August 2009

  • Environmental Stewardship: The New Family Value

    By sarajean on 8/30/09 6:03pm
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    As parents, we hope to raise our children with good, strong values. Sure, we hope that they will develop their own as they grow into adults, but we also hope that our teachings will guide them into making good choices in life.

    Honesty, integrity, loyalty, kindness… the list of values varies from family to family. Some families base their values on family traditions, while others do so based on their religion. Still others may create values out of their own belief systems. Many parents base their election votes on what they call “family values.”

    While many of these values are very worthy of being taught to children worldwide, not all families agree on them. For example, some parents believe that being pro-choice is a family value, while others believe that the opposite is. One universal family value that all families should adopt, however, is environmental stewardship.

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  • What’s Your Worst Pregnancy Story?

    By sarajean on 8/30/09 9:19am
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    When you get pregnant—and you want to be!—you think it’s a dream come true. You are so excited, and you want everything to go a certain way. Maybe you want to breastfeed, or have a yellow nursery. Perhaps you have visions of yourself eating a plate piled high off of your enormous belly during the holidays.  You might even already have a preschool selected, a wardrobe imagined and your child’s whole early life mapped out.

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  • Curriculum of Love

    By sarajean on 8/26/09 7:58am
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    There is no doubt that we live in a scary world. With its violence, potential predators, and uncertainty, our children have every right to feel fear and worry. Who can blame them? Do we not lock our doors, install security systems and motion lights, and even take self-defense courses because we feel the same way ourselves?

    But our children also have a right to feel hope. They deserve to feel safe, secure and loved—which is what we, as parents, can provide. Many people say that if you love your kids, that’s enough—and I believe that, to an extent. If you’re looking for a homeschooling book—or even a supplemental book to go with your child’s education—to help foster these feelings, Curriculum of Love is a great choice.

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  • Love and Logic

    By sarajean on 8/24/09 4:53pm
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    Last year, my daughter’s preschool held a Love and Logic session that I had planned on attending and missed out on. Later I heard about it again and decided to look it up, and am glad that I did.

    Love and Logic is just that—raising your children lovingly and logically, without the squabbles, fights, harsh language and hateful words. It trains you to use logical, loving responses to your child’s misbehavior, turning every problem into a learning experience.

    When kids cause problems, according to Love and Logic, they should be given the opportunity to have the problems tossed right back at them. This does not mean to bite your child when she bites you, but to let her solve the problems that she can on her own.

    The two main rules of Love and Logic are super simple:

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  • Petition Against PVC in School Supplies

    By sarajean on 8/22/09 5:16pm
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    Thankfully, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), a major source of phthalates, was banned from kids’ toys just last year. Sure, you still have to get rid of older toys and check the ones you buy at consignment shops or yard sales, but it’s still a major victory toward child safety.

    PVCs hurt children; it’s that simple. They interact with hormone functioning and are linked to testicular cancer, early onset puberty (which increases breast cancer risk), birth defects and liver problems. Even small amounts of PVC can cause these problems.

    PVC doesn’t only contain phthalates, either. They are also a source of lead, cadmium, and organotins, which not only harm kids through touch but are also able to be leached into the air over time. These are not the kinds of things we want in our homes—and definitely not near our kids.

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  • Lead Sources You May Have Missed

    By sarajean on 8/15/09 12:42pm
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    You’ve repainted your house—or moved into a newer one sure to not have lead paint. You’ve bought the kits and tested every Disney, Nickelodeon, and Fisher-Price item in your house and tossed out every cute but lead-encrusted smiling Dora and Diego. (I really pouted when I had to ditch my Harry Potter bookends, myself.) You’ve given an impressive Linda Blair impersonation each and every time your baby attempted to lick the wall, giving adequate cause for the weird looks you get from family members and the terrified look your toddler gets anytime someone touches a wall.

