When I was about twelve years old I developed breasts before any of my friends did and due to me being different I was teased. It was very silly really, the one thing I had no control over and it was something that I was picked on for.
My girls are now twelve and are going through the changes that all kids do pre-adolescent. This time has been rather trying as a parent. I have been met with grumpy kids that would rather not speak or just yell at me. Basically, they have been super moody and frustrating to deal with. I do understand that their body is going through massive changes but it has been exhausting dealing with the moods.
I would like to think that kids will not tease others for things that they cannot control, but this will not happen. My girls are dealing with a few pimples here and there and some kids have not been that kind. I’ve told the twins that pimples don’t last, and all they need to do is to wash their faces and don’t pick at them – soon they will be gone and their faces will be pimple free!
I was lucky to be sent a book about body image for girls and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Charlotte Markey has covered absolutely everything that a young girl would need to know; the book discusses periods, health, weight, and the fact that there is no need to diet, changes with their bodies in regards to pimples, breast development, and what is actually happening during puberty.
The Body Image Book for Girls has interviews with women of all ages on what happened to them – these interviews give girls an insight into others’ lives and show them that everyone goes through the same thing.
It is great to have such a detailed, approachable, and down to earth book for girls during what some find as a very confusing time in their lives.
If you have a girl who is nearly a teenager they will really love this book. I know mine do, even if they look at it secretly in the comfort of their own room the details of this feel-good book will allow girls to be empowered and like the title says grow up fearless.
Enter the code: LOVE15 at checkout at the Cambridge University Press website to get the discount. The offer ends on the 30th of January 2021.
Get your young girls a bit of empowerment today.
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Kids can build a Piper Computer Kit – Great STEM Project
My little boy is super obsessed with cars, Monster Trucks and actually anything on wheels.
Anytime I go anywhere in the house I either trip over a car, see a car or I’m picking one or a handful to put away. Cars are everywhere!
Cool convertible – Toy car
Lately, Alexander has been telling me that there are girls and boys cars. He’s been asking me which one of his cars is my favourite, I then say, the purple, gold or red one and then get promptly told, “No this is not your favourite MUMMA!”
He’s also telling me what my favourite colour is and invariably it is pink…. I don’t like pink and my favourite colour is blue and all the shades of deep-sea blue to purple colours.
He then gives me a car that he is willing to let me play with and then says that this is a girl’s car.
I’ve been telling him there are no girl’s cars or boys’ cars, there are just cars.
Girls and boys can have any car they wish or that they really like. The toys or cars you play with should not be determined by your gender.
It’s interesting that this is a recent occurrence and a sad one I think. He is separating things into girls’ and boys’ sections and believes that only boys can play with certain things and the same for girls.
When the twins were little I exposed them to all sorts of toys,trains, train tracks, cars , trucks,DUPLO Building Blocks, LEGO and so much more. Hubby and I believe that kids should be exposed to all different things, and toys shouldn’t be put in a category of girls or boys, there are just toys for kids.
Kids are drawn to what interests them and we have gone with this, but have made sure we expose all our kids to teddies, prams, cooking toys, building, outdoor toys and everything in between.
Two nights ago he had his Mac Truck from the Cars Filmsand he is able to open each side to allow smaller Matchbox /Hot Wheel Cars to be transported inside (It is like a car transporter). My little boy who is a few months of four years told me there is a girl’s side and a boys side. Really???? Why is this so?
Now every time he says it I say that cars are cars and can be for everyone. Not ones for boys and not ones for girls, just cars.
It is sad in my opinion that this is happening, it is terrible that kids pick up on differences and they are now translating it into reasons that girls and boys need to have different toys.
I suppose my upset and shock is that the sexism is starting early, but it is how you deal with the comments and what you say to direct this new belief. As a mum who is a proud feminist and believer that girls can be whatever they want and do whatever they want, I will be making sure my little boy understands that girls can have the hotted-up monster truck too.
Has this happened to you? Suddenly you’re dealing with being told what girls or boys can do from your toddler?
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The other day Alexander was watching some songs on YouTube.
One of them was the Firefighters Song for Kids from Bounce Patrol Kids. The song was catchy and the video was bright, colourful and Alexander loved it.
However the thing I couldn’t stop looking at was the fact that the only woman firefighter was dressed in a dress and thigh high patent leather/shiny boots that had a heel. (See the video below)
A dress and heels are not for firefighting! Women should wear pants, boots and the same outfit the men wear!
Why are women showing girls that they need to dress like this to fight fires? Firefighters don’t wear this and women firefighters actually wear pants and the proper boots like the men do. It’s a basic uniform for the job.
I know it looks glam to be in heels but you are fighting a fire and boots with no heel would be best.
Oh and lose the dress and just wear the pants and uniform for all firefighters please.
Show girls that they don’t have to be different and the candy for people to look at, no sparkle needed. The video was fun and having this female firefighter in pants and boots like the men wouldn’t have detracted from the video at all! As you can see I am rather annoyed at this video and the representation of women and how it will impact girls.
Why is it 2019 and there are still such alarming differences for how girls and women are being portrayed? This is not acceptable and should looked at with more care. Young kids are highly impressionable and doing this just reinforces the fact that a girl needs to be in a dress and wear high heels, which is not the case at all.
This firefighter is wearing a better outfit to fight fires. Why can’t the woman be dressed the same?
Just in case you wish to know what firefighters wear here are some images taken from the Fire NSW Website:
I don’t see any dresses or heels do you?
Have you been appalled at how girls are getting shown in video clips and other media? Do they always have to wear skirts? Dresses? Why do dress ups for girls always have a sparkly skirt and dress option? Why can’t they have pants like the boys outfits do?
Let me know what has caught your attention and why it annoyed you?
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The other day I was at the shops looking for some last minute stocking fillers for the kids.
I was looking at all the choices and associated costs. Geez, there are so many things that I could get them and some items are HUGE!
While getting overwhelmed at the millions of choices I overheard an older lady with her granddaughter.
Brilliant graphic from A Mighty Girl – Also confirms my thinking that toys are just toys and not boy toys or girl toys. Just toys!
I was in the LEGO aisle of the toy section and this little girl walked up and said “No these are boys toys”
The grandmother then said “Yes they are boys toys, come over here and look for girls toys”
They both kept on announcing what were boys toys and were not for girls. This angered me and I felt compelled to confront them but I didn’t.
I really wanted to say there are no boys and girls toys, there are just toys!
Why are we setting up girls to think they cannot play with LEGO, robots, transformers or cars? What about trains or other fun things?
My girls have been exposed to all sorts of different toys, trains, cars, dolls, dress ups, LEGO, blocks, painting, playdough, STEM, and so much more.
