Next meeting
TBC
Past meetings
Social mobility, education and parenting – 24 January 2012
Everyone is talking about social mobility these days. And everyone is identifying that quality of parental input is probably the most decisive factor. Is this true? What is the social mobility agenda – and is it desirable?
Sally Millard introduced.
Readings:
www.suttontrust.com/news/news/latest-research-report-what-prospects-for-mobility-in-the-uk/
www.battleofideas.org.uk/index.php/2011/battles/6622/
blogs.independent.co.uk/author/sally-millard/
www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/11885/
www.dpm.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/news/social-mobility-strategy-launched
Children and food - 15 September 2011
There has been recent discussion about children as young as 5 becoming anorexic. Are we sending the wrong messages to our children about food? And are they reacting to them?
Readings:
www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/10438/
www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/10429/
www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/2287/
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/02/child-anorexia-size-zero
The government’s review on the sexualisation of children - 13 July 2011
The review has sparked off a huge discussion about whether there is a pornification of society that needs to be addressed; or whether there is an increasing anxiety about sex and children, which has nothing to do with pop videos, but has a lot to do with adults own anxieties about boundaries between adults and children.
Dr Jan McVarish introduced.
There have been a plethora of articles. The readings below are certainly not exhaustive.
www.education.gov.uk/b0074315/bailey-review/
www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/10587/
Contact Jane Sandeman at parents@instituteofideas.com for Central London venue details.
Mummy bloggers – 5 May 2011
The mumsnet phenomenon has been discussed extensively. mumsnet was seen as the kingmaker in the last election.
A Save the Children initiative in Bangladesh invited three mums who are the leading ‘mummy’ bloggers to go along and see work they had done there and discuss it in their blogs. NSPCC are a sponsor of netmums.
The three bloggers the Save the Children charity invited were:
- Josie George www.sleepisfortheweak.org.uk
- Sian To, who also runs a parenting PR company www.mummy-tips.com
- Social media consultant Eva Keogan: www.nixdminx.com.
We were very fortunate to have one of the leading Mummy bloggers introducing this lively and thought-provoking discussion – Jennifer Howze.
Jennifer Howze is a journalist with more than 20 years’ experience. She is the co-founder of CyberMummy, the UK’s only conference for parent bloggers, and the partner in charge of content for the British Mummy Bloggers social network, which has more than 2,000 blogger members. Previously, she was the online lifestyle editor for the Times and editor of its Alpha Mummy blog. Jennifer has written for publications in the UK and America including The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Independent, CNN.com, Conde Nast’s SELF magazine, Travel + Leisure, and Frommer’s Budget Travel, among others. Her work has been included in two books, Standing Up to Supernanny and Budget Travel’s Secret Hotels.
Child protection – 25 November 2010
We looked at the subject of child protection, as Eileen Monroe’s report has recently been published:
Download the Munroe Review of Child Protection report
Good Parents, Great Kids, Better Citizens – 14 October 2010
Topic: Graham Allen and Iain Duncan Smith’s document Good Parents, Great Kids, Better Citizens.
Download Good Parents, Great Kids, Better Citizens
Although the Con/Lib Dem Coalition has not yet set out family policy, this gives a flavour of their key thoughts around this area.
Male post-natal depression – 14 September 2010
Introduced by Dr Ellie Lee.
Why do boys fail? 1 July 2010
The forum was introduced by Jo Sedley, a primary school teacher.
She looked at why there is such an obsession with boys failing at school and critically examining the proposed solutions to this-from good role models to attempting to foster ’self-esteem’.
Readings:
Help Your Boys Succeed: The Essential Guide for Parents
27 May 2010
7pm in Central London
We discussed Sure Start. In all the discussions around the general election there is one thing all commentators and parties have agreed on – that is that Sure Start is a good thing. This forum looked at why is Sure Start so feted; and what will Sure Start become in the light of who has won the election. Jennie Bristow introduced.
Readings:
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/8665/
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/8632/
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/rachel_sylvester/article5309913.ece
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-cameron-is-concealing-his-inner-bush-1958432
31 March 2010
In our seemingly ceaseless appetite to problematise teenagers, the latest discussion is the sexualisation of children. Cameron and Balls are fighting it out as to who identified this issue first, and who can introduce the most regulations against advertisers.
This forum critically examined are children being sexualized? What does this mean? What is the content of the strategies proposed to counteract this alleged sexualisation and what do they mean for how we think about children, sex, and adult authority.
The forum was introduced by Dr Jan McVarish.
Dr Jan Macvarish is a researcher and lecturer at the University of Kent. Her interests lie in the sociology of interpersonal relationships, parenting, family life, sex and intimacy.
Readings:
http://phulme.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/linda-papadopoulos-on-the-sexualisation-of-young-people/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8521403.stm
February 25 2010
Angus Kennedy on why the family has become the pre election topic debate. With Labour publishing its Green Paper on the family in January (with a particular emphasis on the roles of fathers) and David Cameron announcing that the Tory party will mend Broken Britain.
There are news articles on this topic every day. Perhaps the two big questions to muse on are:
- Why are they bringing this centre stage?
- How successful can it be as an area to campaign on?
Links:
The Government’s proposals
January 14 2010
Stephen Baskerville, who is an advocate of father’s rights, talked about father’s rights, family courts and divorce.
See www.stephenbaskerville.net/articles-bydate.htm.
November 24 2009
Jennie Bristow and Toby Marshall debated ‘Should we defend home schooling?‘
We had a lively discussion looking at: Is home schooling defensible? Should parents be prevented from educating their children in the way they wish? What do we think about proposals to increase state regulation on those who choose to home school? Are there times for the social good and childrens’ own good when parents wish to do their own thing should be overruled?
October 15 2009
Policing the Playground: do anti-bullying campaigns do more harm than good?
The newspapers reported recently that a dinner lady was sacked for telling the parents of a girl that she had been tied up by some boys with a skipping rope and whipped.
A 9 year old boy was accused by his school of being racist because he was pretending to shoot at German soldiers.
What is happening in our playgrounds? Have adults lost their ability to judge what is bullying and what isn’t?
Beverley Marshall introduced this topical issue.
September 22 2009
A Dutch court has put a 13-year-old girl under state care for two months, stalling her bid to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world. The decision by three Utrecht judges means Laura Dekker’s parents, who support her plans, temporarily lose the right to make decisions about her. A child psychologist will now assess her capacity to undertake the voyage. This forum asks the question should this girl be allowed to sail around the world? Are parents always right when making these decisions? Or do their own ambitions blind them to what is best for their children?
Introduced by Sally Millard, who produced a session on this topic at the Battle of Ideas.
Recommended reading: Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry by Lenore Skenazy
June 30 2009
Discussion on the recently republished The Nurture Assumption by Judith Rich Harries
Helene Guldberg, author of Reclaiming Childhood introduced this topic. See www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/reviewofbooks_article/6399/