Posts with tag girls
Surviving Teenagers or Why she shouldn't go out dressed like that
My friend Ellie is bewildered. Recently her son's 16-year-old girlfriend was leered at outside the station. 'So I said to her,' says Ellie, 'but look at what you're wearing. It's very revealing.'
At this point, son's girlfriend burst into tears.
Ellie was shocked. 'I said, "What's wrong? What have I said?" And she said, "You hate my clothes." And I said, "No I don't, pet. It's just there aren't enough of them."'
Of course girls should wear what they like. It's about expressing personality. It's about loving fashion. But mums look at tiny skirts and plunging necklines and heavy eyeliner and think, but is it safe? My baby's about to get on a bus, and some men won't realise this is joyful dressing-up. They'll think it's some kind of come-on, the perverts, and then she'll be in danger...
Female teachers are letting down boys in the classroom, says survey
Primary school, Latest news, 101 Uses for a Dedicated Dad
Sexism is alive and kicking in the classroom, says a new report. A study carried out at Kent University suggests that primary school teachers, 90 per cent of whom are female, are unwittingly holding boys back by reinforcing gender stereotypes in the classroom.
Boys are expected to conform to a more 'feminine' style of play instead of being taught how to play the games they prefer responsibly, it says.
According to the report, which questioned 238 children, boys are far more likely to be perceived as 'silly' in class, and are more likely to be reprimanded for refusing to 'sit nicely like girls'. They are also seen as more prone to indulge in 'schoolboy pranks'.
The report suggests that the attitudes of female teachers may be perpetuating low expectations of boys' academic achievements, unwittingly encouraging girls to work harder by letting them think they are cleverer.
Nearly half of young girls in UK feel guilty about what they eat
Eating & nutrition, Latest news, Teens
Four in ten girls aged 11 to 15 feel guilty about what they eat – and many are on and off diets.So says a new study from retail analysts Mintel.
It also reveals that girls are more likely than boys to eat for emotional reasons – to cope with stressful situations or unhappiness, for example. Figures from the study show that 34 per cent of girls eat when they are sad, compared with 21 per cent of boys.
'Feeling guilty about eating is more common among girls,' Michelle Strutton of Mintel has said. ' This likely reflects the general higher pressure that women put themselves under in terms of their weight and appearance.
Girls start periods as young as seven
Girls as young as as seven and eight are beginning their periods and showing other signs of puberty, new research has found. The findings add to the evidence that the age at which girls reach puberty is falling dramatically.
Some experts believe that growing levels of obesity are believed to be the cause of the rise, while others link the problem to high levels of chemicals found in the linings of modern food containers such as baby bottles and tin cans.
According to doctors, extra fat tissue encourages young bodies to produce hormones which kickstart sexual changes.
Surviving Teenagers or What is it with teenaged girls and vampires?
My daughter is pale and drawn, her eyes red from exhaustion. She has spent days in semi-darkness, her curtains drawn against the sun. Her expression is blank, as if a world I don't know has embraced her, has taken her soul.
What's happening?
My 15-year-old is reading Stephenie Meyer's Twilight trilogy.
Girls reading Twilight are covered in bruises from falling down potholes and into lampposts. It's not only that they're lost in daydreams - they're reading while they're walking to school. Girls reading Twilight don't finish homework, wear odd shoes and forget to eat. They camp on the pavement for 34 hours in order to be first in the queue for the London premiere of Eclipse. They talk to each other in half-sentences, muttering about forests and muscles. They never, ever sleep.
Bringing up boys and raising girls
Toddlers, Development, Photo galleries, Behaviour and Development
Average age of girls starting puberty falls below 10
More and more girls are hitting puberty before the age of 10, while they are still at primary school, a Danish study has found.A study of 1,000 girls found that breast development now begins on average a year earlier than 20 years ago - around the age of nine years and ten months.
The research underlines a long-term trend that has seen the average age at which girls start puberty falling sharply. In the 19th century it was around 15 – six years later than now.
Twin babies injured in fox attack
Babies, Weird stories, Latest news
Two nine-month-old twins have reportedly been mauled by a fox while they slept in their beds.
The baby girls are now seriously ill in hospital after the attack in Homerton, east London, on Saturday night.
Police have said that the fox apparently got into the house through an open door on the ground floor and then went upstairs and attacked the twins.
The babies are reported to be in a "serious but stable condition" at the Royal London Hospital.
They both have injuries to their arms and one of the girls is thought to have facial injuries.
Their four-year-old brother was also asleep upstairs but was not injured.
A Scotland Yard spokesman told AOL News: "Police were called at approximately 10pm on Saturday June 5 to an address in Homerton E9 to reports of a fox attack.
"Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended and found two nine-month-old girls with injuries.
"Both babies were taken to an east London hospital where their condition is described as serious but stable."
