Emma Catherine

Say what you mean but don’t say it mean.

[Icona @iconawrites]

I say this as an Italian: regardless of whether you want to be a parent, children are people who belong in restaurants and cafes and libraries, and wanting them out of all public spaces has become far too disturbingly normalised in the Anglosphere.

[Suzanne Zeedyk @suzannezeedyk]

Do you know that manufacturers of infant strollers & car seats STILL have NO IDEA at all that the products they produce & sell influence t developmnt of children’s brains & stress systems? They have no idea they bear a moral responsibility to get educated. https://t.co/cpLUPSuitq

[Emma Catherine @EmmaaaArmstrong]

with their new babies. Good grief we have decades of research on the importance of the early years of life. Hating on woman for whining and not getting on with it. Get in the bin!

[Emma Catherine @EmmaaaArmstrong]

Yelling at the telly! Who are these woman who want future generations to suffer because they did!?PND statistics are terrifying. No1 cause of death of mums the year following a birth is suicide. Pressure on new mums to ‘do it all’ and ‘bounce back’ days after #JeremyVine

[Emma Catherine @EmmaaaArmstrong]

CREATING LIFE with an internal wound the size of a dinner plate (if you’re lucky) is bonkers!!! No paternity leave shouldn’t be mandatory but it should be facilitated, supported and encouraged way better than it currently is. Families need support! New dads want to spend time

[Julian Grenier CBE @juliangrenier]

A few quick responses to today’s announcement from the chancellor. Others will do the detailed analysis of the funding etc much better than me.

As a nursery school headteacher here are my 4 key points. A short 🧵

[Emma Catherine @EmmaaaArmstrong]

100% this.

[Sally Hogg @salhogg]

My piece for ⁦@PEDALCam⁩ on the need for a strategic, joined-up and child focussed approach to early years policy.

Keeping children at the centre of childcare policy: A response to Budget 2023 - PEDAL https://t.co/nY63vqgspg

[Emma Catherine @EmmaaaArmstrong]

@BBCNews Instead of ‘help with childcare’ call it ‘investing in essential infrastructure for children and families futures’. Childcare provisions will allow more people back into the workforce (ie benefit the economy). There is a societal benefit here they’re not doing us a favour.

[Kate Johnston @KateJohnston3]

Why do we need a #kindergartenstage?

After an Upstart Scotland Board meeting, I thought I would share this with you.
We may have been a bit quiet but we have needed time to rest and recuperate and will be back with some events in the future.
https://t.co/vnxosAz1MJ

[Emma Pickett @makesmilk]

“Criticism of industry and marketing is not criticism of women, their decisions or circumstances.” #ProtectBreastfeeding

[Missing The Mark @_MissingTheMark]

It’s a common feature of the primary school classroom. The behaviour chart on the wall, with children’s names on pegs. Children are moved from the sun to the clouds, or from green to red if their behaviour isn’t what is required by their teacher. 1/

[Missing The Mark @_MissingTheMark]

These charts use public shaming to foster compliance. They use fear and anxiety – even the children who are always on the Sun lie awake at night, scared that one day they will fall from grace, and everyone will know. That’s how they work. 8/

[Suzanne Zeedyk @suzannezeedyk]

"What science shows is that what we expernce when we are young shapes t adults we become" says @katesilverton .
Thus, when t govt refuses to reduce stress on parents? refuses to pay early years staff properly? refuses to reduce poverty? The govt CAUSES childhood harm. #ShapingUs

[Suzanne Zeedyk @suzannezeedyk]

Strikes are a form of emotional boundaries.
They are about staff knowing their worth.
Boundaries are predictably tough for leaders & govts & managers & cultures who don't operate in a relational way.

[Emma Catherine @EmmaaaArmstrong]

Children deserve to be in school being taught… by teachers that are respected and valued. The impact and influence a teacher can have on a child (biologically, developmentally, socially, psychologically, educationally) is immeasurable and lifelong.

[BBC News (UK) @BBCNews]

PM Rishi Sunak says children "deserve to be in school, being taught"

Asked if he will negotiate, he replies that teachers have been given "highest pay rise in 30 years"

[Suzanne Zeedyk @suzannezeedyk]

To put in place the insights of the #ShapingUs campaign, we will need culture change. This welcome info asks us to reflect on how our society treats children, on the beliefs we hold about babies’ behaviour. Implementing this info calls for us to find the courage of curiosity.

[Emma Catherine @EmmaaaArmstrong]

@suzannezeedyk THIS!The sleep industry is unregulated so anyone can call themselves a ‘sleep expert’ and charge for their services. Most babies sleep like babies are designed to sleep, modern life doesn’t allow space for that and doesn’t educate and support parents, enter the sleep trainers…

[Emma Catherine @EmmaaaArmstrong]

Ann Widdecombe’s comments on @JeremyVineOn5 about how breastfeeding should be done in private are DAMAGING! People have worked relentlessly to change the rhetoric around BFing being sexualised or inappropriate in public. Educate yourself better🤬

[Emma Catherine @EmmaaaArmstrong]

Because we have normalised this type of suffering. We say it’s normal because this happens to so many children. It’s common, but it’s certainly not normal, or right. We need to learn the difference.

[Naomi Fisher @naomicfisher]

Why are we normalising children’s lives being so stressful that significant numbers of them meltdown on the way home from school? Why aren’t we asking what long term impact this has on their mental health rather than sharing tips for coping? https://t.co/hMX1lhNAAa

[Brent Toderian @BrentToderian]

“In Finland, the # of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back into a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.” https://t.co/EH3reri9lz