by Maureen | Nov 25, 2011 | Eye on Culture, Indonesia, Scoops of Joy, Toys
The November 19th Saturday Sidebar question was so interesting I couldn’t help but take a deeper look into the whole gender issue, especially from an Indonesian mother’s point of view.
(Disclaimer: it is not easy to characterize the existing patriarchy in Indonesia, as there are more than 200 ethnic groups organized along patrilineal and matrilineal lines. Also, I have no experience raising a girl here in Indonesia–-in fact, I had no experience in child rearing before my son was born. And finally, before I became a mother myself, I never paid much attention to how people raise children here.)
About two years ago, when my son was a toddler, who dearly loved stuffed animals, I took him to a store here in Jakarta. He immediately grabbed a stuffed pig off a bottom shelf and started loving it. The store attendant quickly made a comment that caused my defensive mama-bear mode to jump into action: (more…)
by Purnima Ramakrishnan | Sep 28, 2011 | Bilingual, Childhood, Competition, Entertainment, Family, Hobby, India, Motherhood, Parenting, The Alchemist, Toys
The thermocol apple tree with thermocol apples and thermocol branches pinned up
As Kirsten wrote in her travel itinerary last Sunday, I do have a tale to tell you, rather my son does.
It is the story of the boy and the apple tree. It’s a very popular story in India and was recently read by my son’s teacher during one of the Parent Teacher meetings.
Let me get on to the beginning of the story. I was called to school one day and informed that my son was selected to represent the school for a story telling competition. (more…)
by Tara Bergman (USA) | Sep 13, 2011 | Entertainment, Motherhood, Tara B., Toys
I just took my son to the movies for the first time. He is 5 ½, and I hadn’t taken him to the theater yet because he is very sensitive to visual media. Well, he is sensitive in general. He just seems to hear, see, smell and feel things more intensely than other kids. I wanted to take him to the movies when he seemed eager, when we could really talk about what the theater would feel like, and when we had the right movie to see.
My son watches really tame stuff at home, and most “kid” movies these days are pretty intense. You combine this with his natural skittishness about all things action-play-fighting-related (see my post titled “Boys Will Be Boys?”), and it just didn’t make sense to push the big movie theater experience too soon. (more…)
Tara is a native Pennsylvanian who moved to the Seattle area in 1998 (sight unseen) with her husband to start their grand life adventure together. Despite the difficult fact that their family is a plane ride away, the couple fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and have put down roots. They have 2 super charged little boys and recently moved out of the Seattle suburbs further east into the country, trading in a Starbucks on every corner for coyotes in the backyard. Tara loves the outdoors (hiking, biking, camping). And, when her family isn't out in nature, they are hunkered down at home with friends, sharing a meal, playing games, and generally having fun. She loves being a stay-at-home mom and sharing her experiences on World Moms Network!
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by Alison | Jun 15, 2011 | Child Care, Childhood, Communication, Education, Family, International, Malaysia, Parenting, Technology, Toys
We live in a world of iPads, flat screen televisions, smartphones, GPS navigation systems, electric cars, the Internet.
Our children are growing up in the fast-moving digital age.
Our children are growing up watching television, loving shows like Barney, Sesame Street, Baby Einstein, Dora the Explorer, Spongebob Squarepants and many more. They’re growing up learning the alphabet with Elmo using the iPad. They’re growing up learning to use a smartphone before they can even talk.
There is much dialogue about the extent of technology our children are immersed in, whether voluntarily, as permitted by their parents, or involuntarily, where they’re surrounded by these things when they go to school, to a mall, or even, their friends’ homes. (more…)
Alison is a former PR professional turned stay-at-home mother to two boys. Growing up in a small city of Ipoh, Malaysia, Alison left home at 17 to pursue her studies in the big city of Kuala Lumpur. At 19, she headed to University of Leeds in England and graduated with a degree in Communications. Returning home to Malaysia in 1999, she began a 10-year career in public relations, event planning, and marketing, working for various PR agencies and one of the world's biggest sports brands. After a decade of launch parties and product launches, concerts and award shows, international press junkets and world travel, Alison traded all that in for a life as a first time mother in 2009, and has not looked back since. Aside from writing for her blog, Writing, Wishing, Alison is the Founder and chief social media strategist for Little Love Media.
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by Karyn Wills | Jun 8, 2011 | Childhood, Communication, Family, International, Kids, Media, Motherhood, Music, New Zealand, Parenting, Toys
This started as a post about what happens when a mother gets ill, but still has a young family to care for. While we were busy doing research with a very nasty tummy-bug, Veronica published her post on taking her daughter to watch a game of college basketball, (NEW JERSEY, USA: Ladies of the Court).
It’s a lovely post about parents sharing their common passion with their child. The comments were great and they got me thinking – are our children genetically different to others? You see, during those few days when various ones of us were ill, the boys got to watch tv. This doesn’t happen in our house. Our kids aren’t allowed any electronic entertainment.
Before you jump to the conclusion that we are controlling hippy-freaks, let me reassure you that we have no electronic entertainment (for children) in our house for very good reasons. In fact, many years ago our eldest son was pretty much on a par with most other children of educated middle-class families. He watched educational tv and dvds every day, and he listened to loads of cds. He’d been to see The Wiggles on stage and a couple of other shows.
Then, a teacher suggested that a few of the behaviour problems we were having at the time might be due to over-stimulation. (more…)
Karyn is a teacher, writer and solo mother to three sons. She lives in the sunny wine region of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand in the city of Napier.
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by World Moms Blog | Apr 22, 2011 | Eva Fannon, Friday Question, Husband, Kids, Motherhood, Nutrition, Tara B., The Alchemist, Toys
Back in January, we asked our World Moms if they had ever told their child(ren) a white lie http://worldmomsblog.com/2011/01/14/friday-question-have-you-told-a-little-white-lie/. Now Ambre French wants to know…
“Have you told any white lies to your mother, mother-in-law, or auntie regarding your family habits to keep her happy, silent, or reassured?”
Read on to find out what some of our World Moms said… (more…)
World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children.
World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.
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The November 19th Saturday Sidebar question was so interesting I couldn’t help but take a deeper look into the whole gender issue, especially from an Indonesian mother’s point of view.
