Quicklink: Epilepsy’s Big, Fat Miracle
Fred Vogelstein, parent of a child with epilepsy that’s been unable to be effectively controlled pharmaceutically, describes his family’s positive experience with a ketogenic diet as a treatment regime: a diet that involves a whole lot of fat in a restricted calorie regime that requires measuring food in fractions of grams. The whole story behind this increasingly accepted but horrendously complicated to manage treatment is a fascinating read.
Mother as politician
The evolution of the whole ‘Mum’ identity in politics is completely fascinating if not also repellent. You can read Judith Warner’s entire piece, “The New Momism” here. It is a pretty thought-provoking article. There was a time when words like “mom” or “mama” weren’t necessarily associated with the traits needed for good political judgment or [...]
Guest Hoyden: Remembering The Lost
I’m just going to say again what I’ve said lots of times before – we need to construct the rituals and the social rules for talking about and publicly recognising miscarriage, still birth and infant death.
Why can’t working mothers negotiate better at home?
Interesting article here in The New York Times, though nothing particularly new in it about the work and family balance and why it isn’t working so well for women. Telling women they have reached parity is like telling an unemployed worker the recession is over. It isn’t true until it feels true. That’s because measuring [...]
Extreme breastfeeding in novels
I am reading Emma Donoghue’s Room at the moment. It is one of those novels that everyone is suddenly talking about. Narrated by a five year old, it is about he and his mother’s very isolated life. The book has an extraordinary premise, which I won’t give away here, but there is another element to the story that everyone can’t help but seem to notice and unpick and that is that the five-year old is still being breastfed.
For our sons but not for our daughters
A recent UK internet survey (sample size: 2,500 but non-random) found mothers are more critical of their daughters than their sons. The results sound utterly depressing:
Strange behaviour
TRIGGER WARNING.
This woman was 14 years old when her own daughter was born. She is 27 years old now.
Her daughter is 13 years old and has been sexually assaulted by her grandfather. (It is quite possible that the grandfather is also this woman’s father – you can’t tell from the limited information available).
It is a pretty safe bet that this woman has been through a lot recently.
Can’t blog
Too many last minute errands before sprog the younger heads off on school trip to France this evening.
Sexting and Slut-Shaming
Announcing the release of this particular video, he commented “The launch of this new video comes on White Balloon Day – a time to break the silence on child sexual assault and raise awareness that child safety is everyone’s responsibility.”
Everyone’s responsibility. Everyone’s. Shall we take a quick peek at the video in question?
Is motherhood really that hard?
Jacinta Tynan is asking. Before I unpack this article, I just want to say that I’m very happy that Jacinta is enjoying being a Mum. That is fantastic. However, she is only one woman and her experiences do not reflect those of every woman. Sometimes motherhood really is that hard. I think there may be a [...]
Baby kissing
Image credit: PM Julia Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan holding some babies. You know when you pick up someone’s baby you have that pleasedon’tcrypleasedon’tcry chant running through your head? I don’t feel it quite so much now that I have babies of my own and I’ve had the opportunity instead to demoralise others with my [...]
Oh please, give us some credit
Bettina Ardnt is trying to whip up a panic about our unmarried but partnered Prime Minister moving into the Lodge, after being elected, with her bloke. It could be a bad role model for young women she says. I say, complete crap, give people more credit than that. Women aren’t going to rush into defacto relationships just [...]
The lamb roast roundup: Mums and censorship
Feminist criticism of the “It’s Time to Tell Mum” anti-filtering campaign has shown up on several blogs:
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