Inside U.K. Babies: Brits' Hottest Topic of Conversation By STEVE HILL	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
赤ちゃんが話題の的 サッカーのスター、ベッカム選手と、人気ポップグループ『スパイスガールズ』の元メンバー、ポッシュ・スパイスの間に赤ちゃんが生まれ、ブレア首相夫妻にも4番目の子供が生まれて、英国では今、赤ちゃんが話題の的です。マスコミも熱狂的に取り上げています。

It's official. Babies are THE fashion accessory and talking point in Britain right now.

The trend has been simmering for several months, just waiting to take off, and there's no going back now that Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie, are celebrating the recent birth of their fourth child, Leo.

Television news broadcasts and national newspapers all shifted into overdrive once it became clear that Cherie was preparing for the new arrival, and there was no stopping anyone when the news was finally revealed last month.

Babies, though, were already on the national news agenda thanks to several high-profile soccer players and TV personalities becoming parents.

Manchester United's David Beckham and his wife, the pop singer Posh Spice, have rarely been out of the headlines since their son, Brooklyn, was born 15 months ago.

The couple recently escaped to the United States for what they dearly hoped would be a private holiday but it was not long before the paparazzi were on their trail — and pages of photographs were being reproduced by the tabloid newspapers.

It's a sign of the times that their moves are constantly being scrutinized — and followed by the masses. Brooklyn, for example, has been spotted wearing perfect miniatures of the training shoes his dad prefers — leading to a boom in sales.

And even a visit to watch dad and his teammates celebrate their recent league title led to more time in the spotlight. Cotton wool had been thoughtfully tucked into his ears to prevent any possible dam age resulting from being in the middle of a massive and loud crowd — and it's become fashionable for everyone else. Brooklyn even made it on to the pitch at one point, showing thousands of people just how well he can walk.

And other soccer players have been quick to follow the fashion. For the first time in its 100-year plus history, the captain of the F.A. Cup-winning side walked up the famous stairs at Wembley to collect the trophy with a baby in his arms.

Now it's the turn of Leo to take center stage, interest in the Blairs' fourth child being heightened by his parents' determination to maintain as much family privacy as possible.

Bookmakers were even offering odds on what name Tony and Cherie would choose for their new child, while there was desperate competition between newspapers to snatch the first photos of Leo before official pictures were eventually released.

Now that Leo is here, attention has turned to his parents with an astonishing number of column inches being dedicated to any number of baby-related issues, and being given a political slant.

Will Cherie, for example, breast feed? The government launched a Breast is Best campaign just days before Leo was born, but women MPs in the House of Commons are angry that they cannot feed their newborns while at work, so to speak, after a ruling by the speaker, Betty Boothroyd.

The whole thorny issue of paternity leave has also been debated endlessly in the wake of Leo's arrival. Several European countries have put in place legislation that encourages fathers to be at home with their new babies, but it's not something we have here just yet.

That did not stop Tony though from canceling several meetings and putting some of his government work temporarily on hold to provide Cherie with some much needed support.

How long before she returns to work, and child-care arrangements, are two further topics attracting plenty of attention. The issue of mothers taking breaks from their careers to look after children in their formative years continues to be a vexed one.

One train of thought supports a return to work as soon as possible and the use of paid help to look after baby; another says that the welfare of the child must come first and that employing someone else to be a day-time mother is ill-advised.

These and many other issues continue to be hotly debated. The Blairs insist that Leo, like his brothers, Euan, aged 16, and Nicholas, 15, as well as daughter, Kathyrn, 12, will be brought up outside the glare of the newspapers and TV cameras.

But could he prove to be a trump card in the next British election and help swing a second victory Blair's way? And will William Haig, the leader of the Conservative Party, and his wife, Ffion, opt to become parents before the poll? The bookmakers even have odds for that!

Shukan ST: June 23, 2000

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