The Help: Teen Mothers

May 16, 2013 in Anecdotes, Children, Lifestyle, Mothers, Parenting, Pregnancy & Birth, Stories

How many times have you walked past a pregnant female who looks far too young to have a child and judged them in your head? I’m sure I have at some stage in my life, which is not something I am proud of. Society paints teen mums as ‘irresponsible’, ‘immature’ and often feeds the stereotype that teen mums can’t be good mothers. I have heard many people say “They just want the baby bonus, it’s about money. Wait till that baby screams all night, the novelty will wear off and the money runs out and it’s not so ‘fun’ anymore, [...]

My Child has Osteogenisis Imperfecta and an Unbreakable Spirit

May 10, 2013 in Anecdotes, Children, Family, Health, Mothers, Parenting, Relationships, Stories

Imaging looking at your newborn baby. Their tiny lips their long figures That cute button nose. Now imagine being told to limit the amount of times you hold your baby. That every time you pick him up you need to carefully plan every aspect in handling him or you could seriously injure him. That’s what life is like with a baby born with Osteogenisis Imperfecta. Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI, sometimes known as brittle bone disease, or “Lobstein syndrome”) is a congenital bone disorder. People with OI are born with defective connective tissue, or without the ability to make it, usually because of [...]

Why Are There No Boys Named Sue?

April 26, 2013 in Body Image, Celebrity, Children, Entertainment, Gender, Parenting, Pregnancy & Birth, Society

In the last few years it’s become acceptable and even cool to give kids gender neutral names. That’s hardly news. However with this trend, I’m seeing a lot of girls with traditionally ‘male’ names, and very few boys with traditionally ‘female’ names. As a teacher I’ve seen some pretty out there names and interpretations of names. Calling the roll for the first time with a new class can be tricky: Me: “Elliot? Is Elliot here? Has anyone seen him?” Student: “ Um, Elliot is a GIRL, Miss!” (Rolls eyes at my apparent stupidity) Me: “Oh. Has anyone seen HER?” I’ve [...]

Real Beauty and My Ideal World

April 23, 2013 in Body, Body Image, Entertainment, Face, Gender, Health, Mental Health, People, Society, Style

Last week a Dove ad went viral and while Mandi has given her opinion, I wished to give mine. It features a forensic artist drawing a number of “real women” without seeing them – he draws by the women’s description. The women describe their perceived flaws rather than their best features. “Tell me about your chin?” the artist asks one woman. “It kind of protrudes a little when I smile”, she says. “Your jaw?” he asks another. “My mother told me I have a big jaw” she replies. After this first drawing session, the women are encouraged to spend time with [...]

My Mother, Margaret Thatcher and Me

April 11, 2013 in Celebrity, Current Affairs, Human Rights, News, Politics

My mother has this irritating habit of always seeing the good in people. I suppose it’s an admirable quality too – but sometimes I want to have a rant about some in-justice without having to see it from a different (and empathetic) perspective. There are a two exceptions to this… the ex-boyfriend who cheated on me and Margaret Thatcher. I won’t pretend to understand all the politics of the time. My family enjoyed a relatively comfortable lifestyle; we had overseas holidays, two cars. We didn’t experience financial suffering the way thousands of others in our country did. Perhaps it was my mother’s [...]

My Greatest Fear

April 11, 2013 in Entertainment, Mental Health, Mothers, Music, Parenting, Work

“I have a dream. I will be famous. I will sing or I will die trying.” “You may never be famous. Most people don’t make it.” “You’re not listening to me. I will make it or I will die trying.” The dreams of a 17 year old girl. The determination you can’t argue with, the determination you can’t deny. So what happened? Where did that 17 year old go? This time, this time I’ll tell you the truth. I had a plan. I knew how many people make it in singing so I knew I’d need to find another way. [...]

Motherhood and Unrealistic Expectations (A Response)

April 8, 2013 in Children, Fathers, Mothers, Parenting, Pregnancy & Birth

This is my response to Tamsin’s post on Unrealistic Expectations on Parenting Central I’ll start by openly admitting before I had children I had no idea what I was in for. I joke about how dumb I was, or how naive  or how crazy some of my ideas and ideals about parenting were. But I do still have a lot of empathy for that old me (or rather, that young me). I had some pretty strong beliefs about how I would raise my babies. I intended that my babies would go on to a routine from birth, I would do controlled [...]

Bathroom Timers and Secret Listeners

March 4, 2013 in Health, Lifestyle, People, Self, Work

Women have been going to the bathroom in groups for as far back as human civilisation remembers. I have to admit, I don’t really understand this phenomena, especially in the case of two people going together who are either not particularly good friends, where only one person actually needs to go to the bathroom, or who have only just met. In the context of being out at night and doing it for safety, I understand, but just as a general thing at a cafe, a restaurant or food court, I just don’t get it. You see, I have a certain [...]

Fiction: A Minute Before Midnight

February 26, 2013 in Fiction, Relationships, Stories

Today’s guest post from Sarah Butler: A little giddy from the joint, Tracey leaned heavily against the vanity. She studied the way her make-up seemed to sit on top of her face these days, obvious on the uneven surfaces. Sighing she stepped back, her magnified features rearranging themselves into a face. She didn’t think she looked like a widow. She supposed that no one would be able to tell from the one moment to the next. Or perhaps there would be a subtle shift, a flatness to her gaze or a heaviness to her carriage. She wondered whether she would stop wearing [...]

My Daughter’s Diagnosis Taught Me the Power of Words

February 20, 2013 in Children, Health, Mental Health, Parenting, Self

In 2005, at the age of three, my daughter was diagnosed with autism. The day I received the doctor’s report is forever burned in my memory. That is the day I left a safe and secure world for a new and unknown world of parenting a child with a disability. When the doctor said, ‘Your daughter has autism’, my heart froze. In that moment I felt the weight of the word and all that it implied, not only for my daughter’s future, but for mine. Later that day as I read through the report other words leapt from the page: [...]