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Aug 6, 2008 12:50 pm US/Central
Celeb Moms Share Stories Of Raising Children
(CBS 11 News)
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Former cyclist Lance Armstrong during the 2006 ING New York City Marathon. In "Mother Nurture: Life Lessons from the Mothers of America's Best and Brightest," his mother notes he trained as triathlete in grade school.
Nick Laham/Getty Images
For Stephanie Hirsch, "
Mother Nurture: Life Lessons from the Mothers of America's Best and Brightest" was a labor of love.
After the birth of her son, she started to think about the kind of person she'd like him to be. Movie director Steven Spielberg came to mind.
"To me, Steven Spielberg is the epitome of a successful human being. He's risen to the zenith of his chosen career; he's philanthropic, he's also a family man. So, I wanted to know what kind of guidance and values his mother instilled in him," the author said.
When Spielberg was 12, he was already filming movies.
Hirsch interviewed his mother, Leah Adler, who said she noticed her son's passion and followed his lead.
She saw that Stephen was truly a creative person and she would go on these jaunts with him and film in the desert.
After interviewing Spielberg's mother, Hirsch began interviewing other mothers who raised super successful children.
She interviewed Alicia Keys' mother.
"Alicia Keys mom really instilled in her respect," she said. "Even in the depth of her music, her words and her songs, and the way she carries herself, it's with an air of confidence and respect."
Hirsch recently spoke to dozens of North Texas women at an event sponsored by
Metro Moms, a group that organizes events for expecting or new mothers.
March Baremore of Dallas is a mother of three.
"I'm just really interested to see what some of the moms of these very creative and successful people did differently with their sons."
Linda Armstrong Kelley's story is featured in the book and she addressed the crowd, as well.
"Everyone said, 'What did you do to raise this amazing young man?' There's really no recipe, except the love support and nurture - is the real key, and finding something your child is passionate about."
Then a single mother at age 17, she worked full time and raised her now famous cycling son Lance in Garland.
Armstrong Kelley said on weekends they'd ride bikes together.
"It was almost as if we didn't plan anything. We didn't even know where we were going, but we'd get on the bike and ride."
Her son's passion quickly blossomed and by the fifth grade, he was running 10K races.
"Then, he started swimming on the swim team. Then, he started doing triathlons; he'd have to ride his bike to swim practice because I was working during the day," she recalled.
Hirsch found one universal fact in her research: all the mothers she interviewed said they sat down to dinner as a family every night.
"In this day and age, it's a little harder -- our schedules are tight, children have vast schedules as well, but I really think it's about setting traditions for your family," the author said.
It's something Armstrong Kelley did.
Today, her son has his own children and the proud grandmother beams with pride as she talks about them.
"What I'm most proud of him is the father he's become to his children."
Other stories in the book include Tina Knowles, who said she always played music and said Beyonce came up with her own dance routines.
Danica Patrick's mother said a family outing to a go-kart center sparked her daughter's passion for racing.
Click
here to buy the book.
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