The Kid Turned Out Fine: Moms Fess Up About Cartoons, Candy, And What It Really Takes to Be a Good Parent

by Paula Ford-Martin (Editor)

Every parent knows that moment of recognition—and relief—that only another parent can provide when sharing confessions of parenting guilt. In this book, more than thirty mothers share their stories of all the things they might regret doing—and the happy knowledge that their kid turned out fine anyway!

Genres: Parenting, Humor, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It's lots of confessions from parents about things they have or haven't done with their kids. It's an easy, funny read.

[Cyndie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Funny! Great to hear I was not the only one with some of these stories!

[Janette · Rating 1 out of 5]

Contributors are almost entirely liberal women who have very questionable ideas about raising children. I found myself shaking my head in disgust more often than not. Only one or two excerpts were worth reading, while the rest was just embarrassing and a partial indicator of why this country is now going down the tubes. Not a great read.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

makes me feel much better that the mistakes i make now won't damage my child forever

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some fun true stories about mothers and children--I enjoyed reading

[Wendy Burks · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book at a Scholastic Book Fair sale, and basically paid nothing for it, which is about what it was worth in terms of the enjoyment I derived from it... I had hoped it would be humorous tales of parenting mistakes with the kids turning out fine despite them. Instead, the stories were less mistakes and more personal choices, not always agreed with by everyone else, which in the end just reaffirmed the parents choices made in the first place. It would have been encouraging and interesting to hear parents honestly admitting their 'oops' moments, but these tales seemed bland and disingenuous. More honesty, and less self-righteousness might have salvaged this well-intentioned book. Like for example, how about including the time my daughter super-glued herself to the floor when I left the cap off the glue and within her reach. Definitely an "oops" moment in my parenting history, but my daughter ended up fine despite it. The book begins with "I have never once driven off with my newborn atop the car." Well what about the usually attentive mom or dad, in an early morning haze, that has...?? Parents aren't perfect, and a book about parenting mistakes shouldn't sugarcoat them.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick, light, fun read for parents that need confirmation that we're all just making up this parenting thing as we go along. We have our own parents and lives as inspiration, we try to just use common sense and love to guide us. But we all make stupid mistakes and/or we're all just human, and we should all stop sweating it so much.

When I say the book was quick and light, I mean that, seriously, the stories were usually 2 to 4 pages. And when I say that we make stupid mistakes and/or we're all human, seriously, the stories were things like:

I forgot to buy clothes for my baby. She was probably cold for a while.
I used permanent marker to draw a Harry Potter scar on my kid's forehead.
I have a house cleaning service.
I take naps.

I mean, they're pretty dumb when you think about most of them, but the stories were charming enough (or short enough) that I didn't mind.

I will admit that I did feel judge-y at one point. The story about giving your kids candy constantly so you could shop? Eeek. But the title here is key. The kids are fine and we should all stop being so judgmental of other parents.

[Heather C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is pretty funny--short essays by moms (who all happen to be professional writers as far as I can tell) telling stories about their giant failures as mothers. It's all light-hearted and good--forgotten tooth-fairy money and dead goldfish type of scenarios. It's nice to be reminded that there aren't any perfect Mommies out there.

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just happened to find this book at a used book store a couple of days ago, and I'm so glad I bought it. Not only are these stories cute and funny, but a few of them make me feel better about myself and my parenting abilities. The rest, well, they sound vaguely familiar. ;)

Overall, 4.5 stars and something I have already recommended to other moms.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kinda nice to know I'm not the only crazy mom out there!

[Amber]

1 copy available

[Lisa Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a lot of stories to make you laugh or say, "I've done that!" or "I'm glad I'm not that bad!" Some had too much of a religious bent for me, but a fun read.

[Donna Gobbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moms share anecdotes about raising children. The message of the book is that we all make mistakes but kids are resilient.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories are fun to read, great to know its's not just me!

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mothers are human and this book proves it. Very funny collection of short stories about raising kids and not being perfect on how we handle it.