The twins favourite thing to do is LEGO and the complicated sets are the ones the kid’s LOVE!
You cannot know what talents or skills your child will have and limiting them with the toys they play with is just wrong. Also exposing all kids to many different toys is a good thing.
Kids who play with dolls and teddies show their emotions and learn how to care with these toys. Alexander is making sure his teddy, Bark the Dog is wrapped up in a blanket and that he is all tucked in for bedtime too. He wipes away his ears from his eyes and pats his head and back like he is soothing him.
Due to Alexander’s interest in cars, trucks and some television shows, of course, his gifts have been based around those. However, he still plays with his teddies, serves me food with his pretend food set and put his teddy in the toy pram and races up and down the hallway.
The girls are obsessed with Harry Potter and as mentioned massive LEGO fans.
I am going with the kid’s interests and I am not seeing toys as girls or boys toys, they are just toys.
Have you been finding it hard that some people believe there are toys for girls or boys? I personally hate this view.
I do love the graphic from A Mighty Girl as this really says that toys are for all, aside from the other toys that are for adults.
Let me know what you think?
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In a month my little girls will be turning double digits. Yep, 10!
I suppose they are not little anymore.
I’ve noticed changes in both girls but brushed them off.
My girls are 9, no they cannot be in pre-puberty. NO! Pre-Teens??? NO WAY!!!!!!
Makeup, hair and more time in the bathroom is happening at my place. Is this the start of being a pre-teen?
What changes have been happening?
Moods – no speaking, yelling and just crying about everything and nothing
Interest in doing hair all the time (no one seemed interested before)
Body changes
Getting taller
More independence
Also wanting to spend more time with mummy and daddy doing things, and having adventures (without their baby brother)
I looked up all these strange things via Google and other sites confirmed my suspicions. Yes, the twins are indeed in the waiting period before puberty happens.
Well possibly best to call it pre-puberty.
I’ve started having chats with the girls and told them that it is all normal and that it means they are growing up.
I gave each kid a big cuddle and one on one with more of an explanation on what is happening to their bodies. Not sure if they understood it all but gave the info in a way I hope they could cope with.
Even though the kids are slowly going through these changes they are still kids. Needing advice, help and guidance. I sometimes look at the twins and think how grown up they are and other times feel like they are still little. I think it is an in-between time for everything.
I must say that boundaries are being tested and mummy has had her fair share of headaches with stubborn girls who wish they were teenagers.
When did you notice that your kids were in pre-puberty? Were your child/children happy about the changes? What did you do to help them?
I’ve seen the book by Kaz Cooke, “Girl Stuff for Girls Aged 8 – 12” and think this might be a good addition. If you got it for your girls did it help?
Do you my dear readers have any recommendations for other books that might help? Let me know.
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I have been thinking back to this time last year. This time last year I was very pregnant and over it. Anytime after 34 weeks was overdue for me. Yes sounds crazy but when you have twins at 34 weeks and 2 days you start to think that anything over is just horrible. Who would have known that I would have gone full term and had my third child exactly on the 40 week mark.
So what have I been thinking about?
During our pregnancy we did not find out the sex of our baby. We like the surprise. I found myself while at the twins school during home reading wondering if I had a boy will they be like this little boy or the other little boy. Will he be particular about certain things? Will he want to tell me about his favourite thing to do like some of these kids do? What will the child look like if it is a boy?
If the child was going to be girl, would it be like the twins with looks? The twins are blonde, although I was hoping that at some point we might have a red head (my mum has red hair..maybe the third child will be a red head?)
Our little boy actually seems to be getting auburn hair or at least that is what it sometimes looks like. Some days it looks like it is going red or lighter and some days it just looks like brown hair.
My cute little boy asleep… I just love his cute pouty lips and kissable cheeks.
I had all sorts of thoughts about how the baby will look, will it be a boy/girl, what will this new little person be like and I hope that the girls love their new sibling too. I suppose these are valid concerns while pregnant.
While at the school yesterday and again this morning I caught myself thinking the same type of thoughts about what our little boy Alexander might like when he gets older. I read with the girls classes so each day I take a different group of kids. One kid has long lanky legs with knobbly knees, just like my little girls. I am sure our little boy will look similar but hard to see it when he is getting more plump due to being a cute and cuddly baby.
I even time traveled a bit seeing what my little boy might be like at Kindy. He would be wearing shorts although they would be too big and look more like pants. His hat would also be too big so it would need to be made tighter to accommodate a little head, and his school bag would look enormous next to a small little boy. I would be doing the same for him as I did with the twins, helping him learn to read and also volunteer in his classroom to hear him and other kids read.
School for Alexander will not start until the year 2021 if I have calculated right. By this stage the twins will be in high school. At least when the twins are in high school they can make their own way home (I can hope).
Have you caught yourself daydreaming about what your child would be like? Did you do it when pregnant and now when they are a baby?
I catch myself all the time thinking about the future:
What will they be like when older?
What type of jobs will they be doing?
Will they travel?
Will they be happy?
Will they find lovely partners that they are happy with?
Will they have children?
Will they be successful regardless of what type of job they do… as long as they are happy that is the most important thing.
So as you can see I think about a lot of things when I daydream about the kids. Do you do this as well? Send me a comment to make me feel that I am not the only one.
I was invited to an intimate ladies lunch. It sounded nice and lovely. In the city for a lunch all by myself, well with a baby so that was not that bad. However I was at the lunch to talk and to learn about the vagina. Or as some people might refer to as the front bottom, the vajayjay or their bits. I’m sure there is more slang to refer to this amazing body part.
The event was hosted by the charming and delightful Dr Ginni Mansberg and the great team from Vagisil, and also the darling Claire from Birds of Prey in Melbourne. The lunch was to learn about a topic that not many people discuss and to bring real world examples by having a frank discussion with other ladies over brilliantly yummy catered lunch.
I of course thought the lunch sounded fab, but I was rather hesitant in talking about the vagina. Why I thought? I am grown woman. I have now had three kids and of course as anyone can attest that during childbirth everyone seems to want to take a look at your vagina, and it is not something that you wince at like you once did before kids. I still don’t like all the doctors interest but you can understand it as the baby has to get out, and of course it is lovely vagina that gives it a helping hand – See an amazing body part!
My bubbles and lovely flowers at the lunch thanks to Vagisil.
I wondered how intimate this lunch would get? Would there be mirrors passed around so that I and others can look at our own vaginas? Would there be puppets of vaginas so that we can learn about where it all lives and how to care for this brilliant part of the body. I know that sounds very strange but I had no idea what the lunch would be and knew the topic was vaginas so it did get my brain racing.
Look how pretty the table was for our amazing lunch and great company. Thanks to Vagisil for the great event.
