Ever wonder what the perfect mom is like?
You probably have a pretty good idea. She plays classical music throughout the house and in the van, rides bikes with her kids, reads them classic literature, finger paints with them (in the house), keeps a color-coded calendar of kids’ activities on her frig, never gets mad, has a great sense of humor and looks fabulous.
Now, how would you like to be her?
Rocket Mom! a book by Carolina Fernandez (Four Q Press, 2003) gives you step-by-step instructions on how to amaze your kids, your husband and your neighbors with out-of-this world parenting skills.
The book devotes a chapter to each of Fernandez’s seven strategies to “blast you into brilliance,” including nurturing creativity in your child, instilling a musical heritage, character building and organizing your home.
The author uses a unique combination of theory and scientific foundation, specific and concrete things to do on a daily basis, and personal stories and examples of how she used the Rocket Mom philosophy with her own children.
That blend is what makes Rocket Mom! worth buying, reading and referring to as a parenting resource.
On Strategy 1, identifying and nurturing creative genius, Fernandez devotes two pages to research and scientific studies that link exposure to creativity and the arts to high IQs, success and happiness. She then follows up with ways to encourage creativity in your child. (“Keep easels set up in the garage.” “Buy a pair of red shoes and wear them. In public.”)
No detail is too small for this book. Fernandez takes lofty goals and removes the frustration from them by listing every-day ways to reach them.
It’s in the book’s introduction that you find the author's inspiration and motivation for this book. Fernandez gave up a career as a stockbroker to stay home and raise her children. Looking to treat her new, full-time parenting job with as much gusto as she did Wall Street, she quickly saw a gaping hole where there should be resources to help her in her new job. Rocket Mom! was her passionate way of filling that hole.
The book is bursting with ideas. Even if the notion of being “Rocket Mom” makes you roll your eyes, snort and tsk, you’re sure to find a few surprises – from creative holiday traditions in "Strategy 4: Celebrate Life on Earth," to how to eliminate wasted time (apparently we spend one to two years of our lives looking for misplaced objects).
Don’t be surprised if you find yourself swallowing your sarcasm and trying her tips on how to make homemade wrapping paper or build a gingerbread house out of graham crackers.
The only thing missing from the book is a troubleshooting guide. Fernandez advises parents to give their children headphones and classical music CDs, but she doesn’t say what we’re to do when our 12-year-old tosses out Beethoven and puts in the Beastie Boys.
Nor does she sufficiently address the two-parent household. The book falls short of advice on how to be Rocket Mom when your husband wants to be Model T Collecting-Dust-in-the-Garage Dad.
Fernandez gives Rocket Mom seminars, publishes a free weekly e-newsletter and provides parenting advice via her web site.
For more articles on parenting, see:
- Stay-at-Home Parent Survival Guide: 7 Tips to Make a Career Out of Home and Children
- How Kids Can Help with Chores: 13 Ways Your Children Can Do Cleaning, Laundry and More
