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The fights for more equal sharing of parenting responsibilities is on13th May 2012, 7:30pm |
There are three policy proposals on the table at the moment, put there by Government, current and previous. They all change the way fatherhood is constructed in UK law and policy.
Birth registration: a proposal to increase the expectation on unmarried fathers to sign a birth certificate by (rather gently!)…
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Motherhood vs. Feminism – a false debate
07th May 2012, 4:23pm |
Parenting minus the fathers The recent discussion, Motherhood vs. Feminism, in the New York Times’ Motherlode Blog, demonstrates to perfection the blindness to father-child attachment that blankets the western debate about parenting. For all five parenting experts who start the debate, there is no such thing as father-child attachment. The…
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Letter to Frank Field - a family approach to child poverty?
11th July 2010, 6:37am |
I have written to Frank Field in response to his speech about fathers and child poverty. I have copied it to Iain Duncan-Smith and Nick Clegg. In summary:
Child poverty is a family function, not just an issue between a child and a “primary carer”. The ability of adults in…
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Government declares policy to promote “shared parenting from pregnancy”: for things for their ‘to do’ list
21st June 2010, 5:48pm |
So Nick Clegg has confirmed that the Government intends to “encourage shared parenting from the earliest stage of pregnancy”. A great policy – two thirds of mothers and fathers think parents should share the responsibilities of caring, but only one third of parents report that this actually happens. In other…
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Fathers and breastfeeding (in 1753)
24th April 2010, 7:47pm |
Acteon surprises Diana Clare has been reading Sir Charles Grandison, written by Samuel Richardson in 1953, a book that Jane Austen read. (The edition is so old, Clare is cutting the pages as she proceeds through its vast length.) Last night she read me this passage. Lady G, Sir Charles’…
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My book has been printed: Baby’s Here! Who Does What?
17th April 2010, 10:57am |
My book is printed! I have put it on Amazon, though the media launch is in early June. I have not just tried to produce something that it interesting to read, but is also a pleasure to hold and leaf through. Lots of colour, pictures and quotations. I’m excited by…
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Fathers are made invisible in the media - I have the headline and I have the photos!
10th March 2010, 8:04pm |
My last post was about the FAMILIES who protested for better maternity services in London at the weekend. I took lots of photos, particularly of the men. This is the headline in The Independent. A different picture entirely. My family once arranged a family photo and the photographer asked me…
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When fathers lose their jobs
31st December 2009, 2:58pm |
On Monday I am on Woman’s Hour discussing the issue of fathers losing their jobs and being pitched into full-time care of children. I will comment on their experiences. So what should I say? It seems to me there are two key factors. First there is the burden of social…
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Should men be at the birth of babies? What I said in the debate with Michel Odent.
27th November 2009, 8:32am |
I’m back - book written! Yesterday, at the invitation of the Royal College of Midwives, I debated with the famous French obstetrician, Michel Odent, “should men be at the birth of babies?” The debate was discussed in the national papers, on the BBC TV news (twice), on radio stations (four…
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Why does sharing of the care of infants create feelings of guilt and inadequacy for mums and dads?
03rd August 2009, 7:30am |
Is the key challenge of sharing the care of children in fact stepping out of one’s culturally determined earning or caring role rather than the challenges of the new role? The Daily Mail is still at it, with yet more excellent articles about motherhood, fatherhood and family life (see my…
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2012
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