How I used physical sensations when explaining colours to a blind child
How do you explain the concept of colours to a small child who had never seen anything but black? When we got told that there was to be a blind child at our kindergarten class, we got sent to a course in how to best stimulate such a child. The number one thing we learned was to play with her other senses, which is often more developed than in people with normal eye sight.
My son has a firetruck: gender-neutral doesn’t mean genderless
I was recently interviewed for an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about gender-neutral parenting. The response to the article included a lot of people fretting about how gender-neutral parenting supposedly “denies” a child from having a gender. Well, here’s why that’s a load of hooey.
Inspiration for brightly-colored little boy clothes
I decided that I wanted to collect and share some brightly colored little boy fashion, for those of you who might be considering how you can still have a LOT of fun with boy clohes. I put out the call to Offbeat Mamas to sent me pictures of their little dudes wearing bright colors and YAY! Wait ’til you see what they sent me…
Maternity photos featuring knee-high boots and day-glo glam
It turns out all things neon (think headbands and street art) are the best way to accessorize your pregnancy — ever.
How I shop for toddler clothes
Most of my son’s clothes are from the Goodwill. I don’t wear much vintage myself, so I’ve never really been a “dig through the racks” kind of person. But when it comes to finding clothes for my son that are uber-cheap but non-offensive to my aesthetic, I’ve developed a technique.
Keeping our Offbeatlings upbeat in the face of gender judgement
The world is a difficult place for children… how can a sensitive child feel free to express himself differently from others in a world where “different” is “bad?”
Colorful toddler boy shoes that aren’t blah brown
Oh, little boys. You seriously get the shit end of the stick when it comes to apparel. Or I guess I should say “shit-colored,” because everything is brown. Or if it’s not brown, it’s navy blue. Or maybe black. I went on a hunt the other day for cute, brightly colored shoes for Tavi, and I thought I’d share some of my non-brown findings here.
A gender study from photographer JeongMee Yoon
Photographer JeongMee Yoon’s is studying gender and societal norms for her thesis, and has constructed “The Pink and Blue Project” using photos of children and their gender-specific clothing items and toys.