Preston parenting for punks
Julia Irwin
21Apr08
Louise Cooper with son Angus. Picture: JOSIE HAYDEN
PARENTHOOD can be lonely and stressful for those who sit outside the mother's club crowd, says Preston parent Louise Cooper.
"Being a young, single parent, I didn't really have much to say when the other mothers talked about their husbands," Ms Cooper said.
Usually sporting a blue Mohawk, the self-confessed punk said she was working on establishing an alternative parenting festival for those outside the average 30-something mum, dad, two kids and a mortgage kind of family.
Ms Cooper, 21, a trainee childcare worker, said that when she had her son Angus as a 17-year-old, she realised there was no real community of alternative parents.
"When you have a kid when you're still really young you can get really isolated because the other young people around you don't have kids," she said.
She said an increasing number of children were being brought up outside the nuclear family model but these families had few opportunities to come together and share experiences.
Ms Cooper said the festival would offer entertainment, workshops, demonstrations and networking opportunities for anyone who identified as being involved in alternative parenting.
This could include parents interested in home schooling and same sex, transgender or single parents.
Anyone interested in helping Ms Cooper organise the alternative parenting festival can phone 0448 448 513 (not Tuesdays).
