Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Mad At Mommy? Join the club, but skip this book

If you are a mom, have a mom, or know a mom, chances are you understand that someone is always inevitably mad at mommy.
It just comes with the territory.  Mothers always manage to come out looking like the bad guy, blamed for just about everything... even when their only crime is smothering their offspring with love and tenderness.  
So when I happened to stumble upon the children's book, Mad At Mommy after story time at the library I was expecting to be delightfully surprised. I was looking forward to a lighthearted and witty story that would leave me misty-eyed and giggling. 
But this kids' book has no business sitting on library shelves.  At least not in my humble opinion.  

Bunny -- the book's main character -- is mad at his mommy because she sleeps too late, yells for no reason, and forgets to pick him up from school on time.
I don't know about you but I'd be pretty angry at mommy, too. It seems to me like she may need to call a support hotline stat.  I couldn't bring myself to read more than half of this book to Mackenzie.  It was too sad.  But I was curious to know how it ended. 
Turns out, bunny becomes so angry with his mother that he decides to leave.  Forever.  
A mere five minutes pass before he returns home and is reassured by his seemingly depressed mom that she missed him terribly.  So, yeah.  A happy ending.  Woo hoo. 
I still couldn't get over the fact that this book even existed.  That someone would write something so painfully heartbreaking for young children.  
I've accepted the fact that my role as a mother -- and especially my role as the mom of a girl -- will sometimes involve nasty name calling and mud slinging. We abuse our mothers without shame because they're our rocks and the love we share is unconditional and immortal. It isn't fair and it doesn't make sense but it's a fact of life.  
It's also a fact of life that many moms will have rotten days, with some experiencing post baby blues, and often even serious depression.  But should we be reading these stories to our toddlers? 
I'm going to go with no.  And I'm sure someone out there will hate me for saying that. 


Thoughts? Please share your opinion below! 

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