As I mentioned I was hesitant to attend, I thought for a long time. Why am I so worried? The vagina is not a bad thing. It is a marvel. Men and boys seem to be super proud of their penis so why shouldn’t girls and women be proud of their vaginas (Maybe there should be a proud vagina movement. If there is one already I had no idea). The more women talk to other women about what is normal and happening to them, the more they will understand it is okay.
In the end the lunch was nice. I met some lovely ladies, had amazing food in a fabulous location (It was at The Grounds in Alexandria, Sydney. If you have never been you will love the place. It was HUGE, a hidden little Mediterranean like farm in the middle of the city. They had farm animals for kids to look at and such an amazing amount of greenery.) All my concern over the topic of the lunch was not to be. It ended up with interesting conversation from Dr Ginni and then others joined in so we all learnt more. Very enjoyable!
Did you know?
“An astonishing 1.8 million Australian women suffer with vaginal dryness. That’s close to 1 in 4 of us.”
Take the quiz to learn more.
I too had to answer these questions while at my lovely lunch. I also learnt that I knew more about the vagina than I thought. Amaze yourself and see how much you already know.
How well do you know the vagina?
Take this quick quiz to learn more about the vagina. Questions are the same ones that I had on my ladies lunch with the lovely Dr Ginni Mansberg and the fabulous team from Vagisil.
The vagina should be acidic?
Yes
No
It’s normal to have a discharge from the vagina?
Yes
No
A smelly vaginal discharge means a STI
Yes
No
Nasty bugs thrive in a moist vagina
Yes
No
Douching is the best way to combat a stinky vagina
Yes
No
The best treatment for a dry vagina is washing with soap
Yes
No
You shouldn’t use hand or body lotion to moisturise the vagina
True
False
Only older women suffer with vaginal dryness
Yes
No
Vaginal dryness can be caused by performance anxiety, stress, menopause, hormonal imbalances, exercise, using perfumed soaps and body wash, wearing certain underwear can cause vaginal dryness.
Yes
No
Have you ever had a dry vagina?
Yes or No – This is a personal question that depends on you.
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For those who said yes, what do you think was the cause? (performance anxiety, stress, menopause, hormonal imbalances including breastfeeding, exercise, using perfumed soaps and body wash, wearing certain underwear)
It could be anyone one or a combination of all of the above.
undefined
Have you ever had bad vaginal discharge?
Yes or No – This is your own personal answer again.
undefined
Australians are having as much sex as they would like.
Yes
No
Half of vaginal dryness sufferers don’t use any products to relieve their dryness
True
False
“A study found that of the 1.8 million women who suffer from dryness…
31% experience it more than once a week
17% experience it every 2 or 3 weeks
51% don’t use any product to treat it”
If you are one of these women that do get vaginal dryness then Vagisil has a solution for you. They have created a new product called Vagisil ProHydrate Plus Internal Hydrating Gel, this new product mimics a woman’s natural moisture and offers relief for up to three days. As you will see from the quiz, vaginal dryness does not have anything to do with age. It affects all ages. It could be as simple as stress, medicines that you are taking that throw off your internal pH levels, soaps, body washes, tight clothing, hormonal imbalances and menopause.
Vagisil have created some fabulous health videos which is a brilliant free resource. They feature Dr Adelaide Nardone who answers your questions about why pH matters, causes and also gives you helpful remedies.
This lunch really made me realise that I too was afraid of talking about the vagina. How do girls and women learn what is supposed to be normal if we never discuss it with our daughters, mums and friends. You can see from the statistics that there is a lot of women out there that are not talking about this issue.
A close up of the pretty flowers at the lunch.
Dr Ginni Mansberg, Kimba from Kimba Likes and of course me at the lunch.
Be kind to you.
Make sure you talk to your friends, your doctor about any changes that you notice.
Don’t suffer in silence.
Don’t be in pain.
Live life well and if you need help get it.
Shelly Horton and Dr Ginni talk about all the things you are worried about.
“Additionally, research shows that vaginal dryness is most likely to affect women during sexual activity. Among the women studied …
76% experienced dryness during sexual activity
69% found dryness most bothersome during intimacy”
The yummy desserts at the lunch. I had to have all 3…. Yes naughty I know.
Do you discuss things with mates? Or family? If not are you more comfortable talking with your local doctor?
Have you noticed that there is a generational change with this topic? Maybe your older relatives will avoid any topic that has vagina in it and the younger ones are not bothered?
Let us know what has happened to you.
Thanks so much to Claire and Vagisil for the invite to this great event. I had a great time and learnt a lot. I hope you have as well.
This became evident the other week when she had a HUGE meltdown getting ready to go to the pool.
Each child was getting ready to go to swimming lessons and then one had a screaming fit.
“Why are you wearing that dress? That is the one I want to wear!”
“I want to be different! I don’t want to look like you!”
Then screamed at the top of her lungs…
“I DON’T WANT TO BE A TWIN, I HATE BEING A TWIN!”
These girls have not argued about their dresses. Maybe it is coming when they are older? Did you find that? The kids were okay until they hit a certain age about what they wear.
The kid who had the meltdown got a nice dress organised and then found that her sister picked the exact same dress to wear.
I then tried to diffuse the situation by saying maybe you could pick another dress.
This was met by, “I picked it first, she needs to pick another one not me!”
Oh shit I thought this is not going well at all.
I then turned to the sister who chose the dress after the other kid had already picked it and asked if she could change her dress. I tried to get her to wear something different.
No of course she did not want to change. She told me that she likes being a twin and wanted to be like her sister.
OH NO! I THOUGHT!
This just made the whole issue much worse.
The kid who was having the meltdown was yelling, screaming, crying and just so upset.
I asked why she was so upset about being a twin. I was trying to find out also what went on that day at school and what could have caused her to be so upset.
I finally found out that all day kids and teachers had mixed this kid up and thought she was her sister. One kid that has been with her since pre-school so now that is five years including this year of schooling and she still does not know who each kid is. I can only imagine how frustrating and annoying this would be.
Hugs and cuddles were had to tell her that I know it is not right to always be mixed up with your sister. I told her that although she looks similar that she is indeed a very different person.
She is an individual and not the same as her sister. I told her that this kid at school should know by now who she is, and that she needs to correct her nicely and just leave it at that.
One kid does have her ears pierced but hair is usually over her ears so most people don’t notice. If people take the time they will realise differences and know who is who. If you don’t spend a lot of time with the girls you might not see it, but I would think teachers and school mates would be able to work it out by now.
Finally there was calm, well it was much calmer with less yelling from one child. So I would say it was an improvement. The kid who was upset decided to accessorise with jewellery to look different and wear different shoes. Phew! Finally we could leave the house to go to the pool.
I know it is a hard thing always having someone that looks like you, dresses like you would be annoying at times. Being you and having your own space is nice.
