Freeing Ourselves From The Mad Myths Of Parenthood! [Paperback]

Susan Jeffers, author of the hugely successful Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway and other self-help bibles, brings her attention to bear on children and motherhood. The stereotype that an unhappy adult is created by a bad mother is a fundamentally damaging misconception about just how much responsibility a mother should take for the happiness and success of her offspring, when grown.

Why not fathers? Why assume that adults cannot take responsibility for their own actions? Who says that people are entirely the product of their parenting and not their genetic make-up, or what the author calls their "sphere of being"; that is, the larger circle of their life, such as friends, teachers, media and so forth? Answer? So-called experts, who have no real evidence on which to base their assertions.

Jeffers' book is assertive and aggressive in tone, but then she is setting out to rattle the cage of a belief that has pervaded attitudes to parenting since the Victorian age. It is possible to love your children and not love parenthood. Don't have children if you don't want to--it's a valid choice. Why should the mother always, seemingly automatically, get custody after a divorce?

This is a truly refreshing read for mothers--and indeed fathers--who want to hear a new and distinctive voice on these questions, among those that drone the same old repressive paradigms. --Alison Jardine. Originally published as I'm OK You're a Brat.

". 'BRILLIANT! A brave and revolutionary book that dares to confront many of our long-cherished beliefs about parenthood and parenting' - Susan Forward, author of Emotional Blackmail. 'There is a terrific ring of truth about this book. Encouraging for parents and non-parents alike, it throws a clear spotlight onto what it really means to have a child' - Hester Lacey, Independent on Sunday. 'At last, totally guilt-free parenting! If only l'd had this book sixteen years ago when I started out' - Jenni Murray. 'The self-help guru Susan Jeffers may be on the verge of achieving the impossible: that of winning the admiration of parents far and wide with a seriously politically incorrect book about children' - Serena Allott, Telegraph"

‘At last, totally guilt-free parenting! If only I'd had this book sixteen years ago when I started out’ --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Susan Jeffers explodes the modern myths of parenting as no one has ever dared before. With humour and compassion she shows how difficult it is to be a parent and reveals the insidious guilt traps set by the child care 'experts'. She questions many fashionable myths and half-truths that add to a parent's sense of inadequacy and guilt and offers her own 'survival' tools.
Among the issues she addresses are:
* why parenthood can be a nightmare as well as a joy
* the difficulties the relationship with your spouse can suffer after a child
* how drastically life can change with parenthood
* why mothers should not feel guilty to go back to work
* how we can have great fulfilment with - or without - children
This is the most liberating book parents will ever read!

Susan Jeffers received a doctorate in psychology from Columbia University. She is a noted public speaker, workshop leader, and media personality. She has written several best-selling books on the subjects of fear, relationships and personal growth.