VEGETABLES ARE EXHAUSTING

by Stefania Revelli As most of the nation’s little ones get into back-to-school mode, their Millennial and Xer parents are stuck with their own daily homework: solving the problem of how to pack more produce into lunchboxes — a struggle that dominates meal planners’ daily lives. Why else would Deceptively Delicious and its stealth approach to […]

My co-parent, my friend: The new family model?

by Nancy Ludwig WHAT’S HAPPENING Broody Brit singletons are shunning anonymous sperm donors and expensive IVF treatments in favour of having (and bringing up) baby with a co-parent who’s a friend, not a lover (Telegraph.co.uk, 8 August 2011). Previously popular within the gay community, co-parenting — in which the child’s biological parents bring them up […]

Swedish pre-school goes gender-neutral

by Bosco Chiclana WHAT’S HAPPENING Egalia, a pre-school in a well-to-do district of Stockholm is attempting to free children from social expectations based on gender (bbc.co.uk 8 July 2011). Teachers avoid using the pronouns “him” and “her”, and dolls and trucks are placed deliberately side-by-side to encourage children to play with whatever they choose. Gender […]

As family budgets tighten, grands pick up the tab

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Junior needs a new laptop. Sis wants a wardrobe upgrade. And Brother’s tuition is due. Who they gonna call? The grands! As Americans struggle to make ends meet, grandparents are increasingly stepping in to fill the gaps. Between 2004 and 2009, two-thirds of U.S. grandparents shelled out to help their […]

“Daycare” centres provide activities for elderly Russians

by Anna Coppola WHAT’S HAPPENING State-funded “daycare for seniors” facilities are emerging in Moscow. These are daytime social clubs offering free meals, sleep, leisure activities and healthcare for elderly Russians. “Eat less, sleep more, wear clothes for the young, don’t lose creativity, get surprised every day” reads the slogan on the wall of one such […]

Baby formula gets the Nespresso touch in Switzerland

by Lindsay Paterson WHAT’S HAPPENING Swiss mums have a new labour-saving device to add to their armoury with the advent of Baby Nes — the equivalent of the cult Nespresso coffee machine, but for baby formula (MinuteBuzz.com, 25 May 2011). In addition to the specially designed machine, retailing at around €200 ($287), Nestlé sells capsules […]

Congratulations, it’s a … pink cake! Gender-reveal parties make disclosure delicious

by Nissa Hanna WHAT’S HAPPENING Finding out the baby’s gender during the ultrasound? Where’s the fun in that? A growing number of expecting couples are sharing the surprise by hosting gender-reveal parties where the sex is slipped by slicing the cake (TheAwl.com, 15 April 2011). A recipe unlike any other: Instead of hearing the news […]

Spain launches mini-bus service for kids

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Spanish bus company ALSA has launched Pequebus (Li’l Bus), Spain’s first kid-friendly minibus service, meaning Spain’s smallest travellers can ride the bus in style and safety while their parents rest easy. The minibuses feature car seats, audiovisual entertainment and specially adapted luggage racks to cater to travellers aged five and […]

Travel-junkie moms get on board Momaboard

by Sumaa Tekur WHAT’S HAPPENING Mothers with toddlers and the desire to travel are packing their bags and doing just that — they’re hitting the road. But questions of diaper availability, child-friendly restaurants and kid activity zones in new places can be difficult to crack. Enter Momaboard. This online resource for “globetrotting babies and their moms” is for […]

With teen social media mania rising, one mom pulls the plug

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Adults are no strangers to Facebook. But tweet-happy teens are always in update mode. More than a quarter (27%) of social media users under age 25 check statuses when they wake up at night, according to a Retrevo study (Retrevo Blog, 15 February 2011). Alarmed by her kids’ addictions, Susan […]

Most gay families live in … the South!

by Hans Eiseneis WHAT’S HAPPENING There are many stereotypes about gays and lesbians, some of them seemingly innocuous — for instance, that people in the LGBT community are mostly white, wealthy and childless. But new information from the U.S. Census finds some startling results. First and foremost: The South has more gay couples with children […]

No, no, we won’t go: In Chicago, Latina moms sit in for their kids

by Abelardo de la Pena Jr. WHAT’S HAPPENING We’ve told you about how immigrant Latina moms are taking a more proactive role in their children’s education. In Chicago, a group took to civil disobedience — a 43-day occupation of a field house on the campus of Whittier Elementary School — to reverse an order for […]

Single-parent vacations take off in India

by Kiran Manral WHAT’S HAPPENING It is no longer unusual among urban affluent families to take parent-and-child-only vacations, minus the second spouse. Mothers are taking their kids out on solo vacations — from the domestic to the most exotic foreign locales — and without waiting for their spouses to rearrange their busy work schedules. The growing number of […]

Baby burp on your shoulder: Target gets it

by Sarah Barker WHAT’S HAPPENING Goodbye, pristine mom calmly cuddling blue-eyed baby; hello, real world. Target’s new baby ads, dubbed Big Baby Billboard, focus on the chaos and absurdity of parenting (AdAge.com, 29 December 2010). Responding to parent research, Target moved from idealism to realism in their advertising, focusing on the baby rather than the […]

Net-savvy moms bond online over product reviews

by Anindita Sengupta WHAT’S HAPPENING Net-savvy Indian moms are tapping into the power of girl bonding. MummyKnowsBest.com is a site that exclusively reviews children’s products. It claims that products that do not meet “rigorous quality and use standards” are not featured (MummyKnowsBest.com). Owned and managed by Ruchika Chanana and Nisha Subramaniam,  the portal features contributions […]