Kylie Orr's Blog
Sports stars need to lift their game
Kylie Orr A sports hero who behaves recklessly, immorally, or illegally may well present a perfect opportunity for us to teach our children the consequences of bad behaviour.
Kylie Orr's Blog
Time to put tacky kids' clothes in the sin bin
Kylie Orr It's time to put an end to offensive slogans, tacky labels and just plain inappropriate clothing for kids.
Babydaddies win in name stakes
Kylie Orr Most of my married friends have retained their own names. What I have found interesting is that in almost 100% of cases, when the baby is born, they have been given the father's surname. Why? If the stance to maintain your own identity and carry on family history is important enough to keep your own surname, won’t all this cease when the child carries the father’s name?
Are your kids embarrassed by you?
Kylie Orr Being embarrassed by your parents is a rite of passage for all teenagers. And being a parent, it is predictable that at some point, our children will be mortified by our very existence.
Do you need to be selfish to be successful?
Kylie Orr So Julia’s got the top job. Being a-political, I’m not sure which words to use for that news. Congratulations? What is vastly more interesting to me, is she achieved her success, and at what cost. Can you be truly successful without trading something off?
Internet and your kids: navigating the boundaries
Kylie Orr In a household where computers almost have their own seat at the dining table, our children are going to be exposed to technology daily. This can be a great gift in a world of wires but it can also become a source of immense anxiety for us parents.
Announcing pregnancy number four : all the intrusive questions answered
Kylie Orr After torturous analysis, discussion, and brain-bursting over thinking (all on my part), we are now expecting a fourth child. Following the announcement, I started a tally of responses.
Kylie Orr's blog
Gifted is the new black
Kylie Orr The "g" word gets bandied about so recklessly nowadays. A child recognises the first letter of his name before he can actually speak so his proud mum thinks he is advanced, potentially gifted. The fact it is written on every surface of the house and pointed out to him multiple times a day doesn't register.
Teaching gratitude
Kylie Orr Calling my children ungrateful would be extreme. However, it would be fair to say they have not yet mastered the art of gratitude.
Why I choose to immunise
Kylie Orr With the seasonal flu vaccinations currently suspended for under-fives in Australia, the debate over whether to vaccinate children rears its familiar ugly head.
Kylie Orr's Blog
Are mothers' groups just high school all over again?
Kylie Orr Parenting can be a cliquey game. I had no idea until I tried to squeeze into that mould of a perfect parent and found myself hanging over the sides.
Kylie Orr's blog
School awards - have they gone overboard?
Kylie Orr Do we over-award children these days? Are we celebrating mediocrity here as a means of protecting our precious children’s feelings?
Kylie Orr's blog
Be honest, who's your favourite child?
Kylie Orr My favouritism towards my children is variable and completely transient. My love, however, is solid and given freely and unconditionally, to each one of them.
Kylie Orr's blog
Has a midwife (or MCHN) ever made you cry?
Kylie Orr Kind words, empathetic smiles, patient instruction and tender advice all got me through those vulnerable moments. Thankfully the great midwives outweigh the substandard ones.
Kylie Orr's blog
How can a marriage survive a baby?
Kylie Orr Little prepares you for when you take that miniature bundle of noise home. When the solid waste hits the rotary blades, tempers often result in some less than loving exchanges between partners.
Kylie Orr's blog
Reinventing your childhood for your children. Can it be done?
Kylie Orr My children don’t know what playing in the street is. They are not permitted past our driveway. Although not a main road, our street is used as a thoroughfare and despite speed humps, we still attract bogan hoons on the odd occasion. Not odd enough to let me relax my parental leash.
Kylie Orr's blog
Is it greedy to want a large family?
Kylie Orr I am still in limbo-land about how many children we will have. You may have read a blog I wrote a year ago about not having that "finished" feeling. I was hoping it would creep up in time, when the newborn bub became a screaming toddler. Well, he’s here - in his climbing, hitting, yelling and non-sleeping glory - but the feeling is not.
Kylie Orr's blog
Ever used the "threat" of Santa? A little poem...
Kylie Orr Ever used the “threat” of Santa? What tricks do you have up your sleeve to survive the silly season?
Kylie Orr's blog
Teaching religion in public schools. Why bother?
I support an education in religion – open the young boy’s eyes to the many different belief systems in the world; teach tolerance and understanding and perhaps he will find something that rings true for him.
Kylie Orr's blog
Smelly boys and pretty girls: smothering stereotypes
Kylie Orr Girls who won’t wear dresses, who prefer to roll around in the dirt and drive cars through the sandpit and smash them into the walls, are still girls. Boys who like to sit still and colour in, concoct imaginary games with dolls and teddies and mime to the latest pop music still qualify to be boys.
Kylie Orr's blog
Do high achievers find parenting more difficult?
Kylie Orr I recently took a personality test. Love those things. It came back with a nice neat label for my kind of people: Perfectionists. Are you a high achiever (or are you married to one)? Did you (or they) find parenting a difficult adjustment?
Kylie Orr's blog
Snotty kids don't attract sympathy
Kylie Orr Somehow I slipped through the cracks when they were handing out the sympathy gene. I must have been standing in the impatience line, because I sure got an overdose of that.
Kylie Orr's blog
Spoilt rotten: do our kids have too many toys?
Kylie Orr Do our kids need all these toys? What happened to imaginary play where a costume could be fashioned from an old sheet and some stockings?
Kylie Orr's blog
Is anyone getting any sex?
Kylie Orr It was inevitable this topic was going to rear its horny head. I’ve been avoiding it, seeing as my folks, husband and friends read this blog and the topic is rather personal.
Kylie Orr's blog
Do parents have a right to be more tired?
Kylie Orr It’s not a competition, but if it was, we would win. Us parents. Yes, this is one of those topics that creates clear division. Before you roll your eyes, yawn and head for bed, hear me out.
Did pregnancy and its aftermath ruin your body?
As I look down at my sad and sorry excuse for a cleavage, I try to remember that babies are miracles that enhance our lives.
Are your kids too skinny or too fat?
I got me a skinny one. In fact, I got three skinny ones. They were solid newborns - 8lbs through to a hefty 9lb6oz - but then they stretched without porking up.
