3 Day Book Blast: Tatted Mom's Guide to NOT Screwing Up Your Kids By Morgan Moss @tattedmom81 @VBTCafe #Giveaway

Title: Tatted Mom's Guide to NOT Screwing Up Your Kids
By Morgan Moss
Book Genre: Nonfiction Parenting/ Humor Parenting
Publisher: Inklings Print
Release Date: October 17, 2013

Book Description:

Motherhood is chaotic.
Some days are filled with unicorns and fairy dust, and some days the unicorn craps on your brand new rug and the fairies are flying around, crashing into walls. Mainstream parenting books help with the unicorn and fairy dust days, but what happens when your kid drops the f-bomb in a crowded grocery store?

That's where "Tatted Mom's Guide to NOT Screwing Up Your Kids" comes into play, tackling situations in motherhood that you were definitely not warned about. Think of this book as your manual to the parenting problems that leave you throwing your hands up in the air, wondering if you are the only mom who goes through this craziness, and has you hiding in the back of your closet with a bottle of Moscato and a cheesecake (we've all been there).

"Tatted Mom's Guide to NOT Screwing Up Your Kids" includes:
~The myths that mainstream parenting books tell you, and how they don't apply to every mother.
~How to deal with temper tantrums from toddlers to tweens.
~How to "win" the various battles you will have with your children (like the Personal Hygiene Battle and the Clothing Battle)
~Tips on dealing with picky eaters and the difficult potty trainee.
~Helping build your tween's self esteem and creating a strong family unit.
~Motherly advice on parenting from birth until the tweenaged years (around 12 years old)
~Mom Competition, unplugging your kids, chores, peer pressure and more!

Written by an unconventional, tattooed, colorful mother whose out-of-the-box parenting tips have proven successful for many families, regardless of parenting style, "Tatted Mom's Guide to NOT Screwing Up Your Kids" weaves together helpful advice with humorous stories from the author's own trials and tribulations as a mom, as well as stories from other moms and dads on their own parenting journeys.

So get the kids in bed, grab a glass of wine and something sweet from your hidden stash of goodies (we all have one of those, too), and crack open "Tatted Mom's Guide to NOT Screwing Up Your Kids". Your mom-sanity will thank you.

Excerpt:

Chapter 7: Fixing More Than Macaroni and Cheese

Myth #1: Fixing my kids what they want ensures that they are at least eating something. If I don't fix them what they'll eat, they'll starve.

Tatted Mom's Truth #1: Your child will not starve themselves. I can 100% guarantee it. These are the same kids who make mud pies in the back yard and try them out to see what they taste like. They will not pass down a hot meal of seafood alfredo because the little shrimps look gross. They reason so many moms use this as an excuse is because they try for one meal to get their kids to branch out, and when it doesn't work, they give up. Let the kids skip that meal. I promise you, they won't skip the next one. And don't go letting them have snacks after the dinner they refused to eat, either. That just reinforces the horrible eating habits. This whole picky eating thing is usually a test of wills with kids. They love macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets, so they turn down everything else put in front of them until you feed them their favorite meal again, and they stick to it. The more you give in, the more they will take advantage of you.

Tips for Creating Healthy Eating Habits in Children

1. Introduce your kids to the kitchen as soon as possible. Each of my kids was around the age of two when I had them actually help me prepare meals, but even before that, I'd put them in their high chair, give them a snack and pull the high chair into the kitchen while I prepared a meal with fresh meat and vegetables. I've always had my kids pick out meals for us, help cut vegetables, or even given them easy instructions for sauces. When they were too young for any of these options, I had them hand me things so I could cook. A toddler feels like king of the world when you say to him, "Hand Mommy that spoon right there, please," and even if he hands you the salt, a random apple or the cat instead, he's a big boy who helped his mom make dinner. Having the kids interact with the cooking process almost guarantees them to eat it, because their pride will kick in, as well as their curiosity. They'll think, "I helped make this sauce, so I wonder if it sucks or not." Plus, they'll see that, despite the fact that those shrimp look like fat worms, no worms went into the making of the meal.

