Child of The Universe Montessori Mag-Nificence March 2016

FREE DIGITAL MAG * ISSUE 21 * MARCH 2016

child of the universe - montessori mag-nificence

Cover Model: Carmen ChĂŠ Jardim:

PUBLISHER 2Luni Media EDITOR Linda Navon 071 346 8138 OUR “Little Boss” Carmen Ché Jardim SALES & MARKETING Cj Stott Matticks 082 900 1010 FREELANCE WRITER Arizona Quinn DISTRIBUTION & RESEARCH Lee Coulter OFFICES Sonata Square Olivedale TEL: (011) 462-2900 0110 262 643 FOR ADVERTISING PLEASE CALL Cj ON 082 900 1010 Email: candida@childoftheuniverse.co.za DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the editor, advertisers or endorsers. While every effort has been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are both accurate and truthful, the publisher and editor accept no responsibility for inaccurate or misleading information that may be contained herein. www.childoftheuniverse.co.za

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ed’s letter Hello lovely people It’s hard to believe that we are already in the third month of 2016, the first term of school coming up for a break, and Autumn on our doorsteps. Time to start hauling our moth-balled winter kit out again!

A couple of weeks ago whilst doing the ‘aisle-dance’ through a Clicks store, with my 4 year-old grand daughter throwing a tantrum – yes, I bribed her – with the first thing that came to hand. I grabbed this snazzy looking snack, ON THE GO, and now we are all hooked. Best kept close at hand, and I can guarantee it will be scoffed fast!

In this edition we take a look at observing our children and how to follow their lead, tips on how to be the best possible Montessori parent and a peep into a classroom. Children make mistakes and we need to understand and be okay with it. Sharon Caldwell lets us in on which celebrities were Montessori schooled.

Our Youth of the Nation are in trouble and need all the support we can give them. Watch out for signs of drug use, peer pressure and bullying, depression and the never-ending struggle to keep energy levels up for studying. This is a topic very close to my heart, I have watched too many people battling with troubled children, starting as young as 9 and up to students in their 20’s. Drugs, abuse and suicide… it’s gotten out of hand and we are going to become aggressively active in assisting our Youth – they are our future.

On a lighter note, get outdoors and enjoy the beautiful changes in colour this Autumn. Please remember to do your bit on the 19th for Earth Hour – make it fun!

Until next month, be well and keep smiling Linda xxx

montessori contributors & expert team DR MICHAEL DORER

TIM SELDIN

SHARON CALDWELL

HEIDI VAN STADEN

JACQUELYN PRICE

KYM VAN STRAATEN

DR PAUL EPSTEIN

ADAM DARBY

OLIVIA DARBY

SETH D. WEBB

AMY McCREADY

MARNIE

contents LEARNING TO OBSERVE YOUR CHILD AND FOLLOW HER LEAD Tim Seldin

THE NECESSITY OF MAKING MISTAKES Dr Paul Epstein

INTERVIEW WITH A MONTESSORI TEACHER – JACKY PRICE SAMA CEO

A PEEK INSIDE A MONTESSORI CLASSROOM PLUS SOME FUN Michael Dorer

MONTESSORI CELEBRITIES Sharon Caldwell

BUIILDING THE PINK TOWER WHAT CHILDREN DESERVE Montessori Foundation

75 WAYS TO MONTESSORI PARENTING Marnie from Carrots are Orange

MONTESSORI EQUIPMENT SUPPLIERS Childrens House Kid-Ease Montessori Supplier WonderEquip

Nienhuis Montessori materials Nienhuis Montessori materials meet the demands of Montessori education regarding spontaneous learning. Our high quality products enable children to become independent and critical thinkers.

Our products are based on Montessori education principles and stimulate children's desire to learn.

They promote imagination, increase insight and create a desire for quality. Children can develop without predetermined rules, but they do need individual guidance and supportive educational materials. We believe in personal growth and offer the necessary tools to support this.

Bells - 1MM.240 Set of 13 pairs of movable brass bells that make up the chromatic scale starting with the middle C (do) as follows : a) 13 bells with natural wood bases b) 13 bells with decreasing diameters and black or white wooden bases to correspond to the piano keyboard; c) two wooden mallets for striking the bells; d) one wooden damper Mallet - 1MM.240.1 Individual wooden mallet for bells Damper - 1MM.240.2 Individual wooden damper for bells

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Bell Baseboard - 1MM.241 Set of two wooden boards with grey and white rectangular spaces corresponding to the bases of the bells

Learning to observe your child and follow her lead

by Tim Seldin

elizabeth@pantley.com

As parents we often feel the need to direct our children, but Montessori believed we should follow them instead. How much time do you spend watching your child? I don't mean watching half-heartedly while you are doing something else. I mean focusing your attention completely on your child for an extended period.

There is no better way to begin using Montessori's principles in your home than by sitting back and observing what your child is looking at, what he says, and what he does. Children have so much to teach us about their needs and interests if we will only take the time to pay attention.

How to observe You may want to keep a bound notebook or journal in which you can make notes and keep a record of your observations. Regularly set aside some time to observe you child. Sit somewhere comfortable close to him so that you can easily see and hear him and any other children with whom he is playing. Make notes every so often about what you see. Over time, your notes will form an interesting record of your child's behavior at different ages, as well as helping you to notice if a pattern of behavior is emerging at a particular time. Try to interpret what your child's behavior means. When you notice that your child displays an interest in something new, try, without overwhelming him, to nurture it. Think about ways to introduce some new activities that will appeal to your child's activities and achievements.

What to observe Remember, the only thing that you can count on day after day with children is that, as they grow, their preferences, interests, and abilities change in unpredictable ways. Every time you observe your child, try to forget about previous experiences or perceptions and focus on what is really happening right now. While your child is playing, notice which toys he selects. How does he use them? Does he tend to play alone, or with others? Do you notice any patterns over time? Watch how your child moves about the house. Does he move from place to place quietly, moving gracefully, or does he race about? Is there a room in your home that your child prefers to be in? What seems to attract him to that room? When eating, note what your child most enjoys. Can he drink without spilling and use a fork and spoon appropriately and with good eye-hand coordination? How does your child behave at mealtimes? Is this a time when he likes to talk about his day?

As you observe, think twice before you interfere with your child's activity. Your goal in this exercise is to learn from what he is doing, not to keep jumping up and correcting him.

By Paul Epstein

One of my parenting fears is my child will make a mistake, and then she will be humiliated and embarrassed. Because my child made a mistake, her future opportunities will become fewer. And, because she suffered humiliation and embarrassment, she will decide to fear failure. Reluctance and caution will replace her passion and love of learning. There’s still more to my fears: I won’t be there to prevent her from making mistakes and protect her from the consequences. And I won’t be able to prevent the emotional wounds. Of course I am projecting my own experiences, my own fixed mindset, and yet, this is silly. Mistakes are inevitable, and mistakes are an essential component of growing and learning – if treated respectfully. Great mistakes are costly, but great mistakes have led to world changing discoveries like penicillin, pacemakers, microwave ovens, post-it notes, and the potato chip!

The question I am learning to ask myself is this: Can I, my children, and everyone else make mistakes and still be perfect? Raised in a culture of blame and shame, this is difficult. Let’s be honest: Mistakes can be costly and cost children opportunities for acceptance to universities, employment, careers, and relationships. Nevertheless, we can teach our children to learn how to benefit from making mistakes. We can learn to welcome and celebrate mistakes as valued opportunities for discovery and growth. It begins with children experiencing they are loved and accepted unconditionally. It begins with showing children that we care and that they matter. We can teach our children to reflect on what happened and to persist and try again.

The challenge in breaking up our culture of shame and blame is enormous, especially when so much of children’s education occurs in a limiting climate of school accountability. Test taking and test scores have become the singularity of education. A test score, rather than a love for learning and a development of whole persons, is believed to validate that children have learned. We value getting the right answer through memorization, not understanding, and not getting to know how to know.

In today’s world, the test score has political power. It is the test score, and not the developmental nature of children, that defines political rhetoric, educational policy, and economic expenditures. Teachers and school officials are accountable for producing test scores. In many nations, schools receive or lose funding based on test scores.

