http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/...nd-of-comments

Interesting article. Good or a bad thing?

Good thing IMO. If they want a career then good for them but if they want children they might need to put the career aside when the LOs are young. Theres nothing wrong with preparing them for that.

I think the have-it-all attitude is not healthy or helpful. Sacrifices must be made and women should be prepared for this.

I especially like this sentence:
"But what I don't understand is the idea that you should be able to keep exactly the same job, with all the advantages that entails, and work less for it, regardless of how that affects the office or colleagues."

Harsh as I'm often told I am, I don't think that parents should be treated better than non-parents in the workplace.

I think to much pressure is placed on kids in gereral with regards to careers. What i wanted to do at 16 is not what im doing now and im only 22. Nothing at all was said to us about what we wanted to do work wise after we had kids,

I like the way the are trying to strike a balance, its not one or the other anymore, which it once was

The school mentioned in the article is local to me, its beautiful, id love for Brooke to go their but its too many pennies

An all girl's private school preaching about how it's not always possible to have it all and that it's "OK" to work part time or not at all while LO is young? Sorry but, what about the women who can't afford that luxury... funnily enough, more often than not, they wont have been to private school.

Yes it's OK, yes it's fine and I also agree with the sentiment that you shouldn't expect to keep the same job and work less for it. THAT's realistic. That said, I don't really think it's something women need to be told, at least not just women anyway. I certainly don't feel the pressure to "have it all" and if people need to be told then it's men that need to hear it too... the message that you should have realistic expectations from life in general is, pretty much, the exact same thing. If I had a penny for every person that just can't handle the fact that they're not well off, not successful or not "somebody" just because they feel they should be, I'd be pretty rich myself.

Sure, the message is a good one but I'm not surprised it's coming from an all girls private school. I doubt you'd catch them sending the message out to their girls that it's OK for men to be stay at home dads. I don't see this issue as being any more pressing or important but that's not to say I don't agree with it.

I don't see anything wrong with a message of balance, as long as boys are being given these choices and considerations, too. Are they being told to be realistic and not to expect to have it all? As long as the message is equal for both sexes, it's a good one.

I think that people in general have to be realistic - and I think that saying this to teenagers is a good thing.

Besides, your whole world could crumble tomorow, - and for many people that's just how life is, one split second and their life is turned upside down.

People thinking that they can have it all, are IMHO niave.

I don't think there is the same pressure and expectations as men. Very few men are primary carers, and very few men have the same time of work to have children as women do. I think it is the wanting to progress in a career at the same rate as someone who doesn't have 9 months Maternity Leave and pregnancy and child related absence that is the problem.

I think men not being primary carers frequently is a seperate issue.

in theory i agree but realisitically how many women can afford to stay at home to bring up their children? im sure if you asked lots of women who are working they would much rather be at home with their children or working part time but its just not practical for a lot of families