To feel like a very inadequate mother after reading this?

This has reminded me (kinda) of a friend and I sharing a video of our Christmas mornings.

Hers: imagine an idyllic, civilised scene. One DS playing the piano. Classical. Serene. Everyone dressed in Sunday best. Dad and other DC reading hardbacks in a pristine living room - nay, parlour. Not a bit wrapping paper in sight.

Cut to mine: All of us taking turns to rummage in the wheelie bin in our jammies, laughing and swearing at the buck eejitry of DS who had thrown his Christmas money out with the wrapping paper and rubbish. 😂

I know what Christmas I preferred and she knows what one was right for her. Enjoy your wee family for what it is. Don't compare yourself to others. The fact that you care enough to care about this shows you're a great parent.

As for parenting, most days I just aim for the basic principle: Do no harm. 😊

I read that book last year when I was about 4 days post partum and bf a lot. I loved it.

i do like the tribute to her mum. I think it’s beautiful.

More fool you. Do you get so bothered about other people’s situations which could be completely different to yours. I can’t imagine why a grown woman would compare herself to someone who clearly doesn’t know Op exists.

I surprised my daughter with a visit to the Jellycat patisserie. I hope she mentions that in her memoir.

God! Imagine having to do Greek Mythology, Chinese History and the Lives of Kings... What a bore!

I'm so glad my mother passions were cooking & the cocktail hour. Very French!

Whereas Ed Gein (I've just been reading about him), his mother created a monster! Religious mania and that all women were whores.

My mum got me into reading crime novels at a very young age and I still love them. Mum’s do what mum’s do and we love them for it. And your dc will love you too for more reasons than you will ever know. Or even realise.
ps. Wasn’t it the most brilliant book though!

Is it 'Lab Girl?'

If so, I don't think she enjoyed her childhood much.

We are very fortunate now, as parents, that we have so many resources on the Internet, for free. And what was available to this author by virtue of her birth is now available to so many parents if they wish to follow suit, even a little bit. History, language courses, maths, physics (really anything that does not require equipment/physical effort). The problem is (at least for me) is that by the time you return home from your job, you barely manage to do the basics, even if your husband fully helps. Don't know how to solve that though.

Most likely your kids won’t amount to anything much so your shortfalls as a mother will never have a spotlight shone on them. 😂

DD says that I introduced her to invaluable phrases such as "the dirty ballix", "inhospitable shower of b@stards" and "you're as lazy as shuck water" and that's enough for her.

I hope she never gets published.

Nah she sounds posh and pretentious with jet setting parents and educated at top boarding schools and Oxford. I think if you create a normal loving environment that’s way better.

If you take away the flowery prose, she's just saying her mum read to her and let her read her books. Something I'm pretty sure most of us do. Don't stress about it not being classical literature -- it's importance is overrated! And I say this as someone who studied classic literature! If your kid's interests tend that way, they will get a library card and read those books anyway. Really no big deal.

This is just normal (pretentious) fluff. It sounds better than "my mother taught me to wipe my own bum".

My grandfather taught me all that. He was in his 80s, he had time...most parents can't pass on all that much, they are working.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are women who post on the "We took you to stately homes " board whose mothers also did the things Alice Winn describes.
Thank you @PullTheBricksDown . That line is beautiful.

I agree. It brought tears to my eyes ❤️

It's easy to engage with kids when there's no video games or social media to distract them 😆

When our kids were little we visited my sister with similar-age children whom we saw a couple of times a year. They were both learning (age-appropriately) things we hadn't got round to introducing. I remember writing:

I was all OMG we are failing our children mode but then [niece] pushed [nephew] and burst into tears, and I felt a lot better!

(oh, and Greek mythology pisses me off, with its continual "and twenty years passed then he went somewhere else")

Childhood can contain a whole variety of activities you know. Reading and learning doesn't have to be at the exclusion of all sorts of other activities. I used to go off with my friends for hours playing in the countryside (or sledging if it snowed) then read when I got home/at night.

And introducing a child to books doesn't mean reading them aloud for hours every evening. My parents just had bookshelves all over the house stuffed with thousands of good books (novels, history books, science books) and if I asked for a recommendation they would happily find me a pile. And if I wanted to talk about what I had read then they were happy to chat. If you don't /can't have lots of books at home then regular trips to the library (or if they are older - library card and a bus fare) will give the same opportunities.

Blimey I was a child in the 1960’s and we were sent out of the door to play every day, I can’t remember my mum ever reading with me.
Perhaps she was teaching us resilience and how to think for ourselves?

My mother knew nothing about Greek mythology and I wouldn’t have been interested anyway. I have known some truly inadequate parents. Don’t worry OP.

Greek mythology is awesome, hope that helps!

Lol I see what you mean. But he does not really look like that. Very odd pic!

Oh she learns. And I've learned from her.

We've just got very little in common in terms of interests.

The author described and her mum must have had very compatible personalities.