by Kirsten Doyle (Canada) | Oct 28, 2011 | Canada, Computers, Kids, Motherhood, Technology
“Mommy, can I have a cell phone?”
These words were uttered by my five-year-old son James after school one day. He asked the question casually, as if he was asking for a glass of milk. No big deal.
My face involuntarily morphed into an “Are you crazy?” expression, and in a super-sonic voice that only dogs and small children can hear, I said, “No!”
“But Emma has one,” said James, as if that explained everything.
Emma is one of James’ friends at school. Emma is five.
The following day when I dropped James off, I spoke to his teacher.
“Does Emma really have a cell phone?” I asked.
“Yes,” said the teacher with a weary sigh. “It had the whole class in an uproar. We’ve had to make her leave it in the office during school hours.”
Wow. Five-year-olds with cell phones. When I was five, the only phone in my house was the ugly green rotary dial phone (more…)
Kirsten Doyle was born in South Africa. After completing university, she drifted for a while and finally washed up in Canada in 2000. She is Mom to two boys who have reached the stage of eating everything in sight (but still remaining skinny).
Kirsten was a computer programmer for a while before migrating into I.T. project management. Eventually she tossed in the corporate life entirely in order to be a self-employed writer and editor. She is now living her best life writing about mental health and addictions, and posting videos to two YouTube channels.
When Kirsten is not wrestling with her kids or writing up a storm, she can be seen on Toronto's streets putting many miles onto her running shoes. Every year, she runs a half-marathon to benefit children with autism, inspired by her older son who lives life on the autism spectrum.
Final piece of information: Kirsten is lucky enough to be married to the funniest guy in the world.
Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Be sure to check out her YouTube channels at My Gen X Life and Word Salad With Coffee!
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by Lady Jennie (France) | Oct 27, 2011 | Culture, France, International, Language, Motherhood, Parenting, Relocating, Travel, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, Writing
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I live just outside of Paris, France.
I am American and grew up in upstate New York, where I attended a small state school. On a whim, I decided to study abroad in Avignon, where I contracted “the travel bug.” From college, I moved to Taiwan for a year, then Manhattan for a year, to Paris for a year, back to Taiwan for another year, and finally back to Manhattan where I traveled to Asia regularly on business and then met my husband. We took a year’s sabbatical in East Africa before having our daughter and moving home. (His home, that is, now mine).
So I feel like I’m from a bit of everywhere.
What language(s) do you speak?
I speak English, of course. I speak French fluently with a slight accent and lots of charming grammatical errors that endear me to my French listeners; or at least that’s what I like to tell myself. I speak enough Mandarin to translate for the woman whose granddaughter attends the same music theory and classical dance classes as my daughter at the Conservatory. This is accomplished with (more…)
Jennie has lived in Taiwan, New York City and East Africa, and currently lives just outside of Paris with her French husband. She speaks rudimentary Mandarin, passable French and has had a varied career in Human Resources, Asian financial sales and humanitarian work. She is currently a mother to three young children, with writing and teaching gigs on the side, and blogs at A Lady in France.
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by Salma (Canada) | Oct 27, 2011 | Babies, Canada, Family, Kids, Motherhood, Parent Care, Parenting, Pregnancy, Salma, Social Good, Working Mother, World Moms Blog, World Voice
In 2001, the federal Parental Benefits Program in Canada increased the length of sharable paid parental leave benefits from 10 to 35 weeks, combined with 15 weeks of maternity leave.
My children were born in 1997 and 1999; I did not plan to have anymore children. I figured words like “parental leave” and “maternity benefits” were not a part of my future, or so, I thought.
In the September edition of Canadian Business magazine Jasmine Budak wrote an interesting article about the ”dark side” of maternity leave, here, in Canada. In it, Budak highlights some of the difficulties that (more…)
An Imperfect Stepford Wife is what Salma describes herself as because she simply cannot get it right. She loves decorating, travelling, parenting,learning, writing, reading and cooking, She also delights in all things mischievous, simply because it drives her hubby crazy.
