• Last updated 4/29/13 by Melanie Mayo

      Have I mentioned that I have a two year old?  'Tis true.  And she is one HECK of a two year old.  In fact, she has always been an intense child.  As a baby she awoke every hour or two.  (I realize this is normal.)  But she always woke screaming.  I would nurse her back to sleep or do whatever worked but there were never tender nighttime moments with air sucking or fist finding as my sweet one gently showed the signs of hunger.  No, she is designed like a fine race car: zero to 60 in 2.5 seconds.  The intensity of babyhood has... read more

• Last updated 10/23/12 by Melanie Mayo

Our kids are shaped by what they see and do. Very young children can become wired for overstimulation by screen time as well as the kind of commercial playthings that use sound, light, and movement to hold their attention. How does this affect them?   When play has to do with blinking beeping toys or rapidly changing images, children may have a diminished ability to amuse themselves. They may not be attuned to the slower pace of conversation, the expansive pleasure of make-believe, or the subtle wonders found in nature. They have trouble generating their own... read more

• Last updated 1/16/13 by Kristen Tea

                      “Tantrums” are normal reactions from kids that almost every parent deals with at some point.  They can be frustrating and scary for us, particularly if we do not have the tools to guide our children through them in a healthy way.  Understanding where they come from can be endlessly helpful.  Tantrums are urgent, overwhelming panic responses in a child’s brain.   The valuable and insightful book The Science of Parenting: How today’s brain research can help you raise happy, emotionally balanced children by Margot Sunderland states, “A... read more

• Last updated 11/15/12 by Melanie Mayo

 Did you know the majority of parents are using their carseats incorrectly?  Did you know car accidents are a top cause of death in children?  Did you know the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parents keep their child’s carseat rear-facing for at least 2 years? I didn’t know most of this info when I first had my son, but I have learned a lot since then, so I’ve compiled some general information here.  All pictures are used with permission, & please follow the purple links for further information! My son, 3, riding happily with his... read more

• Last updated 10/18/12 by emilyfrischmann

By Catherine McKenzie Issue 136 - May/June 2006 "You know, you’re the only mother here who doesn’t carry her baby in a car seat," commented the receptionist at my midwife’s office. My daughter was several weeks old at the time, and I’d left her seat in the car, mainly because I didn’t feel like lugging it up the stairs to the clinic. I looked around the waiting room and realized that we were the odd ones out. It seemed true wherever we went. At the library, the shopping mall, the drop-in center for parents, the babies were all in infant seats—parked next to... read more

• Last updated 10/22/12 by emilyfrischmann

I spent the majority of the pregnancy with my first child in a state of complete stress.  I went the OB/hospital route, and I viewed everything that my doctor said as the Written Word.    It was at the height of the H1N1 outbreak, and I agreed and received the vaccine.  I didn’t know.  I had every test and genetic screening performed.  I ended up with a positive screen for Down’s Syndrome.  I didn’t know.  I feared the pain of labor and birth and decided when I first discovered I was pregnant that I would be getting an epidural.  I didn’t know.  I trusted a... read more

• Last updated 10/26/12 by Brian Leaf

By Brian Leaf     One day last winter, my family went out to the Lone Wolf café in Amherst, Massachusetts for breakfast. Noah, age six, loves the waffles, and I love the Lox ‘n Latkes Benedict. After breakfast we were to drive to the Amherst Indoor Farmer’s Market to shop and meet some friends. We finished breakfast, walked to the car, and got in, but Benji would not sit in his car seat. Benji is two.             To drive like this, with Benji not strapped in, is, of course, illegal and unsafe. So Gwen and I couldn’t give in on this one. We had to get him... read more

• Last updated 10/18/12 by emilyfrischmann

Last week, I talked about the approach of attachment parenting, as defined by Dr. William Sears, and the beginnings of this bond in the hours immediately after birth.  Let me just reiterate Dr. Sears’ definition here: Above all, attachment parenting means opening your mind and heart to the individual needs of your baby and letting your knowledge of your child be your guide to making on the spot decisions about what works best for both of you.  In a nutshell, AP is learning to read the cues of your baby and responding appropriately to those cues. (The... read more

• Last updated 10/22/12 by Melanie Mayo

  KJ Dell'Antonia Issue 131, July/August 2005 It's a perfect summer afternoon, and our backyard is filled with naked, dirty toddlers. Some, more reserved (including my own), have chosen to cover their clothes rather than their bodies with flour, paint, mud, and egg salad. All seem delighted—from naked Duncan, who's just dumped a bowl of flour onto his penis, to shy Ian, fully clothed right up to his hat and watching in wonder. The adults relax in lawn chairs. A nursing mom gathers a small crowd anxious to touch. Sam aims the hose at the feet of another mother,... read more

• Last updated 3/20/13 by Melanie Mayo

Being wrong is just a few creative thoughts or actions from being right.   By V.K. Harber   There is a TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson from 2007 that I recently listened to. His talk is about how the educational system is killing creativity and his argument is very moving and not easily ignored. (And may be a helpful tool in explaining to people a choice not to educate a child in mainstream ways)   My main takeaway from this talk, at this point in my life as the mother of a toddler, was a very simple phrase. He said, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll... read more