CANADA: Running On Fumes

Sunrise during one of my early-morning runs

Like most moms who work outside the home, my days tend to be very full, very busy, and fraught with the kind of anxiety that comes with wondering just how I will get everything done before I collapse into bed at night.

A while ago, when I was trying to figure out just why I never seem to have enough time for everything, I wrote down a timeline of my typical day.

It goes something like this:

6:00    Wake up; stumble semi-conscious to the coffee-machine which is programmed to have my coffee ready for me.
6:05    Check emails, see if anything exciting is happening on Facebook, wash up and put on makeup so I can pretend to be pretty.
6:30    Wake up my younger son, get him washed up and dressed, get myself dressed, pour coffee into my travel mug.
7:00    Take my son to his before-school program, then commute to the city centre by bus and subway.
8:30    Arrive at work. (more…)

Kirsten Doyle (Canada)

Kirsten Doyle was born in South Africa. After completing university, she drifted for a while and finally washed up in Canada in 2000. She is Mom to two boys who have reached the stage of eating everything in sight (but still remaining skinny). Kirsten was a computer programmer for a while before migrating into I.T. project management. Eventually she tossed in the corporate life entirely in order to be a self-employed writer and editor. She is now living her best life writing about mental health and addictions, and posting videos to two YouTube channels. When Kirsten is not wrestling with her kids or writing up a storm, she can be seen on Toronto's streets putting many miles onto her running shoes. Every year, she runs a half-marathon to benefit children with autism, inspired by her older son who lives life on the autism spectrum. Final piece of information: Kirsten is lucky enough to be married to the funniest guy in the world. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to check out her YouTube channels at My Gen X Life and Word Salad With Coffee!

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BRAZIL: Nourishing by Example

Image provided by the author.

Once, when our son was 2 ½ or so, we were having lunch at a “self-service” – a widespread type of restaurant here in Brazil where you serve yourself and pay according to how much your plate weighs. To this day I recall what was on his plate: the common Brazilian rice-and-beans duo, mashed potatoes, corn, a slice of pineapple, and an assortment of leaves and veggies.

Shortly after we started eating, a little girl sat down with her mother at the table to our right. They each had a dish with a large slice of chocolate pie covered with whipped cream. It didn’t take long for the girl – who seemed to be slightly younger than my son – to notice him and his colorful plate. (more…)

Ecoziva (Brazil)

Eco, from the greek oikos means home; Ziva has many meanings and roots, including Hebrew (brilliance, light), Slovenian (goddess of life) and Sanskrit (blessing). In Brazil, where EcoZiva has lived for most of her life, giving birth is often termed “giving the light”; thus, she thought, a mother is “home to light” during the nine months of pregnancy, and so the penname EcoZiva came to be for World Moms Blog. Born in the USA in a multi-ethnic extended family, EcoZiva is married and the mother of two boys (aged 12 and three) and a five-year-old girl and a three yearboy. She is trained as a biologist and presently an university researcher/professor, but also a volunteer at the local environmental movement.

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HUMAN RIGHTS: KATHMANDU, NEPAL: The Importance of Educating Girls

HUMAN RIGHTS: KATHMANDU, NEPAL: The Importance of Educating Girls

Fifth grade class in Chuchoquesera, Peru

When I visited the classroom pictured above in the Peruvian highlands back in 2004, I noticed that slightly more than half of the students were girls. I remarked on this fact to the human rights activist who was giving us the tour of this Quechua-speaking indigenous community.  He smiled sadly and said, “Yes, but this is fifth grade.  In sixth grade, children go to a lower secondary school that is farther away.  Most of the girls won’t go.  It takes too long to walk there and they are needed to help at home, so the parents won’t let them go.  Besides, most of them will be married soon.” Unfortunately, this is a situation that is repeated throughout the world.

