ControverSunday Topic: ‘Saviour Siblings’ March 6th 2011

Okay, we have our topic for March’s ControverSunday. And I hope its one that really gets you thinking.

It was suggested by my friend Sophie, who tweets at @malatrad and Lisa of @lisasunbury jumped in saying “this might be the link #controverSunday was created for.”

I think I agree.

So what is the topic you ask? Saviour Siblings. You know, deciding to have an other baby and using our knowledge of fertility and genetics to take measures to try and select that baby to have the right genetic material to help their sibling with a life threatening illness or condition. Essentially, creating a life to save a life.  Here is a recent article on the issue, take a read: France Sees First ‘Saviour Sibling’

Now that is a controversial topic if I ever heard one.

So gets your posts ready and scheduled to go live on Sunday March 6th. I can’t wait to hear what you all think. Quite frankly, I don’t even know what I think! I really hope you all join in. Remember, everyone is welcome! (To learn more about ControverSunday, check out the ControverSunday page. Which yes, I need to update.)

ControverSunday February 6th, 2011: Open Topic

Alright ControverSundian’s, here is my challenge to you. Right before the season of Love (AKA Hallmarks favourite holiday, AKA Valentines Day)…. lets really get into it, shall we?

(New to ControverSunday? Check out the details here. And join us in the conversation!)

Pick a topic. Any topic. The kind of topic that you are passionate about. But the kind of topic you also feel you can only talk about in hushed tones. That you have to avoid at the dinner table or the water cooler or the park. The one you feel you shouldn’t talk about, least you offend anyone’s delicate sensitivities or be the one to stir the pot. The one topic you wish everyone would just throw the veil of darkness off and face head on. Yeah. That topic. I know you have one.

Write about it. And schedule your post for Sunday, February 6th.

And then we will all get up on Sunday February 6th and put a good measure of Baileys or Rum or Kahlua or whatever strong liquor of choice in our coffee and take a deep breath. Try not to panic. And hopefully a really interesting discussion will appear. Or just a crap load of angry comments. Either way. It will be fun.

What do you say, are you in? (Please someone be in, I don’t want to do this alone.)

(This post sounds rather British, doesn’t it? With its ‘shall we’ and its ‘good measure’? Why is it when I think of being brave and really being a sh*t disturber (for lack of a better term) I tend to channel a strong, opinionated, tell it like it is, British women. I love those Brits.)

(Okay, I will stop being funny now. Best to leave that to the Queen’s of funny, @mmeperpetua and @torturedpotato .)

ControverSunday Topic: Resolutions for January 2, 2011

Why not just keep going with the ‘stay in keeping’ with the season thing for ControverSunday?

What is it about the way you parent or the way you take care of your self that you want to change or work on this year? What are your resolutions for you or for your kids. What have your challenges been? How will you accomplish them? Why do you want to accomplish them?

Do you think New Years resolutions work? Are they reasonable or realistic? Can we start fresh in the New Year? Can we make big shifts in how we do things? What does it take to do this?

What do you think?

ControverSunday Topic December 5th: Oh the holidays!

So, I am using a NaBloPoMo get out of jail free card today and posting then next ControverSunday topic. I have a bunch of posts that I am working on for this week, but none of them do I feel comfortable hitting publish on. (One of them is a bit of a confession/over share so I am nervous about posting it.) So! Topic announcement it is! Yeah!

First off can I say that I am THRILLED that we had so many participants this week for ControverSunday!! I can’t tell you how happy that made me. Thank you Thank you Thank you! And it was great to read everyone’s perspectives (I have a bunch of comments to make, but haven’t had a chance… I will soon!) If you haven’t already, please check out all the participants.

So I think the monthly is working out. It makes it more of a special occasion and I think it is more realistic. And sure, most of us procrastinated and wrote our posts at the last minute despite the extra notice cause, you know, we are human. But I still think the long topic notice helps. You know, time to simmer with our thoughts.

I was thinking our topic for December 5th should be rather festive, don’t you think? I also want to try and open the topic up more to non-parenting types. But, lets be honest, most of our current participants like to talk kids, so I wanted the topic to work with them too.

So. Drum roll please…

Let’s talk about the holidays. What do you think about the North American holiday season? Too long? Too short? What about the focus? (Presents, time with family, ect) The traditions? The religious focus of it? How does that impact people that are not of the same faith in our multicultural society? What about multi-faith families? Do you have any holiday pet peeves?

