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1. Insteading: Herb Gardening With Kids

“Mummy!  It smells just like sunshine!” said my 5 year old son, Cameron, his face split wide open with a grin.  He was standing knee deep in the middle of our herb garden, the sun pouring down on him from a cloudless blue sky.

“How do you know what sunshine smells like?” said Kent, my 10 year old.

“It smells like dirt, and flowers… and Peppermint.” Cameron replied, looking at both of us as if everyone should know what sunshine smells like.

Growing herbs is a fun and fantastic way to introduce children to gardening.  No matter how much space you have, from a window box to an 8 foot by 8 foot plot, herbs are hearty, prolific and easy to maintain.  A little dirt, some water and sunshine are all you need to share a lifelong skill with your kids.

2. SafeMama: Looking at Crocs

Based on the materials, they now have hundreds of styles and use a mix of materials but their most well known shoes, the Classic Crocs and other varieties of this shoe, are made from their patented Croslite™ material. Since they don’t disclose the nature of the material its hard to determine what it is exactly but I did ask their representative a few questions about it and was given some reassurance that the chemicals we typically avoid are not in Crocs.  They said they did not contain fire retardant chemicals, or plasticizers such as phthalates and that they were also free of colophony, abitol, abietic acid, chromium, bisphenol A or neomycin but that some models do use glue in their construction.

When pressed about their prior anti-microbial status I was also assured that they do not contain any Microban or similar anti-microbial chemicals and that the closed cell nature of the material is what offered that trait.  I felt a bit better about the material after hearing that.  I can’t say that I’m totally convinced that they aren’t 100% non-toxic.  If you have ever been in a Crocs store, the odor of the shoes off gassing is powerful enough to make you wonder. Jury is still out on that but for now, they’re assured me they are free of some of the chemicals we tend to avoid like phthalates and fire retardants.

3.  Hippie Housewife: Attachment Parenting Series: Belief in the language value of your baby’s cry

What is it?

Belief in the language value of your baby’s cry reflects an awareness that babies cry in order to communicate. It rejects the belief that babies cry to manipulate their parents.

How can we encourage it?

A baby cries in order to make known a need. The cry is reflexive; the baby’s very survival depends on it. As the parent promptly and calmly responds to these cries, the baby learns to trust that his needs will be met while the parent learns to trust in their ability to meet those needs. By viewing the baby’s cry not as a habit to be broken but as a means of communication, the parent is able to become an expert in reading the baby’s cues. The more sensitive a parent becomes to the baby’s cues, the better the baby becomes at giving those cues. This is the beginning and very core of parent/child communication.

This sensitive response and effective communication allows the child to develop a secure attachment to the parent. As connection grows, the parent/child relationship becomes increasingly natural and instinctive. The resulting mutual trust and sensitivity is the basis of the parent/child relationship and the foundation upon which future discipline will rely. The better the parent knows the child and the more the child trusts his or her parent, the easier discipline will be as the child grows.

4.  Midwifery Today:  Birth Is a Human Rights Issue: A Movement

Now is the time for us all to commit to working on this inalienable right, “Birth Is a Human Rights Issue.” I suggest using this phrase as a motto: “Every woman has the right to be treated with reverence and respect during the birth process, including pregnancy and beyond.” As we all know, nearly all motherbaby human rights are being egregiously violated around the entire world in the pregnancy and birth process, the time miracles should be happening. This affects all life. Mothers are traumatized and afraid of birth. They pass that fear on to their friends and it seeps into the culture. A traumatized mother often buries the pain so she can get on with mothering, even though a deep scar, often private, festers. We don’t yet know all the ill effects that will result from the current invasion on pregnancy and birth. One small example is the disturbance in bonding and breastfeeding, two very important aspects of new life. Our breastfeeding rates are abysmal, yet breastfeeding is the foundation that builds a healthy person.

5.  Medscape: Japan Radioactivity Could Enter Food Chain

Radioactive materials spewed into the air by Japan’s earthquake-crippled nuclear plant may contaminate food and water resources, with children and unborn babies most at risk of possibly developing cancer….