Review: (un)Natural Mom by Hettie Brittz

Untitled 2Society puts more pressure on Moms to perform. (un)Natural Mom by Hettie Brittz lays bare the pressures that the modern Mom face to keep up appearances to show the world they are competent and truly care for their children.
However, no matter how hard Moms try, they are not perfect. And some people have to work hard at it than others. Asserting this reality is where this book excels. The author believes, that whatever you might be going through as a Mom, you are the perfect mother for your children.
(un)Natural Mom states there are 4 types of parenting profiles and most Moms in the world fit into one or two of these categories. The author calls this categorisation, The Tall Trees Parenting Profile (T2P2). This profiling technique is a bit like the Myers-Briggs personality profile where different personality types are explained and their features categorised. In short, the T2P2 is like the Myers-Briggs personality profile for Moms.
There are 4 categories or personalities under The Tall Trees Parenting Profile. They are:
  1. The Boxwood Tree - According to the author, this category is sometimes called "Melancholy". She believes Boxwood Moms' mothering style tend to come with lots of talking and interactions. A Boxwood Mom’s love for a predictable environment helps their children with logical thinking and a good grasp of order.
  2. The Rose Bush - These, according to the author, "...are born pioneers who tend to lead the way their way." Rose Bush Moms tend to be very involved with whatever their kids are doing, tucking them up every night without fail and helping with assignments. They have a high expectations of their kids and demand absolute best from them.
  3. The Pine Tree - The phrase "what you see is what you get" is applicable to this kind of Moms. They are very steady. They also tend to try and create peace as they dislike disharmony and strive. The Pine Tree Mom feels what her children feel and strive to make her house a home. She doesn't like running a strict regiment and notes from school often get forgotten until the last minute.
  4. The Palm Tree – This category of Moms hardly spank their kids. They see the best in their children and tend to set examples of gratitude and generosity. The Palm Tree Mom try to raise kids who try to find joy no matter what life throws at them.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ (UN)NATURAL MOM
If you are a Mom or Mom-to-be, anything that gives helpful advice and offers reassurance is only good for you.
Also, the author gives lots of real life experiences from her life and that of others for people to learn from. This is always a good thing.

FRUSTRATING POINTS
The Tall Trees Parenting Profile (T2P2) isn't as original as I though it would be. It is too similar to Myers-Briggs and people with good knowledge of the later can easily transport the knowledge to parenting with little or no problem. As a result, people with a good knowledge of traditional personality profiles might find this book boring.

MY VERDICT
(un)Natural Mom is a fine book and I do recommend it for Moms of different experiences.
Many thanks to David C Cook for review copy.










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