Treat Them As Queens

Let me ask you something – since when do 8 yr old children have wrinkles? I’m only asking because it seems that there are ( thankfully ) a small group of parents out there who think its completely acceptable to be giving their 8 yr old daughters Botox. And full body waxes. At 8 yrs old. Frankly, to these parents I say – You.Make.Me.Sick.

The most famous child beauty of them all....

Any of you who read Mamamia or New Idea magazine ( and to a lesser extent, last nights A Current Affair ) would have seen these stories already. And though I know these outlets aren’t exactly poster-boys for “serious” journalism, I don’t doubt the truth in these recent articles. I have to say – they concern me. The thought that someone, somewhere thinks its ok to give their 8 yr old daughter regular Botox treatments to treat and prevent wrinkles ( that cannot possible be there at that age ) and semi-regular full body waxes ( even though she hasn’t puberty yet, which means a distinct lack of short and curlies… ) really has me worried for the state of the world. How do these ideas even enter the head of any sane person? You can rabbit on about the role the media places in promoting one particular idea of beauty, or the ideal body shape, or whatever…. But I think, in the end, level-headed parents should be able to go someway to dispelling these media-controlled body myths. Sure, it doesn’t matter how many times you tell your daughters (especially ) that they are beautiful just the way they are, they’ll probably still want longer legs, or straighter hair or smaller noses.

But that doesn’t mean you should cave in to every crazy demand they come up with. Just because an 8 yr old sees models in magazines shaving their legs, doesn’t mean she needs to. Just because a 12 yr old thinks her nose is too big or her boobs are too small doesnt mean you go out and get them plastic surgery. As the parents, you set boundaries and give the encouragment needed to boost your childs self esteem. You DON'T plant the seeds of low self esteem by telling your daughters that only beautiful, hairless, wrinkle-free, big chested woman become superstars. You DONT (quite literally ) groom your daughter for fame by using her as a hairless human pin cushion.

 I'm going to be quite frank - if your doing these things, you are NOT a good parent....

Sometimes You Have To Stop Running.

Getting picked on. Tormented. Harrassed. Bullied. I'm sure its happened to all of us, in varying degrees. Its certainly not a new phenomena, and nor do i see it being phased out anytime soon. In fact, i'm pretty sure bullies will still exist when Flynn makes it to kindergarten ( 4 years from now ... ). So - just how do i raise my child to deal with childhood bullies?

Of course, i bring this up now because, like most people out there, i've seen the video posted on YouTube last week of a Sydney teenager fighting back against a bully. I only watched it the once and, yes - it made me wince. The young boy that got thrown to the ground did not look too well when he tried to get up. Did i sympathise with him though? Umm, no, not really. Its hard to sympathise with a kid you just watched taunting and punching another kid, even if he did get body-slammed in the end. In fact, i'd even go so far as to say he deserved it.

I dont want to offend anyone, or start some huge parenting argument but.... i think its ok to defend yourself when someone is hurting you. Even if that means you have to hurt them back. Shock horror! I'm not talking about little children - if Flynn ( now 15 months old ) hits another kid at mothers group or at the park, even if they pushed him first , then i tell him we dont hit, its not nice. I'm talking about children and especially teenagers, who are old enough to know better. I'm also not talking about a one-off school yard fight - you can be the bigger person and walk away from those.

I'm talking about long-term, systemic belittling and physical violence. I'm talking about having to go to school everyday knowing that some kid is going to walk up and punch you for no reason, or dak you in the playground just because he can, or who is going to yell things at you on your way to the canteen. You shouldnt have to put up with that. And its all well and good for some parents to say " just tell the teacher " but really, in todays society, what will ( can ) the teachers do? Give the bully a warning? A detention ? A suspension in the worst cases? All of which just results in the bully getting a holiday and the victim getting " Dobbers wear nappies! " from ever other kid in the school yard.

So Mick and I are going to teach our children that if someone is constantly harrassing them, teasing them everyday, kicking and punching and bashing them up.... then its ok for them to fight back. Its ok for them to be the better man and walk away time and time again but, if, eventually they implode and they've taken all they can take then yes.... its ok for them to get a punch or two in, just to give the bully some of their own medecine. To show that they have strength too, and that they arent afraid. Walking away is the nicer option, but some people just wont let up until theyve been stood up to. I know that if it came down to my child body-slamming their tormentor in a moment of rage, or bottling it all up until he killed himself, just to escape....well, a school yard punch up doesnt look so bad, does it?

Thank God For Sesame Street

Flynn isnt exactly up to the TV watching stage yet - at 5 months old he doesnt have the worlds longest attention span ( hello goldfish! ). However, i do put the kids channel ABC2 on for an hour or so everyday - he doesnt actually watch the programs but he enjoys the music and the colour, and that comes in handy if Mummy has to run outside and hang some washing or needs to go to the toilet. Dont get me wrong, i'm not going to be one of those mums who uses the TV as a makeshift babysitter, i just 5 or 10 minutes of distraction sometimes. So little Flynn doesnt actually watch the shows - I, on the other hand, being an adult, cannot help but pay attention ( even if sometimes i dont really want to ). And do want to know what i've noticed ? Some kids TV shows are just stupid. They dont even compare to the great shows I had to watch when i was growing up. You know, like " Sesame Street ".

" Sesame Street " is the bomb, baby. I should i say the baby bomb? Either way i loved it back then and i love it still. The characters are kid friendly, the puppets come from the fabulous Jim Henson Company, it gets the best celebrity  cameos ( Garth Brooks, Adam Sandler, Aretha Franklin, hell even Michelle Obama ) and they use music and colour and stories to help kids learn. " Sesame Street " is the kind of show i want Flynn to love. Suffice to say Mummy will put this one on when he's old enough to actually pay attention to TV. I've also discovered two other little shows that i dont mind, and would be happy to sit down and watch with him:

" The Hoobs " - this one is a British show about these aliens called Hoobs that travel around in the Hoob mobile, learning about things here on Earth. They call adults " peeps", children are " tiddly-peeps " and babys are " squiddly-tiddly-peeps". Cute! What i like about this one is that every episode is about something in particular and the Hoob go around and try to learn about that thing. So, for example, yesterday one of them had found a painted egg and they wanted to know what it was and it was for - queue learning that eggs come from chickens, humans eat them, and when theyre boiled and painted they are used for egg hunts. Also, this also a Jim Henson production so it gets extra points from me just for that. Hooba-licious!

" Chuggingtons" - this is pretty much the new, modernised " Thomas the Tank Engine ". Not thats there is anything wrong with old Thomas but this one is just a little more " hip". Its more colourful, there are human characters and the storylines teach a moral or lesson without being as clunky as Thomas tends to be. Mick and I bought Flynn a Chuggingtons showbag ( with a backpack and lunchbox, dinner plate and cute hat! ) at this years show so my fingers are crossed that he gets into this one!

I dont get the appeal of some of the other popular kids shows. " In the Night Garden " ? Its rubbish - i'm not too keen on kids shows that use baby sounds instead of actual language. I know babys might like being spoken to in goo-goo-ga-ga but i'd prefer Flynn to watch something where he is going to pick up actual words and language. " Yo Gabba Gabba " ? Those puppet character thingys are weird and freaky! The stripey green one doesnt even have elbows - whats up with that? And DJ Lance has one of those faces i just want to punch. So i'm thanking God for " Sesame Street " - as long as it remains on air i might have a little bit of sanity for the next 10 years of childrens tv watching!