Forthcoming Events
- IoI Forum
- IoI Parents Forum
- Venue: London
- Date: Ongoing
What we are:
Parents who can think for ourselves
Parents who want to bring up our children without being lectured to
Parents who want our children’s horizons broadened, not narrowed
Parents who are fed up of being treated like children
The Parents forum is an initiative aimed at parents and other individuals who are critical of the knee jerk reaction to most domestic issues that it is the parents or family to blame.
The forum started in October 2006 and so far discussions have looked at: is modern society dangerous for children?, the obsession with healthy eating, breast feeding and what is positive or negative about the family today.
If you feel this sounds like you and you would like an opportunity to discuss parenting issues the Parents Forum is holding a series of discussions.
In this section, IoI Parents Forum participants offer commentary and opinion on recent developments in parenting and issues relating to family life.
Forthcoming meeting
Thursday 10 July 2008
The emperor’s new therapeutic clothes
Teachers and educationalists want to see resilient, positive, happy children. How could there any objection to this? Or is the new affirmative language of therapeutic education just a façade? Is there a new moment in education or are therapists dressing up a diminished view of children in fancy clothes? Dennis Hayes and Kathryn Ecclestone – authors of The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education - discuss the reaction of the therapeutic establishment to their critique.
'Infantilised' students and staff rapped, Melanie Newman, Times Higher Education, 12 June 2008
Contact Jane Sandeman at parents@instituteofideas.com
Past meetings
Thursday 1 May 2008
Watching, wanting and wellbeing
The National Consumer Council issued two reports last year warning of the danger of advertising and television watching. Their concern is that children who spend more time in front of a TV or computer screen are more materialistic. They say that their evidence shows that children who are more materialistic tend to have lower self-esteem.
Are children are being overwhelmed by consumer culture? Does this make children unhappy?
The forum was introduced by Wendy Earle.
Thursday 21 Feburary 2008
No Fear: Growing Up in a Risk Averse Society
Tim Gill introduced his book looking at risk and children. No Fear joins the increasingly vigorous debate about the role and nature of childhood in the UK. Over the past 30 years activities that previous generations of children enjoyed without a second thought have been relabelled as troubling or dangerous, and the adults who permit them branded as irresponsible. No Fear argues that childhood is being undermined by the growth of risk aversion and its intrusion into every aspect of children's lives. This restricts children's play, limits their freedom of movement, corrodes their relationships with adults and constrains their exploration of physical, social and virtual worlds.
Tuesday 15 January 2008
Child Development
Helene Guldberg, child development expert and author, will talk about her forthcoming book: how children's lives have changed, and how these changes shape children's development.
Thursday 6 December 2007
Families in the Media
This forum will look at the contemporary media portrayal of families in popular culture - MummyLit, reality TV and drama shows. From Bringing Up Baby to Desperate Housewives, you can be upfront and personal about what you watch and read and what you think about it.
Introduced by Alicia Munckton
Monday 19 November 2007
Early-years education - held jointly with the IoI Education Forum
Does the Early Years Curriculum presage a new ‘Jesuit’ maxim: "Give me a child from birth to five and they will be the State's forever"?
Speakers: Jo Sedley and Jenny Payne
25 September 2007
Children and Sport
Sport today is heralded as the supreme shared national experience. At the same time sports days in school are composed of non-competitive events. Yet the government wants to put more emphasis on Physical Education in the school curriculum.
Is there a problem with children and sport? Are we raising a generation of couch potatoes?
23 August 2007
Every Child Matters
Parenting has increasingly become a central issue for public policy making. Initiatives such as Every Child Matters, Sure Start and Children’s Centres proliferate. There seems to be no end to the government’s appetite to marginalize parents and bring in the professionals into family life.
This forum will examine the impact that these initiatives are having on the family. How do these policies impact on the role of parents today?
Useful links:
Every Child Matters website
If this were my child ... A councillor's guide to being a good corporate parent
Parenting Support: Guidance for Local Authorities in England
Care Matters: Time for Change
Handle with care: an investigation into the care system, Harriet Sergeant (Introduction)
Policy review of children & young people, HM Treasury
The State is a pretty rotten parent, Fiona Millar
26 July 2007
The Feminine Mistake: Are we giving up too much? by Leslie Bennetts
This is one of the latest books on the ever continuing mommy wars discussion. This forum will look at what are the issues that underlie the debate about whether it is better to be a mother who goes out to work, or one who stays at home
19 June 2007
The UNICEF report on 'Child Poverty in Perspective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries'
This report created a furore when it was published earlier in 2007. The United Kingdom came out as the worst country for child poverty in the developed countries. Since then it has set the framework for much of the discussion about children and adolescents in the UK today.
This forum will examine the report in detail and look at how valid are the findings of the report. What does it tell us about young people in the UK? Is there anything we can take from this? What, if any, are the issues we need to address?
Readings:
The UNICEF report:
http://www.unicef-icdc.org/presscentre/presskit/reportcard7/rc7_eng.pdf (PDF)
Tuesday 1 May
The forum discussed teenage mothers.
Thursday 15 March 2007
Save Kids' TV
Ofcom has just published rules which decide what foods are considered “junk” and these foods will be banned from being advertised during children’s’ programmes this year. This will have a serious impact on commercial channels being able to continue funding children’s television.
On top of this commercial broadcasters are reacting to changes in children’s’ viewing patterns by limiting their production of new, innovative children’s’ programmes.
This is happening in a climate when children watching TV is being blamed for autism, obesity and the early onset of puberty for girls.
Speaker:
Estelle Hughes - Save Kids’ TV campaign, ex-Controller of CITV
Estelle will examine how we make a case for quality UK children’s TV in the present climate
Readings:
www.savekidstv.org.uk
Starving kids’ TV of funds - and fun, Claire Fox, spiked-online
www.ofcom.org.uk - Read the report on banning junk food advertising
20th February 2007
The Mommy Myth by Susan Douglas and Meredith Michaels.
The discussion will be looking at the myths of motherhood. How does the media portray motherhood? Is it the most fulfilling experience of your life? Can women only achieve contentment through the perfection of mothering?
Tuesday 16 January 2007
‘Is breast best?’
Monday 4 December 2006
The meeing analysed the Jamie Oliver phenomenon - why has it captured the public imagination? (Readings announced separately).
The convenor is Jane Sandeman. For more information and/or if you are interested in attending please email Jane.
