Mumming by Victoria Vanstone

A hilarious and painfully relatable memoir about a mum who sets out to revolutionise herself and her parenting – one failed experiment at a time.

Victoria Vanstone thought she'd be the kind of mum who would spend her days ironing names onto school shirts and who knew the best chocolate-chip cookie recipe off by heart. But as the years have ticked by, she's got the feeling that woman isn't going to show up. Instead, she's the kind of mum who shouts and throws plastic cups at walls.

So Victoria has made a choice: she's going to try to become the mum she's always wanted to be. She embarks on a year of parental development – enrolling in a parenting course, implementing an exercise regime, awkwardly trying to make friends as an adult, and a holiday away from her family – to reset the parenting dials.

What follows is a year of trying, failing and trying again, but one that ultimately brings joy back into family life. As Victoria stumbles from one misadventure to the next, she begins to realise that getting things wrong isn't the end of the world – it's actually where the fun begins.

Come for the laughs, stay for the reassurance: Mumming is a heartwarming celebration of the messy, wonderful, imperfect reality of raising kids, and yourself.

Mumming A Year of Trying (and Failing) to Be a Better Parent

by Victoria Vanstone

Pantera Press

RRP: $36.99

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