On The News

Jude and I were on the news last week.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/video/watch/25668488/gender-wars-toy-boycott-outrage/

I wish I could say it was because of something really huge and important and amazing but it wasn’t exactly about anything I am passionate about. Nevertheless we were on the news and Jude now thinks we are famous.

The story was about how somebody in the Greens party made a claim that selling gender specific toys at christmas time has a detrimental effect on children as adults. Being she believed boys were more likely to be involved in domestic violence and girls would be paid less later on in life.

Now to be honest I had never given it any thought before last tuesday and the only reason we were contacted was because Jude likes to play with girls toys. The fact that it was a Greens party member that made the claim is irrelevant, it would make no difference which political party made the statement – my view would still be the same.

Anyway, Channel 7 turned up at my place with half an hours notice so I did a bit of googling and research on the topic, slammed my laptop shut none the wiser and we had a little chat whilst they filmed Jude brushing Lalaloopsy’s hair.

It all started the day beforehand when I’d been out with Jude and he had a pink flower in his hair, as he often does. I’d even put a photo of him on my blog’s Facebook page saying something along the lines of that we don’t care if he wants to wear a flower in his hair, if that’s what he wants who are we to choose whether it’s something boys or girls do?

So that we let him play with girls toys and that he is actually getting a doll for christmas have nothing to do with a fear that if we don’t let him then he might grow up to be involved in domestic violence – it’s simply that I just don’t have a problem with it. If that’s what he wants to do then so what? Where is the harm in that?

Our only agenda is that we don’t want him to feel like it’s wrong for him to play with dolls. The end. It’s something he’ll most likely grow out of and if it makes him happy then whatevs. Some girls like Spiderman, my boy likes pink things. It doesn’t hold any significance.

Having said that if you feel passionate about non gender specific toy labelling then good on you, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I just think taking it to campaign level like suggested in the media is a bit OTT and I think there are far greater things to worry about as a parent, but if you don’t then that’s fine.

But back to more important things like how fat my head looked on telly. BLOODY HELL. It’s no wonder nobody in Hollywood actually eats. Check it out …

Thankfully I had washed my hair that day. Channel 7 called when I was driving home from Holly’s school speech day so I had clean hair and wasn’t wearing sweaty exercise gear for a change. Not one single item of Lululemon I tell you, RARE.

Because it had been speech day, I had Holly and her BFF also called Holly with me. The two of them were completely beside themselves at the thought of playing dolls with Jude on national TV so now they think they are famous too.

But without doubt my favourite part of the whole National News experience was THIS.

THAT TSHIRT.

When I ran the London Marathon in April, the day beforehand I was at the expo and I bought Tshirts for all my sons that says “MY MUM RAN THE LONDON MARATHON 2014”.

As anyone who has ever run one before knows, marathons are pretty painful and very challenging so when you do run one you want the world to know about it and never forget. Hence that tshirt that I’ve been milking ever since (I bought one for each son so when Jude grows out of this one there are more to come .. plus I’l be getting another when I run the 2015 marathon).

I know you won’t believe me but he was already wearing that tshirt, I didn’t even need to dress him in it especially for his television debut. I probably would have anyway but he did happen to have it on.

I can’t say the same about when we were in the paper though, I arranged that one. See.

So I am getting more mileage out of that tshirt than I ever imagined. Newspaper, Television, Internet, Instagram, Facebook ….. I am running out of media outlets to flaunt it to.

Ideas please?