When Hilary asked me if I wanted to review a book on using astrology to help parent your kids, I was intrigued. While I am not one who follows my horoscope everyday or asks what someone’s sign is when I first meet them, I do believe in astrology. My sign, Aries, is a perfectly fitting description of my personality. I also find this about family members and friends. I have two young boys (ages 1.5 and 4), I figured a little extra parenting help couldn’t hurt.
I have to admit when I first received Momstrology – The AstroTwins’ Guide to Parenting Your Little Ones by the Stars by Ophira Edut and Tali Edut, I was a little skeptical. It appeared more like a text book then something I would find interesting to read. There are lots of large size pages (569 to be exact) which consist of mainly text. There are few few illustrations and pictures within the book.
However, once I found the time to actually open Momstrology and start reading, I found some very interesting content. The book is a little bit cumbersome and repetitive but I found it very easy to skim through and find relevant information.
I started by reading the intro and found some interesting things, especially that my mothering style is effected by my sign but not with my standard (sun’s) sign. I actually have a “fourth house ruler” (wasn’t sure what that meant), but it takes over your personality when you are parenting. You could also select your target conception dates in order to try and have a kid with the sign of your choice.
Next I focused on reading the child signs and advice for each of my two sons. Each child sign section includes the following areas:
- A basic snapshot of the sign and characteristics
- A list of famous kids, past and present with the same sign
- The essentials or parenting your child
- Details on how they deal with different aspects of life including rules & authority, limits, separation & independence, being siblings, weaning, potty training, sexuality, learning, and household conflict
- A more detailed description of your child based on their sex (boy or girl)
- A behavior decoder which gave you helpful hints on what it means and how you should handle different situations. For example what it means if you child cries or can’t sit still and how you should handle the situation.
- A gift guide which includes examples of the perfect gifts for you child
The chapter was easily identifiable, especially regarding my older son. Since he is 4 and his personality is pretty distinct, I could see how many of the things the authors talked about where relevant to him. I did learn some useful techniques on how I should handle common situations. Otherwise it was stuff I mostly already knew about my child’s personality, but it was still interesting to hear how it connected with his astrological sign.
The second section of the book is based on the mom. I found this chapter to confirm a lot of my parenting behaviors. It included the following areas for each sign:
- A list of your Mommy Strengths
- A list of your Mommy Challenges
- Other Famous Aries Moms
- A detailed description on your parenting style and your stengths and challenges
- A description of the pros and cons of having either a boy or girl
- A very handy guide on parenting through the different ages and stages
I found the last section most helpful. It’s a one page description of the relationship between your sign and your child’s sign. It told you ways in which you clicked and ways in which you clashed. It also gave you suggestions for ensuring a better relationship.
Overall, I thought Momstrology was good. While it was fun, it could have been a little lighter and easier to read. But it gave useful and impactful information on dealing with your children in ways that work best for them. I would recommend this to mom’s looking to better understand their child’s behavior.
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Kristie Galvani, Executive VP at HJMT, is a mother of two young boys. She can be reached at [email protected].
