04 Sep

Dad and Buried Posted in Gender 43 comments

Stop Blaming Girls

I recently came across a blog post in which a mother of four (three boys, one girl) addresses The Teenage Girl and begs them to stop being skanks. I think we need to stop blaming girls. (Update: It looks like she’s since taken the post down. Shame. But I saved some excerpts below!)

That’s not quite how she says it, but that’s clearly what she means. Actually, what she means is something more like, “Boys can’t control themselves, so you have to stop tempting them.” Which sounds like something a Republican congressman would say.

Apparently, this point of view is reasonable to many people, judging by all the “likes” and “shares” and positive comments her post is getting. People agree with her loving message to today’s young females.

I wish I agreed, since it’s a convenient way to get out of some difficult parenting.

The Toddler’s New Clothes

First things first:

I am NOT advocating for a society in which our toddlers run around buck-naked all the time. That’s insane.

But I do have some ideas about children’s dress codes.

06 Aug

Dad and Buried Posted in discipline 4 comments

The Universal Parenting Collective

I wasn’t one of those people who used the phrase “we’re pregnant.” For one thing, that phrase diminishes the role the mother plays in childbirth, and considering that the mother’s role encompasses pretty much the whole enchilada, saying “we’re” seemed disingenuous and potentially insulting.

For another, saying it makes me feel like a douchebag.

Aside from including myself as a member of the Miami Dolphins (the 12th man!) or the Boston Red Sox (but I’ve never liked the “Red Sox Nation” thing), I’m not one to use “we” for much of anything. I’m a loner, Dottie. A rebel. But I do find myself invoking some mysterious, all-encompassing “we” when explaining something to my son.

I don’t know where “we” came from. And we don’t like it.

22 Jul

Dad and Buried Posted in Fear 2 comments

VIDEO: The Banned Down Under

Stumbled across this Australian Public Service Announcement, and it reminded me of the Mirror Mirror post a few weeks ago. It basically shows what I told. Apparently the ad was banned, which is a shame, because I think it’s pretty effective. How about you?

19 Jul

Dad and Buried Posted in Learning 2 comments

The Negotiator

My son is developing at an incredible rate.

He’s getting taller, his hair is getting longer, his vocabulary is increasing. But even more impressively, he’s already picking up skills most of us don’t use until later in life. Skills like arguing, sarcasm, and, most frustratingly, negotiation.

At the young age of not-even-three, my innocent child is becoming a slick little deal-maker. It’s enough to make me ~~sick~~ proud.

Dad and Buried

Tag: culture

Stop Blaming Girls

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The Toddler’s New Clothes

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The Universal Parenting Collective

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VIDEO: The Banned Down Under

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The Negotiator

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