Product Description

"To be a parent is and should be a calling. There is absolutely nothing as great, challenging, or rewarding as raising a child." So says Über-mom Rose Rock, who has raised 10 children in addition to caring for 17 foster children in her 40-plus years as a mother.

As a mother who does not shy away from the hard conversations, Rose isn't afraid to present strong ideas about boundaries, discipline, choices, and consequences—and she tells it like it is. In Mama Rock's Rules, Rose shares the funny and highly practical lessons she learned both as a parent and an educator, while offering strategies for teaching a child to be self-reliant in this world.

Written with a kicky blend of maternal spirituality and a "don't mess with me or you won't get old" sense of authority, the book spotlights 10 vital rules, each tackling a specific parenting issue. From "I Am Your Mama, Not Your Friend," which helps parents regain their authority and establish respectful relationships with their children, to "Don't Lie Down with Anything You Don't Want to Live with Forever," which takes a different approach to the often tricky conversation about sex, each topic is lovingly explained and bolstered by stories from Rose Rock's own childhood and parenting experiences. We will also hear from her own kids, as they share memories and anecdotes about what it was like to grow up in the Rock household.

Rose's heartfelt and no-nonsense advice—delivered with a dose of wit and homespun humor—will resonate with thousands of parents and will inspire them to teach their kids right, whether their brood is one child or ten.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58914 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-01
• Released on: 2008-04-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Much more than Chris Rock's mom, first-time author and radio show host (The Mom Show) Rock has been a special needs school teacher, a preschool administrator, a mother of 10 and a foster mother of 17. Rock begins simply, and significantly, with her own mother's advice: "Being a parent is not about being right, it's about doing right." Rock believes in the absolute authority of parents ("Some parents tell me... their kids' bedrooms are off limits. Are you kidding me?") but also in the need for those parents to be "steadfast role models." Divided into chapters like "I Am Your Mama, Not Your Friend," "No Child Really Wants to be Left Alone," and "Feed Them and They Will Tell You Everything," Rose's rules are sensible and well illustrated, embracing traditional values like discipline, everyday spirituality and togetherness. With the help of editor and columnist Graham (who works with Rock on The Mom Show), Rock weaves practical advice and reminiscence without a hitch. Asides from her children buttress the text, providing perspective on their mom's parenting methods and their own, but fans of comedian Chris Rock (who provides a foreword) won't find an inside scoop here. Instead, they'll find a smart, relatable and empowering approach to parenting that's been proven effective many times over.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
Rose Rock, mother of comic Chris Rock, successfully raised 10 children and 17 foster children in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, where, as Chris says, "Four out of five black men are either dead, in jail, or making a rap CD." How did she do it? Rose gives 10 rules for child rearing, based on how she ran her own household. Formerly a professional educator and now the host of a weekly radio program, Rose offers advice that is clear and no-nonsense. She believes, for example, that children look to parents not to be friends, but to be models for "doing right." Her narration is full of personal anecdotes, and her clarity and advice are well worth a listen for any parent. S.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About the Author

Rose Rock, mother to 10 children and 17 foster children, is an educator specializing in preschool and special education. For 17 years she taught and operated a preschool and day care center first in New York and then in South Carolina. A sought-after speaker, Rock founded Rock This 619, a nonprofit youth empowerment organization. She is also the host of the weekly radio program "The Mom Show," broadcast from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Childcare 101
With the humor you'd expect from Chris Rock's mom, she gives some great, no-nonsense advice about raising kids - e.g. (to paraphrase) who's in charge? Mom and Dad are in charge!

Practical Advice
This book had practical, useful advice. When you take on childrearing, so many people take it lightly. Mama Rock reminds us of how important our job is and gives advice to encourage us. An excellent read especially for first time mom's or parents who don't know how to parent.

mama's got the goods!
Has learning about parenting every been so inciteful, delightful and informative and inspirational? Probably not! At least not for me. Not only did I already learn plenty from reading this book (and plan to refer to it again and again) but it offers great ideas and guidance in an area and age that most parenting books don't even touch--TEENAGERS and the tough road we parents face with them. Although it goes from babies (even before they are born) and every stage in between there are some really excellent sections about teen challenges. It speaks of challenges faced on every level from education to "pushing unable off the table" without excuses and offers great strategies on what to do.

The stories from the Rock children and friends are fun, touching and really give a picture of "Mama Rock" and her family in an interesting way. It goes beyond the amazing bio of Rose Rock with her 10 children, 17 foster kids and loads of children whom she's helped plus her child advocate experiences.

I also liked the bullets at the end of the chapters which solidify the information and remind me how to keep on being the "mama." (Even though the books talks lots about daddys, especially Rose's special late husband, Julius) The book is well organized and well written and I love the clever chapter titles, the MAMA MOJO advice and section heads like the "cookie contract" or "Don't Lie Down with Anything You Don't Want to Live with Forever" or even "The Need to Belong is Sometimes wrong" which talks about not bowing to the power of the peers. The curfew capers section really is helpful in the whys and hows of that parental danger zone, the curfew enforcement problem. "Send your Biscuits to Hollywood" really made me laugh and tear up in memory of my family's home cooking (namely, strudel) that had been sent to me when I went away to college and how much it meant. The whole family dinner importance is brilliantly presented.

I marvel at how it kept me entertained while deep level parental wisdom was being shared. That is worth it alone. Honestly, I think this is a classic for every parent, grandparent or future parent. Dr. Spock, move over for Mama Rock's Rules! Here is the handbook for the current and coming generations full of wisdom for the past, understanding of our problems in the present and a positive view of how important our children (as the authors say, "all children and each and every child") are for our future and our society. To authors Rose Rock and Valerie Graham, thank you and I'd love to meet you.

P.S. Have you figured out that I highly recommend this?