4 January 2012

A fresh-faced look at growing old


In Never Say Die, Susan Jacoby elbows aside old prejudices about ageing and the ‘illderly’ and asks instead how society can sensibly cope with having lots of older people. Review by Jennie Bristow.
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Parenting news

Lib Dems announce free parenting classes
Sunday Times, 18 September 2011
Free parenting classes are to be offered to all families with children under the age of five in a new scheme announced at the Lib Dem conference.

Come back ‘Superwoman’: the lost ideal of combining motherhood and work
Guardian, 17 September 2011
The ideal of the 'Superwoman' juggling motherhood and work has been scotched. Now the pressure on women is to be perfect carers, with careers like a dirty secret. By Zoe Williams.

Featured articles

The ‘Foundation Years’: For a New Generation of Mini-Camerons?
Huffington Post, 20 July 2011
The Con-Lib Coalition has announced its own version of the toddlers' curriculum - with teeth.

For years, mothers who don’t want to breast feed have been demonised.
Daily Mail, 10 February 2011
But startling new evidence may be about to vindicate them.

Why parents shouldn’t feel guilty if they can’t devote time to their toddlers
The Observer, 11 September 2011
Critics are rejecting the theory that children need close attention in their first three years, dismissing neuroscience as 'neurotrash'. By Viv Groskop.

The London riots were not a product of permissiveness
spiked, 30 August 2011
Blaming the looting on the ‘liberal experiment’ of the 1960s is not only wrong - it could also make the real problems in urban communities worse. By Jennie Bristow.

Featured book

Standing up to Supernanny
Societas (2009)
The current obsession with perfect parenting increases our insecurity and distrust of each other, and diminishes our authority over our kids. In this new book, Jennie Bristow asks: Why have we invited Supernanny into our living rooms - and how can we kick her out?

Licensed to Hug
Civitas (2010)
Frank Furedi and Jennie Bristow argue that the dramatic escalation of child protection measures such as the national vetting scheme has succeeded in poisoning the relationship between the generations, creating an atmosphere of suspicion that increases the risks to children.

Health and safety ‘excuse’ for unpopular decisions
BBC News Online, 24 August 2011
Councils and companies are using health and safety rules as an excuse to make "unpopular decisions" banning low-risk activities, a watchdog says.

Cameron’s cure will make society sicker
spiked, 23 August 2011
The PM's post-riots promise of more intervention into troubled families is mad – it is precisely such intervention that devastated parental authority.

Dr Spock’s Baby and Child Care at 65
BBC News Online, 23 August 2011
Sixty-five years since its first publication, Louise Hidalgo asks, what is Dr Spock's contribution to child-rearing today?

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