Author Jill Kargman (perhaps you know her previous tomes, The Right Address and Wolves in Chic Clothing?) has a new book called Momzillas, and it's all about those awful, awful moms who do things like throw huge elaborate birthday parties for their 2-year-olds and are just as competitive about their kids as they were about making Harvard Law Review. Fortunately, Ms. Kargman, who is 32 and married to a software company president, is taking a stand against these terrible people. For instance, she doesn't have an "army of nannies"; her nanny only works 9 to 5. And even though her dad, Arie Kopelman, is president of Chanel and her mom, Coco, sits on a gajillion boards, she's really grounded.

Take the nannies:

Mrs. Kargman wasn't raised with nannies, and she doesn't have an army of them. "Even if we could afford 24/7 live-in help, I'd never do it. It's alone time with the kids I treasure," she said. Their nanny, Jacky, works 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, which enables Mrs. Kargman to work from home, usually between three and four hours a day.

Then there's her children's education:

One lesson she took from her upbringing is to use New York as a third parent. "My parents were constantly taking us to shows on and off Broadway. They took us to every single ZIP code," Mrs. Kargman said.

Mrs. Kargman is following that example, taking Sadie to everything from "Phantom of the Opera" to the Fairway in Red Hook, where they enjoy the view of New York harbor... Sadie takes ballet and a music class. "She is obsessed with ballet," Mrs. Kargman said. "Music, we sit on the floor, it's one teacher with a guitar. It's very mellow, and that's a good tip: The mellow classes attract mellow moms."

In the book, the momzillas have their toddlers booked solid. Mrs. Kargman likes the idea of less structure. "If you're so overprogrammed, you don't have time to imagine things and you end up more robotic. People who are so psycho controlling of their kids wind up with kids that don't have a personality. They're lumps," she said.

There are two sides of this. For one, we have heard from friends of hers that Jill Kargman is the nicest person around. On the other hand, we're just relieved that Jill Kargman is creating a child exactly in her image, so convinced of her own superiority that she'll one day undoubtedly write a book about it.

Facing the Momzillas—And Winning [NYS]