Kerri Sackville and Grant Lyndon: Dress-ups, sleep overs and bringing up boys
Writer and author Kerri Sackville join voice-over artist and founder of Busy Dads Grant Lyndon to chat about the events and news of the week with The Parent Panel presenter Shevonne Hunt.
On this episode that includes:
- Banning bride costumes for children in Kmart
- How old do kids start sleep-overs and what are the rules?
- Raising boys in a #metoo world
- Living the dream in a real-life toy universe
Listen to Kerri Sackville and Grant Lyndon on The Parent Panel:
Are bride costumes inappropriate for children?
Kmart has removed a child bride costume from their racks pre-Halloween madness after a mum started a campaign on change.org.
In her pitch to potential signatories, she says: “Tell Kmart this is beyond inappropriate and offensive and that they have a social responsibility to pull this item off their shelves immediately.”
She goes on to point out the widespread exploitation of girls as child brides around the world.
Was this a legitimate move on the part of the mother, given the allusion to girls being child brides (also: there were no “groom” costumes) and the messages that it sends kids. Or are dress-ups just a form of imaginative play, and not harmful in terms of the messages they send?
What are your rules about sleepovers?
This week writer Darren Levin talked about (Paywall) how much his life has changed since his daughter started doing sleepovers.
He referred to a mum who earlier this month got slammed on Reddit for giving her 11-year-old son’s friends a contract to sign before they came for a sleepover.
Among other things, she writes: “Constructive requests are encouraged in a calm, polite tone of voice.”
“This means you wait to have my attention and acknowledgement before you start speaking to me.”
When were your kids allowed to go on a sleepover? Have you hosted one? What are your rules? (do you have a limit to how many can come etc?)
How do you raise boys to avoid toxic masculinity?
A mum has posted on Facebook explaining why everyone telling her she is mollycoddling her four-year-old can get lost.
In the post, she says, “He is my child. He is not ‘weak’ or less than for showing emotion and needing me. I am raising him to know men can cry, too. Men can have needs, too. Men can get overwhelmed, too. Maybe if tearful little boys were comforted instead of shamed, we wouldn’t have so many men struggling to emphasize with emotions.”
How have you raised your son to avoid toxic masculinity? Have you ever been criticised for being too ‘soft’ on your son(s)? Have you noticed a difference in young men who have had the benefit of being taught it’s okay to cry? How do you help them connect with a sense of healthy masculinity?
Recreating your own toy universe
Barbie is turning 60 this year, so she’s teamed up with Airbnb and opened her Malibu home for one weekend. It’s basically a mansion kitted out to be a replica of the Barbie lifestyle.
If you could recreate a toy universe for your kids (and yourself) what would it be?
Guests:
Kerri Sackville- on Facebook @kerri.sackville and on Instagram @kerrisackville her book is called Out there, A survival guide for dating in mid life.
Grant Lyndon – on Facebook @GrantBartlettLyndon, on Instagram @grant_lyndon and on the Busy Dads website.
Host & Producer:
Shevonne Hunt – @shevonnehunt\
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