Sparkling Adventures in Child Neglect: Now with Rats!

[blatantlyeggplant]

Q: what makes you sad?

A: Sometimes when the rats get hurt I'm sad about that.

:shock:

She's changed and added interview questions, but left in the ones about David?

It's good to see Brioni's reading age-appropriate books. Aisha's favourite books at 8 were "The Cat in the Hat books and colouring books."

[lilith]

Is she going to leave in the questions about David forever? Even when the answer to "what do you like to do with David?" has been "sit in the visiting room and buy chocolate from the vending machine" for ten years running?

[ThatSnark]

she's liked a link all about how the newborns of heavy marijuana users are much better off than those of non-users. uh-oh.

and some sparkly bullshit contemplation about how her showing compassion to others is more important for her girls than education or her parental decisions. erm.

Here's a mind-blower: not only did I spend all 12 compulsory grades in public school, I went on to get two degrees in social work (professional compassion) at public universities. So: I am educated AND compassionate! I am willing to bet anything that many other people achieve excellence in education while still leaving time to show compassion.

Lauren. :penguin-no:

[leggajegga]

Brioni birthday interview is up. Disturbing as usual.

Why does she insist on asking about David? He's been absent for a year now. Why make her girls dredge up their memories about him, particularly when she refuses to let them grieve over the fact that he's no longer there? And how can you ask what David does all day without reminding Brioni that he's in prison? I don't know exactly what Lauren has told them about David's incarceration or what they believe, but the fact remains that their father, their more engaged and loving parent, has committed an act that has taken him away from them, and he will probably never come back. I can guess that Lauren, in her tradition of making it all seem "neutral", has tried to normalize David being in prison. Her description of David's daily life gives no indication that he's in prison. I know that if I were a little girl, the idea of my father going about his daily life without me would be incredibly upsetting.

I just wish that Lauren would let those girls grieve for their father and approach their relationship with him in the way that they want to, not that she deems sparkly and authentic.

[Ariel]

I guess I missed this, but the girls don't call their parents Mom and Dad? Or a variation?

[Arete]

I just cannot get past this "countercultural" way of describing grief

Everyone grieves. Everyone.

If you are alive and have attached to anything.

Anything.

A job.

A pet.

Your health.

Your looks.

Your house.

A person.

A certain lifestyle.

Your car.

Anything.

Look, I have been "attached" to sweaters, houses, a skirt, Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and an ex. The only time I have actually grieved enough to screw with my health and well being is when actual people or animals I loved to DIED.

FFS, it's different than a skirt, a TV show, a job or a lifestyle. No, it isn't a neat progression through 5 stages, sometimes some stages don't happen, sometimes you even get to repeat them in a loop. But knowing those 5 stages is important, and denying losing a loved one means you are going to need some help is just asking to fuck herself or her kids up. Which she seems to be doing with gusto.

Shit, I cannot believe the newest guru she is following equalizes losing your looks with losing your child. :evil:

[lilith]

I guess I missed this, but the girls don't call their parents Mom and Dad? Or a variation?

Lauren says that they allow the girls to choose what to call them. And according to her, they call them by name when they are being "mature and righteous" and Mummy/Daddy when they are being "selfish and immature". Really.

Names are somewhat fluid in Lauren's world. She has officially changed the spelling of Aisha's name, Brioni was initially called Stephanie, and her toddler Delany has renamed herself Lana and Lauren has treated it as a permanent name change, not simply a toddler's whim that would likely have been quickly forgotten.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Lauren eventually changed her name by deed poll. Lauren is such a pedestrian name, not sparkling or authentic enough for a remarkable person like her. She has dreads, you know. And an aboriginal man smiled at her in a shopping centre, that's how amazing and free from middle class boundaries and expectations she is.

[happy atheist]

Lauren says that they allow the girls to choose what to call them. And according to her, they call them by name when they are being "mature and righteous" and Mummy/Daddy when they are being "selfish and immature". Really.

