The Problem with Peter Pan

It’s been a long, long time since I watched the Disney version of ‘Peter Pan’. As a child, I didn’t enjoy it. There was something not quite right about it.

Now that I’m an adult, I can examine the problems of abandonment, racism, gender stereotypes, absent fathers and the strange strange idea of never wanting (or being able?) to grow up. As a child, I couldn’t articulate these feelings well, but I still remember being so so uncomfortable.

And therein lies the point of today’s post.

Why my 3 year olds have not seen ‘Frozen’

A year after the worldwide smash ‘Frozen’ hit cinemas, I have finally got round to previewing it for my just-turned-3 year olds. After all, it seems that everyone has seen it, and so many of the our playdate friends are avid fans. However, much as I liked it, and as much as I am thrilled that it has done so well, BabyGirl and BabyBoy won’t be watching it anytime soon.

Fencing for safety…and sanity…

As BabyBoy and BabyGirl hurtle closer to their third birthday I’ve been wondering…it is time to stop the childproofing?

Our house is a mass of fences and gates. Gates to keep them out of certain rooms. Fences to keep breakables out of reach and to discourage indoor parkour.

Pondering Preschool

Preschool has crept up on us. Suddenly, it seems that EVERYONE is at preschool, five days a week. And BabyBoy and BabyGirl are not yet three. I want to cry.

Cry because I did my research, I made my decision…..and still the societal pressure is forcing me to second-guess myself.

Are my kids going to get left behind? Are they ever going to be able to hang out with kids their own age? Am I stopping them from asserting their burgeoning independence?

The Spontaneous ‘Sorry’

I’ve never been a fan of the forced apology for young children. To me, it seems to pave the way to ‘sorry’ becoming a get-out-of-jail-free card, liberally used to negate playground pushing without any real empathy or understanding involved.

Nevertheless, I have cringed whenever BabyBoy and BabyGirl, who are not yet three years old, have knocked another child or snatched at a toy….and they do not utter the words I know the other parent wants to hear – ‘sorry’.

Easy Craft 3: Coloring-In and Sparklebox

Coloring is an excellent way to hone your child’s creativity and pre-writing skills. With the right equipment, it can also be high on the list of no-mess, no-fuss arts and crafts.

The thing with coloring in for little ones, is that the drawings have to be simple. Like the one picture above. And the best thing is there is a resource which has such drawings available for free – Sparklebox.

Easy Craft 2: Stickers

My second post in the Easy Crafts series introduces the wonderful world of….stickers!

Sticker art is an easy, non-messy way of honing your toddler’s fine motor skills and inspiring creativity.

Another throwaway comment

My last post dealt with how a teacher dealt, in my opinion, wrongly, with a request for advice from a parent. Today I relate another anecdote showcasing the throwaway comments with which, without realizing, we burden our children with stereotypes.

Advice, Guns and….Gender

There are a lot of throwaway comments that have ‘gender issues’. ‘Boys will be boys’ is a classic – used to explain all kinds of behavior from a love of toys cars to sexual harassment.

Today, however, I was present during a conversation when a concerned mother asked a pre-school teacher for advice. Her 4 year old son had some playmates who had recently become interested in pretending to use guns (using props if no toy guns were around). The son was not showing any interest in this sort of play, and the mother was concerned that he would lose friends if he didn’t play these sorts of games.

Bite your tongue

Around my toddlers, I find that I have to bite my tongue, a lot.

I bite my tongue when my toddler builds a tower which is off-kilter and will inevitably fall.

I bite my tongue when the wonderful lego table is permanently displaying a collection of toy cars instead of lego creations.