The Mother's Almanac

Posted by Diane Laney Fitzpatrick Jan 23, 2008

I really don't like self-help books. And I mean I really don't like them. It's not that I think I know everything already. It's just that when I read, I'd prefer to enjoy an old classic or a new biography.

Which is why my praise for The Mother's Almanac is so rare. The book was first published in 1975, and was still in print and going strong 11 years later when I had my first baby and got my copy. It was a gift from a friend, who wrote this in the inside cover: "Diane, From one mom to another. Enjoy your baby to the fullest. Kiss their tiny feet and little hands and hug them to no end, because they sure don't take long to grow up! I hope this book comes in handy."

It did. Authors Marguerite Kelly and Elia Parsons give advice on the big stuff ("It's your job . . . to teach your child to be accountable for his actions.") and the littlest things (how to roast pumpkin seeds and how to make cornstarch clay). While my kids were growing up, I referred to it often for advice and validation for what my maternal instincts were telling me to do.

Since then, Marguerite Kelly has written two more books on parenting and is working on a fourth.

For mothers of small children, The Mother's Almanac is still a great read, even 33 years after it was first published. Good parenting has no expiration date!