Mom as expert?

I worked at a parenting magazine where our first question to pr pitches was always “is she a mom?’  Whether someone had written a book, produced a DVD, invented a parenting product, we always felt that being a parent conferred some extra power.  But a couple of things have changed my mind.

One is Kate.  The star of the TLC reality show, Kate Gosselin is such a celebrity now that just typing in ‘Kate’ brings her name up first in Google.  She has leapfrogged past Academy Award winning actresses named Kate, Kate Spade and almost any word that starts with ‘ka’ (except kayak).

Another woman has put to rest the notion that parents have to write about kids and families.  Marlene Wallach www.justaskmarlene.com, president of Wilhelmina Kids & Teens Modeling Agency has a new series of books out for tween girls.  The 4 book My Tween Lifestyle Collection speaks so perfectly to tween girls that I now think maybe the best way to write about kids is from the outside.  The books: My Self, My Look, M Beauty and My Life cover aspects like stress management, fashion and styling tips and self-esteem.  My 11 year old was like a junkie, polishing one book off only to dive right into the next.

Marlene, who spoke to a group of mom bloggers the other day (and gave us each a set of books) notes that some of her tips work for adults and tween boys.  I doubt many 11 year old boys are secure enough in their masculinity to pick up a one of these books, but if you have a son, maybe you can read them on the QT and suggest some of the relaxation techniques or exercise routines.

This is an original post to NYC Mom’s Blog.