Essentially, I am inviting you to share your thoughts about what you think is the most controversial about the holidays. Take it where ever you want it to go.

(Oh, and if you are reading this and all like “what the heck is ControverSunday?” then check out the ControverSunday page. Which I will update as soon. But it gives you the general drift.)

ControverSunday Topic for November 7th: Digital Privacy

Okay, so this month I will post the topic a couple weeks ahead, but going forward, as per Jen’s suggestion, I will post the topic for the next month like the day after ControverSunday.

You people really don’t like polls do you? Huh. I love polls. I got out of my way to do them sometimes. I believe they are all kinds of awesome. But you, my faithful readers, you don’t like them.

4 people voted in the poll re: our ControverSunday topic this time around. 3 of those people voted for Digital Privacy. So Digital Privacy it is! The question, as put by the lovely Ginger of Ramble Ramble and Noodle Knobs suggested this topic and put it this way:

“digital privacy–is it a myth or can it be accomplished, new study that 82% of toddlers have an online presence–is this creepy, and/or how do you think this will affect these kids growing up?”

Here is an article re: that study that Ginger is mentioning.

So. Mark your Calendars and sharpen your typing fingers. November 7th! Get ready to share your take/perspective/thoughts on the digital privacy of our kids.

ControverSunday Topic: Catch Up Week

You know that week where you were all excited about ControverSunday? You saw the topic and thought “That topic is for Me!” and you started to plan out what you were going to write in your head. You came up with some really great lines and perfect analogies? You were all set to start writing it on Thursday night, but then something got in the way. And then Friday, something happened that day too. And then Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday all passed and you felt like the party was kinda over. You read a few posts, but didn’t get a chance to comment, let alone write your own thoughts on the matter.

Or maybe a topic that you are really really interested in was covered before you got all on board with the ControverSunday thing.

Well. This week is for you. It is ControverSunday catch up week. Here are the two ways to participate.
1) Pick a week (check out the ControverSunday page for a list of topics and links to past weeks) and write that post you were thinking about writing before stuff came up and you ran out of time/energy.

2) Go post a comment or two on a only ControverSunday post that you were meaning to comment on but didn’t get a chance to. Re-start the Conversation! (the ControverSunday page is also the best way to find old posts)

3) Share in the comments of this post what your favourite ControverSunday conversations have been, to get us all thinking about what we might want to post about/comment on.

4) Do all of the above! The more the merrier!

Happy Friday all!

ControverSunday Topic: When bad kids happen to good parents

First off, I don’t believe any child is ‘bad’. But I do believe some kids are better behaved, more well adjusted or exhibit more socially appropriate behavior then others.

This topic was suggested by @breebop and I think it is a really interesting question. If a child is consistently misbehaved is it because of the kid, the parents, or something else? Can someone be a ‘good’ parent and raise a ‘bad’ child? Oh, and well you are at it, feel free to tear right into those ‘good’ /’bad’ connotations/categories/implicit assumptions. I know I will be.

Really, I want to hear your thoughts! Join in! Grab that badge from accidents and head over here on Sunday for the link up. I know we are all in a ‘back to school/end of summer’ funk- but good conversation is good for the soul! I love this topic and I think it will generate some great discussion, but I need some more of you to play along! (Do I sound desperate yet? Do I need to offer prizes for participating?)

ControverSunday Topic: Protection versus Acceptable Risk

First off, I have news. So the wonderful Perpetua over at Our Lady of Perpetual Bread Crumbs has decided to take a blogging sabbatical. I am devastated. Perpetua was one of the first people who really welcomed me to the world of blogging and made me feel connected. More then that, she started ControverSunday (along with Accidents), which has been one of the best things to happen to my blog. As you all know, I am a big supporter of ControverSunday. It fits into my bigger blogging philosophy of engaging in converstation. The whole idea behind ControverSunday is to take a look at the different controversial topics in (mostly) parent focused blogging and to demonstrate that while we may not always agree, we can discuss without the drama.

This weekly meme has had some struggles over the summer to keep going, but I think now that fall has officially arrived we can bring it back to life. Perpetua has passed the torch (temporarily? It’s hers if/when she returns.) to me to be your official ControverSunday Leader in Chief. I am, of course, more then happy to have others host. Just send me a note and we can hook you up. But I am will be continuing in the strong ControverSunday tradition. Over the next couple weeks I will create a ControverSunday page here too, so we can see past topics and keep track of upcoming topic suggestions.

