Lucy cavendish in the Nobserver

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m.guardian.co.uk/?id=102202&story=www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/28/motherhood-pare nting-debate-stayathome-lucy-cavendish

What do we think? I thought some of the people she spoke to had interesting views of motherhood today and middle class competitiveness.

But I don't recognise her personal experiences as like my own. And I suspect much of the country is just going about it's business raising children, paying the bills without much thought about baking cupcakes or kumon maths.

It's the motherhood subset of Alain de Botton's Status Anxiety, but I don't think it's a widespread as she makes out or the defining characteristic of motherhood.

Poledra - do you drive?

I read this article and wondered if there was something wrong with me. I'm a middle-class professional woman who works (very) part-time. If I was being marked on my domestic skills I'd definitely be scoring around a D-. Why don't I feel guilty or defensive, or jealous of other mothers doing a better job than me? Am I missing something here? LC makes it sound as though defensiveness and guilt go with the territory.

Motherhood described in terms of a battlefield, with photos of women in fatigues, camoflage make-up proffering camoflaged baby-bottles RIGHT NEXT to a little line on the front cover about an article about the most dangerous country in the world. And article about the Congo where women are raped by real militia as a tactic of war - Nice One, Observer. It showed up EXACTLY what a self-absorbed navel-gazing phenomenum this so called struggle within womenhood has become.

And Lucy cavendish - LOL at MN Oldies being 'older mothers'....I believe it referred more accurately to 'longstanding MN-ers' as opposed to newbies!