The Government has today launched a new initiative aimed at increasing the uptake of shared parental leave. Unfortunately, the ‘Share the joy‘ campaign misses the point. When I read the headlines this morning, I naively thought that some much-needed policy change was on the way. Sadly not. It’s just raising awareness of a pre-existing option …
I was interested to read about a school banning pupils from dressing up as YouTubers and sports stars for its World of Work Day recently. I wrote about the amount of homework young children get earlier this week and it links to the same theme. Namely that we should let kids be kids. The rationale …
I was interested to read comments made by MP Alison Thewliss recently. During a commons debate on sexual harassment and violence in schools, she advised parents to teach children about consent from a very early age. She also suggests doing this in a way that may seem unusual to some, but that I agree with. …
I was dismayed to learn recently that our local library is under threat of closure. In fact, East Sussex could soon lose a quarter of its libraries as a result of council plans. A consultation is underway. Meanwhile, local residents are being urged to write to their councillors to voice their opposition to the plans. …
I was interested to read this article about work-life balance recently. It argues that workplace culture needs to change to help men become better dads. Although the research and case studies are from Australia as opposed to the UK, there’s much that rings true for me. Over here, shared parental leave is dependent on individual …
I was disappointed to see some comments in a Facebook group for dads today complaining about International Women’s Day. The poster asked if anyone else in the group was sick of being bombarded with it; his gripe being that International Men’s Day was ignored by the press and on social media. I, for one, am …
I tend to avoid writing about divisive issues on here but I’m going to today because I was saddened to see International Men’s Day being treated with such ridicule and contempt on social media this morning. International Men’s Day should be regarded as an opportunity to discuss problems faced by men and boys. For instance, the biggest killer of males under …
Since Labour announced their plans to increase paternity leave and pay a week ago, much has been written about the role of dads. Not all of it has been constructive and, in fact, there has been the odd unwarranted attack on dads, seemingly because there are some people out there who object to the prospect …
I painted our front door recently. Exciting story, I know. Soon after I’d finished giving it the new coat of paint that it sorely needed, however, a seagull crapped on it. It was most unwelcome. This weekend, my doorstep was the scene of another brief but unwanted episode – only this latest one wasn’t amusing. …
“Why you no book online?” asks an idiotically contrived poster on my morning train. I’m sadly familiar with it. It’s positioned above the door I’m always stood next to due to there never being an empty seat. The character on the poster is clearly inspired by Nacho Libre. Cape, spandex, dodgy facial hair, the lot. …