That fabulous duo on our cover are two of the authors of Sh*tty Mom: The Parenting Guide For The Rest Of Us, which is climbing onto the New York Times Best Sellers list as I write. At their recent book party, I was enjoying some small talk with a friend until that moment when I decided to reveal how depressingly frustrated I’ve been over my eight-year-old son’s seemingly pervasive drumbeat of rudeness and complaints. Could she relate? My friend, who has a boy close in age, could indeed. And then, without consciously making the connection to the event’s big theme, we confessed some of our latest Sh*tty Mom moments to each other.
Just the previous night, in fact, I was at a point of parental despair where nursing my headache and relaxing with some television seemed a much better option than continuing my appeals to my son for better behavior. So for the first time in a long time, I simply sent him to bed without a parent to read and nestle with. And you know what? He went to sleep.
In its fun, over-the-top way, Sh*tty Mom makes the case that you can be a really good parent without being anything close to perfect. If you like the sound of that philosophy, your next stop should be our lively cover interview.
On other fronts, the issue abounds with useful info and inspired tips for city families. I’d start with Natasha Schlesinger’s guide to helping kids enjoy art museums. Then, just rip out our Halloween events guide and pumpkin carving tips and put them on the refrigerator for the end of the month.
Our big guide to the best local pediatricians and pediatric specialists is a keeper too, but I want to give the last shout-out this month to the mother of Maggie McNamara. Maggie, who is now in her senior year at Princeton after interning with us this summer, wrote a wonderful first-person piece about growing up as dancer. Let’s just say her mom was the opposite of a Dance Mom—and that made all the difference.
Have A Happy October,
Eric Messinger
Editor, New York Family