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  • The Role of the Doula

    By hellenwyeth on 8/13/09 9:20am
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    No matter how many children you have, when you are pregnant the advice never seems to stop pouring in. Friends, family member and even random strangers at the grocery store get excited about giving you that one piece of information that will help you on your long, uncomfortable journey into motherhood. We smile, nod and politely take the advice but with so much input how do you know what advice is good and what needs to be tossed aside? And even though we have person after person offering up tips and support for us, the dad to be and siblings, who's really going to stick it out to the end and continue that much needed support? This is where the doula steps in.

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  • When Your Vagina Hurts, Just Think Of Me...

    By hellenwyeth on 8/13/09 8:10am
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    Nearing the end of my second pregnancy I find myself in strange territory. Due to the fact that my first was born by planned C-Section because of complications known well in advance, my husband and I have opted to take mother nature's natural route since our hospital supports VBAC (vaginal birth after C-Section). In the beginning of the pregnancy I was on my game. I already knew what was going on with my body and the growing baby inside. The movements, the heart burn, the sleepiness, bouts of morning sickness and so on were all expected and taken in stride. Thank goodness for my humorous friends that keep me laughing all the way to hospital for false alarms.

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  • Baby Pronounced Dead, Saved by Grieving Father

    By sarajean on 8/13/09 1:46am
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    Only four hours after being told that his newborn baby was dead, Jose Alvarenga of Paraguay discovered his baby to be alive in his own coffin.

    Talk about a miracle—and a gross case of negligence.

    Doctors confirmed that the baby was dead almost immediately after his birth in the Asuncion hospital he was born in. The baby was then put in a coffin and taken to the Alvarenga home—all without anyone suspecting that he was indeed still breathing!

    Apparently it takes a father to know. “I opened it to look at his remains and found that the baby was breathing. I began to cry,” Alvarenga said.

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  • Stepping In: A Parent's Rant Part 2

    By hellenwyeth on 8/12/09 12:05pm
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    At this point, I'm upset at my daughter's behavior, irritated at the other mother's lack of response to the situation and feeling out right disrespected by her daughter for completely ignoring me. I get up before she is finished whining to her mother so I can pull my daughter aside from the rest of the kids to get the scoop from her. All of a sudden, the other little girl takes the opportunity to try and tell me what happened. I stopped her and told her that she had her chance and that my daughter is now getting the opportunity to explain for herself and that she does not and will not lie. My daughter sure did make me proud that evening. She did tell the truth from beginning to end and took her timeout like a champ.

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  • Stepping In: A Parent's Rant Part 1

    By hellenwyeth on 8/12/09 12:03pm
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    Dealing with other people's children when it comes to discipline can be tricky and a touchy subject. There are boundaries that should obviously never be crossed and with all the different parenting styles the task is even more difficult. Then toss in the fact that your input may not be welcome at all even if your child is involved, finding the correct way to intervene when needed can really take some talent.

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  • Breastfeeding Tips for Nursing Troubles

    By sarajean on 8/5/09 3:06am
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    The decision to breastfeed or bottle feed is a personal one that every mother has to make. While most people know that breastfeeding is considered healthier than bottle-feeding, that doesn’t make it automatically the right choice for everyone. Whether they are on certain medications or have long work hours, or simply choose to use baby formula, some mothers simply do not breastfeed.

    And in some instances, they cannot.

    One of the things I was pumped about through my pregnancy was breastfeeding. I bought a nursing bra early on and was so excited about being able to give my baby what I thought would be an amazing gift. My plans didn’t go quite as I had expected.

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  • 10 Activities to Do with Summer Seashells

    By sarajean on 8/3/09 10:03pm
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    If you’ve got a huge collection of summer shells in your home (and if your preschooler has to pocket every single shell like many do), you could probably use a few ideas on how to make them useful. You could use some of these craft ideas, or try incorporating them into games and activities with your children. Here are a few ideas.

    Shell Identification: Grab a guide from the library or online and try to see which shells you can identify.

    Shell Painting: See what kinds of masterpieces your kids can make with their shells. When they are finished, the bright shells will look beautiful in a mason jar or a vase.

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