Teaching kids about gender equality is apparently no easy task. I had hoped that by setting a good example, trying to avoid sexist language and attitudes at home, we’d lay the foundation to help our little guy develop a healthy attitude. I do believe boys and girls are different, men and women are not the same, but by raising Aaron in a home where both parents have professional pursuits, equally share in the decision making and goal setting, both parents care-take and home-make, we’d raise an enlightened child whose expectations for gender equality are devoid of the egotistical, patriarchical malaise still evident in the 21^st century.

Something is undermining our efforts but I’m not sure where the feed is coming from. Yesterday while Aaron and I were playing, my almost-five-year old asked with hands-on-hips, “Who’s the boss here?” I replied with a laugh, “I am.” He got very serious and sternly explained, “No, Mommy! Only boys can be bosses, not girls.”

Oh, really? He earned himself a little chat. Think he’s too young to start reading Margaret Thatcher’s biography as a bedtime story?

It wasn’t too much later that I was donning an apron and contemplating spices when Aaron asked, “Mommy, what are you doing?”

“I’m going to make dinner.” (something my husband normally does)

“But Mommy, girls don’t cook.”

My hypocritical self left this one completely alone. Someday my future daughter-in-law will thank me.

Everyone’s talking about working families as we watch ‘Mom-in-Chief’ Michelle Obama transition her family to the White House. Discussion topics range in scope and depth, but one consistent theme is the continued search for equilibrium women have sought for two generations.

With a nod to our new First Lady and her mother Marian Robinson who is moving into the White House to help care for the two youngest members of our new First Family, the New York Times recently profiled working families who are similarly enlisting the help of grandmothers to care for children while mom and dad are at work.
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I’m paranoid. I admit it. My almost 5-year-old is not allowed to play outside without an adult present. Not in the backyard. Not in the cul-de-sac. Not in the driveway. Not on your life. I have no idea if my paranoia will diminish when he’s an almost six-year-old or an almost 10-year-old, or if it’ll just continue to grow with time.

I’m not afraid he’ll figure out a way to climb our house and decide he can fly while he jumps from the roof. I’m not afraid he’ll agree to let one of the older neighborhood kids use him as a ramp for their motorized scooters. I’m afraid someone will coax him into a car with promises of candy or cute puppies and his face will end up on milk cartons.

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You know how all the covers of the national women’s’ magazines promise they have the secret ingredients to provide us a happier, healthier, skinnier, richer, more organized, better-sexed life? Is it just me or are you also growing weary of reading the same things over and over and over again? All those articles that just by their very existence seem to scream that women everywhere are unhappy, unhealthy, fat, poor, disorganized and under-sexed?

It all seems so out-of-touch, or written for a young twenty demographic. It’s like the magazine publishing world has put us all into the same cup and their various writers pour cream and sugar on top without regard for taste and call it an entrée. It’s the same meal, repackaged every month.

I stopped subscribing eons ago, but every now and then I’ll browse the check-out headlines. There are always different beautiful people on the covers, but the same old headlines. Sometimes this stuff even reveals itself through my inbox. Just today I received an email from Redbook that promised “4 Weeks to Hotter Sex“ and a quick click revealed rather detailed instructions on everything from roll playing and talking dirty to sensual massage, but not one bullet point addressed how to convince my 4-year-old that his bed is much more comfortable than mine.

Do you smoke but in an effort to help your children avoid the risks of second-hand smoke perhaps you open a window, close a door or turn on a fan to clear the air?

A new study published in this month’s issue of the journal Pediatrics reports clearing the air isn’t enough to keep children safe. Experts have now identified another smoking-related threat to children’s health that isn’t as easy to get rid of: third-hand smoke.
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