To Be or not to Be; Raising a genderless child

 Five years ago, a UK couple had a baby and decided NOT to announce the gender of that child to anyone but a small selection of family and friends. They named the child Sasha which was chosen as a neutral name. The primary reason for their choice was to release the child from gender stereotyping. Sasha was openly allowed to dress in both boy and/or girl clothes and played with all toys including trucks and dolls. They recently were forced to reveal the sex of Sasha as a requirement of entering school. Sasha is a boy.
http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/couple-finally-reveals-childs-gender-five-years-birth-180300388.html 

Next, is a couple from Canada. They have an adorable four-month old baby named Storm. They have also chosen not to disclose the sex of their child to anyone but a few exclusive people. Again they cited gender stereotyping as their main justification.
http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/boy-or-girl-this-4-month-old-is-being-raised-genderless-2487988.html

Is living genderless taking away something (self identity)  or is it adding something (appreciation for both sexes)? Or a little of both?


While it may not be my own personal choice as a parenting style (I have too big of a mouth to keep the secret! lol), I can however keep an open-mind to the possible positive effects that this may have on the later grown up child. I am all for the idyllic 'rose-colored glasses' type of world where everyone is holding hands and getting the same salary. This type of genderless upbringing may pioneer a whole new style of parenting. It allows the parents to free themselves from the rules/norms of society. An end to the blue and pink catastrophe!  
Overall, I hope for a general acceptance and tolerance of everyone. Remember, the world is no longer flat.

PBS does it again!

The platypus has a sixth sense. Really? Tell me more I said. My 12 year old son then began what can only be described as a rapid-firing, both barrels blazing, arsenal of facts about the platypus. I was told all about their sixth sense (which is kinda like radar), what they eat and so much more.
My son learned all of this by watching the PBS channel on TV. He is intrigued their new show called Wild Kratts. This show debuted January 2011 and appears to be a hit. While the show is geared for younger kids, my son just loves all of the animal facts and trivia. http://www.pbs.org/parents/wildkratts/episode-description.html


Without missing a beat, he then starts to tell me about the draco lizard. "He glides not flies." I was pretty much speechless by this point. Let me explain. My son has ADHD and one of his biggest struggles has always been his inability to retain information. But PBS (once again!) has made a high quality educational television program that does not feel like school work. Kudos!
PBS Wild Kratts has given children a view of the world that is outside of their own backyard. Thank you PBS. 

Let's not label

Have you heard about the new LEGOs for girls? In January, LEGOs introduced a new product line that is directed towards little girls who may feel left out of the fun at playtime. Check it out.
http://ideas.time.com/2012/01/02/lego-friends-for-girls-have-they-stooped-to-stereotype/?hpt=li_c2 

First off, yes, I do realize that this is a marketing strategy designed to increase the interest and general sales of LEGOs to young girls.
I got that. I simply do not like toys that are pigeon-holed as 'boy toys' and/or 'girl toys.' 
As a parent, I encouraged my children to play with all toys. When my daughter was small, one of her favorite things to play with was Matchbox cars. Every time we went shopping it seemed like she was picking out a new Matchbox car or Little Golden book (ahh those were the days.) 

Not everything needs to be 'this' or 'that.' The sexes do not need to be segregated. Some of the best selling toys manufactured are not gender specific. Don't believe me? Look at the Slinky. https://www.msu.edu/user/morenmal/Slinky/history.html 
 This toy has been around since 1945 and can probably contribute some of it's longevity to the fact that the Slinky is so universal; a real one size fits all concept.


Why in our society do we feel the need to constantly divide the  genders? If we keep separating the two sexes, how are we ever supposed to blend together for equality?
That's my Rant for the day.
 

Well so much for helping others...

