Remarks from an obstetrician that older mothers were “selfish” because they left children with elderly parents sent the media in to a spin recently. Zoe Krupka examines how to balance wisdom with biology.
Children
Lesbians make better parents
Here’s an article for those who doubt gay parents. Children of lesbians are more likely to have high self esteem, higher academic results and less likely to have behavioural problems than kids with heterosexual parents.
Playgrounds: they’re not supposed to be dull
By attempting to keep our kids safe, we’ve turned our playgrounds into boring areas with no fun equipment and no sand pits, just wood chips. Yes, parks can be dangerous, but let’s bring back trees and nature to playtime.
The gayby boom
How can you be a mother if you never gave birth? Are gay parents the next major cultural phenomena? Why are people scared of gay dads? Amie Klempnauer Miller talks gay parenting.
must read 
I accidentally killed my child: is it a crime?
A heartbreaking investigation on parents who forget and accidentally leave their children to die in the backs of cars. It may be a devastating and horrific mistake, but is it a crime worthy of prosecution? asks Gene Weingarten.
Wankley Awards: All the stink about the Minx
The Wankley this week goes to the Hun and the Advertiser for dishing out free publicity for controversial game My Minx, the game where innocent children turn into raunchy avatars, writes Crikey intern Flint Duxfield.
My Angelina Joliesque Haitian orphan adopting fantasy
I’d love to save a Haitian orphan from a life of poverty and no family, but I can’t allow myself to indulge in the colonising fantasy, says Laurie Essig. Even with the best of intentions, it’s the worst thing we can do for Haiti.
The painful world of IVF addicts
IVF holds only a slim chance of actually making a female pregnant. So, what happens when a woman’s desperation is mixed with a costly medical procedure? asks Mia Freedman.
PHOTO GALLERY: Children of the world
20 years after the UN adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, millions of the world’s children are still suffering from poverty, abuse and disease. From street performers in India to cactus farmers in Mexico, the faces of a very different childhood.
Kids who watched Baby Einstein fail to discover E=mc2
So your kid watched Baby Einstein but still ended up as a tantrum throwing brat? After being threatened with a class-action lawsuit disputing their educational benefits, Disney has admitted defeat and is offering full refunds for Baby Einstein DVDs.
Family ties: the curse of sports fans
Last week, Neil Walker did something far worse to his four-year-old son than hitting him with a wooden spoon: he took him to his first football match.
Why your kids should suffer boredom
Ahh, the good old days. When kids got creative because they weren’t being ferried off to pilates or playing Wii. Why can’t we let just them roam free? asks Gerard Oosterman.
Mothers are the only parents that matter, right?
When it comes to parenting, it’s mothers that score the brunt of the criticism, the longer jail terms for neglectful parenting and the media scorn. What, because men have traditionally been absent, expectations are low?
How lollies are turning your kids into violent adults
Following on from the iconic delayed gratification marshmallow test, comes the news that children who eat lollies every day during their childhood have more of a propensity towards violence as adults.
That icky little thing called sex
Oh no, our children are wearing “shag bands”?! Further proof of child sexualisation. Except… those bands have been popular for generations. Rachel Hills writes on teenage sex hysteria.
whimsy Sleep easy? Pah! In your dreams.
Sleep should be relaxing, right? Except when you add in kids, mosquitoes, clanking pipes and the cold side of the bed. Christoph Niemann draws the real sleep nightmare.
Expensive rides and underwhelmed city kids? It’s Showtime!
Because nothing says motherly love like a day at the Show, full of plastic items made by slave labour and food to rot the baby teeth off, says Catherine Deveny.
The world’s most amazing playgrounds
From play equipment for seniors in Germany, to a park made out of 3,000 tires in Japan, here’s a collection of the world’s most unusual playgrounds. Not a monkey bars to be found.
Why would you buy something you were born with?
You can now buy a breast feeding doll for your child. That’s no biggie, breast is best. The weird bit is the bra with fake flower nipples that comes with it, slightly defeating the au natural vibe.
Run away to the bedroom
The latest design by Kidtropolis, a child-focused interior decorating blog, is a circus/carousel bedroom. You could say the children it’s intended for must be bratty. But your tiny inner child is just jealous.
Surrogacy is a business
Being a surrogate is a tough job. Just being a compassionate person who wants to help a couple is not really enough, argues Sarah Elizabeth Richards.
Childhood memories published for all to see
How will the increase in confessional ‘bad’ mum and dad memoirs affect their children in future years? What does it say about the parents?
Barbie gets a tramp stamp
Mattel has made the latest Barbie doll with a set of tattoos in a move they claim makes the doll more “up to date”.
OK, OK, so sugar doesn’t make you pay attention
Kellogg’s has agreed to settle federal claims that they falsely advertised the benefits of eating Frosted Mini-Wheats, including that children who ate the cereal got a 20% boost in attentiveness.
