One of the best gifts I received on my last birthday was a tiny blue book called Memo ni Mommy: Mga Kaalamang Pampasigla ng Pamilya by Bessie A. Rios. The book, intended for parents and everyone else who works with kids, provides helpful tips on raising children. It has 45 memos all in all, which cover the following topics: training for life, enhancing family relationships, cultivating self-confidence, influencing behavior, harnessing social skills, school boosters, health and wellness, managing financial challenges, and responding to parenting challenges. The way the book was written, in English-Tagalog, sprinkled with a dash of humor here and there, makes it more interesting to read.

Mommy Bessie (Blesilda A. Rios, Ph.D.) is an advocate of appropriate parenting. She has a radio program, Memo ni Mommy, which has been broadcast over at DZAS for the past 14 years. She has a master’s degree in Family Life and Child Development (U.P. Diliman) and in Christian Leadership (Asian Theological Seminary) and a doctorate degree in Education Administration (U.P. Diliman). She also co-founded the Center for Early Childhood Care and Development and the Master’s Vineyard Academy. She is an engineer’s wife and a mom to her two sons: a lawyer and a computer programmer.

Note: This is not a paid post. I simply love this book, period!