I had to share this from a friend's Facebook share: a little girl called Riley passionately complains about how marketers try to "trick" children - she asks why everything is pink for girls - why boys get all the superheroes? Good questions Riley! One minute video. Read full article
In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald called Leave Home Without Them, Fenella Souter enters the debate on whether restaurant and café owners should be allowed to ban children from their premises. But rather than discussing the pros and cons of this emotive area, Souter employs a sarcastic and superior tone to ascribe feelings of “parental entitlement” to mothers during their so-called “mandatory public sharing” of the “difficult years of child-rearing.” The author smirks at mums who dare to enter cafes with their young children; these mothers are part of the “mummy mafia” and are living a “sophisticated” (insert sarcasm font) and “consumerist” way of life. Read full article
The segment on Mornings on Channel 9 raised the question - do we parent boys differently to the way we parent girls? Are there fundamental differences in boys and girls which mean it is easier to parent boys or girls? Do we need to be careful not to be influenced by our children's gender when we're communicating with them? Read full article
It’s only recently that I’ve realised how content I am just having boys. They suit me. I happily call myself a feminist but when I was pregnant with my first child I surprised myself by wanting a son. I was smug when I had him too; the first boy on either side of the family after five girls. With my second son I had an unspoken preference for a girl, but he was such a beautiful baby, a competition winner no less. With my third ... Read full article
Not so long ago, I wrote about my six-year-old daughter’s ambition to be a builder. Cunning inventions made from sunglasses and old CDs attached with straw flow from her fingers, and nothing makes her happier than a new box of Lego. She is also uncannily gifted at Monopoly, so I look forward to enjoying old age supported by my wealthy and astute property developer of a daughter.
She is not a keen clothes shopper (‘no’ is her assessment of most garments), but given the choice she would prefer to pick a Ben 10 t-shirt from the boys’ side of the store than a pink fairy dress from the girls’ aisle. Read full article
