...And this week a laptop shooting dad decided to use YouTube and Facebook to punish and humiliate his ungrateful 15 year old daughter for her disrespectful comments about him and his wife, and about all the chores she was expected to do ... I want to briefly comment on two things: Humiliation or shaming of children .... and mainstream and influential media commentators' comments ... Read full article
While the shift towards shared parenting is real, a recent study found “seventy-five percent of men worry that their jobs prevent them from having the time to be the kind of dads they want to be.” And when asked what single change would make the greatest difference in their ability to juggle work and family life, fathers named workplace flexibility as their top demand. The research shows that fathers are right to want to spend more time with their children. Read full article
I grew up in a single parent household. My Mum, who was very young when I was born, raised me alone. I do not know my Dad. In fact, I know nothing about him. Not his name, nor the colour of his hair or the sound of his laugh. Nothing. Although it has impacted on me, I refuse to let it shape me. Some people have no parents. I had one amazing one. I am lucky. So, it wasn’t until I met an amazing man, married him and had three children that I started to truly understand what dads do. Here is my list of the 10 Things I’ve Learned About Dads. Read full article
Podcast interview on 4BC about a mother who said she loved one child more than another. Is that really the case or is this just a reaction to one child being harder to parent? Should parents worry about this? Does gender come into it? Let us know what you think. Read full article
Overloaded? Overwhelmed? Overtired? Not enough time to enjoy life? Need to change but feel too busy to make a change? Read on...Are you the type of person who starts a new sentence before finishing the old one? Who can't sleep at night because the brain is ticking away with unfinished tasks? Who keeps working harder and harder only to have less and less spare time? Who is so busy 'doing' you have no time for 'living'? Then you may be suffering from life overload! If you are interested in regaining your sanity and living a happier, less stressful life then "Life Overload" is for you. Read full article
Sitting in her New York apartment being interviewed by a New York Times journalist, Gabrielle Einhorn says that for her, a family means abundance, commitment, and the intimacy that comes from a shared history. Her child, Griffin, was conceived by an IVF sperm donation from a very close friend of hers; Griffin’s biological father’s name is George Russell and he is gay. Mr Russell has his own partner, David Nimmons. On Sundays all four of them have dinner together, and Mr Russell stays over a few nights each week to spend time with Griffin. At this point, most readers will be starting to make judgements about Griffin’s family. Is this the right thing for Griffin? Is it ideal for families to be formed in this way? Read full article
There are pictures of young Amy on the wall and her name is spoken of lovingly; the scene painted sounds like a beautiful family. There are also wedding photos of a couple together. None of them include Amy. The man is Amy’s dad, Daniel; the woman is her dad's fiancee. And this situation has my mind ticking. Australian statistics indicate that for every marriage recorded, 1 in 3 are re-marriages.Of these re-marriages it has been found that nearly half included children under the age of 16 from previous marriages. Read full article
Why do people have kids? Got a mental block? Feel a cliché coming on? Having trouble articulating your feelings? Welcome to my conundrum. I’m a mum and happy to be one but, biological imperative aside, I don’t believe that being a parent is the holy grail of humanity. In fact, I often find myself feeling rather disgruntled on behalf of the child-free minority. People without kids are so often expected to justify their choice and yet no-one asks the procreating majority to state their case. It’s the question that keeps me up at night; the question no-one seems to ask: In a world of multiple reproductive choices, why do people have children at all? Read full article
On Channel 7's The Morning Show 3rd march 2011, Yvette Vignando shared her views on the actions of some parents who have published online video or photos of themselves disciplining their children. Some of the stories are quite disturbing. View Yvette talking about the limits of what mum bloggers and dad bloggers share online in this video post. View The Morning Show segment. Read full article
Monday 21 February 2011 - Links to Latest Parenting and Education news: Coffee Shop Skills Helps Kids with Autism ~ Teacher Suspended for Blog Comments on Students ~ Brain Arousal and Emotions ~ Social and Emotional Learning in Schools ~ UN Report on Fatherhood ~ Working Mother Stress ~ Fatherhood Needs Redefining UN Report ~ Bilingual Children Better Multitaskers ~ Risk of Super Schools Read full article