Teachers retain or lose positions based on test scores. The rationale is, teachers are teaching, performing, if and only if children achieve high-test scores. The rationale is, the school is a high-performing school if and only if children achieve high-test scores. The social justification is, finally, if children achieve high-test scores, they will be readied for the “real” world. They will be better educated, and they will become better employees, producers, and spenders.

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How did this come about? What if the logic and premises of this kind of testing are mistaken? Throughout the world, mandated testing became accepted practice during the past forty or so years. As the Cold War Era ended, more nations competed intensely for markets, materials, and sales as a knowledge-based, global economy emerged. Business argued that educated children (as measured by testing) would become successful adults and consumers. The business of schools then became business.

Schools, like corporations, developed vision statements, mission statements, high performance expectations, goals, performance standards, and performance incentives. Successful businesses stay in business only when consumers rewarded them economically through repeat purchases. Similarly, according to this argument, a school is excellent when it produces high test scores. Where parents can choose between schools, parents would reward high performance schools, as proven by test scores, by sending their children to them.

Other schools, like bad businesses, would close.

But what if a test driven approach to education is harmful to children?

Most school practice is still rooted in an outdated industrial era, factory-mode model of learning. In this model one approach to education works best for every child because every child is being assembled. As practiced, production in the schoolhouse means adults control what to learn, when it is to be learned, and how to learn it. The teacher, as supervisor, oversees production.

The school as factory implements quality controls – educational standards – to assure uniform production of the products (the children). In keeping with the factory model, better national and state standards of academic curriculum excellence, like factory controls, should guarantee production of better quality students.

While a successful education for all children is essential, the politically determined test-driven approach is mistaken. Factories produce things, and factories implement standard controls to assure production results with uniform and quality products. We do want, for example, to know that chairs will hold up to the standards for carrying weight. We do want our car brakes to hold to the standards designed to ensure we will be able to stop in traffic. We want our food and water to be uniformly safe. But this logic is inappropriate and wrong for children.

Here are the mistakes:

•Children are NOT things. We must not subject our children to the metrics of things. Children deserve, instead, their childhoods. Being uniform and the same defies the designs of life – growth, change, difference, uniqueness, and possibility. Children mature at different times, and they learn differently as they grow through childhood and adolescence.

•Children are NOT all the same. Children do not learn in the same way. Parents with more than one child know this to be true. Each child is a precious, unique being. Children possess unique capabilities and potentials for becoming who they are meant to be. To declare each child has unique capabilities is to proclaim each child has genius. As we assist or serve each child in fulfilling her or his potential, our task includes learning to overcome our own biases and prejudices and to see clearly the possibilities within each child.

•Test scores do NOT equate with learning. Why should we conclude learning has occurred if and only if test scores are higher? Of course children do learn without test scores and even when test scores decline. Even when scores go up, what have children really learned if they forget tomorrow what they had previously memorized?

•Test scores do NOT equate with education. It is assumed that if children have the same test scores, then they have learned equally.

But this is hardly true. Some children are more adept at taking the current design of tests while other children are not. Some children process information with better memory retention than others. Some children contend with additional learning issues, sensory integration disorders, and a variety of attention deficits.

Learning is far more than a test performance. For children, learning is a way of becoming, and learning and growing is supposed to be very messy. Compared with how learning really takes place, test scores are much too narrow. They are but snapshots of a lengthy process of becoming. Being a child along with the experiences of learning involve complex and related factors such as brain development, personality, temperament, emotional states, school and community environments, and racial, ethnic, and cultural matters.

What is urgently needed is accountability for the factors involved in how children actually learn such as maturation, multiple intelligences, gender differences, unique capabilities, and strengths. Instead, the current industrial orientation denies children their childhood in school.

Children require opportunities to play, explore, think, fail, discover, and create. Children must experience, in other words, joyful mistake making. Making mistakes can result with forming habits of inquiry and enable thinking, analysis, synthesis, creativity, solving problems, and understanding. We require mistakes in order to develop essential habits of persistence, resilience, and self-reliance. Making mistakes is essential if children are to develop their cognitive capabilities for executive functioning. Fully developed executive functioning will equip children are to succeed as self-reliant adults in the emerging global knowledge-based economy.

When, then, will we let children grow and learn for their own benefits rather than for society’s? How do we end political control over our children? Perhaps it is as simple as this: Parents, take back your children! Remember that politicians work for you, and tell them enough is enough! Tell them you will no longer allow your child to be used to assess adult performance.

Tell political leaders to implement teaching and testing suitable for the 21st century. Insist that everyday classroom experiences consist of knowledge-based, discovery learning. Hold educators accountable for differentiating instruction based on their knowledge of each child’s strengths and learning capabilities. Replace uniform testing with empowering children to develop their natural strengths, interests, curiosities, and humane passions. Let’s stop making the mistake of educating our children for a future that is not going to happen.

By Jacky Price CEO OF SAMA

Recommended viewing by Dr Michael Dorer – just for fun!

https://www.westminstercollege.edu/montessori/

By Sharon Caldwell

What do the following people have in common: • Gabriel Garcia Marquez, (Columbian novelist and Nobel Prize winner for Literature), • Will Wright (designer of successful computer games including The Sims • Julia Child, famous chef and author Katherine Graham (owner and editor of the Washington Post) • Sergey Brin and Larry Page (founders of Google) • Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon.com) • Joshua Bell (Grammy winning musician) • Craig Kielburger (Child rights activities and three times Nobel Peace Prize nominee) • Anne Frank, with child diarist ?

They all attended Montessori school.

Of course it could be argued that millions of successful and famous people attended conventional schools, so being able to show that a handful of alumni are successful is no big deal.

What makes Montessori different is that, according to a six year study of innovative entrepreneurs, those who attended Montessori schools (including only Montessori pre-school) as disproportionately represented.

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, attended a small one room school right through to eighth grade. He attributes his intellectual curiosity and love of reading to the schools’ Montessori Philosophy.

Serget Brin, in an interview with Barbara Walters on ABC-TV declared that it was neither his Harvard education nor the fact that his parents were college professors that led to his success, but rather the Montessori school he attended.

Larry Page put it like this: “I think it was part of that training of not following rules and orders, and being self-motivated, questioning what’s going on in the world, doing things a little bit differently.”

Katherine Graham claimed that "The Montessori Method- learning by doing-once again became my stock in trade."

It is not only the testimony of a few celebrities that supports Montessori education. A 2006 study conducted in Milwaukee public schools showed that Montessori students scored higher on standardized tests than children in conventional schools, as well as showing that attending a Montessori school from : children who attend Montessori programs from “the approximate ages of three to eleven predicts significantly higher mathematics and science standardized test scores in high school." You can find research links on the Association Montessori Internationale website at www.montessoriami.org

So what is it about Montessori that makes it different?

Besides scoring above average on standardized language ne mathematics tests, and evaluations of social acuity, Montessori children seem to possess higher levels of executive function. This is what attracts neuroscientist such as Steven Hughes and Adele Diamond to the Montessori approach.

One of the most important features of Montessori is that it promotes deep concentration and creative problem solving.

This is linked to a state of “optimal experience� described by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his work on Flow Theory. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was both dismayed and overjoyed when he discovered that his theories on intrinsic motivation and creativity were discovered in young children a century earlier by Maria Montessori. The key factors in achieving flow involved concentration, free choice of activity and a delicate balance between ability and challenge. All of these are found in authentic Montessori environments.

There are Montessori schools providing for children from Birth to school leaving level (approximately age 18) in almost every country around the globe. South Africa has hundreds of Montessori schools providing programmes from Infant/Toddler through to High School.

To find out more about Montessori education for your child, contact The South African Montessori Association. www.samontessori.org.za

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PINK TOWERS

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Building the Pink Tower Education has a future "Building the Pink Tower" is a documentary film project that reimagines schools and learning through the lens of Montessori education. In a climate of concern and criticism about American schools, Building the Pink Tower shines a light on what we want in education: eager learning, creative thinking, and collaborative work. The film will examine how Montessori schools nurture the imagination of children and lay a solid foundation for their success in life. And it will offer strategies for incorporating elements of Montessori philosophy into any classroom environment.

