Posted on February 27, 2007 by (un)relaxeddad
An upcoming speech by the UK’s Education Secretary Alan Johnson seems to think so (Fathers told: do more for your children - EducationGuardian.co.uk and on BBC News), with notions such as ‘Fathers Only’ evenings at schools and an entire ‘parenting strategy’.
On the plus side, he’s at least going to come out and state directly [...]
Filed under: Fatherhood, family, politics | Tagged: families, parenting strategy, Alan Johnson, commentary, long working hours | 6 Comments »
Posted on February 26, 2007 by (un)relaxeddad
This poor kid (icNewcastle - Obese boy, 8, may be taken into care) has been dragged through the tabloids on a number of occasions (and here am I contributing my own humming bird wings’ beat to the whole furore).
The executive summary - 8 year old boy weighs 14.5 stone (roughly 92 kilos), three times the [...]
Filed under: children, news, parenting | Tagged: abuse, obesity | 9 Comments »
Posted on February 25, 2007 by (un)relaxeddad
I’m pretty sure I’ve already done one of these but I got tagged by Tessa over at the Boob Juice Factory. And I secretly love making lists - occupational hazard of being male.
Question is, can I actually manage six more interesting ones?
(Pauses. Scratches head.)
Okay. Here goes.
The less than marvellous band I was in [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Charles Haughey, driving, guitars, horses, Mega City 4, Missile Command, six things meme | 7 Comments »
Posted on February 22, 2007 by (un)relaxeddad
IMAGE_00225
Originally uploaded by unrelaxeddad.
On the London Underground first thing this morning. But what exactly is a ‘healer’? Johnny Marr’s occasional band? The hardest working band in Texas? A laying on of hands and crystals and the odd Hopi candle? A dent in your brain chakra? Or is the Underground overrun by rich [...]
Filed under: London Underground, children, random, toddler, travel | Tagged: healers | 11 Comments »
Posted on February 21, 2007 by (un)relaxeddad
I did say that this was going to feature a few laughs. I lied. This is a rant.
I’ve left comments turned on as there may be the odd reader who disagrees with the admittedly very personal, subjective experience I’ve put down here. Well, it’s a subjective world and all suffering is relative, [...]
Filed under: death, family, religion | Tagged: Archbishop, catholicism, church, funerals, power | 14 Comments »
Posted on February 20, 2007 by (un)relaxeddad
“You can put some music on, Daddy.”
“Thank you. Do you want to choose it?”
“No” (busy with cereal) “You can do it.”
“OK.” (unrelaxeddad fiddles with kitchen stereo)
“What do you think of this?”
“I like this. Look - my apple’s dancing.” Dudelet taps his feet loudly and bounces his apple up and down by its stalk.
“This band is [...]
Filed under: Music, dudelet's playlist, toddlers | Tagged: Soundgarden | 5 Comments »
Posted on February 19, 2007 by (un)relaxeddad
The Trendwatching site exercises a periodic, gruesome fascination for me. The latest briefing (com: February 2007 trend briefing | TRYSUMERS) tells us that companies now want us to try out, their products sorry, brands rather than just buy them and that consumers are smart and savvy enough to settle for nothing less. They don’t just [...]
Filed under: marketing | Tagged: brands, Google Sketch, Trendwatching, trysumers | 5 Comments »
Posted on February 18, 2007 by (un)relaxeddad
And when I say friends, I mean friends in the plural.
Dudelet’s at the right age - three - for this kind of development. Some children have imaginary friends who are effectively incarnations of favourite toys. Dudelet has acquired three invisible (except to him) robot companions. They live in a house in our [...]
Filed under: family, toddlers | Tagged: imaginary friends | 12 Comments »
Posted on February 17, 2007 by (un)relaxeddad
This is an ongoing pattern in London (Random violence leaves five dead and locals in fear | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited) that strikes terror into the heart of local parents bringing up a boy. You’d never know it to look at our nice middle-class area with its delis, new restaurants and rocketing house prices [...]
Filed under: parenting | Tagged: gangs, gun crimes | 6 Comments »
Posted on February 16, 2007 by (un)relaxeddad
Dad’s funeral was on Wednesday and I got back that evening. I went down the day before and stood through a short prayer vigil at the funeral parlour. What I want to reflect on here is not grief or tragedy but the oddity of the whole Catholic way of letting go of the [...]
Filed under: personal | Tagged: Catholic, funeral | 6 Comments »
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