If you have twins how have you coped when they constantly get mixed up? Did one of your kids have a meltdown like one of mine did? What was the outcome of the meltdown?
Did the kid in question want to dress differently or have their hair a different style to make sure that they are seen as different, especially if they are identical like my girls?
The other week we celebrated International Women’s Day. Lately, there have been many articles about women and girls; the topics range from equal pay, pocket money, women not being in leadership roles, how women manage money, and more!
Inequality is still a major issue and I’m sure I am not the only one that finds this appalling. Yes, it is 2016 and we are still not treating women and girls as equals. Why is being female such a negative thing? We are strong, we have children, we solider on just like men do, and we manage the household, we manage kids and work and also have a career to boot. Plus some of us, myself included taking time out to do unpaid work of looking after kids and family. This unpaid work is not easy as there are no holidays, sick days, or thanks for the majority of the job. However, if you don’t do something it gets noticed instantly. Have two kids sick and you are ill and struggling, you are on your own. You cannot call in and tell the boss you cannot come in that day. Oh, how I wish this was the case!
Girls and women are more highly educated than ever before and it is reflected in the workforce. More and more women are striving for the top jobs and also entering into industries that were seen once as male-only domains, such as engineering, IT and much more. I for one believe and so does hubby, that jobs should be matched on a skill basis. If you fulfil the skill and job requirements you should be seriously looked at for the role, and your gender should not be a factor to determine if you get a job, or if you get a promotion or if you get a pay rise or paid the right amount of money.
Here is my rant about the inequality that women deal with. Yes, I have my cranky pants on and I’m not apologizing for being angry. Everyone should see this as unforgivable. If you have daughters would you want or accept that they will always be underpaid and undervalued? I would hope not!
Gender Pay Gap Stats. Image from https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/Gender_Pay_Gap_Factsheet.pdf
Why are top female sports professionals so underpaid?
The Matildas are Australia’s national soccer team. The team have been very successful in the FIFA World Cup and in the lead up to the Olympics. There has been a pay dispute with FFA (Football Federation of Australia), the team wish to have equal pay like the male soccer players.
For example, Each Matilda player got $500 in match fees for the knockout game with Brazil. However male players receive $7,500 for the same thing. (Convery, Stephanie: September 11, 2015, “The Matildas’ pay dispute could spark real change”, abc.net.au)
— $500 per group-stage tournament game, $600 per round of 16-tournament game, $750 per tournament quarter-final, $1250 per tournament semi-final or third or fourth-place playoff and$1500 per tournament final
— Plus an equal share in 30 per cent of all prize money
SOCCEROOS
— A share in commercial profits from matches played and sponsor bonuses
— $6500 per standard international game
— $7500 per group-stage tournament game. $8500 per quarter-final tournament game, $9500 per tournament semi-final or third or fourth-place playoff and $11,500 per tournament final
— Plus an equal share in 30 per cent of all prize money
— Or, $240 daily wage
As you can see a match fee for men that is $7,500 to the women’s pay of $500 is a massive difference. A difference of $7,000 is just not on at all! Not fair if you ask me. Very rude to The Matildas to not value their skill and success and not pay the same as the men are getting.
“”In my next life when I come back I want to be someone in the WTA, because they ride on the coattails of the men,” Moore said. “They don’t make any decisions and they are lucky. They are very, very lucky. If I was a lady player, I’d go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport. They really have.” (Rothenberg, Ben: 2016, March 21, “Indian Wells boss Raymond Moore says women tennis players should be thanking men”, The Sydney Morning Herald.)
Serena Williams “rejected the notion that Moore’s comments could have been misconstrued.
“There’s only one way to interpret that,” she said. “‘Get on your knees,’ which is offensive enough, and ‘Thank a man’? We, as women, have come a long way. We shouldn’t have to drop to our knees at any point.”
“Williams expressed particular shock that Moore would make such comments after last year’s US Open when excitement over her Grand Slam bid caused tickets to the women’s final to sell out before the men’s final for the first time in tournament history.” (Rothenberg, Ben: 2016, March 21, “Indian Wells boss Raymond Moore says women tennis players should be thanking men”, The Sydney Morning Herald.)
Graph looking at data for full-time wages and the gender pay gap. Image from https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/Gender_Pay_Gap_Factsheet.pdf
Why is it when there is media coverage regarding Hilary Clinton’s race for the white house, the question is, “How do you feel about a woman president?”
Why is being a woman a major issue?
I understand that America has not had a female president but you don’t hear the same questioning for a male wanting to be president. I would think that they would find this line of questioning rude and not seeing their credentials for the job rather than focus on gender.
If a woman is successful in her career and life, why is it that she is singled out due to her sex? We can see instantly that she is female and that is not a major thing to notice. Who cares!!!
The only thing that should be looked at and worried about is, can she do the job? A woman needs to be noticed for her skills and achievements not just due to gender.
You never hear in the press, that we have a man in this job and it is a first. I wonder how he will do? Why are men not put through the scrutiny women are? Why are men getting more money for the same jobs?
Why is it when men don’t hit their objectives/KPI’s in their job that they still get higher bonuses than women?
Ridiculous if you ask me. Isn’t the whole idea of the reward system to reward the workers that hit the objectives and performance indicators? Not the person that does not achieve?
This could be a woman or a man, the employee just has to hit their targets to be in the running for a bonus not get one without doing so.
“Despite getting the same performance ratings as their male colleagues, women get smaller bonuses on average, according to a report from human resources consultants Mercer.
Even men who only partially met their performance objectives got bonuses that were 35 per cent larger than their female counterparts.” (Perkins, Miki: 2015, November 4, “Gender pay gap higher in bonuses, report finds”
Looking at the gender pay gap from 1995 to 2015. Image from https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/Gender_Pay_Gap_Factsheet.pdf
“Boys earn $13 a week in pocket money on average, while girls get $9.60, according to a survey done for the Heritage Bank and released in time for International Women’s Day this week. The bank made similar findings in 2014. (Fitzsimmons, Caitlin: March 8, 2016, “Girls get less pocket money”, The Sydney Morning Herald)
How atrocious that boys even when little still get paid more! I wonder how this works?
Why would parents pay girls less than their boys? I know I wouldn’t.
According to the article from the Herald, it says it could be down the types of jobs done by boys/girls or how the child negotiates. Or maybe the fact that girls are expected to just do housework or jobs around the house for no pay… If this is the case that is just horrible! Living in 2016 and just due to your gender you are expected to do things for no pay. Wrong I tell you! Also if this is so and the reason, showing boys that housework or other chores around the house are not to be valued and not paid is not right at all.
I don’t understand why having a penis makes you earn more over a lifetime. Maybe I need to get a fake one to improve my chances?????
