Tina Nocera made me laugh today. Founder of ParentalWisdom.com, she's written a book Because Kids Don't Come with Manuals: Contemporary Advice for Parents that offers insights into the needs of kids today.
Some of the book has universal application, regardless of the child's age, but it is clear she is mainly targeting parents of teens. Just on the threshold of that era, I was grateful for the sound advice and the calming knowledge that teens 'checking out' mentally is normal. It has something to do with their brain development and the natural process of untethering themselves from Mama's skirt.
It doesn't make it any easier.
My eight-year-old is teaching me math, for instance. She also knows more about Guinea Pigs than I do ("Shhhh, Mom! You're talking too loudly. Your whisper is their scream." Wow.) Aren't I suppose to be the one who knows it all? According to Ms. Nocera, our kids go through cycles of thinking we know everything to thinking we know nothing -- a sad thought!
Ms. Nocera's language is loaded with should's and her tone is no-nonsense, which might be a turn-off for some. Nonetheless, I like her fresh approach to most of the issues about communication, encouraging creativity and decision-making we parents inevitably face when raising kids. She interweaves her corporate job experience into her writing, which is smart and tight. All in all an enjoyable read!
