Archive for the 'family' Category
Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman
Yazan: Sara | 04 October 2010 | No Comments
Categories: family, shopping
It’s not often that I am pleased that I am the parent of a 14 year old daughter, but last night was one such occasion. We sat watching the X Factor, when an advert for Tesco’s Toy Sale came on. The advert proudly proclaims that the store has baby dolls for girls, as well as [...]
Why my heart goes out to the dignified Hagues
Yazan: Sara | 01 September 2010 | 2 Comments
Categories: family
William Hague is in some ways a pretty strange guy. Think teenage speeches, baseball caps and 14 pints. He’s also an obviously highly talented man, with intelligence and wit. Many years ago, I met him in a work context and he was utterly charming. Had he been able to wait a few more years before [...]
Your child is not yours
Yazan: Sara | 19 August 2010 | No Comments
Categories: family
Today my daughter is celebrating her 14th birthday. So that’s fourteen years in which I have loved her with a passion unimaginable to those who are not parents. But although I call her ‘my daughter’ she is very much her own person – and always has been. At times like this, I re-read the words [...]
Don’t let tomorrow be too late
Yazan: Sara | 17 June 2010 | No Comments
Categories: family
My daughter is 13 years old, the same age as Zenani Mandela, who died last week. I have just read the moving message from Zenani’s mother, which was read out at the funeral. “I should have let you sleep longer when you told me when you were tired. I should have let you go to [...]
A mother's guilt is never done
Yazan: sarabedford | 14 January 2009 | No Comments
Categories: family
My thoughts yesterday concerning the freedom that we allow our children has provoked some reactions, mostly in agreement. My old friend Costigan comments “The real risk here is parents feeling emotionally blackmailed into tracking their kids: ‘what if something happened and you could have done something about it’.” And that to me is a nagging concern. [...]
Are we in danger of breeding battery children?
Yazan: sarabedford | 13 January 2009 | 4 Comments
Categories: family
Childhood has well and truly come into the 21st century with the invention of the nu.mate. Revealed to the world this week and on sale from March, this device takes the form of a GPS tracker contained within a digital watch that allows you to track your child’s movements anywhere they go and follow them [...]
The ideal job for my daughter
Yazan: sarabedford | 12 January 2009 | No Comments
Categories: family
Our daughter has three main passions in her life: communicating on the internet, animals and scuba diving. So I think I may have found the ideal jobfor her. The role of caretaker Hamilton island, in the Great Barrier Reef, is being advertised, with duties including looking after the wildlife, writing a blog and snorkeling and [...]
Day 16: The great bin challenge
Yazan: sarabedford | 04 January 2009 | No Comments
Categories: family, Three Rivers
So here we are. Yesterday was 16 days on from the start of the Great Bin Challenge – and we did it! All our ‘residual’ waste for a family of three, our visitors and the dog in one 140 litre bin (the green one). Also shown are the (very full) recycling boxes for paper, glass, [...]