Why is this discrepancy occurring? As an employer, what makes you underpay women?
Why is it okay to pay female employees less?
Women are equally deserving as men, women have the same education and skill base, women are focused and high achieving, and would like to be promoted and go places just like men. This is not something different.
Just because we are female does not make our wants and desires any different to a man. We are just working harder and for less money!
When I was working in the corporate world, I was keen to be promoted and to progress in my career. I saw the men get promoted but when I put my hand up and showed interest I always got told not now, you don’t have the skills yet (although I was already doing the job but did not have the new title and new pay to accompany it) and much more. During my time at many companies, management changed and this meant it was mostly men that took up positions of power, and therefore brought along their mates, who were of course male. I must say that there were a few powerful and lovely women who did a great job and I greatly admired them.
Why is ambition from a woman seen as a terrible trait to have? If I was a man I’m sure the outcome would have been completely different.
Ambition is a great attribute and I should be rewarded. I wish I would know what it would have been like if I was a man, would my life and career have looked different? Would I have been the CEO of a company by now? Maybe it is best not to know, if I knew how it could have been, I think it would make me even angrier.
I was always taught, that you study hard, work hard and do well, good pay will follow. Gender did not come into it. I really don’t see how your sex should determine pay.
Women live longer than men and therefore need more savings to live. Being short-changed in the earnings department means that women’s superannuation is much less than a man’s and even lower if they have had a career break to look after children or other family members.
“The gender pay gap is worst where pay is kept secret and women often find out they are being paid less than their male colleagues after years on the job,” she said.
The gender pay gap is currently at a 20-year high of 18.8 per cent, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. It means that, on average, women earn $298.10 a week less than men. Put another way, they have to work an extra 66 days a year to take home the same amount as a man. (Gartrell, Adam: 2015, August 2, “Greens call for an end to ‘salary secrecy’ to help bridge gender pay gap”, They Sydney Morning Herald)
Pay gaps are broken down by state. Image from https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/Gender_Pay_Gap_Factsheet.pdf
Wow! Women earn $298.10 less each week compared to men! That is a lot to not be earning.
That is a loss of $15,501.20 per year in earnings.
Fancy missing out on 15K per year. That is a HUGE gap! I am not sure what industry that these figures were taken from or if this is just an average of many women interviewed and data collected from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
If businesses did not keep pay secret then women would know what men and women in similar roles were being paid.
This would help negotiation for salary and make sure that women are not being underpaid. Making pay transparent would also help everyone, not just women. Not knowing what certain roles are being paid and what you can ask for is definitely hard.
If you know what the value of roles are, you are so much more informed, plus employers will, of course, get highly trained individuals that will work hard and wish to grow with the organisation.
The Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has been focusing on innovation and technology. My girls are very interested in the STEM subjects, Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Hubby and I have encouraged this as we believe that the jobs of the future will have some or all of these skills. Also if the twins focus on these subjects and are good at them, they can get a job that pays well in the future. Why are girls not participating in these areas as much as boys? Why are we not encouraging girls to give it a go?
“A recent OECD report found less than one in 20 girls from OECD countries considered careers in science, technology, engineering and maths. In 2013 in New South Wales a tiny 1.5 per cent of girls took the trio of advanced maths, physics and chemistry. Yet a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that in the future 75 per cent of the fast-growing occupations will require STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills. We are locking ourselves out of the workforce. If we are going to earn the same as our pipsqueak brothers, we will have to think hard about the choices we make.” (Clarke, Ruby, 2015: June 28, “Teenage girls need to change themselves to affect the gender pay gap”, The Sydney Morning Herald)
How low is 1.5% of girls participating in STEM subjects in New South Wales! We need higher numbers. What do you think?
There is also the argument that women work in part-time roles or choose not to work due to kids and other commitments. That might be true.
However, for the women that wish to work, it is rather difficult if you do have kids as well. Juggling motherhood, career and life is tough. Not horrible but just more things to organise and get lined up to make sure everything happens.
I for one would love to work part-time or say full time. A couple of days in the office and the rest from home. My jobs have all been online and therefore can transition to work from home roles. I can put kids in care for the days that I’m at the office but don’t want to have kids in full-time care. Firstly it is too expensive and, secondly, I will never see them.
I don’t have the luxury of living near relatives and therefore I am the one that does all kid-related activities. School run, and after school activities is all down to me. Being the only one doing all this is limiting and therefore I have created my own opportunities with my blog. My own online presence, to hopefully build my empire! (You can only put it out there. You never know right?)
“Sure, if women are simply choosing to work shorter hours in lower-status jobs in lower-paid industries – perhaps because they choose to take on the bulk of the task of looking after children and the home – then there is no problem here.
But – and here’s the rub – perhaps these are not choices freely made.
Perhaps women don’t want to retire with no superannuation or other savings after all. Perhaps they would like to earn a pay-packet the equivalent of a man’s, but they’re too busy looking after those male’s kids for free.” (Irvine, Jessica, 2015: July 31, “Apples and oranges: Gender pay gap is worse than you think”, The Sydney Morning Herald)
Many women would love to get the job after kids to fit into their new lifestyle, however, many companies are still stuck with the mindset that you have to physically turn up to a job in an office.
How about job share? Part-time in the office for 2 days and work at home for 3 days. Work some hours in the day and some in the night and weekend? Flexible hours as long as the work gets done.
Understand if you need to be online or on the phone for meetings or in the office. You can always have a catch-up meeting every fortnight or month?
Depends on the business and workload.
With technology, I don’t why more places embrace telecommuting. It would save the company money and also allow them to get quality employees that will stick with the company due to allowing them to be flexible and work from home.
Think about all the women with fabulous skills that are itching to get the job that businesses are overlooking!
“Clearly society has to change in order for women to rise, but we, the teenagers of Australia, also have to change our attitudes and perceptions. Major corporations must set targets to increase women’s participation in managerial positions.
Men additionally need to take more responsibility for child care and share the load. Unionised workforces also tend to be higher paid workforces so if women join unions, their rates of pay should increase.
But. It’s also down to you and me, ladies. We need to change, too. We need to think about what kinds of lives we want. What kinds of jobs will get us more money? Are we going to be in charge of our own futures or are we going to rely on men to pay for them? If you want to work with children, how are you going to pay for a house in Sydney now the average price has hit almost a million dollars?” (Clarke, Ruby, 2015: June 28, “Teenage girls need to change themselves to affect the gender pay gap”, The Sydney Morning Herald)
When I see a role that is just perfect for me and of course will pay a full wage. Why is the money for child care seen to only be taken from my wage?
Why is child care seen as something that the woman needs to sort out in order to work?
Isn’t child care an issue for both parents?
