ReTRo HouSeWiFe

SURVEY OF THE DECADES - CHILDREN & FAMILY

Raising Children in the 2000s

What was is it like to have children in the 2000s? 

Lego Fact: The world's children spend 5 billion hours a year playing with LEGO bricks (February 2008).

A Girl's Room

Here we are in 2007. 30+ years of argument and debate about the inherent differences between girls and boys. Have things changed now that we know girls can grow up to be CEOs? Do boys and girls dress the same? Are girls' rooms now indistinguishable from boys'? Judge for yourself! Here are some of the top selling sets at Montgomery Wards Kids:

Teahouse Comforter, Sham and Pillow ==>>

Lest you think it is just Wards trying to thrust pink and frill upon girls, regard the dreamy bedroom sets that are favorites at YourKidsDirect.com! And tell me truthfully, wouldn't you have loved to climb into a pink canopy bed, with matching pink drapes? (From left to right: Alainas Heart Panels, Bristol Canopy Daybed, Kathryn Twin Bed.)

A Boy's Room

Boy's Bedroom decorated with the American Sports Twin All-in-One Set (2007). To the right, a Pirate's Treasure bedspread for boys...One of the top sellers at YourKidsDirect.com So...What do you think?

I think little girls still want to be princesses and little boys still want to be sports heroes.
 

In the News:

Some legislators have proposed banning spanking of children. Parents who spank could be sent up the river for up to a year. This has caused parents to seek other methods of disciplining their children, since the threat of a spank could cause your toddler to pick up the phone and call child welfare, the police, or Dominoes Pizza!

Many parents are resorting to an old (but still legal) method of discipline! The Monster in the closet. Monsters can be an effective method of controlling your child's behavior; indeed, they are so effective that parents have begun stashing them in places other than the traditional closet.

The lunch pail monster, for example, can be sent with the child to school, ensuring he or she will behave in class, listen attentively and finish all homework assignments in a timely fashion. 

(Figure 1 - A Popular Children's Store, "The Children's Place" having a sale on Monsters! Demand has been brisk, and quantities are limited so hurry before the best Monsters are gone!)
 

THE PRETENTIOUS MOTHER'S GUIDE TO RAISING HORRID CHILDREN

1.  Clad your child in nothing but designer clothes, make sure he/she knows how much they cost. Inform child other kids wear cheap clothing because their mothers don't love them very much.
2. First Words: Maman
3. Every time something goes wrong in your life or life of child, blame somebody else. Perfect people never make mistakes.
4. Force child to memorize names of famous artists and identify paintings on command. (Don't bother with lesser known artists or works as dumb friends wouldn't know them anyway.) Organize trips to local museum with others who can be impressed with child's knowledge.
5. Enroll child in exclusive private nursery school as soon as stick turns blue.

 ¹ The National Marriage Project from The State of Our Unions, 2006