When you find out you're going to be a parent for the first time, you do a lot of reading. Blogs, magazines, books; everything is new and there's just so much to learn.
We all know the old saying - children don't come with a manual - and it's true, we all just have to figure things out as we go.
But there are resources out there that can help us be as prepared as possible. When I found out I was expecting Ethan, I started this blog and reading other parenting blogs as a means to share ideas and find support. I also bought a couple of pregnancy books and started reading the relevant magazines each month. The more information I had, the more confident I felt.
Since Ethan was born, blogs have been my main source of information when it comes to this parenting malarkey. It's a lot of trial and error and every child is different, so I haven't really sought any 'expert' advice, other than other people who like me blog about their adventures, and challenges, in parenthood.
However, when I saw that there was a new book called 'The working parents' guide to raising happy and confident children' by Nadim Saad, I was keen to review it.
We all parent in different ways and I still feel like I am finding my groove, particularly when it comes to discipline or dealing with tough mood swings. I am all about structure and finding a good way to do things, but I am also the 'softer' parent and I have noticed that Ethan doesn't always listen to me straight away and at times, I feel like her can run rings around me.
The title spoke to me straight away, as we are both working parents (something that works for us but you will always have an element of guilt about, no doubt) and of course we want Ethan to grow up to be confident and happy.
This is all I want; for Ethan to find his way in the world, to be caring, to be happy with who he is and what he has and to be confident to go out and achieve what he wants to.
He is already very sociable and confident and I would like to have some confidence in the way in which I parent and to have some reassurance that I am on the right track. Which, you could argue, I am as Ethan is doing really well with his social skills and his learning too, but everyone can do with some guidance now and then.
The book is really comprehensive and is structured very much like a professional work book might be. The tone and focus is very similar on management and training techniques, with chapters such as your 5-week programme to becoming a leader parent and troubleshooting tips for top parenting challenges.
Being a working mum and having participated in various training schemes that deal with themes similar to this, I really like this approach. I don't find the book to be know-it-all or patronising and find it to be pretty practical.
With anything like this, a pinch of salt is always going to be required. Only we really know our children and not every example is going to apply - or every technique work.
But I like the suggestions within this book and for someone like me, it gives me some much needed confidence when it comes to dealing with toddler confrontations. Ideas for technology dependency and tantrums are really useful and whilst it may still be trial and error, it's given me a new way of approaching situations.
There is only one mum just like me, and I'm just trying to be the best one I can be.
The Working Parents Guide to Raising Happy and Confident Children has a cover price of £11.99 from Best of Parent Publishing.
For To Become Mum readers, you can download a copy of the author's previous book, Raising Confident Children, for free.
* I received a copy of this book for the purposes of review, all opinions are my own.
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