Having an extra wage would help out the whole family and therefore it is an issue that the family need to address not just one person.
I agree that men need to take more responsibility for child care and help with this more. Some men do this and there is no issue here. However the more equal it is, the more easily women can re-enter the workforce and contribute to the family, society and build for their future as well as their families.
It is 2016 and sex is still seen as an issue regarding pay. I would have thought that this would not be the case.
I hope for my girls that this is not the case when they are older but I would have thought that it would have been already resolved by now. So I’m not holding my breath, however, I can live in hope.
As I have said before, gender is not an issue for pay. The only important issue is, can you do the job, and do you have the skills?
Pay for the role not because someone has a different anatomy than another.
Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks for reading my HUGE post about this issue!
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We have picked names for either a boy or a girl due to not knowing the babies sex. We did the same when pregnant with the twins, we had two sets of boys and girls names ready (at least this time we only had to come up with one name for a boy or a girl) and once we knew we named them once born. I was asking my mum how she came to name me my name. She told me she wanted to wait till I was here and see what I looked like and what name suited me.
This little person is waiting to be named. I hope they like what I choose!
I know plenty of people have told me the same thing and that worked well for them. However our way ended up really suiting the children we named and we did not use this method. We just loved our names and decided that twin A would get one name and twin B would get the other name as at the time that is what they were known by.
In the end, these names that we gave our girls have really suited them and their personalities…. but we had no idea at the time.
My question really is how do you know if a name is the right fit and will eventually suit a child that you have just had or have not had yet?
I suppose the name ends up suiting your child and it becomes familiar. You chose the name for a reason, due to loving it and thinking that it would work well.
Did you wait until your baby was here to see if it suited your name choice? Did you change it if you thought it was not a match? Or just stick to it due to loving the name?
Let us know your thoughts. Why not continue the discussion on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
We are not telling people our choice of names as we would love a surprise when we announce the birth. Currently 37 weeks and 2 days and hoping this little person will be here soon.
It is 2015 isn’t it? So why does it feel like we are living in the 1900’s or worse?
I know the 1900’s were not all bad but if you were female and wanted to be accepted as an equal, work in similar fields like men and earn equal pay it was not a great time for you.
However you could mistake our current time for having the same issues. Yes crazy right?
In the news just today was a report about a senior female surgeon, Gabrielle McMullin, who told trainee female doctors that it is best to have sex with a male who harasses them, as it is easier than not having a career at all. Why is this acceptable to tell trainee female doctors that this is okay! Why is a woman telling other women that this is a good way to advance your career? Just shameful and horrible in my book!
Happy International Women’s Day. How do you celebrate?
“Dr McMullin referred to the case of Dr Caroline Tan, who won a 2008 sexual harassment case against a surgeon while she was completing surgical training at a Melbourne hospital. Dr Tan was vilified and has been unable to find work at any public hospital in Australasia despite the legal victory, she said.”
If someone harasses you and puts the hard word for sex, you have every right to say NO! Saying no and not engaging in sex, or anything should in no way impact your career or your person.
Below are more quotes from the Sydney Morning Herald article:
“Her career was ruined by this one guy asking for sex on this night. And, realistically, she would have been much better to have given him a blow job on that night,” Dr McMullin said in the criticised ABC interview.
“What I tell my trainees is that, if you are approached for sex, probably the safest thing to do in terms of your career is to comply with the request; the worst thing you can possibly do is to complain to the supervising body because then, as in Caroline’s position, you can be sure that you will never be appointed to a major public hospital.”
I am not sure if Dr McMullin was just stating the facts that the work place culture is so bad that it has allowed this sexual harassment to be tolerated and not reported. I do understand that women don’t report crimes due to wanting to progress in life and their careers, however this does not help anyone. It keeps the perpetrator in the environment to strike again. The cycle just repeats itself.
I’m also at a loss to why a female surgeon would be teaching this to young female doctors. She is helping this terrible culture of harassment to continue by allowing this to be accepted. If more people stood up to these men who feel they can manipulate and dominate others, the culture would not allow the silence on these terrible incidents.
Why is it okay to let women or young girls be used sexually in order to gain in their career? Sex should not be a tool to be played with, and it is actually irrelevant in the role as a doctor and other careers as well.
Being female should not make you a target and silenced. This needs to change and NOW! Not later!
As said in my introduction; We are living in 2015 not in the 1900’s so why oh why do women still get underpaid for the same job a man does? Are we living hundreds of years ago? Are there laws to make sure there is no discrimination, Yes there is! However I am not sure how this is applied to equal pay as it does not seem to be happening. If it was, pay would be equal and my rant would be for nothing.
Many women are highly qualified, can do an excellent job and match or can outdo the competition. Fair pay for fair work I say! So why are women still being short-changed? Is it that we are too nice? I have heard that it is due to the fact we have babies and go on maternity leave. I personally don’t see how the possible thought that a woman might have a baby or not make her earning potential drop. Some women never have children and some do.
How about this for size, women live longer than men so we need the money! Pay us more so that we can invest in family, and the economy. If we had more savings for retirement maybe many women would not have to be on the pension due to struggling with little savings. Now there’s a thought! More money in the pocket would help women and society! Easy really, right?
Is the issue due to the fact that we don’t negotiate well enough? Or is it that corporations feel that they can get away with underpaying women and making more money off our brilliant and fabulous skills. I am not sure why it is still happening.
I for one am very frustrated about this. However how do you find out what others are getting paid and men who do the same job? I doubt they will tell you what they earn and many organisations have a private policy in place to protect this information. So due to all the secrecy you are flying blind.
You can do your homework for your industry and negotiate but that is about it. Do you think we should have more transparency on salaries? I do. If we were more open about what role gets paid what, women and also men would know what is fair and equal.
earnings for women in 1985 and now. From http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2015/03/australian-gender-
Why does it feel that we have come so far, but still not far enough. I still don’t understand why underpaying or harassing women helps our society. If we got paid equally it would benefit everyone. The money goes back to the family and helps fund education, feed everyone, put a roof over peoples heads and much more. It also shows that women are valued for their contribution and skills.
Why are women still penalised for being a mother and the caretaker? These unpaid roles save society a lot of money, it is mainly women caring for kids, elderly and the sick without getting a cent or nearly anything for this service. It is a massive saving to families and society. Fancy us sending a bill for our work. I am due over six years back pay! Bring it on!
Since today is International Women’s Day we can address these issues or put more thought into why they occur. It would be nice if the heads of companies and the like address the fact of equal pay and strive to make their workplace a harassment free environment. No woman wants to work in an environment that has a horrible culture and also underpays women, they will go elsewhere where they are valued.
When will people wise up to treating women as equal helps everyone. What do you think? Send in your thoughts.
