Book Review: The Mommy Manual

The Mommy Manual

(Planting roots that give your children wings)   By Barbara Curtis

Overview:  This book is divided into three main parts: treasures (keys to joyful motherhood and childhood), measures (keys to serving and character), and pleasures (keys to cultural heritage and family legacy). There are a variety of hints/tips/suggestions throughout the book. For example, seven strategies that build a strong work ethic and twenty ways to encourage reading. 

Few Quotes:  “To be happy, don’t do whatever you like, like whatever you do!”

“God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called.”

“If you want to be treated like a princess act like a servant. If you want to be treated like a servant, act like a princess.”

My thoughts: I think this book is extremely helpful and resourceful. I need ideas in my parenting and like to try them. One thing Barbara encourages you to do is observe your children. Watch them and learn about them. Take the time to write some notes down as you watch your child throughout a day. I did that with my two children (at the time) and learned a lot about them. I look back on this list from years ago and see that some things on the list I made are still the same (character qualities, likes and dislikes) and there are others that were weaknesses that they have overcome. 

Specific points I gleaned from the book:

--see the world my children see…see myself through my children's eyes (they imitate what they   

   see in me)

--be a confident parent…try to my best ability not to perfection

--be willing to do things different in order for things to function better

--have a child friendly home…a child’s workplace

My Personal Application:  Something I initiated in our lives after reading the book was “Waffle Wednesdays”. I loved the last section of the book on traditions and the importance of them for your family and kids. We already had many in place in regards to Easter, Christmas, and birthdays. However, we didn’t have a frequent one for our kids to remember.  We love waffles and so I started “Waffle Wednesdays”. The first reason I made it that day was to limit our sugary breakfast intake to once a week. Secondly, it was easy to remember with the double W sound for the kids. They loved the idea and to this day they still declare "It's Waffle Wednesday”-they know what’s for breakfast every Wednesday!