Browse by Tags

• Only 43% of British Moms Offered Home Birth! Outrage!

  Here in the states, we know things are a little different across the pond. British nannies have a certain something, their weather lacks a certain something, and there's that whole royalty business.  But sometimes we forget just how deep the differences can go. Take maternity care. In fact, in order to avoid a rose-colored-glasses look, take what bugs Brits about their maternity care, as described in a government-sponsored survey, and reported under headlines like "Maternity Nightmares!" The top concerns, according to one TV station that has done a recent follow up: Read More... Posted Sep 05 2008, 04:55 PM by Miriam Axel-Lute with | with no comments Filed under: hospitals, Britain, england, midwives, maternity care, home birth, british, AMA, american medical association, National Health Services, birth choices

• Brand Names Play Increasing Role in Bullying

  A poll by the British Association of Teachers and Lecturers found that the products kids want to own are largely determined by a desire to be accepted by their peers. And this is an understandable, given that almost half of teachers report that kids who can’t afford the “right” clothes are ostracized or bullied. Read More... Posted Aug 12 2008, 07:25 PM by Hannah Tennant-Moore with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: children, kids, bullying, Britain, marketing, advertising, labels, advertising to children, youth, association of teachers and lecturers, ads directed at kids, brand bullying, brand names

• They Like Big Butts, and They Can Not Lie: Survey Finds Men Prefer Bigger Body Sizes

  Drop that rice cake. I said drop it!  For years, okay centuries, women have tortured, teased and starved themselves in the hope of reaching that ideal body size. One would assume this was all for the men. If that’s the case, someone should have asked the men, because ladies have been doing it wrong all along.   According to a body survey in the UK mag Fabulous, women claim their ideal body size is a 6. When asked, the men said they though the ideal female body size should be a 10... Read More... Posted Aug 06 2008, 02:30 PM by Cole Gamble with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: Britain, women, kate moss, baby weight, men, body image, nudity, models, swimsuit, fabulous, sex appeal

• Pregnant Woman Apprehends a Thief

  The first thing 32-year-old Nadine Bevis did after she found out that she was pregnant was—stop a knife-wielding thief. Perhaps pregnancy hormones contain some crime busting agents. Read More... Posted Jul 15 2008, 08:00 AM by Hannah Tennant-Moore with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: Britain, knife, bike, picture, pregnancy hormones, pregnant woman, citizen's arrest, thugs, thief, pregnant superhero, steal, kindness of strangers, camera, john king

• Teaching Rich Kids Not to Be Tools

  I really hate rich people.  Or, at least, the entitled asshole attitude so many rich people project – that because they are used to their staff jumping when they snap their fingers, that everyone else must do the same. And then there's the cluelessness about how the world works for regular people. Gah. Hate. So I saw this article from the UK Guardian as a positive thing. Wealthy people in the UK, especially those involved in London's financial and banking industries, are beginning to teach their kids about philanthropy. Demand is growing, both because of an increasingly professional approach to philanthropy in Britain, growing numbers of super-wealthy people, and increasing discontent over the growing gap between rich and poor. Read More... Posted Jan 03 2008, 11:24 AM by AmyinMotown with | with no comments Filed under: Britain, rich kids, charities, philanthropy

• You, Too, Can Lick Harry Potter

  Harry Potter is more popular than the Beatles. And since the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, that makes Harry Potter more popular than... ...really? Harry Potter?  It's true. Pre-orders of the new Harry Potter stamps through Britain's Royal Mail eclipsed pre-orders of the Beatles stamps that went on sale in January. The Potter stamps will depict the covers of the various books as well as the crests of Hogwart's and its four houses. I have no idea what I just said. But maybe you know! And if you can't make it down to one of the Royal Mail's 40,000 post offices, you can always buy the stamps online. Maybe here? Yes, I would try here. Call me cynical, but I think that the issue of these stamps might have something to do with some... book that's coming out. You think? Posted Jul 18 2007, 03:52 PM by Karen Murphy with | with no comments Filed under: stamps, Britain, harry potter, Beatles, Jesus, Royal Mail

