How can something as (potentially) shallow as Christmas gift shopping be a great way to make a difference in the world? Easy 🙂 If we aspire to living a life where our actions reflect our values, then how we spend our time and money on Christmas gifts can make a real impact on people beyond […]
I grew up with Father Christmas visiting each December. We had a particularly awesome system, in fact, that involved pillowcases instead of stockings (primarily so a board game could fit, I think). As I got older, I became aware that Father Christmas from the adult point of view was part of our family history, too. My […]
If you’re planning to fly with littlies soon, let me be the first to say ‘Bon voyage!’ You’re in for a treat. For one thing, you get to visit friends and family (or fabulous wonders) in far-flung places, so that’s awesome. For another, you are doing it without being stuck below-decks for three months on […]
Alex, mother of two, possessor of a doctorate in literature and an extensive music collection, and my main source of mix-tapes, is also a regular reader and commenter here. She posted last week on the cool band They Might Be Giants and is back by popular demand (and my nagging) to vent about something before […]
In a pleasingly familiar story, Debbie Sterling, a Stanford engineer, wants to introduce girls to the world of engineering. She’s created GoldieBlox, a set of adventure books, where the reader helps Goldie solve problems using mechanical tools that come with the books. Debbie funded GoldieBlox through Kickstarter, reaching her goal in five days. Yay, Debbie! […]
What if Barbie dolls had the same proportions as normal women? This: Nickolay Lamm has recreated a typical blonde Barbie, but at the average proportions of a 19-year-old American woman (he took the measurements from the Centre for Disease Control). And you know what? Real-girl Barbie looks amazing. The project was at first an experiment […]
Thanks to A Mighty Girl’s Facebook feed for this contribution to the saga of retailers insisting on labelling toys for girls or for boys: Update I’ve since spotted this prettier version from Kristen Myers, and done one of my own, since the above one (the earliest I’ve located) is now offline entirely. And […]
In New Zealand, 82 per cent of architects are men. Over 50 per cent of architecture graduates are women these days, but they don’t continue in the profession at the rate of their male colleagues. The story is the same in the United States, Britain and Australia, it seems. One solution, a little like the […]
SBJ is just getting in the swing of actually playing with toys, rather than just carrying them around (one in each hand, one in the mouth). I find it fascinating to see what he finds fascinating. My auntie and uncle recently delivered a toy car and wheelbarrow that were mine when I was his age, […]
Like many of you, I feel almost unresolvably torn when it comes to little kids and games of murder. Raising SBJ to be a kind, non-violent man is a high priority for us, so what do we do about games of cops and robbers or pirates? My besties Nicholas, Richard and I played ‘Luke and […]