For Frustrated Moms
and those with Motherhood Anxiety,
Help is
Here!
Click here to download Media Kit (168KB)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Stacey J. Miller
Telephone: 781/986-0732 or Email: sjmiller@bookpr.com
The New Parenting Crusade:
Transforming Suckermothers into Smart Moms
Maxine Schnall, who founded the first marital
hotline in America, Wives Self Help Foundation,
Inc., is now spearheading a new movement:
turning suckermothers into smart moms. Schnall
has teamed up with Leslie Levin, her next-door
neighbor for twenty years, on an impassioned
quest to become lifesavers for moms stressed
out by the current “extreme parenting” craze.
Co-authors of a new book, From Suckermother
to Smart mom: Raising Great Kids Without
Losing Your Mind, Money, and Love Life,
Schnall and Levin -- who between them have
five kids, four stepchildren, and seven grandchildren
-- are determined to empower these anxious,
overworked mothers with “mommy mojo” so
they can resist outside cultural pressures,
stand up to their kids, and learn to say
no to unreasonable requests while they lay
down the rules, enforce those rules, and
still make time for themselves.
Schnall and Levin have learned that overscheduling
children and micromanaging their lives is
a mistake. “Parents are knocking themselves
out to raise kids who will be smarter than
Einstein and richer than Bill Gates,” they
say, “but in the process, they’re
stifling their children’s creativity
and turning them into ‘give me’ kids.” They
advise not to be intimidated by “momsters” who
think that pushing more of everything on
their kids -- more books, more toys, more
tennis, more tutoring, and more French lessons — will
turn children into geniuses and ensure bright
futures for the whole family. In fact, Schnall
and Levin point out, all that you’ll
accomplish by pushing your kids and yourself
too hard with “womb schooling” (trying
to educate a child who is still a fetus), “mealus
interruptus” (gulping down every meal
you eat so that you can finish it before
your child or your husband demands your attention),
and “sexlesscapades” (no time
or energy to have sex with your husband)
is needless stress.
Schnall and Levin’s research
into parenting in the 21 st century has turned
up some alarming trends:
- Thirteen percent of kids suffer from
anxiety disorders, and this is probably
a greatly underreported number.
- Ritalin use has increased 500 percent
with a 300 percent jump in Ritalin prescriptions
for toddlers, ages 2 to 4 .
- Preschool children are three times as
likely to be expelled as children in primary
school because of behavioral problems caused
by expecting kids to do more than what
they can do.
They decry the new rent-a-parent concept
in which moms hire other people to potty
train their kids and teach them other basics. “Along
with depriving themselves of spending time
with their children and enjoying doing such
activities together as bike riding, baking
cookies, and raking leaves,” Schnall
and Levin say, “they’re missing
an opportunity to play and talk with their
children and get to know who they really
are.”
National
Be Kind To Yourself Day
Schnall and Levin’s mission, as they
see it, is to restore joy and common sense
to parenting. They are launching a new holiday
called National Be Kind to Yourself Day. “It
will be different from Mother’s Day
where moms ending up doing a lot of work
themselves,” they explain. “Women
are so busy taking care of everyone else
that they grossly neglect their own needs
and put their health at risk.” The
new national holiday will help mothers get
a handle on how to reduce their anxiety,
guilt, stress, and fatigue throughout the
year, they say, and can eventually save the
nation millions in health care costs and
lost hours in the workplace.
The power to enjoy motherhood, Schnall and
Levin believe, is in the hands of every mom.
They recommend that you stop being an “über-mom” (that
is, a quintessential earth mother who thinks
she has to have natural childbirth, breastfeed,
wash and iron her children’s clothes
to perfection, and leap tall school buildings
in a single bound) and become a smart mom
before you burn out. “Quit trying to
live up to impossible standards imposed upon
mothers by ‘momsters,’ those
judgmental, self-appointed capos of motherhood
who have less-than-perfect moms on their
hit list,” offer Schnall and Levin. “You’ll
be a lot happier and your children will be,
too, if you resist the cultural imperative
to try to raise a master race of kids. You
only have to be a ‘good enough’ parent,
not a perfect one (there is no such thing)
to help your children become the best adults
they can be.”
Win a Free Day at a Spa!
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From Suckermother to Smart Mom
By Maxine Schnall and Leslie Levin
www.LessStressforMoms.com
ISBN: 1420868233
October 2005
Price: $14.95
 Quiz: Are You a Suckermother or
a Smart Mom?
By Maxine Schnall and Leslie
Levin,
coauthors of From Suckermother
to Smart Mom
Answer (a) or (b) to the following questions
and find out whether you’re sensibly
committed to your children (a smart mom)
or a suckermother who may become committable
because of them if you don’t change
your ways.
1. How often do you take advantage of conveniences
that will make parenting easier?
(a) as often as possible
(b) hardly ever
(you think you have to do everything yourself)
2. Do you find it difficult to say “no” or “wait” to
your children?
(a) no
(b) yes
3. When you’re driving in the car
with your husband and baby, do you sit in
the back seat with the baby rather than next
to your husband?
(a) no
(b) yes
4. If you can’t find a toy for your
child after calling one or two stores, do
you call every store in the phone book and
then go online to try to buy the toy?
(a) no
(b) yes
5. Do you take your child to pre-school
or after-school activities every day of the
week?
(a) no
(b) yes
6. Every school night, do you wind up doing
most of your child’s homework?
(a) no
(b) yes
7. Are you so busy taking care of your
kids that you can’t eat sensibly, exercise,
or get enough sleep?
(a) no
(b) yes
8. When your friends call you on the phone,
can you have conversations with them that
are not constantly interrupted by your child?
(a) yes
(b) no
9. You’re too exhausted to have sex
with your husband more than once a month
and keep thinking about the kids while you’re
having it?
(a) no
(b) yes
10. No matter how much you do for your
children, do you feel that it’s never
enough?
(a) no
(b) yes
Scoring: If you answered (a) ten times,
go to the head of the class—you’re
a smart mom!
If you answered (b) one time, you could
be in trouble if your behavior is negatively
impacting your life.
If you answered (b) two or more times,
you need help! Both you and your kids will
benefit when you kick the suckermother habit.
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