Your phone vs. Your Heart

 eco parenting, education, for parents, news, parenting  No Responses »
May 142013
 

Face to face empathic communication is essential for our health.  Barbara Fredrickson, Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina, writes in the New York Times about the cost of instant electronic media on our well being.  Technology has assisted us in communicating more rapidly – the question is how do we balance our increasing reliance on technology with time for meaningful, loving kindness interactions.

Soon to be released ‘Spontaneous Acts of Love’, Meditations and Reflections for Parents, by Jane Hanckel, part of the Eco Parenting Series, provides an invaluable resource for contemplative connected parenting.

“All around you are the keys to knowing – in nature, in the arts and crafts of the generations before us. Be open to the beauty that surrounds you. In that beauty the wonder and mystery of the Earth are revealed.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/opinion/sunday/your-phone-vs-your-heart.html?_r=0

 

 

Diet helps child recover from Autism

 early childhood, eco parenting, ecology, education, environment, envrionmental issues, for parents, healthy food, news, parenting  No Responses »
Mar 282013
 

Boy with Autism Recovers After Gluten-free Casein-free Diet Many parents know that diet and environment can change children’s behaviour. In this video a mother and Dr Kenneth Bock discuss how a gluten and dairy free diet helped her son recover from autism. Dr Bock recommends also that children and families avoid chemicals, pesticides and other possible contributors to autism such as phthalates in plastic. ‘Growing Greener Children’ is a great first step comprehensive resource for parents wanting to adopt a healthier lifestyle.    

Media and Children

 eco parenting, ecology, education, for parents, news, parenting  No Responses »
Mar 262013
 

If you change the beginning of the story you change the whole story is the message from Dr Dimitri Christakis talking on TEDx about media and children. Typically the age children in 1970’s started watched television regularly was 4 years, now it’s 4 months. The typical child under child of 5 years is watching 4-5 hours a day. Dimitri’s talk clearly outlines the effects of too much television on the child’s developing brain.

Children and common household chemicals

 early childhood, eco parenting, ecology, education, environment, envrionmental issues, for parents, news, parenting, sustainability  No Responses »
Mar 102013
 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released a new report co-produced with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), titled: State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDC’s). Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, EDC’s, include Bisphenol-A (BPA), PCB’s, phthalates and agricultural pesticides that are in everyday items such as plastic water bottles, shower curtains, beauty products (including nail polish, hair spray, shampoo, deodorants, and fragrances), vinyl floor coverings, and more. The joint study highlights a range of health problems associated with EDC’s including breast cancer in women; developmental effects on the nervous system in children and attention deficit hyperactivity in children. Theo read more…

Cosmetic testing

 early childhood, eco parenting, ecology, education, environment, envrionmental issues, for parents, news, parenting, sustainability  No Responses »
Feb 082013
 
Cosmetic testing

… as things stand we’re all being used as guinea pigs in the great test of new product safety.” -Mark Bittman, The Cosmetics Wars, The New York Times, Feb. 6, 2013 Mark Bittman’s article on cosmetics testing in The New York Times highlights the fact that personal care product makers don’t have to prove that the ingredients in their shampoos, toothpastes or other cosmetics are safe before you use them. The Environmental Working Group (E.W.G.) offers a database of more than 79,000 personal care products, from soap to lip plumper ranked by level of hazard. The database is an excellent read more…

Parents comment on childcare welcomed

 eco parenting, education, environment, envrionmental issues, for parents, news, parenting  No Responses »
Feb 072013
 
Parents comment on childcare welcomed

In Australia the Green Party have created a new poll to understand parents perspectives on early childhood education and care.  The Green Party has said it’s time to hear what parents thought about childcare. Share your views about childcare. The online survey is at www.childcarepoll.com.

Play Again

 Back to Nature, ecology, education, environment, for parents, news, parenting, sustainability  No Responses »
Jan 302013
 

The film,  ‘Play Again’  highlights the importance of play and nature and asks the question ‘What are the consequences of a childhood removed from nature?’. The film’s synopsis : – ‘One generation from now most people in the U.S. will have spent more time in the virtual world than in nature. New media technologies have improved our lives in countless ways. Information now appears with a click. Overseas friends are part of our daily lives. And even grandma loves Wii. But what are we missing when we are behind screens? And how will this impact our children, our society, and read more…

Schooling the World: The White Man’s Last Burden

 ecology, education, environment, envrionmental issues, for parents, news, sustainability  No Responses »
Jan 042013
 

Is Western education superior? We have an institution globally that is branding millions and millions of innocent people as failures.   They are the in-between people and they are falling through the cracks of an in-between world. We have moved from wisdom to knowledge and now we are moving from knowledge to information.  We have moved from wisdom to knowledge and now we are moving from knowledge to information.  Schooling the World: The White Man’s Last Burden is set in Ladakh and examines the long-unquestioned assumption that the western model of education and schooling improves lives wherever it goes.

Seeds of knowledge

 Back to Nature, early childhood, eco parenting, ecology, education, environment, for parents, news, parenting, sustainability  1 Response »
Dec 052012
 
Seeds of knowledge

“For the child…it is not half so important to know as to feel. If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow…. It is more important to pave the way for a child to want to know than to put him on a diet of facts that he is not ready to assimilate.” Rachel Carson “First and foremost, our job as heart-centered educators must be to understand the potential of each ‘seed’ we are nurturing.  The great Spanish cellist read more…

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