Product Description

Funny, acutely observed, frighteningly honest and drawing on her own and hundreds of other mum's real experiences, Stephanie Calman serves up the perfect antidote to all those books that tell you that your children must be perfect, and to all those Stepford mums and kids out there who look as if they just might be: perfectly groomed, perfectly behaved and perfectly brilliant. The reality, as we all know, encompasses sleepless nights, no sex for years, baby sick on your best cashmere cardy, the terrible twos and then, just when you thought it was safe to go back in the sitting room, terrible teenagers whose only means of communication is the slamming door or the grunt.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47531 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 324 pages

The Guardian, February 18th 2006
'The non-fiction Helen Simpson'

Review

‘Entertaining … bites back on behalf of all women who disobey the perfect-mummy manuals and muddle through in their own way’ You Magazine

‘Plenty to make parents laugh out loud with recognition…one to read with a large glass of wine once all the little monsters are tucked up in bed’ Sunday Express

‘A no-holds-barred look at mothering and it’s all the better for it…tells it like it is’ Easy Living

From the Inside Flap
Are you a super-duper, totally fulfilled mother twenty-four hours a day? Do you give your children home-made risotto, help them with their homework, read them a fairy tale and sing them to sleep? Or do you give them chicken nuggets in front of the telly, herd them into bed and slump down exhausted with a drink?

Do you feel that other mothers are 'doing it properly' while you're getting it All Wrong?

if you try your best but frequently feel a failure, if you - or your children - are in any way imperfect, then join the club: the Bad Mother's Club. Stephanie Calman has broken every rule and done it all 'wrong'. From giving birth with her pants on to making her kids watch more telly, she has persistently defied all accepted wisdom and professional advice.

Outrageous, funny and hideously true, Confessions of a Bad Mother is her story. Read it, and know - at last - that you are Normal.

Customer Reviews

Loved it, loved it, just loved it!!!
Excellent, made me chuckle from start to finish. Anyone who has children will relate to this book and to the author. Not so much the confessions of a "bad mother" but the story of an everyday (albeit talented storyteller) mum, struggling with all the strifes that beseige us all! At the same time, fighting against those present day imposters and enemies of all parents; political correctness and the mummy mafia!!

When I had my first child, 12 years ago now (!!) I fell into the trap of thinking that every body else was coping far better than me. I strived to be the best mum ever; washing the floor with milton twice a day and completely stressing myself out. I wish that I had been able to read this book at that time. Fast forward to 12 years later, and now with my third child, I have finally realised that the most important thing that you can do for your children is to love them. Its that simple. It has nothing to do with star charts and clean floors, but everything to do with enjoying them and giving of yourself, honestly and to the best of your ability, not someone else's idea of parenting. Your instincts are the only set of instrucions that your children come with - ignore them at your peril!!

THE FUNNIEST BOOK I HAVE READ FOR YEARS!
I am not generally a laugh-out-loud kind of person when I am reading but this book had me doing exactly that. I started giggling by page 5 and drove family and friends nuts by insisting on reading passages out loud at every possible opportunity. The book is beautifully written by a woman who I know would have been skulking at the back of the playground (with me) whilst all the 'proper mums' chatted about pencil control and reward charts. This is not a book about a bad parent but a book which gives an honest and therefore hilarious account of how terribly wrong our pre-conceptions of motherhood can be. My own children are teenagers now and I can't wait for Ms Calman's take on that subject!

Confessions of a Bad reviewer
Feeling alone, fed up, losing a sense of what’s reality and what’s not? Then read it!

Reviewer: Trixiebelle from Nottingham, Notts, United Kingdom

I bought this book as soon as it came out. It had more than 1 lesson for me when I read it but the primary 2 were:

Lesson 1: I am not a bad mother in the ‘original’ sense of the word ‘bad’ but in the ‘ironic’ sense of the word. ‘Bad’ means I kick against society’s ‘norms’ about what a Good Mother should be and tell the tale honestly and without prejudice. This is what this book does – without doubt. And this is probably why it has deservedly arrived on the Best-Seller list because some women have finally realised they are not alone.

Lesson 2: As women (and especially mothers) we have a duty to each other. In my model of the world that means that we acknowledge differences and understand the issues we ALL have across social and geographic boundaries: I.E. A mother in Islington (for example) has the same experience of childbirth and motherhood as a mother anywhere else. A mother in Islington has the same propensity to be struck down with PND as a mother in Brixton

This book tells it like it is. And the basic principles of how motherhood affects us are the same for any woman regardless of income, age, social status or latte consumption.

‘Guilt’ is a presiding emotion when we’re bringing up kids. If you’re a mum: Don’t feel guilty about reading this book, don’t feel guilty about feeling that motherhood is not what you expected, don’t feel guilty about laughing out loud @ Stephanie’s ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ and don’t feel ‘pompous’ if you have a childminder!

Stephanie Calman has captured reality in this book and I recommend it! Who could EVER deny that honesty about being a mum is a bad thing?