In the United States, where education is both compulsory and free, we often forget that the right to education is not meaningfully available in many parts of the world – especially for girls.  The UN estimates that there were more than 67 million primary school-age and 73 million lower secondary school-age children out of school worldwide in 2009.  In addition, an estimated 793 million adults lack basic literacy skills. The majority of them are women.

Since then, I have visited classrooms and asked questions about girls’ access to education in countries on several continents.  This is a photo I took at Buduburam Refugee Settlement in Ghana. (more…)

Jennifer Prestholdt (USA)

Jennifer Prestholdt is a lawyer and the Deputy Director of The Advocates for Human Rights, a volunteer-based human rights organization that works locally, nationally and internationally. Her work in human rights takes her around the world, but she spends most of her time in Minneapolis, MN, where she lives with her children (two sons and one daughter), her husband, an elderly cat and a dwarf hamster.

As Jennifer’s kids are now all in school (1st, 4th and 6th grades), she is finally finding more time to do the things that she used to love to do, especially running, writing and knitting. Jennifer loves to travel and has had the dubious distinction of having been accidentally locked in a bathroom on five continents so far. Australia and Antarctica await!

In January 2011, Jennifer made a New Year’s Resolution to start writing about her experiences in order to share with her children the lessons learned from 15 years of work in human rights. The result is her personal blog, The Human Rights Warrior. The name comes from her son Simon, who was extremely disappointed to learn that his mother is a lawyer, not a warrior.

You can find her on her blog The Human Rights Warrior or on Twitter @Jprestholdt.

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CANADA: The Hardest Job in the World

It's so hard not to give into that face!

I grew up in a very structured house with clear rules, expectations, and responsibilities. There were consequences for inappropriate behaviour, and we were well aware of them.

One parent was not more lenient than the other, they worked as a team.

At the time I thought they were unfair, overbearing, and awful. I felt like I had no freedom, had to plead every time I wanted responsibility, and was missing out on excitement.

Looking back, I can see that I was given a stable home, independence and the ability to learn from my mistakes.

Now that I have a child of my own, I am quickly learning that consistency, structure, and a united front is crucial in raising a child.

But it is difficult. (more…)

NEW YORK, USA: Boys Will Be Boys

When I was expecting my son, my husband and I decided that we would not find out if we were having a boy or girl. We had undergone fertility treatments and there was not much of a surprise about the pregnancy itself, so we decided to save the big reveal for the delivery room.

I didn’t have any preconceived notions about whether I wanted a son or a daughter. After all of the years I spent trying to get pregnant, I truly did not care what sex the child was, I felt truly blessed to finally have the chance to be a mother.

Female friendships have always come easily to me — I have one sister who is truly my best friend, a very close relationship with my mom and lots of really wonderful girlfriends. I have never had many friendships with guys.

Growing up, we lived in a neighborhood with lots of girls and very few boys around the same age — in fact, all of the neighborhood girls played “house” nearly every day one summer, and the only neighborhood boy was invariably cast in the roll of “Scruffy” the dog! Now fast forward to me, parenting a three year old boy!

Chase is the first (and currently only) boy on my side of the family. When he was born my mom, sister and I didn’t really know what to expect, and sometimes, we still don’t. (more…)

Allison Charleston (USA)

Allison is a 35-year-old attorney-turned stay at home mom. This New York City mom lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with her 2-year-old son, Chase, and her husband, Andy. She is also expecting baby #2! In her former life, she was an attorney practicing in a mega firm on NYC’s Park Avenue, putting in long hours, working hard and reveling in the fast pace of her life. She loved living in “the city”, and when she could, she took advantage of all it had to offer. But, when Chase was born over 2 years ago, that all changed. These days, the work has changed from writing legal briefs to changing diapers and the hours are longer, but she wouldn’t have it any other way! Allison is enjoying her adventures as a metropolitan mommy, raising Chase in New York City and has gained strength from her longer-than-she-wanted-to-wait journey getting pregnant with her second child.

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