The moment a guy first learns that his partner is pregnant — that he is going to become a father! — is momentous. For some, it sets off a riotous pinball cascade of doubts, fears, pride, excitement. For others, the inner landscape goes utterly silent. You get my point — it’s huge.
And yet, aside from a congratulatory slap on the back… a “Nice going” wink-wink… this new landscape an expectant father has just entered goes largely ignored. {Read more at mothering.com}
Are you quietly (or not-so-quietly) dreading your child’s school summer vacation — wondering how you’re going to fill the vast expanses of hot days with “bored” kids? How you’re going to stick to your values about screened media, while retaining your sanity? Oh, and by the way, hopefully enjoying some semblance of calm and enJOYment?!
Here are five guidelines to help you not just survive summer, but actually cultivate more ease & harmony as you “wire” yourself and your children for joy & wellbeing in the coming year!
Before reading more about these Summer-Sanity ideas at mothering.com, here’s a little “secret tip” that will help ensure the success of any routine you come up with — for summer or anytime!
Okay, let me at those ideas!! mothering.com
Image:
sachatrtl Flickr | Creative Commons
As summer lingers just around the corner, with its invitation to slow down and savor life…
4 nuggets of practical guidance that weave together all 7 Parenting for Peace principles:
Presence
Awareness
Rhythm
Example
Nurturance
Trust
Simplicity
At its heart & soul, Parenting for Peace is indeed this… simple!
Mining Joy from the Muck of Daily Mothering | Motherhood broke me open, and then squeezed me through the muck of daily mothering toward wholeness. Here are two (of many) guiding concepts that saw me through.
Got Trust? The Antidote for Insecurity & Stress | I define trust as “calm reliance upon things outside your perception or control.” Here are a few tried and true ways to fill your inner reservoir of trust.
Three Simple Ways to Nurture Yourself | The more you as a parent can nurture yourself, the more easeful your day-to-day life with children becomes — and the more healthy their development!
The Power of Example = 3 Cool Mothering Hacks | For more harmony with your children, more calm & confidence in your parenting, and more connection with your partner, harness the power of example.
I’m still savoring the wonderful moments & memories from the recent BirthKeeper Summit. From points around the globe, renowned midwives, physicians, doulas, childbirth educators, lactation consultants, human development educators, myriad cultural and human rights leaders, environmental activists, medical ethicists and a neonatologist came together in Northern California with a single unified intention.
We were there to discuss and promote our most precious birthright: being born healthy and loved into a flourishing and just world, which honors women and protects the life-giving relationships of MotherBaby & MotherEarth.
Today has been World Autism Awareness Day, and Kim Stagliano despises it. The mother of three autistic daughters, she finds the “feel-good frippery” and air of festivity around the globe — with the rallies, events, balloons, and everything in blue (even the Eiffel Tower) — suggests a party rather than a crisis.
Good intentions aren’t in question: Autism Speaks talks about World Autism Awareness Day as an event that “celebrates the unique talents and skills of persons with autism.” Yet Stagliano bristles at the jovial tone of April (Autism Awareness Month), and the suggestion that “the circumstances of my daughters’ existences are to be celebrated. For me, this should be a month of solemn acknowledgement and education about a global crisis.”
Stagliano points out the sharp rise in autism over the past decade, and notes MIT scientist Stephanie Seneff’s prediction that by 2025, half of all children will be born with autism.
{Finish reading this post at mothering.com}
Call me an old fart, but I’m not a fan of new-fangled, ring-ding-dang educational toys. My recommendation to parents always is, don’t easily trust the (sometimes wacko) things that our culture takes for granted are great for kids. Err on the side of “First, do no harm.” Trust your inner knowing and common sense, not the zeitgeist.
Children need “real time” experiences, which can be best happen with simple objects that most people wouldn’t call toys, let alone educational toys! {Read the rest… including 3 fail-safe guidelines for choosing brain-building toys… at mothering.com}
I’m pleased to have been invited for a 5-day guest blog spot at DrGreene.com, which begins today and runs all this week. Dr. Greene is a pediatrician whose focus is children’s health in a progressive way. So I’m chiming in with 5 new articles all centered around ways to foster children’s optimal lifelong wellbeing.
And it’s all NEW material that I haven’t previously blogged about!
I’m here for you, Nicolle Wallace of The View, who says there aren’t any guidelines out there for choosing what to read to your baby!
The gals were discussing the “hot topic” of this newly-published fun fact: Chelsea Clinton reads the news to her infant daughter every morning. There seemed to be a consensus among them that it’s appropriate to shelter the wee ones from the harsh realities of 
our world — and I completely agree. Whether it’s an intentional choice or not — young children’s exposure to adult news and conversation is typically inadvertent and “accidental” — the young brain & psyche simply aren’t equipped to process foreign affairs, environmental brinksmanship and other front-page fare.
With an avalanche of so-called children’s books to choose from, three simple guidelines can help parents decide which bedtime reading fare will best serve their child. {Read about them at mothering.com}
I realize the Golden Globe telecast isn’t super-high on the priority list for some parents, so I wanted to loop you in on this, in case you missed it: in accepting the award for Best Direction of his extraordinary film Boyhood, Richard Linklater dedicated it to “parents that are evolving everywhere.”
Or as I like to call us, “parents in progress.” We are all ages, and our children range from pre-birth to adult. We are the curious ones, the researchers. We are the parents who have our ears tuned for new information that will enrich our family’s life. We are the status-quo buckers. We are the ones who rarely (if ever) say things like, “Well, my parents spanked me and I turned out okay.” {Continue this post at mothering.com}
I noticed something distressing as my plane took off from JFK last week. It was the first gorgeously sunny day in over a week, there was an amazing view of Manhattan / Brooklyn / New Jersey as we climbed skyward, and everybody had their window shades closed!!
Have we become so blasé that soaring over one of the most astonishing cities in the world doesn’t even warrant a glance?! Are the games we play on our smartphones (in airplane mode, for heaven’s sake) that important or captivating that we can’t spare some attention for a breathtaking aerial view? Can’t 22 Jump Street on your personal entertainment screen wait till we’ve reached altitude? {Read more at mothering.com}
Free 7-Step Guide: Help Your Child Release Stuck Behaviors
Yes, tell me more about this unique parenting tool!
