Recently readThese three simple questions might help you figure that out. (It’s also interesting to ask yourself the same questions about your own parents.)
I’d add one more question, based on something Cathy once said to me about how she views her purpose as a parent, and which has always stuck with me: Do I make the […]
Filed under: Children, Life | 1 Comment »
When it comes to kids, I could not want them more. Like, NOW. But entries like this make me wonder if I’m really ready for the parts that aren’t all cute, cuddly, and endearing. Poor Heather and Jon (and Leta!).
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Not surprisingly, I like what Alice Bachini-Smith says here:
[I]f you think (as I do) that parenting is a job, a different thing from “the personal relationship you have with those people who happen to be your kids” (although they are related- it’s easier to guide and facilitate someone better when you know them intimately well), […]
Filed under: Children, Happiness, Individuality vs Collectivism, Life | 3 Comments »
The comments on my post about homeschooling make me glad I brought comments back all those months ago. Peter Cuthbertson and Alice Bachini-Smith going ten rounds is something I could only have hoped for back then…
Filed under: Blogging, Children, Education, Individuality vs Collectivism, Life | 4 Comments »
I’ve never met a home schooled kid who was not independent, wise beyond their years and an academic achiever.
When we have kids, we’ll probably homeschool (if our schedules allow, which we will break our necks to ensure they do. If we can’t manage it for some reason, we’ll send them to the Lycée where Antoine […]
Filed under: Children, Education, Life, The State Is Not Your Friend | 22 Comments »
There is something very restorative about taking a few hours to do all of the “I’ll get to that later” online tasks that build up like so much tartar in the blink of an eye. Tonight I was digging the online dirt about certain companies for a family member (stay away from TotalProtect!), answering non-urgent, […]
Filed under: Children, Home, Life, Work | 3 Comments »
I bought a couple of these Snap Cams for the holiday season - one for Antoine’s 5-year-old nephew (it’ll be a fun project for him to do with his dad or grandfather) and one for a yet-to-be-determined child. It’s a 35mm camera that you build yourself; everything snaps into place, no glue necessary. I’m tempted […]
Filed under: Children, Fun, Photography | 2 Comments »
Perry de Havilland hasn’t read Why Mommy is a Democrat, but his guess as to its content is a good one:
Presumably it teaches children that just as ‘Mommy’ looks after Junior and makes him share his toys with the kid next door, if the kid next door refuses to share his toys with Junior, Junior […]
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I hope Jamie Oliver read this in today’s papers - and all the people who have told me they think he’s a “hero” for trying to legislate kids into healthier diets. When it comes to food, I line up behind Nigella:
Dieting claims almost a moral status when health comes into play. With what piety and […]
Filed under: Children, Food, Law, Life, Politics, The State Is Not Your Friend | 9 Comments »
I’ve got a piece up at Samizdata, with photographic illustration, about Borders and Paperchase. I still can’t get over how many supposedly ‘liberal’ people are sympathetic with an ideology which has consistently persecuted homosexuals and others who do not qualify as ‘ideal citizens’, though I guess it’s easy to figure out if you assume that […]
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On my flight from London to San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, I read Confessions of a Bad Mother by Stephanie Calman in its entirety (and still had time for a five hour nap).
While the occasionally SHOUTY tone can be a bit grating, on the whole this is a funny, touching, and clever […]
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Her predicament is really, terribly sad. I try not to judge the support she gives him, but I have to say that I think she is doing him no favours whatsoever. She is doing herself the favour of not feeling like a mother who has abandoned her child, of being able to say that she […]
Filed under: Children, Happiness, Life, Music, Relationships | 1 Comment »
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I’m a major fan of George Michael’s second solo album. For those songs alone, I would go see him sing live. I also had a huge crush on him when he was in Wham! (You may think that’s funny, but it’s nothing compared to my soft spot - aged […]
Filed under: Celebrities, Children, Life, Men and Women, Music | 2 Comments »
One of the people I really enjoyed meeting yesterday at CJU was Steve Winterhalter, an American guy who’s been working for Commission Junction in London for about a year. After he and I had been talking for quite a while about blogs, with me telling him about the book I am writing about how social […]
Filed under: Blogging, Children, Happiness, Life, People I Know | No Comments »