What Children Deserve Written by Eva Nislev

by Sara Wenger Shenk

1. Children deserve parents who make sure that they find the support and nurture that they need so they can wholeheartedly love them.

2. Children deserve parents who love one another and treat each other with kindness and respect even if the marriage doesn't last.

3. Children deserve parents who like themselves and who have creative work that they enjoy in addition to their employment.

4. Children deserve parents who like their work and want their children to know about it and why it's important.

5. Children deserve parents who remember that when children spill the milk that they used to spill it too.

6. Children deserve parents who will rock them to sleep with a lullaby and tuck them into bed with a story and kiss.

7. Children deserve parents who will take them for a walk through the fall leaves rather than buying them another toy.

8. Children deserve parents who take them to the library regularly and come home with arm loads of books about people who dream great dreams and overcome immense difficulties.

9. Children deserve parents who are willing to slow down from the rat race long enough to enter into the wonder of discovery with them.

10. Children deserve parents who allow them to work alongside, at their own pace, and with appropriate jobs so that each can feel a sense of accomplishment on completion.

11. Children deserve parents who are very selective about television watching, who study the program guide to know what quality programs exist and who will spend time reading or playing games instead of lazily flicking on the switch.

12. Children deserve parents who have an extended family network of support and back-up nurture.

The moment I read the quote “Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed,” I felt an immediate kindred spirit with Dr. Montessori. Everything I continued to read about the Montessori philosophy resonated with me as an individual, a teacher, and as a parent. For more detail on Why I Chose Montessori for my family, check out my blog.

In the spirit of Montessori as a lifestyle, I brainstormed a quick list of 75 ways you can embrace your inner Montessori in your home starting TODAY!

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Read Montessori: a Modern approach Embrace the idea that Montessori is a lifestyle and not simply an approach that begins and ends at classroom doors Invest in stools so the child can reach the sink, cabinets, and shelves Use real dish ware; Avoid plastic toys, cups, dishes Embrace the Montessori Coat Flip Practice simplicity Be a model in behavior no matter what you’re doing in life Help a child with scientific thinking Think about history not in dates to remember but instead as a sense of duration and passage of time (which typically isn’t cognitively possibly to comprehend until 7 or 8 years old). Teaching kids about time can be fun!

Use REAL images (aka: AVOID cartoons) Hang a coat rack at your child’s level Allow kids to be creative Consider a faucet extender Create a culture basket Wait for your child to put his coat on Give your child the space and time to put on his shoes Practice Letter Writing

• •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Explore the outdoors with these books about rocks, ants, bears, and seeds.

Teach kids to code (Maria Montessori would approve of moving along with the times) Focus on sounds, not memorization, of letters Use concrete objects that kids can get their hands on while learning Teach kids about what it means to be courageous Read up on positive discipline and respectful parenting Learn about ways to encourages kids with writing Create the environment for discovery of reading and writing Practice observing your child for at least five minutes a day Don’t intervene during conflict or struggle Remember practical life activities are about focus, completion of a work cycle, preparation for writing, and independence.

Cook with your kids Put together an east Letter Sound Work for your kids Always move left to right Allow your child to zip up on his own Make smelling bottles Don’t talk down to your child.

Speak in a kind, firm tone.

Have a Family Reading Time Travel with your Kids Learn photography with your kids Subscribe to one of these amazing monthly kits Read (a lot) with your child Establish a routine with kids Commit to these 5 Rock Star Responses to Kids during Challenging Moments Create a music basket Learn about Electricity with Kids Learn the 3 Part Lesson Create object boxes Expect a lot from your child because she is capable Take Sensorial Activities outside Leave her room to develop at her own pace Allow him to make his own discoveries because then he will be a lover of learning for life Go and be outside Practice Mindfulness Implement yoga into your daily routine with your kids Listen to your kids Kneel down at the child’s eye level when speaking with him Use phrases other than “What’s Wrong?”

Learn math outside Better communicate with your child with these ten rock star tips Don’t be afraid of insects

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Take Language activities outside Help create a sense of awe and wonder in a child by using questions to lead learning Garden with Kids Make time for dinner & family time Practice grace & courtesy Create a peace table in your home Accept that all children exist on the learning spectrum.

No two children are alike Children crave a gentle, calm leader Focus on developing a child’s emotional intelligence Be a role model in your relationship with your partner Do listening activities with kids Take Practical Life Outside Purchase garden tools for kids Practice inquiry base learning Read Madeline Levine’s book “Teach Children Well” about redefining success

Marnie’s e-books – click covers to order and download

RESPONSIBILITIES The rest of your life.

Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs R100.

Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.

Also must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 kpm in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.

Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.

Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.

Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.

Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, and a total embarrassment the next.

Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap plastic toys and battery operated devices.

Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.

Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.

Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT AND PROMOTION: None.

Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE None required unfortunately.

On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION Get this! You pay them!

Offering frequent raises and bonuses.

A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent.

When you die, you give them whatever is left.

The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS

While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

This is a tribute to all PARENTS, in appreciation for everything they do on a daily basis, letting them know they are appreciated for the fabulous job they do‌ and with love to anyone thinking of applying for the job.

FOOTNOTE:

THERE IS NO RETIREMENT

EVER!!

Whitney Houston - Greatest Love Of All

IS BREASTFEEDING REALLY BEST FOR YOUR BABY? ‘Breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of your baby’s life,’ advises the South African Department of Health. Yet just eight percent of South African mothers follow that guideline.

Most moms combine breast and bottle feeds or focus on formula alone Despite the Department of Health’s recommendation, most South African moms combine breastfeeding with formula and solids. But mixed feeding is known to be responsible for high rates of diarrhoea and contributes significantly to infant malnutrition and deaths.

So is breastfeeding best? Or is bottle-feeding the way to go? It’s easy to be confused by the amount of information out there and there are plenty of people keen to win you over with both points of view. We sifted through the science.

Breastfeeding facts US alternative medicine practitioner Dr Joseph Mercola strongly recommends breastfeeding. ‘It strengthens your child’s immune system, protecting him or her against many physiological assaults later in life,’ he says. ‘A healthy mother’s milk is high in essential fats, gamma linolenic acid and other precursors to prostaglandins (potent, hormone-like substances that control a wide range of physiological functions such as blood pressure, contraction of smooth muscle and modulation of inflammation),’ he adds.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) echoes Mercola’s views, confirming that breastfed babies appear to have better neurological development, cholesterol levels and blood pressure. (You’ll find the UNICEF information at http://www.unicef.org.uk/BabyFriendly/News-and-Research/Research/Breastfeeding-research— An-overview/)

And there’s the issue of bonding and interaction. Breastfed babies appear to bond more quickly with their moms. Commenting on information in a study supplied by Brigham Young University, child development expert Sandra Jacobson of Wayne State University School of Medicine deduced that ‘children who were breastfed for six months or longer performed the best on reading assessments because they also “experienced the most optimal parenting practices”. Read more about the study athttp://news.byu.edu/archive14-febemotionalparenting.aspx

Breastfeeding pros for baby 



    

Breast milk is free, hygienic and provides everything babies need for a healthy, nutritious and balanced diet. A mother’s milk initially contains colostrum, which gives a baby the perfect amount of protein, minerals and antibodies needed to build up its immune system.

Mother’s milk contains antibodies that fight the germs that your baby encounters, making him or her less likely to experience ear, breathing or urinary infections and gastro-enteritis.

You don’t have to sterilise bottles or mix formula.

Breastfeeding offers a permanent, portable and budget-friendly source of food for the first six months.

You won’t overfeed your baby.

The temperature of breast milk automatically adjusts itself – it is always right for your baby.

Moms who have problems with the amount of milk they produce should turn to herbal supplements such as fenugreek to stimulate and maintain milk production. Try www.floraforce.co.za/products/fenugreek-capsules/. But if you produce more milk than your baby needs, consider donating it to the South African Breastmilk Reserve for other babies who have no access to mother’s milk. The association is always grateful to its ‘awesome donors’ – details at www.sabr.org.za/

Breastfeeding pros for moms   

Chemicals released into your body when you breastfeed encourage the uterus to contract and return to its original position sooner than in non-breastfeeding mothers.

