A little Monday funny for you: Jason Good, writer, comedian and family man. This is the opening of his nice and ranty reaction to the Time magazine feature on breastfeeding children: There are too many issues related to the recent Time Magazine cover for me to address them all. Is the photo incendiary? Yes. Did the boy […]
On this last day of the Christmas season we are remembering that there was a great deal of suffering surrounding Christ’s birth. Mary was socially isolated to the point of giving birth while basically homeless. Joseph was charged with the responsibility of protecting a baby with a price on his head. And hundreds of children […]
Take a deep breath, parents. This is a manifesto of cooperative parenting, and I’m pretty pumped about it. As AHLondon and Angela said the other day, it can be so hard to have an open-minded, open-hearted conversation with other parents about How To Be A Parent. There is so much sensitivity and  defensiveness in […]
I’ve learnt an awful lot, in the way of facts and vocabulary, since I entered the world of parenthood. Who knew a pregnant woman’s blood volume increases by around 40 per cent? Heavens! Among the contraptions I didn’t know existed are breastfeeding pillows (highly recommended) and bowls that suction to the table-top (ditto – though […]
Nine months is a long time to wait, but thousands of years is longer. Week two of this year’s Advent in Art cycle places the Christmas story in context of a much larger narrative of hope and a longing for justice. As we meet them in today’s painting, Mary and Elizabeth, like all mothers around the […]
Today Sweet Baby James turns one, and we need to think of a new nickname for him. Here are some of the things we love about having a one-year-old. He can make friends on footpaths and in shops any day of the week. Any small animal is a ‘cat’, and ‘cat’ always has to be […]
Letters of Note is an extraordinary site, publishing transcripts and facsimiles of fascinating correspondence. There’s a huge range. The most popular letter ever on the site is this one from a former slave to his former master. The most recent is this beautiful letter from Fiona Apple, written just last week, to her fans in […]
In 1900, American psychologist William James (brother of the novelist Henry) wrote the following in a letter to his daughter, upset at school in England. Now, my dear little girl, you have come to an age when the inward life develops and when some people (and on the whole those who have most of a […]
A guest post by Jenny Bucksmith. I sometimes feel like the third wheel in my own family. As the only female surrounded by boys there is a definite imbalance of hormones – but I wouldn’t actually trade that for the world. I love having two sons, I couldn’t imagine having a daughter, I wouldn’t know […]