I looked around the empty house and the empty streets and wondered how to answer him.
My sons always had each other to play with when they were growing up and I also had a sister who kept me from being alone. Both of my parents come from families where they were one of four children. Today, young adults are delaying dreams of parenthood for reasons that didn’t really exist when I had my own children. According to a recent article in Today’s Money, the birthrate for women in their early twenties is at an all-time record low. Women in their late twenties are also showing reluctance to have children as the birthrate for women ages 25 to 29 is the lowest it’s been since 1976.
The boy in my house wondering if he is really the “only kid in the world” has good reason to speculate. My boyfriend and I bought a house in a “buy and die” neighborhood – this is according to our real estate agent. It is a lovely house from the 1950s on a quiet street in an old neighborhood. We love it, but the child isn’t as enamored. He often sits on the porch, looking down the street in hopes that a grandchild of some unknown neighbor might suddenly appear. It hasn’t happened yet.
It is a little better when he is at his mother’s house. There is at least one playmate he can hang around with now and then. The adults all play with him, but -- let’s face it -- kids want to play with other kids. I’m done having kids, so there is no hope for him there. I don’t think there is much hope from his mother’s end either. She is ten years younger than I am, but enjoys her free time too much to burden herself with a full-time child.
Luckily, he gets the opportunity to hang out with other kids (usually much older than he is) at swim lessons and hockey practice. However, none of our friends have small children, so his days with us are spent with him as the “only kid in the world.” I am happy that kindergarten is around the corner and he will be able to engage with children his own age then, but daycare is no longer an option. On the days his parents both work, he will be spending time with me. I see bike rides, long walks, bowling, movies, arts and crafts, ice skating, and sledding in our future – but no kids. I can only hope when he grows into his own, that the world will be a better place and he will have the opportunity to have his own children – not just one baby born to parents in their thirties and forties worried about student debt, childcare, and economic instability. I can only hope.
Modern
Modern young Moroccan women dress similarly to western women in American and Europe, according to the BBC. Jeans and T-shirts are worn like other young women in non-Islamic countries, and these young women do not wear the traditional headscarves like older women. Some women may opt for modern dress with a headscarf. Also, many women may wear modern clothing but in a reserved fashion. They wear long pants or skirts with long sleeves, rather than shorter skirts or sleeveless blouses.
Mixing Modern with Traditional
Many women also wear the traditional jellabas or djellabas in updated fabrics and patterns. According to the Huffington Post in 2009, the jellabas was strictly men's clothing until 1956 when Morocco had its independence from France. Many younger-generation women wear jellabas with vibrant prints such as leopard print or in bright colors. The cuts of the jellabas are also thinner, which make them more form-fitting. Women wear these newer styles of jellabas with and without head scarves.
Berber
The Berbers are a large minority group in Morocco who are not Arabs, according to Al-Bab. They tend to live in the rural areas, such as the High Atlas mountains, and speak different dialects. Their traditional dress is different than other Moroccan women. Traditionally Berber women were tattooed, cut bangs in their hair and wore beads, especially amber and cowrie shells which protect them from the evil-eye, according to the book, "Amazigh Arts in Morocco: Women Shaping Berber Identity." Berber women also wear embroidered head scarves or veils called tahruyt. Young women do not cover their faces like older married women, and all women wear long ankle-length dresses in white or indigo.
Many of us envy the styles we see worn by celebrities in the pages of fashion magazines and on the red carpet, but what about when the children of celebrities are as stylish if nor more stylish than their parents? From casual beach style to Paris chic, celebrity children are no strangers to fabulous fashion. We’ve rounded up the top ten dressed celebrity kids, and note that we’re sure Blue Ivy should be on this list, but none of us have seen a shot of her closet yet.
Best dressed celebrity children1 Best dressed celebrity children 2012
Suri Cruise
Even when playing mommy, the daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes is always dressed to the nines. Whether she’s in jeans or a dress, she always looks chic and she never forgets to choose the perfect shoe to complete her outfit. Judging by her typically well-dressed mother’s comments that she likes to pick out her own clothes and give her mother advice for the red carpet, we have a feeling that she’s going to be a staple on the pages of fashion magazines for many decades to come.
Monroe and Moroccan Cannon
Ok, so the diamonds and pearls in this picture might be a bit much, but all in all, the wardrobe of Monroe and Moroccan Cannon, twins of Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon, is pretty darn cute. On their website we’ve seen them don camelhair suits and frilly frocks as well as hip onesies and bibs. These kids are equally at home uptown as they are downtown.
The Jolie-Pitt Brood
How could we pick just one Jolie-Pitt kid as most stylish when as a collective group they are quite possibly the best looking brood around? What the Jolie-Pitt kids do so well is look good while each rocking their own individual style. Zahara rocks skinny jeans and flowing tops while Shiloh brings tomboy chic to a new level with military jackets, v-neck cardigans, and chunky boots, and Vivian steps out in tailored European looks. All the while the boys in the family pull off a laid-back cool vibe with jeans, tees, and hooded sweatshirts.
Harper Seven Beckham
At merely seven months old, Harper Seven Beckham already has a Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week under her belt. And it’s not her first brush with fashion fabulousness: Harper has been spotted shopping with style icon and designer mother Victoria Beckham at spots like Prada and been seen wearing fashions from designers like Stella McCartney, Bonpoint, and Marie Chantel. And of course it certainly doesn’t hurt that she has the best accessory in town, dad David Beckham.
Honor Marie Warren
The eldest daughter of Jessica Alba and Cash Warren, Honor Marie draws influence from both of her parents when it comes to her look. She masters her mom’s boho-chic style by layering scarves and ponchos over leggings or jeans with Uggs or flats, but often adds an edge reminiscent of her dad with dark jeans, cowboy boots, and denim jackets.
Green slime and a neon tangerine carpet can really make for interesting muses. The Kids’ Choice Awards was a sight to be seen as celebrities decked out in an array of rainbow hues strutted down the orange (red) carpet on Saturday in Los Angeles, Calif.To celebrate the 25th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards, superstars Katy Perry, Selena Gomez, Kristen Stewart, Heidi Klum and more attended the Nickelodeon event and made sure to dress to impress.
Skin was in on Saturday night, for sure.
Katy Perry hit the 2012 Kids’ Choice Awards’ red carpet in a slime-inspired outfit — a neon green slime sports bra, a flirty green printed mini-skirt from the Gerlan Jeans Spring 2012 skirt and neon green Prada peep-toe pumps. She topped off her look with an extra-long purple and blue ponytail and magenta lips.Pop sensation and former Disney star Selena Gomez attended the Kids’ Choice Awards wearing a belly-baring Dolce & Gabbana bra-top and sparkling printed skirt paired with Cesare Paciotti shoes. The 19-year-old beauty looked gorgeous with voluminous hair and bronzed skin.
Crimson hues made for a cool color combination when accented against the orange carpet.Victoria Justice chose a coral suit of a blazer and shorts for her Kids’ Choice Awards outfit. Ashley Tisdale wore a flowing high-low Kymerah dress with red lace overlay, Le Vian earrings, Hellmuth ring, B by Brian Atwood black fringe sandals and an Edie Parker clutch. “Modern Family” actress Sarah Hyland also opted for red in a deep scarlet shade matched with silver sandals.Kristen Stewart went with a cobalt blue Stella McCartney lace dress with matching blue pumps, while Heidi Klum and Emma Stone stuck with clean white shades.Who do you think was the best dressed at the 2012 Kids’ Choice Awards? Check out the following slideshow then vote for your favorite below!