Moms who breastfeed reduce their risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer, ovarian cancer and osteoporosis.

Breastfeeding can help women lose weight gained during pregnancy.

There’s more information about breastfeeding at www.floraforce.co.za/breastfeeding-abcs/

Bottle-feeding facts Sometimes new moms have little option other than bottle-feeding. The alternatives they have to consider include cow’s milk and formula. Cow’s milk is low in essential fats and other prostaglandin precursors and high in saturated fats. So it is not an adequate substitute for mother’s milk.

And baby formula? According to Dr Martha Neuringer, an authority on infant milk, the low omega-3, high omega-6 content in infant formulas causes an imbalance among the prostaglandins.

These imbalances can impair your baby’s immune system and predispose your infant to cancer and heart trouble later in life. However, she continues, should you for any reason decide not to breastfeed, feeding your baby a few drops of flaxseed oil daily will help to make up the deficiency of omega-3 essential fatty acids.

The UNICEF report states that babies who are fed with artificial formulas are at greater risk of an alarming range of conditions such as gastro-intestinal infections, respiratory infections, necrotising enterocolitis (the bowel tissue starts to die), urinary tract infections, ear infections, allergies, diabetes and obesity.

So, bottle-feeding pros…

Of course, for some new moms, bottlefeeding is the only option. And it certainly has its advocates. * It’s often easier to get a baby to start taking food from a bottle than the breast (although once you get the knack it’s really not an issue). * Breastfeeding can be painful at first. Sore nipples and the feeling of discomfort experienced by some moms are inconvenient. Bottle-feeding bypasses the pain. * Bottles are easy to fill and transport, helping new moms to adapt to their schedules. * Almost anybody can bottle-feed your baby, especially partners and family.

…and cons * Milk formulas do not offer the same health benefits that breast milk does. * They are can be quite costly. * Sterilising bottles and equipment is timeconsuming. * There’s a chance the mom may not develop that special bond with her baby that breastfeeding offers.

It’s clear that breast milk is best for your baby. But being stressed about it doesn’t help. If, however hard you try, you cannot breastfeed or your baby shows no interest, do not feel a sense of failure. Breast might be best but it’s not the only way.

Acknowledgements & Photo credits Article courtesy of Flora Force. http://www.floraforce.co.za/is- breastfeedingreally-best-for-your-baby/ 1. Photo of breastfeeding by By Petr Kratochvil [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons 2. Photo of bottle feeding courtesy of patrisyu /

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Childhood Innocence Children are born pure and innocent, loving unconditionally and trusting all that they come into contact with.

By Margi McAlpine .Innocence is a quality in itself and not simply the lack of guilt or shame.

Unfortunately somewhere in your life you will lose that innocence and stop loving and trusting as you did before. This does not have to be a permanent loss and you should not live in constant fear in anticipation of this happening. The wisdom and knowledge that you have accrued during your life challenges and experiences is the key to recapturing this wonderful state.

The challenges and issues that you have faced in your life have shaped your personality and character. There might have been times when you became cynical or filled with anger or fear. This would have blocked your life force and things would not have been able to flow properly.

Release any shame or guilt that you might feel, forgiving yourself unconditionally and allowing yourself to be the amazing being that you actually are. This will allow you to heal and return to a state of innocence and purity.

Remember that you are a child of God and therefore perfect in every way!

Angel Card Reading – Interpretation by Margi of Earth Magic Oracle Cards by Stephen D Farmer

The Most Fun Baby Signs

by Brittany Ferrell

The use of baby sign language has pretty much saved my life and my sanity. I started using it with my toddler because our failure to communicate was causing us both a great deal of stress. There were tears and the stomping of feet coupled with an overall feeling of desperation.

I have found rubbing the tummy to be a more effective way to teach this sign, as it is what we naturally seem to do when we feel hungry as adults. You could also use the sign for “eat”, in which you pinch all of your fingers together and move them to your mouth like you are eating.

My toddler was not happy about the situation either. I began by teaching her the signs she would need to communicate her basic needs: hunger, thirst, pain, and discomfort (the need for a nap or a diaper change). Once we became fluent with these signs, I started adding signs to our repertoire to help develop my daughter’s oral vocabulary, but these signs are also fun.

These signs for hunger are different than making signs for different types of food.

These signs are fun to make and give you a sense of your child’s food preferences very early on. Once your child learns numerous signs for foods, you can find yourself in danger of becoming a short order cook!

Here are 5 of the most fun baby Signs!

1. Signs for Food To make the baby sign for hunger, you make a “c” shape with your hand and then move your arm up and down, from your throat to your stomach, like food going down.

You can learn the signs along with your child and make everyday tasks like cooking dinner and going grocery shopping opportunities to engage in actual conversation!

Signs for Animals and Nursery Rhymes 2. Signs for Animals If you have a pet, these are great signs to begin with. The sign for “dog” is made by slapping your leg, as if calling a dog. My daughter slaps her bum instead, which I find too hysterical to correct. The objective it to encourage communication with your child, so you may have to make some modifications to the signs and that is okay!

You may also pair the sign with your pet’s name and you will discover that your pet may begin responding to both the sign and verbal commands. I have found that the ability to communicate with our dog has increased my daughter’s confidence when attempting verbal approximations.

For some great belly laughs, teach your child the sign and the sound an animal makes the next time you are reading an animal picture book.

This combination of audio, visual, and kinesthetic cues speaks to your child’s multiple intelligences. The animal signs are fun to act out, as well.

For example, you pretend like your arm is a trunk when making the sign for “elephant” and scratch your arm pits to make the sign for “monkey”. Before you know it, it will appear as if your entire family is engaged in a game of animal charades.

3. Signs in Nursery Rhymes Nursery rhymes are a great way to build your child’s early literacy skills. Rhyme and repetition help develop phonemic and phonological awareness. These are the building blocks of reading.

Nursery rhymes also improve your child’s cognitive development, as it builds memory capabilities. Adding the physical component of adding signs to the rhymes also improves memory of the rhyme, while teaching rhythm. Singing, dancing, signing, and performing these classic rhymes will also build your child’s confidence. Go ahead, do the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” song with your child for the millionth time today. You are actually setting your child up for life long success!

4. Signs for Hobbies/Interests The sign for “play” is like making the “hang loose” sign with both hands (extending out your pinkies and thumbs while keeping the rest of your fingers together). This is a fun sign for people of any age to act out, but you can couple this sign with other signs that reflect your child’s interests. For example, you could pair “play” with “ball” (palms facing one another, fingers extended like you are holding a grapefruit, then moving your hands together and apart) to ask if your child wants to play with the ball.

You can tailor your sign language acquisition to include the particular objects and activities that your child is interested in.

I validate her feelings by making the sign back to her and then pepper her with questions like, “Do you like the dog’s soft fur?” “Do you love to snuggle with your dog?” “Were those kisses wet?” I am trying to teach her to think about her feelings while also attempting to expand her vocabulary with words like soft and wet.

You might want to learn the words for car, truck, and motorcycle or the words for musical instruments, depending on the child.

Of course, if your child is like mine, you will soon develop an immense sign vocabulary as his/her interests and fascinations change daily!

5. Signs for Feelings One of the most important aspect of communication is the ability to convey our feelings and emotions to another. Our little ones are bundles of emotions, both positive and negative. It usually pretty obvious when your child is happy because he/she will squeal in delight and clap their hands and it is even more apparent when your child is unhappy because you will hear about it at the top of their lungs To make the sign for “happy”, act like you are brushing your hands in circles up your chest a few times. When making this sign, it helps to smile broadly to emphasize the feeling. You can begin asking your child if they are happy and what makes them happy. My daughter loves to let me know how happy it makes her to pet our dog…or any other dog for that matter. I knew from the expression on her face that she loved petting dogs, but showing her how to share the inner workings of her young mind has set the stage for, what I hope will be, a lifetime of open communication.

Similarly, it is important to get your child in the habit of explaining why they are upset when they start melting down, so that you may problem solve together. The sign for “frustrated” is making by taking one hand to the opposite cheek like you are saying, “I have had it up to here!” The sign for “sad” is made by running your fingers down your face like imaginary tears are falling.

