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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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 KAREN HOUPPERT 
16

The Mommy Industry Is Killing Moms

Selling advice to parents is just adding stress

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(Newser) – Thanks to offhand comments from her son ("You're a mean mom!") and underhanded comments from other parents ("Your son's very competitive!"), Karen Houppert wakes up at 2:30am every day, wrestling with self-doubt. The newest parenting trend—family coaches to perfect your child-raising skills—joins the already $2.1 trillion "mommy market" of advice and enrichment for sale. "And what if you resist such costly 'enrichment' for junior?" she writes for Salon. Answer? "Bad mommy!"

"All these well-intentioned tips just stoke my anxiety," she continues. But maybe they're not-so-well-intentioned: Harried parents are lured in with "a few strategically placed buzzwords" and offered bogus quick fixes. Your own kid starts to look like a failure—your failure. Finally, Houppert decides to give her 11-year-old a break. "The future doesn't worry him a bit. I try to resist the temptation to mold his plastic mind in preparation for successful living when he is already happily living the good life right now."

The $2.1 trillion
The $2.1 trillion "mommy market" just stresses many women out.   (©Gramody)
The $2.1 trillion
The $2.1 trillion "mommy market" just stresses many women out.   (©banspy)
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16 comments
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Stasis
Oct 27, 09 12:08 PM CDT
Taking parenting advice from internet freaks would be like soliciting piloting safety advice from the 9/11 hijackers.... Reply
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+1
crissywidjaja
Oct 27, 09 12:09 PM CDT
"your a failure" "you're a failure" Reply
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-1
IN RESPONSE:
crissywidjaja
Oct 27, 09 12:09 PM CDT
damn they already edited it! :) nice job newser
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0
BleeBloo
Oct 27, 09 12:52 PM CDT
Wow. How insulting. "You clearly have no idea to raise your own child! Here, let me tell you how!' Making women feel inadequate is an age-old marketing tactic, but this is a pretty low blow. Reply
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+1
Thinker
Oct 27, 09 1:14 PM CDT
Are mothers REALLY that stupid today? Reply
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-2

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