Salma has 2 daughters and a baby boy. The death of her first son in 2009 was very difficult, however, after the birth of her Rainbow baby in 2010 (one day after her birthday) she has made a commitment to laugh more and channel the innocence of youth through her children. She has blogged about her loss, her pregnancy with Rainbow, and Islamic life.
After relocating to Alberta with her husband in 2011 she has found new challenges and rewards- like buying their first house, and finding a rewarding career.
Her roots are tied to Jamaica, while her hubby is from Yemen. Their routes, however, have led them to Egypt and Canada, which is most interesting because their lives are filled with cultural and language barriers. Even though she earned a degree in Criminology, Salma's true passion is Social Work. She truly appreciates the beauty of the human race. She writes critical essays on topics such as feminism and the law, cultural relativity and the role of women in Islam and "the veil".
Salma works full-time, however, she believes that unless the imagination of a child is nourished, it will go to waste. She follows the philosophy of un-schooling and always finds time to teach and explore with her children. From this stance, she pushes her children to be passionate about every aspect of life, and to strive to be life-long learners and teachers. You can read about her at Chasing Rainbow.
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by Maureen | Oct 26, 2011 | Indonesia, Motherhood, Parenting, Scoops of Joy
Growing up in Indonesia, I don’t really remember hugs, cuddles and the like. Yes, of course, there was the dutiful kiss on the cheek once in a while that felt more like a custom. It is not in our culture to say “I love you.”
In their own way, I know my parents love me and my brothers. We, the children, tended to show our love with actions, such as paying respect to our parents, never arguing or talking back and being, pretty much, good kids.
Our upbringing was laden with disciplines ala Dutch style. My parents were stern and
(more…)
by Jennifer Prestholdt (USA) | Oct 25, 2011 | Human Rights, Humanity, International, Motherhood, Working Mother, World Events, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, World Voice, Writing
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I live with my husband and three kids in Minneapolis, MN, USA. The headwaters of the Mississippi River are in Minnesota, but I’m from the delta – Baton Rouge, LA. Growing up in south Louisiana was great, but it did not adequately prepare me for being the hockey mom that I am today. (My two sons play and I am still trying to learn the rules!) I have also lived in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Norway and Switzerland.
What language(s) do you speak?
My native language is English, but I also speak Norwegian. I also studied French and Russian.
When did you first become a mother?
October 9, 1999. Nine days past the due date, I might add.
Are you a stay-at-home mom or do you work?
Since my oldest son was born, I have worked everything from 10 to 100% time at a fabulous non-profit called The Advocates for Human Rights. Currently, I am working 90% time as the Deputy Director. It’s a good balance for me. I took extended parenting leaves with each of my kids and, I have to say, being a stay-at-home mom is the hardest work I have ever done. As my husband says, we “go to work to rest.”
Why do you blog/write?
I started blogging as a New Years Resolution in January 2011. I realized that I had many stories from my experiences in fifteen years of human rights work, but most of them had never been shared. Some of these stories are about the worst aspects of (more…)
Jennifer Prestholdt is a lawyer and the Deputy Director of The Advocates for Human Rights, a volunteer-based human rights organization that works locally, nationally and internationally. Her work in human rights takes her around the world, but she spends most of her time in Minneapolis, MN, where she lives with her children (two sons and one daughter), her husband, an elderly cat and a dwarf hamster.
As Jennifer’s kids are now all in school (1st, 4th and 6th grades), she is finally finding more time to do the things that she used to love to do, especially running, writing and knitting. Jennifer loves to travel and has had the dubious distinction of having been accidentally locked in a bathroom on five continents so far. Australia and Antarctica await!
In January 2011, Jennifer made a New Year’s Resolution to start writing about her experiences in order to share with her children the lessons learned from 15 years of work in human rights. The result is her personal blog, The Human Rights Warrior. The name comes from her son Simon, who was extremely disappointed to learn that his mother is a lawyer, not a warrior.
You can find her on her blog The Human Rights Warrior or on Twitter @Jprestholdt.
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“Mommy, can I have a cell phone?”
