Mean Moms Rule: The Blog
Observations on parenting in the tween and teen years.
This blog was born in 2009 as Confessions of a Mean Mommy, and gave rise to the book you see over on the right. Since I began blogging, my sons morphed from 5- and 7-year olds who looked to me for just about everything, to 11- and 13-year olds who have perfected their eye rolls and have one foot out the door. This parenting thing just got real.
Who Took My 7-Year-Old and Replaced Him With a Teenager?!
Over at Mommasaid.net, my friend and colleague Jen Singer lists some of the reasons parenting teens is harder now than it used to be (exhibit A: sexting. Shudder). Jen actually has a newly-minted, real-life teenage son. I do not, yet (though I do sometimes stare at the welter of kid-size sneakers, boots, and soccer cleats […]
Giving Helicoptering the Heave-Ho
Just read this today: researchers in Japan, at Gunma University, took a look at twentysomethings, scanning their brains and having them answer questions about how they were parented. Turns out, those newly minted adults who grew up under the helicoptering arms of overprotective parents (they responded “yes” to statements such as: “did not want me […]
What’s it Worth To You? Teaching Kids About Money
Tell me something: When you hear your child say things like, “Gosh, that’s so expensive,” or “Mom, when we run out of the other cookies, and you have a coupon, can we get the [fill in the blank]?”, would you pat yourself on the back for getting an important money lesson across to him–or would […]
A(nother) Farewell to the Daughter I’ll Never Have
OK, so Pam and Jim had their baby on The Office last night. (And if you’ve got it DVR’d and haven’t watched yet, go away now and come back later, because spoilers are ahead). They had a girl. I want a girl. I really, really do. And for all the ridiculous reasons — the clothes […]
Up In the Air: A Mommy-Moment on a Plane
Regular readers may have noticed I didn’t post last week — that’s because we were in Florida for a bit over a week, visiting my parents, who some years ago joined the throng of Northerners who take off for southern climes in January and don’t come back until April or so, leaving their progeny with […]
Yes, You Do Have to Eat Your Vegetables!
My boys are completely normal American children, which is to say, if you sit them down in front of a bag of potato chips, they’ll plow through them. If you give them a bucket of Halloween candy, they’ll dig right in. If you make a cake and offer them mixer beaters coated with chocolate frosting, […]
From Jack LaLanne to Pilates: Moms, Kids, and Exercise
I have this very strong, distinct memory of my mother, probably not too long after she gave birth to my little brother, watching Jack LaLanne on TV and following along. I’m not sure why I was home (I was in second grade when my brother made the scene), but there I was with her, in […]
Spoiled Rotten?
Spoiling. Wow, what a hotbutton topic. Right now, as I type, I’m listening to the Brian Lehrer show, on my local NPR radio station (WNYC; I listen to it streaming live on WNYC.org). He’s talking to Rufus Griscom, the founder of the parenting website Babble.com. Babble has a column called “Bad Parent,” and he’s been […]
Snacking All The Time, In the NY Times
There’s nothing like being validated, is there? Especially, I have to say, by the New York Times. Just yesterday, a friend of mine sent me a link to a story in the Times about — wait for it — how kids today snack too much. Yeah, been there, said that. The writer, Jennifer Steinhauer, herself […]
When it Comes to Babycare, What Happened to Instinct?
I have a brand-new nephew, Nicholas (Nico, for short). His parents, my brother and sister-in-law, are mostly going minimal when it comes to baby gear. Part of that is a space issue–their house is pretty compact. But a bigger part of it is that, from what I can tell, and not including having read probably […]
My name is Denise, and I’m a Mean Mom.
That’s the very first line of my book, Mean Moms Rule. Let me explain the “mean” for you, in case you were under the impression that I never hug my boys (I possibly do this too much, as evidenced by the fact that they routinely try to wiggle away from my embraces and especially my sloppy kisses, the urchins), or that I advocate for children to work in coal mines (it’s illegal! Plus, no coal mines in my area!). I say “mean” because my approach often bucks the prevailing parenting trend, which you could call helicopter-y or indulgent (I prefer my own technical term, “squishy”). It’s mean because it’s not easy. Because it’s focused on the end game, not the here-and-now (and anyone who has kids’ll tell you, they are all about the here and now).
Grab a copy from your favorite bookseller:
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