great article in today's guardian by natasha walter

[bossykate]

here

Good article.

Hurrah!

Excellent, at last!

Good article, as we have been sayong. What about men??

I guess the problem is that there is not enough people to study if you try to study the effects on children when lookd after exclusively by their fathers

I spent 10 minutes in our local pub with natasha walter, I had gone in to meet someone else and we knew each other from hanigng round the playground with our kids. She was very nice didn't mention to me that I had me jumper on inside out, but she didn't accept my offer of a drink either.

Exactly, exactly, exactly.

Good!

The Observer letters response to the Penelope Leach study was given over entirely to people saying 'what about men?', by the way.

Very good article.

I have to say though, in Penelope Leach's defence, she did say one part of the report had been blown out of proportion. She was saying on the radio that the study finds very little difference between mother at home and other single carer such as father, grandparent or childminder. She also said the study found the best place for children over 18mths was nursery.

I just think the media makes it sound worse than it is.

suzywong!
good article, worth the read!

Mrs Wong, namedropper.

Did you have your autograph book with you?

no

I don't get much chance to namedrop these days, so any chance I get.

I wish I could get more excited about that article but i just can't these days - I think I must have tub-thumped a tad too hard in the late 80s

great article, she is a good writer isn't she? I read it this morning and thought, at bloody last someone talking some sense on this subject

Really good article, would love to think that it was the start of a landslide but fear not!

I agree KS - was thinking just the same in the park the other day, as I saw all the parents fawning over their kids, "well done"ing them for the slightest thing. Add to that the fairy cakes, singing smiling etc and we could end up with a terrifying generation of self obsessed egoists (tautology or not!).

ok, maybe fawn was too strong a word but ykwim

ugh to Oliver James too, love your description of him

. More than one in three young women say that they have been sexually assaulted after getting drunk.

Do you think that is true? Sounds unbelievable to me

Oliver James is a twat I agree

I think that drunk men 'trying it on' physically under the influence of alcohol could be reasonably construed as sexual assault.

I thought you meant JAMIE OLIVER! God was I confused.

I do tend to say 'well done' to DD in the playground though if she has managed to climb to the top, balance, jump etc

I was shocked at the statistic too. Depends on definition of 'sexually assaulted' though. Who hasn't had a beery grope/snog to the last tune on the disco dancefloor?

if you're both consenting, then it's not assault -but loads of women have been the object of unwanted advances, even when hanging....

yes but that isn't sexual assault, both partes agree on it!