Melbourne, Mar 30 (ANI): A controversial French philosopher and leading feminist has argued that mothers, including those in Australia, need to be women first and mothers second.
Elisabeth Badinter says most are trying too hard and have become slaves to their children.
Badinter claims in her controversial new book, Le Conflit, La Femme et la Mere (The Conflict, the Woman and the Mother), that mothers should ditch the pureed organic pumpkins, eco-friendly cloth nappies and breast-feeding and get their lives back.
According to the Herald Sun, she claims in the bestseller, which has already caused a storm in Britain and the US, that they should follow the lead of traditional French mamans, who feel no guilt about using powdered milk, jars of baby food and day care if they””re so inclined.
“We””ve always been mediocre mothers here,” the Courier Mail quoted her as saying in an interview with a British newspaper.
“But we””ve tended to have happier lives,” she stated.
Badinter””s message appears to be striking a chord with stressed-out Aussie mums.
Amanda Cox, of Moonee Ponds in Melbourne is a mother of three. She is a founder of the Bad Mothers Club, a support group for women fed up with trying to be the perfect parent.
The club, which encourages mums to talk openly about the trials of raising children, has attracted more than 1900 members since it started four years ago.
Cox agreed with that motherhood had turned into a form of oppression.
“I totally get where she””s coming from,” she said.
“I think we””re under far too much pressure, I think we””re being told too much stuff about how to bring up our kids, and I think there””s just too much conflicting information,” she stated.
Anna Katich, of Melbourne suburb Box Hill, is a mother of three-year-old daughter, Lily. She left her mothers”” group two years ago because she found fellow members too competitive.
“Out of all of the mothers in the group, I was the only one who bottle-fed my baby,” she said.
“I just decided when I was pregnant that I would bottle-feed, so my husband could help me at night.
“One of the other mothers tried to make me feel bad about it, but my daughter””s healthy, she””s never sick and there””s nothing wrong with her,” she added.
Top 5 mothering tips from France:
1. Be a woman first and a mother second
2. Don””t be a slave to your children
3. Don””t feel guilty about using powdered milk, jars of baby food, disposable nappies or day care
4. Go back to work
5. Have a nice glass of red or two (ANI)
Britian”s first: Two lesbians listed as “parents” in child”s birth certificate
London, April 21 (ANI): A lesbian couple have become the first in Britian to get the word “father” removed from the birth certificate of their child.
Natalie Woods, 38, gave birth to 7lb 8oz daughter Lily-May Betty Woods after paying 7,000 pounds for IVF treatment, and will be taking care of the baby with her partner Betty Knowles, 47.
They are the first to use a law change allowing same sex parents to sign a birth certificate as “mother and partner”.
She will be known, as “Mummy” and they want Lily-May to refer to Knowles as “Mama B”.
Woods, who works for a Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender counselling service, gave birth to Lily-May in a birthing pool at their Brighton home and they plan to have a second child.
Knowles has had four weeks “paternity” leave from her job as a van driver, and the two plan to marry in a civil partnership next year.
“It is fantastic, quite a milestone. It”s also good that we don”t have any of the worries and concerns of me being the only legal parent,” the Daily Star quoted Woods as saying.
Lily-May can find out her father”s details when she turns 18, although her mum does not think of him as anything but a donor.
“We don”t even think of him as a father. He”s a donor, not a father,” Woods said.
“We explored the issue of not having a father figure for Lily-May in a counselling session and we”ve talked about how we will deal with it in the future.
“But there are more important things than having one father and one mother.
“Sadly, some people don”t understand that. There have been a few homophobic comments here and there, and my parents do not have a part in my life because of my sexuality,” she added. (ANI)