Breaking the Good Mom Myth, Every Modern Mom’s Guide to Getting Past Perfection, Regaining Sanity, and Raising Great Kids

Urbanmoms.ca Book Review:

Breaking the Good Mom Myth, Every Modern Mom’s Guide to Getting Past Perfection, Regaining Sanity, and Raising Great Kids
–By Alyson Schafer

Psychotherapist and Parenting Expert, Alyson Schafer offers a brilliant and hilariously revealing exploration of today’s misguided motherhood. Discover the truth behind the myths that keep moms flying at a frenetic pace, spending countless dollars they often don’t have, and losing endless hours trying to become “experts” on everything from ear infections to the safe heating points of hard plastics.

When did neurotic become normal?

This book explains the psycho-social phenomena of how each person creates their own unique “good mother myth” and then examines why these myths are not only faulty, but could in fact lead to poor parenting, marital disaster and often individual crisis.

Alyson has worked with a great many mothers who, in the quest to be a “good mother” have ended up on the door step of despair. She is a forty-something, suburbanite, working-mother of two and can speak to these issues both personally and professionally.

You can even catch her live this month at various speaking engagements in Newmarket, Barrie, Oshawa and Mississauga. Go to www.alyson.ca to see a list of her upcoming appearances this week!

We sent a copy of Alyson Schafer’s Breaking the Good Mom Myth, Every Modern Mom’s Guide to Getting Past Perfection, Regaining Sanity, and Raising Great Kids (published by John Wiley & Sons Canada) to Andrea, urbanmoms.ca member, book review panelist and mother of four kids under four years old!

Speaking from a lot of great experience herself, she shares her thoughts on this smart, witty and humorous novel about motherhood idealized for us below:

urbanmoms.ca: What was your initial impression of this book?

Andrea: I immediately appreciated the simple layout of the book.  The author Alyson Schafer takes common myths that we hold in society and gives humorous, constructive answers on how to deal with these misconceptions.  I was also impressed by the author’s background.   She is a mother of 2 with the education and experience to really back up all her opinions.

urbanmoms.ca: What do you think are the key messages of this book?  Did they resonate with you?

Andrea: I felt the overall messages in this book were to get beyond the idea that we have to be perfect to raise our children.  The ideas were based on our modern lifestyle that dictates that our children are a reflection of ourselves.  As a teacher and a mother of 4, I see the consequences and feel the strain of this unobtainable ideal all the time!

urbanmoms.ca: What would another mother find most appealing about this book?

Andrea: I believe that most moms will enjoy her ‘non-blaming’ approach to improving family relationships. Too often with parenting today, you come away feeling full of guilt; not so with Breaking the Good Mom Myth.

urbanmoms.ca: What stood out about this book?

Andrea: The humour and real-life examples used made this book a standout.

urbanmoms.ca: Would you recommend this book to a friend?  Why/why not?

Andrea: I have already recommended this book to several friends.  It is a refreshing take on modern parenting.

urbanmoms.ca: Please share any other comments about your experience with this book?

Andrea: I found the section on how to deal with children fighting particularly interesting.  I have a 4 year old and a 2 1/2 year old who have just started to fight in earnest and the advice given in the book made a lot of sense to me.   Now I step back for a minute to assess exactly what has happened and sometimes find that the “victim” (usually my youngest) has provoked the other one just to grab my attention.  I don’t immediately jump to blame someone at a first glance any more! 

Andrea is an urbanmoms.ca member and participant in our book review panel. A great big urbanmoms.ca THANK YOU to Andrea for finding the time in her busy mom schedule to share her thoughtful review of this book.

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About the Author – Alyson Schafer
Alyson Schafer is a psychotherapist and recognized as one of Canada’s foremost parenting experts. She is the host of The Parenting Show, a call-in advice show on Rogers Television, and the regular guest parenting expert on CBC television’s The Gill Deacon Show. Alyson is also a Chapters’ Indigo Trusted Advisor and a popular corporate speaker for Lifespeak. Alyson is the selected speaker for Rainbow Canada’s 2007 speaker series. You can find Alyson’s advice in articles in Today’s Parent, Canadian Family, Chatelaine, Canadian Living and Readers Digest and through her website: www.alyson.ca.

Alyson brings the age-old topic of parenting to a twenty-first century audience of educated, enlightened and motivated parents. Her style is fast and witty, and her information is grounded in theory and research. Alyson educates, inspires and entertains — whether speaking to an audience of parents, presenting workshops, or one-on- one in private parent coaching sessions.  As a mother of two and a former nursery school teacher, Alyson brings real life experience and passion to her work.

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