2. Put the "Mom is eating something, I want a bite" quirk of motherhood to work for you. It never fails. As soon as you go to take a bite of your favorite cake or try and sneak a single M&M into your mouth as a mom, your child will appear out of nowhere and ask for a bite. I can remember one afternoon, when I was chopping up red peppers to go on a vegetable tray for a cookout we were going to, and as I popped a fresh red pepper slice into my mouth and started crunching away, The Girl, two at the time, appeared out of thin air and asked for a bite. I stared at the red pepper for a moment and thought there was no way she would eat it- two year olds didn't eat fresh red peppers. But, I handed her one anyway, she took a bite, and happily trotted off with a smile on her face. No dressing on it, no salt, nothing, and the child ate it and returned for a second one. Nine years later she's not a fan of red peppers anymore, but when I put a vegetable tray out for us to munch on, she'll eat carrots, celery, raw broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. This concept worked at introducing my kids to sushi, too. Hubby and I love the stuff, so we would get some for just us and order the kids stir fry or their favorite Asian dish. Curiosity got the best of both of them, and soon they wanted to see why Hubby and I loved sushi so much. We let them try it, and they were hooked.

Author Interview:

What inspired you to write "Tatted Mom's Guide to NOT Screwing Up Your Kids"?

I was a humor parenting blogger for a few years before writing my book, and my readers kept telling me I should compile blog posts, add some new material, and write a humorous-yet-helpful guide. Of course, I couldn't have written anything, even my blog, without the craziness of my kids, so they are my true inspiration behind my writing.

When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I don't think I ever consciously decided to become a writer. My mom is a writer, and has published a few books, so I grew up being heavily influenced by writing. I wrote short stories and poems as a kid, just to keep my imagination active. When I got older, I found writing on my blog to be therapeutic, so I wrote to process through things in my life.

What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?

My mom says I was reading by the age of 5, but my fondest memories of reading only date back to when I was about 8 years old or so. I used to volunteer in the library with my grandmother during the summer, and after re-shelving a cart of books, I would pick a book at random, sit in the middle of the aisle and finish it all, then just place the book back on the shelf.

What genre of books do you enjoy reading?

I enjoy everything from chick lit to mystery, from horror to supernatural romance. I think they call my favorite genre "Magical Realism"- Books by Sarah Addison Allen, Alice Hoffman, etc.

What is your favorite book?

My favorite book from recent years is probably "The Sugar Queen" by Sarah Addison Allen. I laughed, I cried, I related to that book, and read it in about 4 hours one day.

You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?

Sarah Addison Allen, definitely. I just love how her books take ordinary life and make it magical. I can sit down with one of her books and finish it in a matter of hours, hungry for the next one.

If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?

I have a very strange fascination with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, so I would travel back to Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963 to see if I could figure out who really shot him. It is a very strange fascination, yes.

When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?

I have easy days and hard days. When the timing is right, I get lost in writing, and before I know it, the kids were home from school and I hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch. Then there are days I would stare at my computer screen, drawing a blank. I don't force things on those days.

Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?

I have a dog and 3 cats, but with our upcoming move to Japan (my husband just got military orders), we have to let a family member borrow 2 of the cats for a few years.

What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat?

I recently found a dark chocolate candy bar with blueberries and lavender in it- I lay in bed at night and eat it while I read. It's definitely my guilty pleasure.

Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author?

Write what you know, don't give up, don't push yourself on the days your brain just isn't working, and self-publishing isn't as hard as you may think it is, so always keep that option open in your mind.

About The Author:

Morgan Moss is the creator of The Inklings of Life humor parenting blog, which was named a Top 10 Mom Blog of 2013 by the parenting website VoiceBoks. Many of her parenting and motherhood articles have been featured on sites such as the Huffington Post, Babble, WhatToExpect.com, Mamapedia, Parent Society and BlogHer.com. She is a trained tattoo artist, and spends her free time creating mixed media art.