A refreshingly honest, funny, and empowered view of parenting — the perfect gift for every mother.

Parents who are fed up with the pressure to turn their children into star athletes, concert violinists, and merit scholars — all at once! — finally have an alternative: the world of Slacker Moms, where kids learn to do things for themselves and parents can cut themselves some slack; where it's perfectly all right to do less, have less, and spend less. Slacker Moms say "No" to parenting philosophies that undermine parents' — and children's — ability to think for themselves. They say "Yes" to saving their money and time by opting out of the parenting competition. And they say "Hell, Yes!" to having a life of their own, knowing it makes them better parents.

In this witty and insightful book, author Muffy Mead-Ferro reflects on her experience of growing up on a ranch in Wyoming, where parenting — by necessity — was more hands-off, people "made do" with what they had, and common sense and generational wisdom prevailed. We should all take her sane lead!

"A welcome relief from the flood of how-to-mother-perfectly tomes, Mead-Ferro's short and sweet book is a reminder not to take parenthood so seriously. The author, who in addition to being the mother of two young children also has a demanding career as an advertising copywriter, has drawn valuable lessons in 'making do' from her grandmother, who 'had none of the proper equipment by today's standards' yet 'never described motherhood as a hardship.' Mead-Ferro doesn't care for creating clever scrapbooks, accessorizing the nursery or trying to impart baby genius status to her three-year-old. Rather, she teaches her children that 'making do' with their imagination is as good a route to inspiring creativity as any educational toy. She believes in letting her kids learn that the physical world is a complicated place; it's better than smothering, isolating and 'child-proofing' the world for them, she says. Rejecting the mentality that results in pre-school admission anxiety attacks and overly competitive soccer leagues for six-year-olds, Mead-Ferro both soothes and inspires as she prompts parents, and mothers in particular, to trust their own instincts rather than that of the 'experts.' Let the kids get messy, she says, and let them figure some things out for themselves. While Mead-Ferro's not at all sheepish about labeling this approach similar to that of a 'slacker,' readers will come away with the feeling that the author is in fact a wise veteran who has experienced many of the conflicting messages women face today, and who nevertheless comes up smiling." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Thank goodness for a book that's both well written and bucks the national zeitgeist of super-charged parenting methods." Salt Lake City Weekly (Best of Utah 2004)

Muffy Mead-Ferro was born into a fourth generation cattle ranching family that has been raising Herefords in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, since the turn of the century. She traded her tractor for a typewriter and has been an advertising copywriter and creative director ever since. She and her husband Michael, along with kids Belle and Joe, live in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Good-bye, herd 1
Toys aren't us 17
Just dip the whole thing in bronze 35
The world isn't childproof 51
There goes Harvard 69
A bathroom of one's own 85
Don't make me mad 99
Now all you need is a village 115
Has anyone seen my instinct? 129