Let us know your thoughts. Why not continue the discussion on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
It is 2014 and nearly 2015. There are more women than men in Australia and other countries have more women also. We need to be treated fairly. I don’t get why we are still faced with this discrimination? As a mother of girls I hope that this is not still happening when they join the workforce. Belittling women due to sex, underpaying them due to their sex and for no other reason is just wrong!
I wonder what the outcome would have been if Paul Heath had told a man that his IQ halved when he had kids? Would he have been punched in the face? Would he then be told to F Off? Or watch what he says? I am sure he would not dare to say these things to a male colleague but a woman is fare game.
Fancy this being said to you by your manager:
“Mr Heath was also accused of asking Ms Thorton to turn around in March 2009, while she was pregnant, and then allegedly saying: “yup, you are having a boy because your bum has blown out.”
Evan Thornley’s talk at the Sunrise Start-up conference was hugely popular and of was mainly made up of men. I wonder if they are now going to do exactly what Mr Thornley was preaching? Use women in their businesses and pay them cheaper than the men? Mr Thornley did say that he gives women a chance, gives them more responsibility and gives share options. All great. However why would he say “Women like men, only cheaper” if he did not mean it? I do like the fact that he is saying he sees the potential in women who are high achievers in the tech sector. However that should come with the same and equal pay, bonuses and extras like the men have. All equal. Same role, same pay!
I do understand that if you negotiate for a bigger bonus or if you have extra skills to bring to the table you might get a bit extra, however for the same role your pay without extras should be the same.
Below is a snippet from the Sydney Morning Herald Article about Evan Thornley:
“Call me opportunistic, I just thought I could get better people with less competition because we were willing to understand the skills and capabilities that many of these women had,” he said.
“There’s a great arbitrage there, we would give [women] more responsibility and a greater share of the rewards than they were likely to get anywhere else and that was still often relatively cheap to someone less good of a different gender.”
While Mr Thornley said he wasn’t advocating that the gender pay gap should be perpetuated, he said it provided “an opportunity for forward thinking people”.
What are your thoughts?
I personally think it is terrible that this is still happening. I do believe that you can do jobs and get paid well regardless of your sex. As long as you are qualified, do your job well and can hit your targets all is good and you should be rewarded fairly for it. Not underpaid and not treated as a second class citizen.
I wish we could give men a taste of what they dish out and see how they cope. I know the majority of men are not like t his and it is just a few. It only takes a few to spoil it for the many. My male friends don’t think like this and hubby would love me to be out earning him. One day when my book is written and is widely popular you never know right????
Have you had something like this happen to you? If you are happy to share I would love to hear your story.
This might be the girls one day. Fairy Doctor Specialists. Or at the very least a doctor. Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
What can we do?
As I am mother of girls I am giving them experiences that are not gender specific (I hate the ironing board and cooking things for kids. Although my kids play cafes and cooking). Lego, building things, we learn about science, maths and all sorts of things. I make sure that I give them all sorts of toys to foster development and I don’t want to just focus on homely toys. I do hate toys that are all pink and girly but the twins love some of that. I have a bit of the girly toys and others that allow them to learn all different things. A mixed bag for toys at our place.
I am making sure that the twins know that they can be whatever they set their minds to. As long as they apply themselves they can achieve.
How a simple Doctors Appointment Changed how the Twins think:
After our specialist appointment for the girls ears nose and throat specialist (Dec 2013) I was unhappy as they only told me the appointment would cost $200. However when I went to pay I was told I owed $400. It was $200 per child! Yes annoying. I paid and grumbled all the way to the car. When I got to the car Julia asked why I was unhappy. I told her that it was very expensive and I was not expecting it to be that much. She said that the naughty man took all our money. I told her no he was not naughty but in actual fact very clever. He earnt $400 for less than 15mins work. She asked what type of doctor he was. I told her he was a specialist. Julia for a long time has wanted to be a Fairy Doctor. After this appointment she told me she wants to be a Fairy Doctor Specialist.
How interesting, it was that after a doctors appointment that both girls want to be specialists with what they do when they grow up. I wonder how this will influence their career path? Will they both be Specialist Doctors? Only time will tell.
What do you do to show that girls and women can paid well? Let us know.
Is one of your kids or both forthright? Leads and is assertive? Mine are. I am making sure that I don’t say that the kids are bossy but I do make sure to get rid of bad behaviour when it occurs (or at least try). Being assertive is one thing and leading is great, however being rude and hurtful is not acceptable.
I do agree that we label and tell girls in particular that they are bossier than boys. Do you find this? Did this impact you when you were at school or the workplace? I think this video is a great eye opener. Do you think if you were not told you were bossy your life might have been different? Maybe a CEO? Or a global entrepreneur earning billions? Well you never know right?
Labels matter, encourage girls to lead and let’s ban bossy! What you get told does affect you. Whether you get told you are bossy, stupid or something else. Building up your child is important and the words you say matter. Don’t bring them down build them up.
#banbossy
It’s o.k to be ambitious! Listen to your own voice. You can change the world.
Are you going to take the pledge at banbossy.com? I did!
Yesterday while driving the twins to pre-school they were telling me who they were going to marry. Marry! They are only 5. Isn’t it a bit early to be planning this?
One of the girls said a boys name and I said is that who you will marry? She said “No, he will be my boyfriend when I am older.” Oh glad that is sorted. Interesting that this is already going on at pre-school. Does this happen to your kids? Do you remember who you would marry as a kid?
However the biggest thing that made me laugh was this. One kid said, “I’m not marrying someone who sucks their thumb!” Well that is true, that is not good to do that if you are about to marry someone. She was very insistent and kept on repeating it over and over again.
I told her that is good and I’m glad that she has decided what she wants and doesn’t want. She has standards, and no thumb sucking is one of them! What about you? What things were on your list? What are on your kids list?
What have your kids told you about what their standards are?
The way it should be. Girls wearing shorts and playing. Image courtesy of pat138241 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Why would a school would ban shorts for girls! Well there is one, and it is Bathurst Public School. In a Sydney Morning Herald article it talks about how parents learnt of the decision via their children. Parents of course did not take the news seriously and thought that the kids had got it terribly wrong.
The news was correct and shorts have indeed been banned for girls at the school. Who does this? Shorts are good to wear and being a girl makes you no different to boys who want to wear shorts. Shorts allow you to play sport, run around the playground and not show your knickers to all. It gives you more freedom and confidence than a dress or a skirt.
Bathurst gets hot and shorts for a uniform is a good idea! Why is it that they are penalising girls not boys? One woman quoted in the article touches on a very good point. She says that when she does yoga or sport she does not wear a dress. She wears pants or shorts, so why should not her little girl? Silly don’t you think!
