie cutter technique for parenting. Each family is unique and each child has their own individual needs, responses, attitudes, temperments, etc. This book helps you to use your mother instincts, as well as your own experiences, to create a plan that can work for your own family and each of your children as the individuals that they are.
I found this book at my church bookstore, but there is nothing necessarily religious or spiritual about it (other than respecting mothers' instincts). And yet, it doesn't offend in any way, and remarkably supports every parenting "style" from traditional to liberal, religious or cultural/ethnic based.
Dr. Michele Borba definately did a wonderful job with this book and my hat is off to her for being able to consolidate so much information she's acquired over the years from interviews, work, and research. People have been telling me for a long time that I should write a book about mothering (which I could only do about mothering my own children), but now I can and will simply recommend this incredible book.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Back to basics, April 3, 2006
This review is from: 12 Simple Secrets Real Moms Know: Getting Back to Basics and Raising Happy Kids (Paperback)
It's high time we went back to basics in parenting. When my kids were young and I was transporting them from point A to point B, we turned the radio off and had some of our best conversations in that car. These days almost every mom I see dropping her child off at school has a cell phone to her ear as the little one exits the car. The look on their little faces is pitiful. They are used to being casually dismissed. So is the look on the mom's as she drives away, distracted and once again harboring guilt. So sad. Yes, mom's today are busier than ever. . .but do they have to be? No! Michele Borba's new book shows new, over-worked mom's how to achieve balance. Childrearing is supposed to be a joy. . .okay, it's frought with some rough days, but how many are of our own making because we've over-booked and over-stressed our kids and ourselves. What happened to simply being? Talking? Listening? Young adults tell us to "chill". So does Michele, in a completely practical, digestible way! BUY THIS BOOK and give it to young mom's in your life. I HAVE!
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, July 6, 2006
This review is from: 12 Simple Secrets Real Moms Know: Getting Back to Basics and Raising Happy Kids (Paperback)
This book is about getting back to the basic principles of mothering. Borba uses real-life scenarios to help you understand how to employ the 12 "secrets." Also included in each and every chapter are sidebars with ideas and tips from mothers, a comprehensive list of books for more information on that topic, and a small area for you to jot down your thoughts. Borba says she wants this to be the last parenting book you read for a little while, and this is certainly the case for me. Barring any special problems you may have with your child that require further research and reading, it's a good bet you'll read 12 Simple Secrets and then take a break from other parenting books (especially the supermom, guilt-ridden books and magazines that seem to permeate the Parenting section in bookstores these days). This book is a breath of fresh air. I recommend you have a notebook handy as you read so you can jot down all the great ideas you'll get.
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