Yoga for Children by Joanna Gardner

Yoga is appreciated and enjoyed by children of all ages. However a children’s Yoga session is vastly different to an adults class. The key to being successful when introducing Yoga to children is in the way it is presented to them.

The approach needs to be fun, fairly dynamic, creative and stimulating to the child’s imagination. You can do this by using songs and threading the many beautiful Yoga postures of animals and nature based objects together into different stories. The stories are wonderfully brought to life through the child’s own vivid imagination. Appropriate music and a few simple props help as well. (eg. Tree branch prunings, animal pictures or felt ears)

Crying as Communication

All babies cry. Some more than others. Don’t panic there are many things you can do to help your child – and your sanity!

Many parents find if they attend to their babies need for close contact with their parents from birth, their children become secure within themselves. This style of parenting is sometimes called attachment parenting.

Book Review: My Brother Jimi Jazz

This children’s book is a delight for the senses as it embraces you with it’s vibrant illustrations and the joy of a new baby being born at home. Trinity is welcoming a new baby brother, Jimi Jazz into the family. The book is written and illustrated by Chrissy Butler — artist, author, mama, and doula (trained by Dr Michel Odent).

The Year of the Fire Pig 2007 By Kristine Gibson

February 18th 2007 to February 6th 2008
The Year of the Fire Pig is going to be a fantastic year for some, a year of celebration for many and a few challenges for others. This year is Fire, the colour is red, and so, a Red Fire Pig is very powerful indeed considering the gentle Yin energy that usually encompasses the Pig Year. The Pigs fixed ruling sign is Water, so we have a Year of Fire over Water. There is a power behind this association that can get out of control. Even though the gentle Yin energy of the Pig denotes harmony, the opposition of Fire and Water can and will transform into volatile situations if you allow it. Perhaps we will see some unstable conditions on an international scale during the year. Opposite things will happen, often to people and businesses that are usually stable. People will move to the west from the east, others will move from the east to the west. The same will apply with the northern and southern hemispheres. Some moves will seem so strange to the observer, but it will simply be an opposite turn of events.

Raising Media-Savvy Children

tv…advertising…..video…playstation…net nanny…palm pilots..DVDs…SMS advertising………OVERLOAD!!!! Our children consume a daily diet fed to them by marketers, advertisers and media designed for the lowest common denominator. How can we, as parents guide them how to ration their daily consumption and teach them how to consume it consciously with awareness and a questioning mind?

The Children’s Voice: Address to the Plenary Session, Earth Summit, Rio Centro, Brazil 1992

Hello, I’m Severn Suzuki speaking for E.C.O., the Environmental Children’s Organisatin. We are a group of twelve and thirteen year olds from Canada trying to make a difference: Vanessa Suttie, Morgan Geisler and me. We raised all the money ourselves to come six thousand miles to tell you adults you must change your ways. Coming here today, I have no hidden agandas, I am fighting for my future.

Book Review: Belly – A Birthing Journal

Finally, an Australian publication which honours and celebrates the beauty of the pregnant body and the sacred nature of pregnancy and birth. Sarah Nicholson has created a journal full of inspiring works from artists, poets, photographers and writers all around the country who have been touched and inspired by their own initiation into the ancient mysteries and creative power of the female body.

The Wisdom of the Elders by Anne Whittingham & Joanna Boileau

Here are some of the things that Auntie Pauline, an elder of the Bundjalung nation, said at the Wollumbin Festival (near Murwillumbah, northern New South Wales). What really shines through is her sense of compassion and lack of resentment for past wrongs. We have arranged different things she said at different times into a story. This is because, as Auntie Pauline said, “When you’re trying to help people to understand about something, about your way of life, tell them a story. Make it a simple story. One that you can tell. Say: that’s the track we’re talking about.”

Mamas & Children During War

“When the men fight, women and children mostly suffer.”
Read more to find out what women are doing around the world to meet the challenge of creating a peaceful planet for our children.

Health Alert for Parents about PVC Toys for Young Children

Greenpeace has carried out an extensive assessment of soft PVC toys and associated children’s products, both in Australia and overseas. The results from this testing are both surprising and disturbing. Many of the toys tested were found to contain a range of chemical additives, including potentially hazardous chemicals called phthalates which are used to soften PVC toys and even the toxic heavy metals, lead and cadmium.