New Feature

When I first drew the road map for my website (over a year ago) I had envisioned a page in which I'd recommend some great parenting books but it never dawned on me that I'd be adding books to that list continuously.

I have recently created a Happy Healthy Hip Parenting Bookstore so that the books can be easily seen, purchased and shared. I've decided to use the blog as a place to highlight a book - once a day - simply because there are so many on that list and it just keeps growing.

Today's Parenting Book of the Day is Life Lessons from Soccer: What Your Child Can Learn On and Off the Field-A Guide for Parents and Coaches by Vincent Fortanasce.

Parent-tested and approved by the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), this indispensable book by a parent, coach, and doctor shows soccer moms, dads, and coaches how to encourage children to look beyond winning and to turn every game and practice into an opportunity to teach life lessons.

Dr. Vincent Fortanasce applies his expertise in child development to guide parents and coaches on:

• Emphasizing fun over performance and morality over victory
  
• Understanding the way kids think and their capabilities at each developmental stage
  
• Controlling their own touchline behavior
  
• Instilling character, conscience, and courage in every player, regardless of talent
  

In Life Lessons from Soccer, Vincent Fortanasce celebrates the enchantments of soccer as a learning ground for family values and life lessons -- and for becoming closer to your children on and off the field.

How Not to Be a Soccer Mom

YouTube better watch out. There's a new video site that's just moved up a notch on my online video list of sites with great resources.

Howcast is an online directory of How-To videos. Here's a few of my favorites, including the How To Not be a Soccer Mom that I first discovered:

Also not-to-miss videos on parenting include:
How Fatherhood Changes Men
How To Put the "final Touches" on Potty Training
How To Reignite Your Sex Life After Having a Baby

Multi-Tasking Moms

Are soccer moms a dying breed?

According to marketing and advertising representatives from companies who cater to families with children, the modern mom maintains her career, family, friendships, book clubs, play dates, after school activities, and date nights, as well as managing her local community and on line network and blog, all while looking good and feeling even better.

What the article failed to mention is the fact that today's women (mothers or not) grew up under a different set of "rules" than those our own mothers experienced.

My favorite T-shirt when I was around five years old (I remember it vividly) was one that read: Anything Boys Can Do, Girls Can Do Better!

Available at SuperHeroStuff.com

Not that I believed that to be true, but it empowered me to try harder, not be intimidated by those who said, "but you're a girl," and gave me permission to be whoever the hell I wanted to be. At five, I may not have realized the impact this would have on my future self, but I now know that I'm now not alone among this generation of women who refuse to settle - or sacrifice - when it comes to our careers, our families or our happiness. We make choices and with every change there does come evolution.

I don't have a daughter and perhaps I never will but I can only imagine how difficult it is to raise a young girl these days. While I was singing along to "Like a Virgin," before I was old enough to understand what that even meant, today's youth are learning about sex at a much earlier age and are exposed to much more than many parents choose to admit.

If moms do have such an impact on the advertising and marketing campaigns that major companies create, shouldn't we be witnessing a shift in the levels and frequency of sex and violence featured on television and everywhere else in our society?

I'm not sure where us Multi-tasking Moms need to start for these changes to take effect, but I do know that with each forthcoming generation of women, and future moms, change is bound to occur and the companies that cater to them are going to have to modify their approach accordingly.

It's going to be an exciting ride and we have the women and moms before us to thank.