Names are somewhat fluid in Lauren's world. She has officially changed the spelling of Aisha's name, Brioni was initially called Stephanie, and her toddler Delany has renamed herself Lana and Lauren has treated it as a permanent name change, not simply a toddler's whim that would likely have been quickly forgotten.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Lauren eventually changed her name by deed poll. Lauren is such a pedestrian name, not sparkling or authentic enough for a remarkable person like her. She has dreads, you know. And an aboriginal man smiled at her in a shopping centre, that's how amazing and free from middle class boundaries and expectations she is.

I believe the number of Ls in Cal(l)ista has changed, also.

[Stephanie66]

OK, I get how Delaney became Lana, but how did Stephanie become Brioni? Did she decide (after the girls were named) that she wanted to do the alphabet thing?

My son wanted to be named Tigger for a little while, but I didn't change his name to Tigger.

[lilith]

OK, I get how Delaney became Lana, but how did Stephanie become Brioni? Did she decide (after the girls were named) that she wanted to do the alphabet thing?

She initially named Brioni Stephanie, after her mother. Then she read a fantasy novel and decided to name her Brioni, after a character in the book.

[happy atheist]

She initially named Brioni Stephanie, after her mother. Then she read a fantasy novel and decided to name her Brioni, after a character in the book.

Not a fantasy novel. Atonement by Ian McEwan.

From Amazon:

Ian McEwan s symphonic novel of love and war, childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness provides all the satisfaction of a brilliant narrative and the provocation we have come to expect from this master of English prose.

On a hot summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment s flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant and Cecilia s childhood friend. But Briony s incomplete grasp of adult motives together with her precocious literary gifts brings about a crime that will change all their lives. As it follows that crime s repercussions through the chaos and carnage of World War II and into the close of the twentieth century, Atonement engages the reader on every conceivable level, with an ease and authority that mark it as a genuine masterpiece.

[lilith]

Not a fantasy novel. Atonement by Ian McEwan.

From Amazon:

Sorry, my bad. I knew it was something dark.

[ILoveJellybeans]

I think Lauren did change her name, Im sure she said once that Lauren isnt her birth name.

[Rowan]

If she changes her name, "Wren" might just be nature-y enough for her? And she wouldn't even need to go through the pedestrian red tape to do it, just keep Lauren for her legal name. :?

[Cheetah]

I don't know how that comment is meant. A lot of people seem unaware that Azariah Chamberlain actually existed and actually was taken/eaten by dingoes. It's not just a wacky meaningless phrase. Requisite reminder that this family did lose a baby less than two years ago in awful circumstances.

Sorry if that was over the top. I figured it fit in with the speculation on how the girls would be neglected next, but maybe it was a bit much. I do remember the Chamberlain incident and that it was finally decided that Azaria was taken by a dingo...

[Cheetah]

She initially named Brioni Stephanie, after her mother. Then she read a fantasy novel and decided to name her Brioni, after a character in the book.

Does anyone in the US know anyone called Briony or Brioni, and if so, how is it pronounced here? I thought it was like Brian-ee (emphasis on the 1st syllable). In Lauren's blog when they renamed Brioni she said it was pronounced Bree-OH-nee (emphasis on the 2nd syllable). (I have Australian relatives and can totally hear this in my head... ).

[happy atheist]

Does anyone in the US know anyone called Briony or Brioni, and if so, how is it pronounced here? I thought it was like Brian-ee (emphasis on the 1st syllable). In Lauren's blog when they renamed Brioni she said it was pronounced Bree-OH-nee (emphasis on the 2nd syllable). (I have Australian relatives and can totally hear this in my head... ).

I'm in the US. I know a Briany - pronounced Brian-Ee.

[JesusFightClub]

I just cannot get past this "countercultural" way of describing grief

Look, I have been "attached" to sweaters, houses, a skirt, Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and an ex. The only time I have actually grieved enough to screw with my health and well being is when actual people or animals I loved to DIED.

