The Good Mother Myth: Unlearning Our Bad Ideas About How to Be a Good Mom by Nancy Reddy

The Good Mother Myth by Nancy Reddy challenges the cultural ideals of “perfect” motherhood by tracing their roots to flawed mid-20th century research. After becoming a mother herself, Reddy found the pressure to be endlessly patient, self-sacrificing, and wholly devoted at odds with her feminist values and personal experience.

Seeking answers, she uncovers how outdated and often misogynistic studies—like Harry Harlow’s experiments with monkeys or Dr. Spock’s limited, fatherless parenting guides—shaped enduring beliefs about what makes a “good” mom. These ideas, though scientifically shaky, have quietly embedded themselves into modern parenting expectations.

Blending memoir, history of science, and cultural critique, Reddy exposes how these myths continue to constrain women, while offering a more honest, expansive vision of motherhood rooted in both personal truth and social awareness.