One of the best signs for feelings, or any sign for that matter, is the sign for “I love you”. To make this sign, put your thumb, index, and pinkie finger up and your ring and middle fingers down. Then, wave your hand back and forth. The day my daughter just looked up at me with her big, brown eyes and made the “I love you” sign followed by a giant hug around the legs, brought me to tears.

As you are learning sign language along with your child, remember that it is okay to make modifications to best suit your needs. Once you have introduced a sign, keep practicing it consistently, even after your child has mastered it. Add to your sign language vocabulary based on the needs of you and your child. Most importantly, have fun!

“Boredom is a blessing,� I always say. Of course, when my kids were young they groaned when I said that because they were looking for me to provide a readymade solution. But as I saw it then and am even more convinced now, constantly rescuing a child from the clutches of boredom is not a good idea. I looked at it this way...

Stuck in a tree? I'm right there for you.

Stuck on a homework problem? No problem. How can I help?

Stuck with nothing to do? Over to you, kid.

Now, if you're thinking that sounds harsh, please keep reading.

"A moving child is a learning child." Gill is a globally recognized child development authority, specializing in the foundations of learning through movement and play. Gill provides developmental expertise to parents, preschools, schools, and international companies such as Hasbro, Inc., based on her 30+ years in preschool and primary education. With her best-selling book MOVING TO LEARN, Gill has influenced the education of preschoolers nationwide in New Zealand, and is branching out worldwide with new and exciting Moving Smart initiatives.

GILL CONNELL Founder, MOVING SMART Mum, Grandmum, Teacher, International Lecturer, Author and Consultant

Re-Purposed Pencil Holders

These St. Patrick’s Day activities for kids are a festive way to inspire plenty of imaginative play time fun with leprechauns, rainbows, and more! They all use common household items you probably already have on-hand. We even have a few free printables to make these St. Patrick’s Day activities for kids super EASY to do! Yay for simple, festive, and fun activities to do with the kids!!

St. Patrick’s Day Treats — Rainbow Fruit Pizza This Rainbow Fruit Pizza is a great way to encourage kids to try to eat a variety of colorful fruits. Invite the kids to join you in the kitchen for some quality time together while they prepare their own snack!

Make a Rainbow Decoration from a Paper Plate This colorful rainbow can be made from a paper plate, and just a few other common craft supplies you probably already have on-hand.

Added bonus — it is sure to bring lots of smiles!

FOR MORE FUN AND GAMES – FOLLOW THE ARROW AND ENJOY VALERIE’S GREAT IDEAS AND CREATIVITY. LOTS OF FREE DOWNLOADS

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By Lisa Raleigh

Banana Oat Pancakes Ingredients: 2 bananas 2 eggs ¼ cup rolled oats 3 T vanilla protein powder ½ teaspoon baking powder Pinch of salt Maple syrup or honey to serve (optional) Fresh fruit of your choice, to serve

Method: • In a blender, combine the peeled banana, eggs, oats, protein powder baking powder and salt.

• Blend until the mixture is as smooth as you like, then let the batter stand for 10-20 minutes until thickened slightly.

• Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.

• Fry spoonful's of the batter until golden brown on both sides.

• Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup and fresh fruit of your choice.

Protein Overnight Oats Recipe Just four ingredients make a delicious breakfast or snack that’s packed with protein.

Ingredients: 3 cups fine oats 4 cups almond milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 T vanilla protein powder 2 T chia seeds Pinch of salt ½ cup fat-free Greek yogurt

Method: • Place all ingredients except the Greek yogurt into a large container and mix until combined.

• Put the top on the container and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight to let the ingredients soak and expand.

• Finally, add in the Greek yogurt, mix and enjoy. Store in refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Today I have a wonderful spiced sweet potato latkes recipe topped with apple sauce and sour cream. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these latkes take on an elevated twist to the more traditional potato latke. Although these sweet potato latkes are wonderful by themselves, a small dollop of applesauce and sour cream topped on each one makes them more special.

Each bite is the perfect balance of savory and sweet.

Instructions Ingredients 230g sweet potatoes, peeled and • Heat the oil to a medium-high heat in a 10 or 12-inch skillet. coarsely grated • Using a colander, strain as much 1 egg, lightly beaten out of the grated sweet potatoes as 3 tablespoons flour you can.

2 teaspoons brown sugar • In a large bowl, add the sweet potatoes, egg, flour, brown sugar, ¾ teaspoon cinnamon cinnamon, curry powder, onion ½ teaspoon curry powder powder, salt, and nutmeg. Mix ½ teaspoon onion powder well.

• Form small flat pancakes using ½ teaspoon kosher salt about 2 tablespoons of mixture. ¼ teaspoon nutmeg • Fry four latkes at a time for 1½-2 1/2 cup vegetable oil minutes per side until browned.

1/2 cup applesauce Remove the latkes from the oil and place on a plate lined with paper ½ cup sour cream towels.

1 tablespoon chopped chives or • Serve warm with applesauce and parsley sour cream.

• Garnish with chopped chives or

By Alice Currah parsley

Help Your Child Learn to Resolve Conflicts Children argue with their friends. A lot.

According to Brett Laursen and Gwen Pursell of Florida Atlantic University, preschool and young elementary school friends average almost three conflicts per hour. Friends actually argue more than nonfriends—probably because they spend more time together and feel more comfortable expressing their opinions. Fortunately, conflicts between friends are generally less intense and more likely to be resolved than other conflicts.

Toddlers and preschoolers mostly argue about things, such as who gets to use the yellow ball. In elementary school, arguments tend to be about actions, such as what one friend does or doesn’t want another friend to do. Young elementary school children also tend to say, “I’ll be your friend if you do this!” or “I won’t be your friend if you do that!”

Arguments with a friend can be very upsetting for kids, especially when, in the heat of the moment, someone declares, “You’re not my friend anymore!” It takes time and practice for kids to learn how to resolve conflicts. If you see your child having an argument with a friend, it may be helpful to step in to diffuse tensions by asking, “Who wants a snack?” or “What could you do that would be fair to both of you?” Here are some more ways you can help your child learn to resolve conflicts.

Start with Empathy If your child is upset about an argument with a friend, your understanding and comfort can help a lot. Although you might be tempted to point out what your child did wrong, your first job is to just acknowledge how your child is feeling. You could say, “It hurt your feelings when he did that” or “You’re mad that she wasn’t playing by the rules.”

Explain the Friend’s Perspective It takes lots of practice for kids to learn to imagine how someone else might be thinking or feeling. By describing a friend’s perspective, you can help your child move past simplistic and unproductive explanations along the lines of “He’s just mean!” Being able to imagine events from the friend’s perspective can help your child let go of anger and perhaps apologize or compromise.

Help Your Child Speak up Appropriately Resolving a conflict sometimes requires that your child be able to explain what he or she wants. Help them plan and practice what to say. Emphasize what your child wants the friend to do, moving forward. For instance, your child could say, “I want a turn,” “Please don’t call me that name. I don’t like it,” or “From now on, could you please ask before borrowing my eraser?”

Encourage Relationship Repair An argument with a friend doesn’t have to mean the end of a friendship. Saying “I’m sorry” is often a good way to mend a rift, and being willing to forgive a friend’s mistake is an act of generosity. We adults tend to want to talk things out, but research by Laursen and his colleagues shows that children most often resolve conflicts by being apart for a little while, to give tempers time to cool, and then trying again. Your child’s path to making up with a friend may be as simple as just being nice to that friend tomorrow.

If your child seems to be having more arguments than play with a particular friend, you may want to encourage other friendships. When there’s more fighting than fun, friendships don’t usually last.

This article is for general educational purposes only. It does not constitute and should not substitute for individual professional advice, psychotherapy, or the provision of psychological services.

Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD is a clinical psychologist in Princeton, NJ. She is an internationally published author of books about parenting and children’s feelings and friendships. She is also professor for The Great Courses audio/video series Raising Emotionally and Socially Healthy Kids.