Tens of thousand of dollars worth of designer wedding gowns were recently ordered to be destroyed. What a shame! When Priscilla of Boston recently went out of business, it still had many wedding dresses in their stock. The stores parent-company, David's Bridal, instructed Priscilla of Boston to destroy all remaining merchandise. The reason was to prevent the dresses from being copied. Employees used pink spray paint to completely ruin the dresses making them unsalvageable before they were then thrown into the trash. 

First off, let me state here that I do not know what this companies policy or protocol is regarding disposal of merchandise. I'm just mad as hell over the article that I read. I pride myself on having the ability to see both sides of the story (always said I shoulda been a judge lol.) However, in this case, it is pretty obvious to me that it was a disgrace to destroy all of these beautiful wedding gowns. It shows a blatant disregard for the economic struggles that many Americans are currently facing. The gowns could easily have been  donated to charity which would have been the proper thing to do (before they got caught.) 
A big thumbs down to Priscilla of Boston and David's Bridal!
http://shine.yahoo.com/fashion/closing-bridal-store-priscilla-boston-spray-paints-designer-173300210.html

Piano steps are hilarious!

This is brilliant! Whoever came up with this ingenious idea deserves a High 5.
http://www.noob.us/miscellaneous/piano-steps-trick-fatties-into-taking-stairs/ 
Volkswagen in Sweden used a side-by-side escalator/stair area to perform a study. They inserted musical keypads into the stair side and found an increase of people using the stairs by a whopping 66%! I don't have any clue as to why Volkswagen did this whole thing, but I enjoyed watching the video. This would be great exercise for people of all ages, as well just a big smile maker :)   

Give a Hoot- Don't Pollute

This is just one of the many mantras that I live by. ('can't we all just get along?' and  'lefty loosey, righty tighty' are often muttered by me quite frequently lol.) I do my personal best to NOT pollute the world. I do not litter and I actually enjoy recycling (yes it's true!) I am trying to do my part to keep the Earth as green as possible for my future grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I actually feel that it is my responsibility to save and recycle every single soup can and toilet paper roll that I encounter (key Rocky theme song.)

My rant for the day is the complete disregard for the hard work and effort of many people to recycle when suddenly Kimberly-Clark starts manufacturing stupid plastic decorative toilet paper roll covers! Great just MORE junk to deal with. "Respect the roll" is their new slogan; I say "Respect the Earth" and stop marketing such ridiculous junk!  
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/toilet-paper-goes-chic-designer-204723975.html

You be the judge, but I'm gonna just put my extra roll of toilet paper in the bathroom cupboard like normal!

I tip my hat to you Allie!

I saw this on the news this morning (while I was still lounging in my bed drinking my coffee) and I knew that it needed to be shared with everyone. This is a heart-warming story to reassure everyone of the goodwill and humanity that does still exist in the world. Kudos to Allie Carr!
Here's the basic story...


Dan was in end-stage kidney failure and desperately needed a new kidney. Dan, and his wife Megin, searched through family and friends, but no one was a match for Dan's blood type (type B which is somewhat rare.) Time was running out. They needed someone who;
1) would donate their kidney 
2) be Type B blood and
3) they had to be in very good health
Pretty slim chance, huh?

Megin decided to turn to Facebook in hopes of finding a donor. Her Facebook page was My husband needs a new kidney. 
That pretty much said it all. 
Somehow Allie Carr found this very important Facebook page and wanted to help. She was tested and proved to be a good match for Dan. Last Wednesday she went into surgery to donate her kidney to someone she met five months previously thru a Facebook page. AMAZING!!


It takes a unique kind of person to do such a selfless act of generosity towards a complete stranger. In today's hustle bustle society, many people are just too consumed with their own hectic lives and personal schedules.
Allie said that she wanted to do something 'meaningful.' Mission accomplished Allie and I tip my hat to you for your lesson in giving from the heart (or kidney lol) to someone in need. The world thanks you!
here's the tv story for you- http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-stranger-gives-a-kidney-to-save-anothers-life-20111230,0,770281.story