• Bad Post Partum Care in Britain Still Better than Care in the States

  The Brits have national health care, which for the uninsured masses of Americans must sound like pure bliss.  And yet. In a recent Telegraph report, a new mom complains about her treatment by the medical establishment after giving birth. I'm inclined to take the issues raised in this article seriously. Except honestly I could not get through the first paragraph without laughing in disbelief. After leaving the hospital "six days after giving birth" she became upset when the home visiting midwife failed to show up.  Six days?? Home visiting midwife?  As if. Can you imagine?  Complaints in the States look more like "I left the hospital 24 hours after my c-section and didn't see my doctor again for 6 weeks."  or "I was given an epidural without my consent and then discharged 10 hours later."    I'm willing to believe that nationalized health care is at times frighteningly substandard.  But even "only" six days in the hospital after the birth of a child, seems grand in comparison to the less than 24 most women get Stateside.  So buck up, British women, you could have it worse.  You could live here. Posted Mar 25 2007, 06:12 PM by Rachael Brownell (Redsy) with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: Britain, health care, Brits complain about pre- and post-natal care, maternity care, nationalized health care

• Simon Cowell's "Bullying:" Child Advocacy Groups Don't Like It

  British child protection groups have Simon Cowell in their sights after hearing of his plans to reduce the minimum age of contestants on his hit U.K. show The X Factor to 14-years-old. Children's groups fear that harsh criticism from Cowell, who is known for his sharp tongue, will cause "emotional damage" in the young contestants when their dreams of fame and fortune are dashed. The groups also feel that the show sends out the wrong message about "bullying" as the much older and more powerful Cowell criticizes and berates contestants. Representatives of these groups have asked for the show to provide proper support and counseling for their young contestants. Show producers responded by saying, "Shyeah! As if! We're not the parents hanging our kids out to dry in front of Simon Cowell. But nice try!"   Posted Mar 13 2007, 01:03 PM by Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Britain, self-esteem, Simon Cowell, X Factor, UK

• Back-to-School Special: Playboy Erasers

  Playboy cocktail shakers. Playboy high ball glasses. Even Playboy bottle stoppers. If you want to look the part of a hip, swinging, 1970s-era wild and crazy guy, these products are for you. But Playboy pencil erasers? Who, pray tell, are these for? Forgive me if I'm a little late on this story -- it was all the rage in Britain a few years back -- but I just found out about it through Alpha Mummy's list of the seven worst sexy toys for children. It seems some company is marketing Playboy erasers for teenage girls. How nice. My daughter is not yet 1, but I'm already dreading the back-to-school shopping experience if this is going to be a part of it. What can I expect to find in a few years? Playboy binders, Hustler Trapper-Keepers, Penthouse Pencils? Every young girl should be so lucky. Thankfully the story says teenage girls themselves staged protests against the products, so maybe there's hope after all. Posted Mar 07 2007, 07:02 PM by Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) with | with no comments Filed under: school, teenagers, Britain, pornography, children's products, media influence, children and porn, child development, porn

• British Parenting Expert Sues Online Parenting Community Because Dissenting Commenters are Mean

  Gina Ford may not be a household name in the U.S., but she is a well-known baby expert in Britain where her "schedule-baby-down-to-the-minute" approach is both worshiped and reviled. For all intents and purposes, she is the "Ezzo" (Babywise) of Britain and her book, The Contented Baby, has sold millions of copies worldwide. Ford doesn't like the way that certain mums who frequent Mumsnet, one of the U.K.'s largest parenting websites, are talking about her.  Amongst other not-so-kind things, they are calling her "cruel" because she advocates the cry-it-out method. Ford doesn't appreciate the name-calling so she is threatening to sue the site. Mumsnet was started in 2000 by two mothers. These days, the site gets about a million hits a year and boasts 75,000 members.  The owners say they can't afford to pay any settlement and therefore shouldn't be sued. They are so worried about losing their houses and their livelihood that they have banned all Ford talk from the site. Should Ford pursue legal action or put a pacifier in it and stop being such a baby? Posted Mar 07 2007, 07:02 AM by Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) with | with 9 comment(s) Filed under: Britain, parenting experts, mumsnet, legal action, the contented baby, gina ford