By AMY MCCREADY

Twins… double the love, the fun, and the joy! But sometimes twins can be double the trouble – or at least that’s how it feels when sibling competition kicks into high gear and you’re trying to manage the chaos in “stereo.” And it’s not just twins. Parents with siblings close in age can experience the same frustration. So what can you do to help keep the peace and nurture the amazing relationship between your twins or close in age kids?

Try these 3 simple strategies to keep sibling competition at bay…

READ MORE

What do you do when Mom and Dad disagree on a discipline philosophy? Dealing with difficult behavior from toddlers or teens can be challenging in any family, but when Mom and Dad are at different ends of the discipline spectrum, everyone loses.

Fortunately, there are 5 simple strategies to bring you closer together in the discipline debate:

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Childhood disrupted Adversity in childhood can create long-lasting scars, damaging our cells and our DNA, and making us sick as adults

by Donna Jackson Nakazawa

Laura’s Story If you saw Laura walking down the New York City street where she lives today, you’d see a well-dressed 46-year-old woman with auburn hair and green eyes, who exudes a sense of ‘I matter here.’ She looks entirely in charge of her life, but behind Laura’s confident demeanor lies a history of trauma: a bipolar mother who vacillated between braiding her daughter’s hair and peppering her with insults, and a father who moved out-of-state with his wife-to-be when Laura was 15 years old.

She recalls a family trip to the Grand Canyon when she was 10. In a photo taken that day, Laura and her parents sit on a bench, sporting tourist whites. ‘Anyone looking at us would have assumed that we were a normal, loving family.’ But as they put on fake smiles for the camera, Laura’s mother suddenly pinched her daughter’s midriff and told her to stop ‘staring off into space’. A second pinch: ‘No wonder you’re turning into a butterball, you ate so much cheesecake last night you’re hanging over your shorts!’ If you look hard at Laura’s face in the photograph, you can see that she’s not squinting at the Arizona sun, but holding back tears.

After her father left the family, he sent cards and money, but called less and less.

Meanwhile, her mother’s untreated bipolar disorder worsened. Sometimes, Laura says: ‘My mom would go on a vitriolic diatribe about my dad until spittle foamed on her chin. I’d stand there, trying not to hear her as she went on and on, my whole body shaking inside.’ Laura never invited friends over, for fear they’d find out her secret: her mom ‘wasn’t like other moms’.

Some 30 years later, Laura says: ‘In many ways, no matter where I go or what I do, I’m still in my mother’s house.’ Today, ‘If a car swerves into my lane, a grocery store clerk is rude, my husband and I argue, or my boss calls me in to talk over a problem, I feel something flip over inside. It’s like there’s a match standing inside too near a flame, and with the smallest breeze, it ignites.’

To see Laura, you’d never know that she is ‘always shaking a little, only invisibly, deep down in my cells’.

Her sense that something is wrong inside is mirrored by her physical health. During a routine exam, Laura’s doctor discovered that Laura was suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy and would require a cardioverter defibrillator to keep her heart pumping. The two-inch scar from her surgery only hints at the more severe scars she hides from her childhood.

John’s Story For as long as John can remember, he says, his parents’ marriage was deeply troubled, as was his relationship with his father. ‘I consider myself to have been raised by my mom and her mom. I longed to feel a deeper connection with my dad, but it just wasn’t there. He couldn’t extend himself in that way.’ John’s poor relationship with his father was due, in large part, to his father’s reactivity and need for control. For instance, if John’s father said that the capital of New York was New York City, there was just no use telling him that it was Albany.

As John got older, it seemed wrong to him that his father ‘was constantly pointing out all the mistakes that my brother and I made, without acknowledging any of his own’. His father relentlessly criticized his mother, who was ‘kinder and more confident’. Aged 12, John began to interject himself into the fights between his parents. He remembers one Christmas Eve, when he found his father with his hands around his mother’s neck and had to separate them. ‘I was always trying to be the adult between them,’ John says.

John is now a boyish 40, with warm hazel eyes and a wide, affable grin. But beneath his easy, open demeanor, he struggles with an array of chronic illnesses. By the time he was 33, his blood pressure was shockingly high; he began to experience bouts of stabbing stomach pain and diarrhoea and often had blood in his stool; he struggled from headaches almost daily. By 34, he’d developed chronic fatigue, and was so wiped out that he sometimes struggled to make it through an entire workday.

John’s relationships, like his body, were never completely healthy. He ended a year-long romance with a woman he deeply loved because he felt riddled with anxiety around her normal, ‘happy family’. He just didn’t know how to fit in. ‘She wanted to help,’ he says, ‘but instead of telling her how insecure I was around her, I told her I wasn’t in love with her.’ Bleeding from his inflamed intestines, exhausted by chronic fatigue, debilitated and distracted by pounding headaches, often struggling with work, and unable to feel comfortable in a relationship, John was stuck in a universe of pain and solitude, and he couldn’t get out.

Childhood disrupted continued…

Follow the arrow to read the full article

BOTTOM LINE… Recent studies indicate that individuals who practice mindfulness meditation and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) show an increase in gray matter in parts of the brain associated with managing stress, and experience shifts in genes that regulate their stress response and their levels of inflammatory hormones. Other research suggests that a process known as neurofeedback can help to regrow connections in the brain that were lost to adverse childhood experiences.

Meditation, mindfulness, neurofeedback, cognitive therapy, EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) therapy: these promising new avenues to healing can be part of any patient’s recovery plan, if only healthcare practitioners would begin to treat the whole patient – past, present and future, without making distinctions between physical and mental health – and encourage patients to explore all the treatment options available to them. The more we learn about the toxic impact of early stress, the better equipped we are to counter its effects, and help to uncover new strategies and modalities to come back to who it is we really are, and who it was we might have been had we not encountered childhood adversity in the first place.

Donna Jackson Nakazawa is a science journalist whose work has appeared in Psychology Today, The Washington Post and Glamour, among others. Her latest book is Childhood Disrupted (2015). She lives in Maryland

This is an adapted and reprinted extract from ‘Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology, and How You Can Heal’ (Atria), by Donna Jackson Nakazawa. Copyright © Donna Jackson Nakazawa, 2015.

Let us protect the things you care about

We all know how important it is to be insured, however, as we buy or receive new items we often forget to reassess our policies or see to what extent our possessions are adequately covered.

Here are a few things that we tend to accidentally leave out of our policies.

BICYCLE GEAR We know that you’ve invested a lot of time and money to get your bicycle kitted out and that’s why it’s so essential that you get the right insurance to protect your investment and keep you on the road and pedaling. With our InCycle insurance product you’re covered for the theft, damage and hijacking of your cycling gear. Because we take your personal safety seriously, InCycle also covers medical expenses and emergency transportation. Call Indwe today about getting the advice you need to keep your bicycle wheels turning.

JEWELLERY When you leave your house to go to work, to a meeting, to drop the kids off at school or to buy groceries, you want peace of mind that your jewellery, watch and the other personal possessions that you carry with you are covered for loss, theft or damage. We’re serious about protecting the things you value, and that’s why we provide All Risk insurance (also known as portable possessions insurance). Speak to us today about getting the best cover for your treasured gold and gems.

MOBILE OFFICE Gone are the days where your employees spends their eight-hour working day glued to their desk. Today, hours are more flexible, offices are more mobile and people can work from anywhere, anytime. If you have a small business, where your employees work away from your office, it’s important that you insure all your devices like laptops, cellphones and tablets from accidental loss or damage. Remember that when your business grows and you hire new employees, and then purchase additional devices, your insurance policy needs to be updated.

Speak to your advisor to ensure that all your valuable assets are covered.

At Indwe Risk Services we know that your possessions are important to you and that’s why we provide insurance advice that can be tailored to your specific needs.

This E-book provides information about many different developmental areas of the young child, such as the brain, the senses, emotions and the imagination. It includes experiential exercises for individuals or groups. Colourful pictures throughout. Plus five wholesome stories.

To place your order, email: info@helenhansen.co with the subject line: Book Order.

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By Katrina Schwartz

It has become a cultural cliché that raising adolescents is the most difficult part of parenting.

