A Week in the News - 14th February 2014

With the wet weather and high winds this week, it seems that whilst this winter hasn't been particularly cold it has been awful for families across the UK. With many areas still under water, and with more rain to come, it could be months before normality is resumed. If you've been affected by the floods, our thoughts are with you and we hope everything is fixed for you as quickly as possible. We move onto the stories which caught our eye in the world of pregnancy and babies this week, there are definitely some interesting ones.

Toys, Reading and Abortion

There has recently been a lot of focus on toys and gender roles. WIth parents concerned that toys are continuing to portray the role of boys and girls in society completely wrong, with pink toys for girls and blue toys for boys - and all the other various alternatives. A story in The Guardian looked at how children have decided they don't want this to be the case either, with one girl for example wondering why there are more Lego boys than girls. With various examples in the article, it is clear to see that toys are marketed in a certain way to our children. Surely this can not be the right thing to do. If a child wants to play with a certain toy, why should it matter if they are a boy or a girl? It shouldn't.

Reading is a great pasttime whether you're old or young, and for feeding imaginations of our young children it is fantastic. A report in the Daily Mail suggests that reading to your child is almost as important as feeding them. It should lead to your children being able to understand words faster, and according to the article could even help them get a good job. Certainly if you can try and get your children reading at a young age, and read to them too, then the interaction it provides, which the TV can never offer, is something which should always be encouraged. We all remember our favourite stories from childhood, so why not let your children remember too.

In a concerning story in the Telegraph they looked at the experience one woman had at a Crisis Pregnancy Centre. Obviously a decision such as abortion is something that is not done lightheartedly - and can be traumatic. The woman in question was told that clinics provided by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service 'chop babies up' when the abortion procedure is followed. It is extremely scary that this some of the advice being offered to women who are potentially going to have an abortion.

Maternity, Babies and Facebook

Should women be offered six year 'maternity' breaks? This is what is being suggested by Dame Alison Carnwath but it has been criticised by companies across the country. The article from the Telegraph has comments on this situation from businessmen and women from the UK and whilst the views cover different sections of the debate, in general the idea was not supported. What do you think? Could it be beneficial, or would it be a hindrance to mums?

Twins too much? Not for one mum, but the chance of triplets the next time round at 1 in 10 is a scary thought! As an older mother the chances continue to increase when it comes to multiple births, and whilst for some families the chance of having twins would be wonderful, obviously it is something to consider if you already have a set of twins at home. Would something like this influence your decision as to whether or not have more children?

And finally this week, are you a sharent, or do you hate all those pictures that go up on facebook? Well a study on facebook has shown that baby pics aren't that common, they're just the most liked - so they turn up on your newsfeed more often. Whilst mums might post a lot of things as soon as the baby is born, afterwards posts actually get less and less common - but they still get more likes than anything else! So if you don't want them to appear on your newsfeed anymore, stop liking them!

See you next week, but remember to follow us - @MumNetwork.

About the author

James Brighton

Since 2011 James has been in charge of working with and organising all our writers to put together Pregnancy.co.uk and Babies.co.uk. Anna, his girlfriend, knows he will be an encyclopaedia of knowledge if she ever falls pregnant!

Click here to read my full biography.

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