Children need time and space to play, to discover—to simply be. This generation has fewer children and more resources than any previous generation, making us intensely focused on our children. From her observations of South America's Stone Age Indians, Jean Liedloff, author of The Continuum Concept, feels that parenting that is too "child-centered" deprives a child of his a … [Read more...] about Leave Them Alone: Benign Neglect
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Non-Drug Fever Soothers: Instead of Tylenol
Fever is one of the most misunderstood childhood ailments. Fever is not a disease--it is a symptom of the body's attempt to fight off an infection. An increase in body temperature enhances the immune defenses, destroying viruses and bacteria. Yet many parents automatically reach for fever reducing over the counter drugs when their child's temperature goes above normal. … [Read more...] about Non-Drug Fever Soothers: Instead of Tylenol
Start School Later: Teens Need More Sleep
California has become the first state to mandate later school start times. The new law, effective in 2022, will prohibit middle schools from starting before 8:00 AM and high schools before 8:30 AM. According to a 2014 study by the CDC, 93% of U.S. high schools and 83% of middle schools start before 8:30 AM. Moving the school start time is especially important because many … [Read more...] about Start School Later: Teens Need More Sleep
Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Must End
My mother told me that she was put in the closet as punishment when she was a girl. She was clearly traumatized by the experience because she spoke of it with such shame. I thought that this type of cruel treatment of children was a thing of the past until I read about Urijah Salazar, a special education student in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who has been restrained and secluded … [Read more...] about Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Must End
World Food Day: Zero Hunger
October 16th is World Food Day, a worldwide event designed to help alleviate hunger by raising awareness. It is held on October 16th to commemorate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1945. Events are organized in over 150 countries across the world to promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and f … [Read more...] about World Food Day: Zero Hunger
Halloween Candy Dilemma: Sugar
The costumes are ready, and the children’s energy is rising! It’s almost time for trick-or-treating! It’s a time to be imaginative and to let go and have fun. Does the thought of managing your children’s candy make you feel uncomfortable? You may be a parent who takes care to feed your children nutritious food, so Halloween may seem like an undoing of all your good intenti … [Read more...] about Halloween Candy Dilemma: Sugar
Midwifery: The Gold Standard
Most people would say that modern midwifery in the US began in 1925 when Mary Breckenridge founded the Frontier Nursing Service (now Frontier Nursing University) in eastern Kentucky. From 1925 to 1951, the Frontier Nursing Service achieved a maternal mortality that was nearly four times less than the national rate. In 1932 the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of New York … [Read more...] about Midwifery: The Gold Standard
Understanding CBD Oil: The Good and the Bad
Since I first started covering CBD five years ago, the industry has grown tremendously. The sale of CBD products is one of the fastest growing markets in a generation with sales of $390 million in 2018. The recent passage of the Farm Bill made it legal to grow, sell and consume CBD—cannabis products with a THC content below 0.3%. It can now be sold legally in all st … [Read more...] about Understanding CBD Oil: The Good and the Bad
Breastfeeding Aversion/Agitation
BAA or "aversion" is a phenomenon that some breastfeeding mothers experience and includes having particular negative feelings, often coupled with intrusive thoughts when an infant is latched and suckling at the breast (Yate, 2017). The two days before I get my period, I get nursing aversion at night. This usually feels like being very agitated, and the need to get my baby off … [Read more...] about Breastfeeding Aversion/Agitation
Attachment Parenting: Being Responsive
Attachment parenting is not permissive parenting. It is not about abdicating authority as a parent, but rather, it's about responding to the legitimate biological needs of a baby. It is firmly based in the sciences of anthropology and psychology and specifically on the theory of attachment. THE THEORY OF ATTACHMENT The theory of attachment originated with psychoanalyst John … [Read more...] about Attachment Parenting: Being Responsive