It’s common to joke that when kids are in their teens they are sullen, uncommunicative, more interested in their phones than in their parents and generally hard to take. But this negative trope about adolescents misses the incredible opportunity to positively shape a kid’s brain and future life course during this period of development. “[Adolescence is] a stage of life when we can really thrive, but we need to take advantage of the opportunity,” said Temple University neuroscientist Laurence Steinberg at a Learning and the Brain conference in Boston. Steinberg has spent his career studying how the adolescent brain develops and believes there is a fundamental disconnect between the popular characterizations of adolescents and what’s really going on in their brains.

Because the brain is still developing during adolescence, it has incredible plasticity. It’s akin to the first five years of life, when a child’s brain is growing and developing new pathways all the time in response to experiences. Adult brains are somewhat plastic as well — otherwise they wouldn’t be able to learn new things — but “brain plasticity in adulthood involves minor changes to existing circuits, not the wholesale development of new ones or elimination of others,” Steinberg said.

Adolescence is the last time in a person’s life that the brain can be so dramatically overhauled.

“The adolescent brain is exquisitely sensitive to experience,” Steinberg said. “It is like the recording device is turned up to a different level of sensitivity.” That’s why humans tend to remember even the most mundane events from adolescence much better than even important events that took place later in life. It also means adolescence could be an extremely important window for learning that sticks.

Steinberg notes this window is also lengthening as scientists observe the onset of puberty happening earlier and young people taking on adult roles later in life. Between these two factors, one biological and one social, adolescence researchers now generally say the period lasts 15 years between the ages of 10 and 25.

“When adolescence is this long, we can’t look at it as something to just survive,” Steinberg said.

Teenagers get a bad reputation as risk-takers because parts of their brains are more plastic than others, creating an imbalance. The prefrontal cortex, which controls things like planning, thinking ahead, weighing risk and reward, and logical reasoning is the most malleable during adolescence. Meanwhile, sex hormones released by puberty affect brain functioning by adding more dopamine to the system. Every time an adolescent feels good about something he gets a dopamine squirt. That’s why adolescents seek out pleasurable experiences, despite the risks.

“Nothing will ever feel as good to you for the rest of your life as it did when you were a teenager,” Steinberg said. The imbalance between an aroused dopamine system and a still developing prefrontal cortex, which would inhibit some of the risky pleasure-seeking behaviors, is why adolescence is such a dangerous time. While adolescents are extremely healthy, mortality rates increase by 200-300 percent due to risky behavior. Scientists have also shown that reward pathways are activated when an adolescent is with a group of peers, which is why kids take extra risks when with friends that they might not take when alone.

The imbalance between aroused dopamine systems and self-regulation systems sounds like a scary story, but it also represents a unique opportunity to reach adolescents with positive stimuli that will be hard-wired in high definition years later. Unfortunately, American high schools are by and large not taking advantage of this opportunity.

“Our high school students are among the worst in the developed world,” Steinberg said. The high school math and reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) have been flat for 40 years. In contrast, both elementary school students and middle school students have improved. And U.S. schools tend to spend more money on high schools, those teachers make more money, and on the whole elementary schools enroll more lowincome kids than high schools. Steinberg contends that the traditional arguments for why schools fail don’t explain everything that’s going on.

“It’s because our high schools are so boring,” Steinberg said. He notes U.S. high school students who study abroad report their experiences were more interesting and more challenging, while foreign students who study in the U.S. say American high school is more boring.

Steinberg believes part of the reason school is so boring for teens is that it doesn’t challenge them; they’re bored. Students themselves report that they can get by in school without doing much. “When we are not challenging our kids in high school, not only are we hindering their academic development, but we also aren’t taking advantage of the plastic prefrontal cortex,” Steinberg said. The prefrontal cortex is strengthened by challenge and novelty.

“This is when we want them to be challenged and pushed because this is when we can develop advanced thinking, as well as self-regulation,” Steinberg said.

Teachers often say their students struggle with work that is below grade level and must catch up before they can take on more challenging tasks. But scaffolding can ensure that even the catch-up process is challenging in an interesting way. Consistently providing students with work that is slightly more challenging than their current level keeps them engaged. If the work is too easy, they will disengage and become frustrated.

The problem is that many high schools confuse “challenging work” with “amount of work.”

Students are stressed out by the volume of tasks they must complete each night or week, but that isn’t the same thing as being challenged by the work. Steinberg points out that hours of repetitious work that is not challenging do nothing but make kids hate school.

“Rates of anxiety disorders among adolescents are at record levels,” Steinberg said. “We are raising generations of students who we are driving crazy with what we are asking of them.”

Recognizing this pitfall is not only important for maximizing the opportunity to make a lasting impact on students’ extremely malleable developing brains, but also because a plastic brain is also vulnerable to the wrong influences.

Adolescence is the most likely time for mental illness to develop, and substance abuse is 10 times worse if a student starts using before the age of 15. “It’s not just the type of people who begin using earlier, it’s the way the adolescent brain is responding to the use,” Steinberg said.

The aroused dopamine system in the adolescent brain craves drugs, nicotine or alcohol in a different way than at other times in life.

Stress also has a big impact on adolescent brains. A recent study from UC Berkeley showed that growing up as an adolescent during wartime took years off people’s lives. “[Stress] takes more years off of your life if you are a teenager than if you are a child or an adult,” Steinberg said.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A MALLEABLE BRAIN Understanding the neuroscience at work in the adolescents populating classrooms can help teachers develop lessons that challenge, engage and satisfy the search for novelty in teens.

Those experiences in turn could be some of the most meaningful ones in their lives. If educators and parents don’t take note of this research, kids will continue to tune out, seek pleasure in risky places and continue on into college-level courses unprepared.

Research has shown that targeting prefrontal cortex development in adolescents does help.

Despite being a bit clichéd, Steinberg pointed to initial research findings that mindfulness in schools can improve self-regulation, the single most important quality to leading a successful life. Steinberg says that statistically there are four things everyone has to do to have a good life: graduate high school, don’t have a child until being married, don’t get in trouble with the law and don’t be idle.

“If you play by those rules you will be guaranteed a basically decent life,” Steinberg said. “This is not a moral thing, this is a statistical fact.”

Self-regulation and delayed gratification are important skills to clear those four hurdles.

Steinberg basically says that if educators and parents can teach kids self-regulation, they can reduce poverty.

Source:

http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/12/21/harnessing-the-incredible-learning-potential-ofthe-adolescent-brain/

Related articles

Author

Katrina Schwartz Katrina Schwartz is a journalist based in San Francisco. She's worked at KPCC public radio in LA and has reported on air and online for KQED since 2010. She's a staff writer for KQED's education blog MindShift.

Mean behavior takes a variety of forms, but when researchers and policy makers say “bully,� they mean something very specific. The precise definition of bullying is when one person or group with greater status or power chronically mistreats a person with lesser power or status over time.

We might be better served by referring to mean behavior in terms that specify the form it takes: social aggression such as social exclusion, malicious gossip, and friendship manipulation or physical aggression.

If we give mean behaviors more specific terms, we focus on the precise behavior rather than assume that someone who is occasionally mean is a mean person all the time. Being more specific helps us think more clearly about what we want for young people who engage in these behaviors, and about those who are the victims.

Here are some ways parents can help their teenagers deal with mean behaviors.

1. Find opportunities to help your teenager make different friends.

Social exclusion can hurt, but adolescents and really all of us can try to control our own responses to it by expanding our social world. Having just one group of friends does have its disadvantages: It becomes too easy to stake your soul on how a single group feels about you.

2. Remind your teenager, “It’s not about you.”

When a person behaves harshly, many factors are likely at work, most having nothing to do with anything the target of the aggression did or did not do.

3. Remind yourself, “You can only do so much.”

As parents, we have to understand that our best hope, on a good day, is influencing our own children. We really do not have much chance of fixing or repairing someone else’s children so that they never treat our children meanly again, as much as we might wish we could.

4. Be a good listener.

What parents can do is listen to their adolescent children describe social challenges, help them recognize specific forms of mean behavior for exactly what they are, formulate goals for what they hope happens when they encounter the person again tomorrow, and talk about what they can do to help things go better in the future.

Most of all, we can focus on helping teens have what all adolescents deserve: companionship with a variety of people they enjoy and friends they can trust.