I hope our ControverSunday community can grow! If you haven’t participated, but always wanted too, please join us! We LOVE newbies!!

We have some great suggestions for topics still on deck, but I thought this week I would suggest a topic resulting from the comment thread on my most recent post about the Back to School Insanity. So, I submit for your approval this weeks ControverSunday’s topic:

Protection versus Acceptable Risk. To what extent should we work to protect our children from harms/challenges/failure ect and to what extent should we take a step back and let them learn on their own? Where is the balance between protection and letting children learn on their own? What kind of risk is age appropriate? What is a realistic expectation for a child in terms of teaching them to be aware of dangers? If you want some more ideas of where this conversation could go, check out the comments on my last post.

See ya all on Sunday (Monday/Tuesday..ect)!!

ControverSunday Topic: Mommy Vices

Hello All

I am bound, bent and determined to keep this ControverSunday thing going. So, I am hosting this week! And my topic of choice (yes, if you volunteer to host you too get to pick the topic!)? As suggested by @breebop, this weeks topic is…. drum roll please…… Mommy Vices. You know you have one. I have one. I am pretty sure we all have one. And yet there is a lot of expectations out there on us Mom’s. Expectations that we should set a good example and such. Assumeably by not having a Mommy vice. (What? Assumeably is not a word you say, oh spell checker. Whatev.) So where do you stand? What’s your Mommy vice? Which mommy vices are all good and which ones are true no-no’s?

Join the fun and write your very own post on the subject. Then get your handy dandy controverSunday badge from Accidents. Head over to ControverSunday headquarters, Perpetua, and mark your calendars with future topics so you never miss out on the fun. (Maybe while you are there you might want to volunteer to host, I am just thinking, maybe?) Then publish your post and head back here for the link up. Deal?

Oh, and I know the title suggests posting on Sunday. And that would be cool. But we are just as welcoming if you post on Monday… Tuesday… Wednesday… you get the picture.

Fun Fun!

Also. Yes, I am working on all those other posts I plan to write. I won’t drop the ball. I just haven’t done it yet. I will though. I will.

ControverSunday Topic: Licensed Merchandise for Kids

Hello! Welcome!

So two weeks ago we brought back ControverSunday. Yeah! And some great things happened! We got a newbie to join (@torturedpotato) and a couple more to suggest some topics (@breebop and @jenarbo). Yeah! And then I was going to pick a topic from the suggestions but I dropped the ball.

But here I am to pick it right up again and host this weeks ControverSunday. Not only do we have a great topic this week, but we have a couple great ones in the bank for the next couple weeks. BUT! We need more great ideas- so if you have one, please leave a comment so that our regular host Perpetua, can put it on her list.

Now- for this weeks topic! Licensed Kids Merchandise, as suggested by @jenarbo, who has already tipped her hat that she is not a big fan. What are we talking about? You know… all the ‘stuff’ from shoes to plates to hats to toys to stickers to videos to beds to ….. (you get the idea) that are covered with some kids cartoons or personalities. Just about every kids show or movie turns out merchandise like crazy and kids gobble it up whole. What up? What do you think? Is this cool? Is this the over-commercialization of our kids at a very early age? Are you all whatev’s? Why are kids so drawn to the stuff? I mean I like the show ‘Parenthood’ but I wouldn’t want a ‘Parenthood’ branded t-shirt or iphone cover or something.

So, here’s how it works. You write a post on said topic for Sunday (or Monday or Tuesday or whatever, we are pretty open). Then you go visit Accidents to get the official “ControverSunday” badge and you add that to your post. Then you come back here to my ControverSunday post and add a link to your post in the comments so I can link you up! Then you go and read and share your thoughts on everyone else’s post. Make sure you visit Perpetua, who is our regular host who runs this fun weekly event to tell her she is fab! Everyone is welcome to participate and we LOVE newbies!

Also, so we don’t lose them, here are the other suggested topics I have heard on twitter for future weeks. Please add your suggestions in the comments!

@breebop suggested “judgement of mommy vices: booze, caffeine, cigarettes, pot cookies… every mum has one”

@10thtoTheFraser suggested “how about something on whether good parents can have bad kids? Is badness innate? Are there bad kid or just maladapted?”

@torturedpotato suggested “birth control? managing your period with drugs? medication vs holistic remedies for children?”

Keep them coming people!!!