I do not read "how to be a good mother" books for a whole variety of reasons.
One, they often contradict each other. Two, who died and made so-and-so an expert on parenting simply because she or he wrote a book?
Three, I think books like this are something of a racket -- buy my book or else your kid will be screwed up. Four, what recourse do I have if the author is wrong -- this is my kid you're tinkering around with.
That's just off the top of my head. And note, I'm not talking about medical references about children, because they supply information, not theories, and can be valuable.
I do on very infrequent occasion scan through "how to be a good mother" articles in women's magazines. Sometimes I can't help but be seduced by their screaming cover blurbs: "Are You Making the Biggest First Motherhood Mistake?" and that sort of thing.
I read one the other day that advised encouraging some selfishness in a toddler. The idea behind the piece was that selfishness is necessary for survival and self-identity.
I seriously don't know about that. This sort of advice is mostly distilled crap, in my opinion. What is the line between "necessary" selfishness and greed? And who tested this theory with clinical, objective analysis?
But what if your kid isn't at all selfish? Should you encourage him to grab another child's toy on occasion just to keep up the old survival instincts?
When Joey plays with other children, he doesn't want to take their toys. He wants to give them his. The moment he meets another child, he has his hands out with a gift, friend or stranger alike.
If my child "bad" because of this? Screwed up? Doomed to a life of failure as a human doormat?
I highly doubt it. For one thing, he's much larger than other children his age. If he continues on this trajectory, he'll be bigger than my husband and his brothers, who are all well over six foot tall. My husband is very generous but he's certainly no doormat. I don't think his son will be, either.
Against all this background, I'm planning on writing an advice for young mothers book. Unfortunately, it will be very short. In fact, it'll all fit on one page. One paragraph -- one sentence actually.
Here it is: Ignore all the books and instead listen to your own instincts and common sense.