FFS, it's different than a skirt, a TV show, a job or a lifestyle. No, it isn't a neat progression through 5 stages, sometimes some stages don't happen, sometimes you even get to repeat them in a loop. But knowing those 5 stages is important, and denying losing a loved one means you are going to need some help is just asking to fuck herself or her kids up. Which she seems to be doing with gusto.

Shit, I cannot believe the newest guru she is following equalizes losing your looks with losing your child. :evil:

And also, losing your looks happens gradually. Losing a loved one can happen horribly, violently, terrifyingly and quickly.

I didn't have any looks to lose in the first place so I didn't mourn those :lol: but the nature of death is something different. People do many things, like Botox, hair cuts, face lift and makeup, to ward off encroaching age. There isn't one moment when you "lose your looks" unless something happens to you like you are burnt in a fire. There is one moment when you lose a loved person or a loved pet, and you can never ever bring them back.

[Cheetah]

So I've been feeling a little guilty at letting my kids play too much Minecraft and watch too many YouTube videos this summer. But after reading Lauren's latest post I guess I'll just say that I was homeschooling every day! (/sarcasm :-)).

[ThatSnark]

So I've been feeling a little guilty at letting my kids play too much Minecraft and watch too many YouTube videos this summer. But after reading Lauren's latest post I guess I'll just say that I was homeschooling every day! (/sarcasm :-)).

We had the same kind of intense, self-directed homeschooling summer that you did. Frankly I was surprised that they were not invited to skip a grade when they went back to school.

[Blahblah]

I'm in the US. I know a Briany - pronounced Brian-Ee.

Well I am in Aus and I pronounce it BRI-uh-nee with emphasis on the first syllable and the Bri bit rhymes with eye.

[happy atheist]

Well I am in Aus and I pronounce it BRI-uh-nee with emphasis on the first syllable and the Bri bit rhymes with eye.

Yeah. The same. Like the name Brian with an ee at the end. Like an adjective. She's very Briany. :)

[tuckerphez]

I have to go to my evil structured university classes in 10 minutes, but I just have to comment on the latest batch of posts from the Sparkling One.

First of all, I love how her friends that she's staying with (read: mooching off of) actually put their children to bed at a reasonable hour so the Sparkling One's kids have to go to the bus. I guess it's not authentic to get a bunch of kids to sleep at the same time.

Second of all, the extent of Lauren's "schooling" seems to be googling whatever question her kids ask, which means most parents with smartphones that look up their kids questions unschool.

Third of all, Minecraft is popular with a lot of people, not just homeschooled children. Maybe Lauren thinks that ebil public schools take children away from internet games.

Finally, "One of the beauties of home-educating without an agenda is that we can be flexible instead of forcing our children to fit to a schedule." -- Does Lauren think schooled children never stay home because they're sick or can't go to school? Or cancel plans to go places?

[happy atheist]

So the extent of their learning today is that rats can not vomit, and that lychees grow in Australia from October thru February. :doh:

Meanwhile, it's a good thing that all of them sleep in the same cramped bus where Brioni has been vomiting all night?

I like Mythbusters as much as the next girl, but I am not under any illusions that it's teaching me physics.

I've never used Skype, but was under the impression that it was for video chat. How much typing does it require of the girls?

Good thing she got WiFi for the bus! Now there's even less call for her to interact with her children. They can just have unlimited access to YouTube. There's never anything inappropriate on YouTube! It's totally educational!

This woman is an awful mother.

[ThatSnark]

Oh, FFS. I just read the day-in-the-life post, and it reads very much like how things run around here when my children are home from school. We look up things if we don't know the answer, catch up on email, read, go to a park, etc. But my children manage to do all that these girls do AND go to school full-time. My six-year-old reads and spells as well as anyone, and when she doesn't know a word, she looks it up.

How can someone justify answering a child's daily questions as homeschooling? That's just parenting.