parenting

The NYC Gathering November 14, 2010
Upper West Side, 12:30-5:30pm

~Considering and Creating Strong Families~
A Day of Peer Groups and Professionally Led Support, Education and Roundtable Discussions for the Third Party Reproduction and Parenting Community

Topics Include:
Disclosure for Ages and Stages of Development ~ Family Communications
Known and Unknown Donation ~ Acupuncture for Fertility ~
Traveling for Donor IVF~ART Patient as ART Legal Client
Children’s Book Review ~ Creating Your Own Photo-Story book
Choice Parenting and Donor Selection ~ Nature and Nurture

Steeped in history and set against the stunning and world-famous backdrop of Table Mountain, the beautiful, sea-side city of Cape Town is regarded as one of the top holiday destinations in the world.

Also affectionately known as the Mother City, South Africa’s oldest city is living up to that nickname in a rather literal way these days as an increasing amount of people from all over the world travel there to undergo fertility treatment.

(repost from my personal blog www.tertia.org)

When I first started the egg donor and surrogacy program here in South Africa, I would get enquiries from gay couples and singles from overseas. Many of them would start their email with "I am not sure whether you deal with gay couples...." and the first few times I was all like "huh? What do you mean?" Of course I deal with gay couples, why wouldn't I? And then I realized how often gay couples were discriminated against. And what a tough time they had accessing the things we take for granted.

As I turn the pages of our family photo albums, I see countless pictures of our children growing up.
Most of the shots capture moments of happiness or achievement: my daughters are laughing on care-free holidays under azure summer skies, or clutching a medal, holding a certificate, winning a race.

These albums, stored in a memory chest I have created for my family, are a record not just of my children's happiness and achievements, but my own as well. I love to look at the pictures of us, it's a sort of proof that I'm living the 'parental dream'. Or that's what I thought.

Parenting - Interesting study for review. Let me know your thoughts.

A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia and George Washington University, has found that “it’s the quality of the parenting that creates a psychologically healthy child, not the sexual orientation of the parents”.

Women are ready for motherhood at 14, claims a leading author. What dangerous nonsense, says this former teenage mum.
Watching my daughter Olivia and her friends preparing to celebrate her 15th birthday last week, the bathroom awash with false lashes and lip glosses, I couldn't help but smile. I'm thrilled to see her so happy and carefree.

But, as I watched Olivia and her friends giggling about boys and swapping make-up tips, I realised with a tinge of regret that this was an experience I had never had.

No parent wants to see their child stumble along in life. No parent wants to see their child fail. Much like a coach on a sports team, parents sometimes will watch their child go along in life and, having the advantage of watching from the sidelines, see the mistakes they are making and what consequences lie ahead. We want to rush in and guide them in the way they should do. The difficulty is letting your child go headlong into that mistake as they attempt to spread their wings and fly.