• UK Parents Claim They're Second Class Drones on Return to Work

  It's hard out there for a pimp. But apparently, it's even harder for parents who return to work after taking time off to be with their children. A survey by UK Web site mother@work reports that only 1 out of 10 parents who returned to work did so because they loved their job; most went back purely for financial reasons. Additionally, 7% of parents claim that they were passed over for promotions because of their brood, while a full 10% said that they could feel the cold, icy stares of their childless colleagues piercing them to the marrow. I have to wonder how representative those digits are of American parents, though. Most of the moms and dads I know who returned to work after doign the stay-at-home gig did so because they felt something was missing in their lives. Most of them, in other words, love to work. My own wife is a former stay at home mom turned work at home mom, who's written eloquently about her reasons for going back to the grind. Let's hear from the peanut gallery. (And I mean that in the most affectionate way possible.) If you used to stay home with the kids, why did you repatriate? Did you miss working? Or was it strictly a matter of the dinero?   Posted Feb 01 2007, 10:34 AM by thezeroboss with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Britain, work, america, job, work at home moms, employment, stay at home moms, working

• LinkLove: Moobs, Ah the Indignity

  After reading Moobs, you'll be convinced that the blogosphere is loaded with hidden talent, not just a slew of sycophantic solipsists.  If you want a good read nearly every time, from someone sensitive but not obsessed with feelings, this site is for you.  Moobs is beloved by his followers and rightly so.  He's smart, British, and portrays modern issues (in vitro fertilization and infertility among them) with a sophisticated pen, wry wit, and big heart. Like all good writers, he is able to evoke sympathy, understanding, and interest despite a viewpoint that may (literally and figuratively) be foreign to the reader.  He's a not-yet-Dad barrister living in London and long-married to a pretty girl named P, both struggling to get through, pay for, and survive the trials of in vitro fertilization. But that's only a small portion of what he describes, with topics ranging from life as a barrister, to a niece's first birthday, to reflections on pervvy youthful proclivities.  With a self-deprecating name like Moobs, how can you lose? Now, his is a Dad-ography I'd gladly devour. Posted Jan 30 2007, 01:14 PM by Rachael Brownell (Redsy) with | with no comments Filed under: Britain, IVF, infertility, Moobs, British law, blogosphere, good writing, in vitro fertilization

• Dear Parents, Your Kid Is An A-hole

  Here's one from the "Discipline Ideas That Sounded Good At The Time But Didn't Quite Work" Files. British police in Jersey are sick and tired of dealing with problem teenagers in their community, so they decided to take matters into their own hands. There's only one way to get disobedient youths to straighten up and that's to dole out punishments that will put them on notice. So listen up, Jersey teens. You'd better get your act together or a letter will be sent home to your parents. Teenagers of Jersey, heed this warning: If you don't stop the underage drinking and drugging, if you don't stop being "distressing" and "anti-social," the Jersey police department will punish you with correspondence. Oh yes, mister. You heard that right. A letter will be sent to your parents shaming them into taking responsibility for your punk-hooligan-arses. You'd better straighten up or there's a form letter waiting with your name on it. Trust me. You do not want to find out what happens when Microsoft Word is launched... You know what? Perhaps the Jersey Police Department should take lessons from the New Jersey police department. Letter? I got yer letter right here! Posted Dec 20 2006, 12:02 PM by Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: news, teenagers, Britain, discipline