Bunchland

What we’re reading today:

1. “In fact, living in cramped temporary housing with two kids who contracted back-to-back pink eye and ear infections was worse than being shelled.” A former war correspondent and gay dad in London says he doesn’t want to raise his twins British. Does his line about biracial kids with gay dads being something of a cliché remind anyone of that Modern Family where Cam and Mitchell discover they don’t have an edge over any of the other prospective private school parents?

2. A 4-year-old has joined Mensa. OK parents who insist their kid is a  genius, time to prove it.

3. Speaking of geniuses, want your kid to do better with math? Get them into puzzles.

4. What to expect from your partner when you’re expecting.  Read more...

Meri Perra blogs about the challenges she and her partner face in trying to raise their girls with feminist values

When I interviewed queer parenting expert Rachel Epstein, the coordinator of the LGBTQ Parenting Network at the Sherbourne Health Centre last summer, she told me what I had always suspected. “We don’t usually hear about problems at daycare,” Epstein said.

It’s good news, and despite us being the only queer family at our day care centre, it’s been our experience as well. Back in the summer, I didn’t know we were about to lose the kindergarten wait-list gamble we choose for our four-year old. I couldn’t imagine, that after we lost, I would feel part guilt (for depriving Rosa of a JK experience) and part relief (thank you God, public school is delayed another year!)  Read more...

What we’re reading today:

1. Louisiana moms, in response to Colorado allowing a transgender kid in Girl Scouts, have pulled their daughters out of Girl Scouts. They want to be part of an organization “that only admits children who have been “persistently and consistently” identified as girls.” Yawn. Don’t these moms know they’d totally be in the villains if this situation was turned into a poignant yet humorous family movie?

2. New parenting site for South Asian families: Masala Moms!

3. When you’re actively trying to have a baby, is the sex not sexy?

4. How to carve out more family time when you’re working.

5. Tilda Swinton’s getting a whole bunch of well-deserved praise for playing the mom of a teenage psychopath in We Need to Talk About Kevin. And yet, we kinda prefer this version, We Need to Talk About Kevin McAllister.  Read more...

Meri Perra blogs about the challenges she and her partner face in trying to raise their girls with feminist values

Ahh, America. A vast country, full of resources, and complexities. Including material for this blog. Take one of the States’ more prolific homophobic zealots: Dr. Micheal Brown, a man who self-publishes books about the dangers queers bring to his country, has a radio show called “In the line of fire” (enough said), and now has a new video out, which is a comedic warning of the dangers of same sex parents.

Apparently, gay dads burn breakfast and lesbian moms kiss their kids too much before saying goodnight. And oh how the children suffer.

 Read more...