Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box

I probably could have used this book a year ago when I was much more insecure about my ability to mother. In Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box, author Ann Dunnewold tells us how and why to reject falling into the trap of chasing the dream of being a perfect mother and offers a new paradigm for mothering--the perfectly good mother.

The perfectly good mother is herself, not who others expect her to be, and she accepts her faults; she looks after herself, and puts her needs first sometimes; she encourages family members to take responsibility for themselves; she has fun. The perfectly good mother is human.

The book also offers helpful suggestions to help make motherhood more enjoyable and less work, such as identifying your core values and focussing your energy on activities that promote these values. It also offers simple suggestions to make life easier, like cutting back on scheduled activities (I wholeheartedly agree with this one). Dunnewold also suggests ways for women to build support systems, by dropping sanctimommy buddies in favour of like-minded, non-judgmental friends for example.

Sure, it’s common sense and some of it's simplistic and even trite, but if you’re struggling with impossibly high expectations of yourself, June Cleaver is worth reading.

Ann Dunnewold is a licensed psychologist and expert on postpartum depression and anxiety. She has raised two daughters.

I have a copy of this for the first person who emails me at metro_mama@hotmail.com!