Mama Rock’s Rules-Common sense parenting advice
Written by Elizabeth on April 17, 2008 – 12:39 pm -
The full title is Mama Rock’s Rules: Ten Lessons for Raising a Houseful of Successful Children, and the co-authors are Rose Rock, mother of actor/comedian Chris Rock, and Valerie Graham. Rose Rock raised ten biological children, 17 foster children, and an assortment of other children who hung out at her house.
Each of her ten rules address a different parenting issue, from the importance of being your child’s parent and not their friend, to the sure-to-be-controversial “Don’t Lie Down with Anything You Don’t Want to Live with Forever,” her frank, no nonsense approach to teaching children about sex. Within each chapter are margin quotes from one of her children about how the particular rule impacted their life, Mama’s Mojo which are paragraphs-within-paragraphs that give a quick tip, and then a recap of all the strategies for each rule at the end of each chapter.
Chapter Three is the rule “Wipe Your Mouth Out Before You Come into the House”, which are Mama Rock’s Rules about lying. I dog-eared one page, because it’s the same philosophy we have taught our children, and it goes like this:
Tell the Truth no matter how Bad it is. Like Mama Rock, we have always told our children that there is nothing they can’t tell us, no matter how much they think they will get in trouble for it. The consequences for being caught in a lie are always worse than admitting the truth. She also has a brilliantly clever way to get a kid to confess to something without asking them a “yes” or “no” question. If you ask a child “did you break that lamp?”, their first response will almost always be no, because it’s a matter of self-protection. Instead, Mama Rock suggests you sit that child down with you at the table, maybe give them some ice cream or another treat, and then ask them, “WHEN you broke the lamp, what happened?” GENIUS!
The other section I dog-eared is Mama Rock’s rule about curfew. I wish she would print this on a poster that I could hang up near the front door of my house! She says that the letters “curfew” stand for:
C-Confirm with all kids before they leave the house, where are they going, how are they getting there, who are they going with, and what time they need to be home.
U-Understand that curfew is not a convenience. Decide the consequences of breaking curfew before your child leaves.
R-Remember to reinforce consequences ahead of time. Remind your child what your rules are regarding curfew and what the consequence is before they leave.
F-Forget one standard curfew time for every child in every situation, be flexible.
E-Enforce the consequences (no matter how hard it is). It’s about learning responsibility.
W-Welcome the chance to give your child something to work for. When your child consistently honors their curfew, give them more privileges as a reward.
Brilliant! For more about the author, you can read this interview with Rose Rock published on MSNBC.com, and visit Harper Collins Publishers for more info on the book. To order the book from Amazon.com and help me earn a nickel as an Amazon affiliate, please use this link to order a copy of Mama Rock’s Rules
Tags: book review, mama rock's rules, parenting advice, parenting books
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