Many High Street stores caught selling "sexy" clothes for kids
Primark has landed itself in trouble this week by selling what the Sun tastefully labels a "paedo bikini" for children.
Now a whole host of High Street stores have been caught selling sexually provocative clothing for young kids.
The Sun says children as young as seven are being targeted with dodgy clothing including padded bras and provocative underwear.
Primark has now got rid of its £4 bikinis which had padded tops and were aimed at seven-year-olds.
The shop has apologised for any offence caused and says it will give all profits from the bikinis to children's charities.
However the Sun also found Primark was selling knickers for girls aged seven featuring the slogan "You've Scored".
Tesco was selling padded bras in sizes which would fit seven-year-olds, as were Next and Peacocks.
Psychiatrist says nannies could turn baby boys into womanisers
Babies, Development, Behaviour and Development, Latest news
A psychiatrist has claimed that getting a nanny to look after your baby boy could turn him into a womaniser later in life.
Dr Dennis Friedman reckons that having a nanny and a mother could give the boy double standards with women.
So if he goes on to get married, he will always still think that another woman could perhaps look after him better.
Dr Friedman, who is 85, told the Telegraph: "It introduces him to the concept of The Other Woman."
He explains: "It creates a division in his mind between the woman he knows to be his natural mother and the woman with whom he has real hands-on relationship: the woman who bathes him and takes him to the park, and with whom he feels completely at one.
Sounds like yet another convenient excuse for men who cheat on their wives, if you ask me. It's always someone else's fault, isn't it? And usually the mother is to blame for everything.
The most popular baby names of the year
Babies, Pregnancy & birth, Baby names, Latest news
Surprise, surprise - Jack was the most popular name for a baby boy born in 2009, it has been revealed.
It's been the most common name chosen for the last 15 years.
It's a great name for a boy, but I'm amazed so many people still choose it - do you really want your son to have the same name as six other kids in his class?
Olivia was the most popular name for a girl in 2009, keeping the top spot having taken over from Grace in 2008.
The highest climbers of the year were Lucas, which rose 24 places in the table to number 15, and Maisie, which soared 29 places to 41st.
Other girls' names increasing in popularity were Layla, Lexi, Lola, Madison, and Sienna, the name of actress Sienna Miller.
Boys' names to rise up the list included Joel, Oscar, Noah, Aiden, Logan, Archie and Sebastian. Oh dear. I wonder why?
The list was compiled from a national survey of 580,000 babies born in 2009 by Bounty.
Campaign to help girls in poorer countries get an education
Kids+, Primary school, Latest news
Can you imagine what it would be like if you lived in a country where girls didn't get to go to school?
Here in the UK we're often more concerned about which school our daughter is going to get into - not whether she will go at all.
Apparently three-quarters of British women regret not making more of their education. But at least most of us get the choice.
Now a Christmas campaign has been launched by Plan UK called "Girls Without Voices".
This calls on people to sponsor a girl in one of the world's poorest countries and help them to get an education.
There are 43 million girls out of education across the globe, according to Plan UK.
Great Christmas gift ideas for girls aged 8 and over
Kids+, Fun & activities, Toys & games buys, Kid decor & style
Your average pre-teen girl can be a pretty tricky customer to cater for at the best of times, Christmas being no exception. And with my nine year old having a birthday the day after Boxing Day, I'm doubly on the lookout for inspiration.
The trouble is, girls of this age often aspire to being much older than they really are. And they're a mass of contradictions - they may spend ages chatting to their mates about which is better - John or Edward? - but at home they may still play with dolls. My daughter's list for Santa would probably consist of an iPhone, permission to wear make up and fifty quid.
She won't be getting any of these.
Instead, how about something like this?
12-year-old boy starts secondary school....as a girl.
Development, Weird stories, Latest news
One little boy started secondary school this year with more than just stories of holidays abroad and trips to theme parks. This 12-year-old boy returned to school as a girl, after spending the summer dressing as a girl and preparing for a sex change operation.The Daily Mail reported that the boy has changed his name and has returned to school dressed in the girl's school uniform. There are reports that his previous primary school head teacher insisted that the child be treated like a boy, despite his feminine behaviour.
Unfortunately his secondary school failed to treat the situation in a well thought out way either:
Online shopping for handmade summer birthday presents
Toddlers, Kids+, Fun & activities, Toys & games buys
As a child I was always the one with the birthday in the summer holiday. My parents had to whip round all my friends' houses to drop their party invite through their door, whilst we sat hoping at least someone would turn up and not quite everyone would be off on summer holidays somewhere sunnier than Preston.
What it also meant, however, was days and days with grandparents hand-making party treats and decorations ourselves because of the extra time we had on our hands.
That legacy lives on and I just can't get enough of handmade birthdays.
The good news is you can save yourself the effort because I've done all your homework, and someone else has made the gifts for you!
