Thursday 29 January 2009

The only book you need to read

I am not a punk. I like Disney movies. I dress my son in gender coding blue. And for a while I hoped that Diaper Genies were "someone you hire to change your kid's diaper". Needless to say, Jessica Mills and I are not exactly two peas in a pod. We probably disagree on most lifestyle choices. Except the ones about raising kids.

My Mother Wears Combat Boots: a Parenting Guide for the Rest of Us is the best parenting book out of the very many I have read. It is so wonderful because it encompasses everything I look for in these things: an inside look into her own parenting fiascos AND actual information. This book is well researched. There is information on fetal development, child psychology, birthing options, education and bigger political planet saving things as well.

Jessica's political activist punk mama stories are interesting, funny and relatable. I am not one to be scraping off a cloth diaper, but I agree that "having a parenting relationship with a brand-new person is unique and truly freakin' sweet, fun and amazing." This book was written for "the rest of us", which might just be all of us. Don't we all want children that are free and interested in the world? We try to raise them respectfully, lovingly and with patience. And we try real hard to understand and accept when they show their own personal colors, even if it is pink.

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