Is The 21st Century Dad The New Mom?

It is not everyday that I get to publish a guest post but I did agree to this one as the topic rings true. Read on...

Watch just about any 1960s family sitcom rerun and you'll find a dad who works all day in an office and a mom who stays home and takes care of the house and kids — a reflection of the middle-class society of the day. Fast-forward 50 years and nearly 60 percent of married couples have two working parents. This trend, coupled with higher unemployment rates, means that more dads than ever are taking an increasingly active role in child-rearing, whether out of necessity, increased availability or both.

It's not uncommon these days to see dads at the playground or at daycare drop-off and pick-up. And while the number of stay-at-home fathers is still quite small — only 3.4 percent of all stay-at-home parents in 2011, according to a Boston College study — it has nearly doubled in the past decade. While dads are more involved than ever in their children's daily lives, moms are still the primary caregivers in most families, and children benefit from having two parents who are highly engaged in their upbringing.

There is little dispute that fathers and mothers have vastly different parenting styles. As a general rule, dads tend to be more laid back and less fearful than moms about letting their children explore and make mistakes. Fathers also tend to be more boisterous and physical in their play.

When parents accept the differences in their styles and don't criticize one another for their parenting choices, their children tend to be more patient and have better relationships with their peers. James McHale, Ph.D., of the University of South Florida led a study involving more than 200 new parents and found that moms and dads can learn a lot from one another, which ultimately benefits their children by having two more well-equipped parents.

Authors Biography: Briana Kelly has over 5 years experience writing articles and speaking about the subject of childcare and parenting. She regularly works on behalf of childcare centres in Dublin.

To Tan or Not

It's summer in the northern hemisphere! Yey! It's natural tanning time! Instead of slathering sunblock, those living in the cold zones would normally slather on tanning lotion. During the cold months when the sun is shy, trooping to The tanning store is the next best thing to do for that glorious tan.

 It's totally different here in my country. At daytime, most Pinays would apply facial cream with SPF of at least 30. When at the beach, the normal thing is to slather on sunblock with an SPF high enough to deter the Philippine's ultra hot sun. When summer is over, it's time to do a whitening routine by applying whitening cream, lotion and using bleaching soap or cream. For those who prefer an even white skin, the option is to pop glutathione pills or troop to the dermatologist for glutathione shots. Me? Well, I don't pop gluta pills or have shots but I do apply daytime cream with SPF. At the beach I slather an inch-thick (not really) sunblock and make sure I have my umbrella. :)

Skitbooks

A couple of years ago, the "in" thing in parties, weddings and any other event was to have a photo booth. You know, the one where you and a group of friends pose (4 times), complete with whatever costume hat or wig or accessory the photographer has? I hated that. Really. It's not the photo booth per se that I hate but the freaking costumes and accessories. I also did not like the idea that you can't really distinguish which is the photo and which is the border (with the celebrant's face plastered on it). Well, I''ve had it with photo booth! It's a good thing my ever innovative nephew of Mimi and Karl (destination photographers), came up with another idea. Skitbooks!

Yup! Really! This idea-of-a-party-thingy is so fun! Interested? Click HERE for more details.

Blurry Left Eye

  I was and am an avid reader. Back in the days when most nights were free, I can finish 2-3 books a week which really cost me money for I have to buy 3to 12 books a month. Being an architect, my nature of work also pushed me to use my eyes incessantly. Being astigmatic early on, I knew I was going to wear eyeglasses sooner or later. By age 40, I had to use reading glasses. Some years later, I had to use progressive prescription eyeglasses. My current pair of eyeglasses is 2 years old. I need new ones. My left eye is blurry even with my eyeglasses on. Gosh! I wonder how much a new pair will cost me this time.

Tabby's First Tea Party

We are a family of DIY-ers. We love to do arts and crafts, decorate and what-have-you. We recently celebrated Tabby's first birthday. We decided to have a tea-party theme and look at what we came out with. DIY decorations and homemade strawberry jams. Yes will gladly accept orders. Matter of fact, you can hire us as event planners -from party concept to party hosting.  We now have a string of suppliers from caterers to dressmakers aka costume-makers to photographers. We are the newest  event planners in Metro Manila.  Hire us! Yes! We're still missing one thing though- the name of our Even Planning group.

Tabby's First!