Book Reviews

Confessions of a Slacker Mom

By Inspired Mother Staff

Books

Confessions of a Slacker Mom, by Muffy Mead-Ferro (Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2004). From the title of this book, you might assume it presents a lazy mother's prescription for parenting. Think again.

Though she overtly shares her distaste for picking up toys and admits she chose her daughter's preschool for its proximity to her home, Mead-Ferro is no slacker. She is one really smart, witty mom who believes that fostering independence and following parental instinct is more important than following the trend toward overdoing, well, everything.

The daughter of Wyoming cattle ranchers, Mead-Ferro puts more stake in teaching her two children how to make a sandwich and sort laundry than transforming them into superkids. Her real-life stories show how children can be content (even thrilled) to play with sticks and an old tire swing, eat what's prepared for the family ("or don't eat") and just make do. The parenting she espouses is practical and, sadly, a rarity in today's have-it-all culture.

Confessions of a Slacker Mom isn't the newest parenting book on the market, but if you need a good laugh and some no-nonsense parenting advice, it's a great choice. List price: $12.95, paperback.