It is 2013 and soon to be 2014 so why are we making girls wear only dresses for a school uniform? It is showing and teaching girls that they are limited in choices from a very early age.
Not every girl feels comfortable in a dress and prefers to wear shorts. Why would this not be thought of? Why is it essential that girls wear dresses at all times? Times have changed and girls and women do wear shorts and pants. Executives even have the pant suit, YES it does exist. I had some in my former life as a corporate climber.
Wearing a dress all the time is not practical and it is very sexist. One parent in the article is quoted as saying:
”Bella doesn’t really identify with gender stereotypes and that’s been a really conscious thing from me and my husband,” Ms Rodwell said. ”She owns dresses and likes to wear them out to dinner or when she goes to the theatre.”
An edited version of the school uniform policy has now allowed shorts for sport only. I for one don’t see the problem with girls wearing shorts to school all day instead of the dress. As long as the shorts are in school colours and match in with what they are supposed to wear there should be no issue.
The school principal did not comment on the Fairfax article and it mentions that if parents want their daughters to wear shorts to let the school know. If my girls were enrolled in the school I would let them know the girls would be wearing shorts.
Why is it that we are being so backward? Girls can do whatever they want, be whatever they want. Why are we making them wear a dress when sometimes shorts are much more appropriate and practical, stupid if you ask me!
This is from a mummy to two girls who live in shorts, pants and sometimes skirts and dresses. My kids wear the right outfit to have a rough and tumble outside and love the freedom that shorts allow. I think this is a silly change in policy from a school.
In the Fairfax article it mentioned that a uniform committee had been formed and will meet on December the 11th. Let’s hope that they see sense and allow girls to wear shorts like the boys do!
What would you do if your school banned shorts for girls? Send in your comments.
Today is the International Day of the Girl Child. It is a day where UNICEF promotes rights of girls, education, and addressing challenges that girls are faced with. We need to innovate to help fill the gaps.
The UN (United Nations) has declared the 11th of October each year to be the day of the girl child. This is to highlight the issues that girls around the world face.
As a mother to two girls I feel very strongly about this issue, and as a woman and former girl, I don’t believe your gender should hold you back from anything. I must admit that I was lucky to grow up in a country that did not put a barrier on my education. That said, you still run into sexism, attitudes from others that women/mothers/girls cannot do certain things and those beliefs need to be changed.
As a mother I would like not be responsible for the housework and other things that generally are seen as my area of expertise. My sex does not make me instantly love this type of work and I never have! I am sure that this is a small whinge compared to other girls and women out there, but I thought in 2013, men might have more to do in this area as well. In the 21st century there is so much going on with life, work and other commitments. It really is the responsibility of the woman! O.K, enough of my rave about housework! I’m sure other ladies out there agree with this. Let me know your thoughts.
If you have skill and a passion you should follow it. Being female is no barrier to anything, well that is what I believe. However when you are in a place where girls are undervalued, not educated and not seen as equal how can you dream such things.
We all need to take a stand and help girls become successful women. Let them get the education and be who they wish to be. Successful women help their countries, families and themselves. It has been proven that an educated woman gives a better chance to her children, reads and teaches them more, can earn more money, in turn can pay tax and contribute to society. Why stop this?
It helps to empower over half of the population. Females make up over 50% of the world’s population so just silly to undervalue us. Not a smart move at all! Stupid actually.
The day of the girl website has some wonderful tips to action. There are 11 tips as the day of the girl falls on the 11th that is fitting. So take a look at the 11 tips from day of the girl.
Did you know that “Girls were left out of the original Millennium Development Goals.” Here is the Girl Declaration so that they don’t get excluded again.
Has this inspired you to get active and help girls around the world? It has for me. I am going to donate to help educate and support some girls that are not as fortunate as myself and my twins are. What are you going to do?
Why are pads and tampons considered a non-essential item? Ask any woman or girl who has to purchase these items and they would not be able to live without them. Try and think how your life as a woman would be affected without having pads or tampons, I don’t want to even think about this terrible idea.
Clem Bastow wrote in her article, “Why we should be angry about periods” that the government considers these sanitary products non-essential and they require us to pay the GST. I for one think this is just ludicrous and stupid. Women don’t choose to have their periods it just happens; it is not like you can stop it at will.
You have to wonder if this wisdom or decision was created by a man. If women were involved, why wouldn’t they have said, what a silly decision it was and is. Purchasing tampons and pads is expensive and apparently could be cheaper.
Below is a quote from Ms Bastow’s article that sums up the position of the tax on sanitary products:
“The Howard government introduced the GST on July 1st, 2000, and included in the items that would carry the new tax were pads and tampons – “non-essential” products, according to the stellar minds at Howard HQ. Flash forward to 2012, and pads and tampons are still being taxed as a non-essential item. (There is no GST on frangers, in case you were wondering.) I harangued both the Howard and Rudd governments about this nonsense tax and received witless replies from both; I haven’t bothered contacting the Gillard government because I assume the response will be the same. But when a supermarket chain uses removing the “period tax” as an advertising angle – and even that was four years ago – that was also shrugged off by the government; you know something’s still rotten in the state of tampons. Anyone for a bleed-in at Parliament House?”
Should we as women complain in numbers to parliament or local members to have this changed? I think so. Why is it that an essential item is considered non-essential? Is it to make more money off us? Do men or others see purchasing these products as a choice, you get it or you don’t? Well I hate to break it to the decision makers, having periods every month is not a choice it is nature and sanitary products are essential and should not be taxed. Send in your comments.
Yesterday while at lunch with the family, the girls found a playroom for kids. This playroom was not much at all. It was small, and only had 2 things to play with; a toy house, and big Lego blocks.
In this playroom was a bigger kid who was about half an arm taller than the girls. This boy decided to tell the girls that he was bigger than them. Julia and Lillian told him that they were bigger than him. This kid did not like this and was not looking very happy.
James and I have told the girls that they don’t need to be scared of the boys at playgrounds, indoor centres and the like. We have told them that they just need to stick up for themselves and all will be o.k. If things get too bad, we have told them to come and get us.
Julia came and told me what was happening. I went in to make sure that everything was fine and no child was getting hurt. The boy walked up to me and said, “They say they are bigger than me”, I said “You are a big boy, and the girls are big girls”. This did not help his cause too much.
One thing that made me giggle was when the boy jumped on an ottoman, while saying, “I am even bigger now I am standing on this”, and then Julia jumped on it and said “I am bigger than you.” I could sense the boy’s frustration. The girls think that when you say that someone is bigger than them, that they are not big girls (by big girls I mean, more grown up and not babies); they took it as an insult.
Have you had a situation that your child/children have told someone they are taller, bigger or something that they are not? How did you deal with this?
and actually anything on wheels.