Dr. Marion K. Underwood is the Ashbel Smith Professor of Psychological Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Teen marijuana use may seem like a normal part of the high school experience. How many of us know someone who uses or have personally have tried a blunt, a bowl, or a hit off of a friend’s bong?

I remember growing up and hearing my uncle talk about smoking a ‘joint’ with nostalgia as he recalled the 1970’s. Well, marijuana is still extremely popular and when asked, many teens think it’s healthier than smoking cigarettes.

However, marijuana can have major impacts on health and mood.

Among students in high school, nearly 21% have used marijuana at least once in the past month. Marijuana is widely available and relatively easy to get. Many teens who use marijuana regularly have also tried other drugs, such as ecstasy or mix smoking marijuana with alcohol use.

This combination can lead to devastating consequences if, for example, a teen drives a car while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Popular movies and TV shows frequently refer to marijuana use as if it’s normal and perfectly acceptable (have you seen the movie Friday or watched That 70’s Show?), yet rarely portray any of the dangers.

The harmful health effects of marijuana include worsening of lung function, lack of motivation, increased appetite, poor concentration, poor sleep, and even gynecomastia (or breast tissue development) in males. Marijuana use (not including medical marijuana) is against the law. If caught with marijuana in their possession, teens can have charges that become part of a permanent criminal record.

There are warning signs of substance abuse parents can watch out for, which include: •social withdrawal from friends •declining grades •lack of motivation to participate in activities they previously enjoyed •sneaking out and lying to parents about whereabouts •Missing money/stealing •Friends who use drugs

What parents can do: •Talk with your teens early about your expectations. Discuss consequences for not following the rules and boundaries you set. Allow your teen’s input for what those consequences might be and follow through with them if your teen breaks the rules.

•If you notice warning signs, ask your teen about them, though try to be nonconfrontational. Let them know you love them and are concerned, then tell them what concerns you.

•Talk with your teen’s health care provider as there are options for substance abuse treatment in most major cities.

Though marijuana use may be common and is often portrayed in the media as a ‘normal’ part of being a teen, it can have adverse health effects.

Keep communication open with your teen and if you’re worried that they are using marijuana, let them know why you’re concerned. If your teen is using so much it is impacting their life (such as failing grades, withdrawal from friends, or criminal prosecution) talk with your teen’s medical provider about treatment options for substance abuse.

If you’re raising a teenager you know that, unfortunately, they don’t come with a handy user’s manual. While every adolescent is different and unique, they certainly share some common traits. By sharing what we’ve learned from working with teens — here at Seattle Children’s department of adolescent medicine as well as out in the community — we hope to assist families in navigating through their “teenage years”.

Disclaimer The information contained on Teenology 101 is for networking and informational purposes only, and should not replace the relationship that exists between you and your healthcare provider.

Yolanda N. Evans, MD Adolescent Medicine, Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, Adolescent Behavioral Health

By Jane Parent

Your teenager may have already left home for University or College, either way, parents will want to make sure their teenager understands the basics of personal safety for college students. Here are five safety rules worth sharing.

1. Awareness. Be alert. Being aware of yourself, your surroundings, and other people around you is your best selfdefense. Don’t walk around campus or a big city texting or with your earphones in.

Have your keys out and ready so you don’t have to fumble for them.

2. Use your sixth sense. Your intuition is a powerful subconscious insight into situations and people. If something feels wrong, pay attention—your gut instinct might just be right. If someone feels wrong — certainly if an individual is threatening you in any way — leave immediately.

Never worry about politeness in this type of situation.

3. Lock your doors. Keep your doors and windows locked when you aren’t home.

Depending where your teenager is living, it may also be advisable to keep doors locked when they are at home—and windows closed at night. Don’t open your door unless you know the person knocking, or can verify they have a legitimate reason for being there (hello, pizza order).

Make sure that your car doors are locked and windows rolled up, and when you are driving, leave enough space between you and the car in front of you to allow you to maneuver in an emergency (e.g. pull around car).

4. Rely on the buddy system. Walk with others at night, including to and from your car, the library, or where ever else.

Stay on well-lit, commonly traveled paths.

Always tell a friend where you’re going and when you plan to return. Ask campus security for an escort if you are alone late at night. When at a party or a bar, look out for your friends and ask friends to look out for you.

5. Remember other students are strangers, too. Don’t take rides from strangers, even other students. Never accept a drink from someone you don’t know well. Be cautious about giving out your personal information.

Should You Wake a Sleeping Teenager?

Many teenagers sleep late on the weekend, then struggle to get up for school on Monday morning.

Stories Teachers Share Questions Adolescent Boys Ask About Puberty For boys, the world of puberty is often a silent one when it comes to having meaningful conversations with their dads or adult caregivers. Discussions about growing up are often lacking because guys can feel nervous and uncomfortable talking with one another. Dads may have also experienced embarrassment talking about puberty in their own adolescence.

Health educator Dr. Rob Lehman hopes to change the conversation around puberty by empowering dads and demonstrating helpful ways to talk about sex and puberty. He teaches adolescent boys about the changes in their bodies and behaviors, but he also role models answers to help dads feel better about having conversations about puberty at home.

Dr. Rob Lehman, MD Learn more about how one dad lets his son know he’s open to conversations about sex and puberty and how Dr. Rob’s class helped inform future discussions. You’ll also hear how Dr. Rob addresses boys’ wide-ranging concerns about puberty, including myths about masturbation. Here are some of the questions he typically gets in class: • • • •

After completing his training in Pediatrics in Denver, Colorado, Rob found his passion by pursuing additional fellowship training in Adolescent Medicine. Ever since, he has been working to promote health care for teens as a teacher, clinician, and policy developer.

•

How many zits on average does a boy get?

How do you know when sex will make a baby?

How long does sex take?

How many times do you usually have to have sex before a baby comes?

Is it normal to smell for a couple of months and then have the smell go away?

By Lisa Raleigh www.lisaraleigh.co.za

Us humans are growing more health-conscious by the day, and our supplement intake is increasing accordingly. By now, we are well aware that a variety of fresh produce is the best way to take in the many nutrients our bodies need, but this is also by no means the easiest road to health. Enter: supplements.

What a pleasure to routinely pop a few pills down our throats and tick ‘healthy eating’ off our daily to-do list! The problem is: this is more complicated than it sounds.

Don’t get me wrong, supplements are very powerful aids in this quest, but it takes careful and realistic use of them to maximise their benefits. Of growing concern is the idea that ‘more’ is ‘more’ when it comes to loading up on supplements. This couldn’t be further from the truth! And in many cases, it can be harmful to our health as well. Here are a few important things to know about vitamins when it comes to getting your intake right:

Why Balance Makes Perfect Technically speaking, vitamins and minerals are organic compounds that have important roles in many of the body’s metabolic functions. Getting the right balance of all these nutrients is what helps us function optimally. Since the modern diet can often be void of fresh produce, it is typically assumed that MORE vitamins and minerals always means BETTER, when the reality is that we should be striving for a balance of nutrients – not an excess.

Being too alkaline is, in actual fact, just as unhealthy and dangerous as being acidic…

A similar concept is that of the body’s pH levels. We need a slightly alkaline pH of roughly 7.4, and since so many of us are acidic, we are always looking to be as alkaline as possible versus simply looking to bring our pH back to a balance. Being too alkaline is, in actual fact, just as unhealthy and dangerous as being acidic – it’s just far more uncommon. And so the misconception that ‘more’ is always ‘better’ breeds.

Food vs. Supplementation When vitamins are taken in supplement form, they are ingested at rates that could never be achieved through even the healthiest of diets. They are also typically isolated compounds, and don’t have the many others surrounding them that they would in food form.

Removing a compound from its food source and reintroducing it in supplement form, without its many partners, can not only mean it is less effective, but it could also even be harmful in large doses.

Can do damage Take vitamins A, D, E and K for example. These when taken are fat soluble, which excessively… means the body can store them, versus passing out the excess as it does with water-soluble types. Taking high doses of these vitamins over a long period of time – particularly vitamin A – can actually do serious damage to your body, and even be cancer-causing rather than preventative! What! Vitamin B6 – a watersoluble vitamin – has been linked with nerve damage when taken excessively, and the ever-popular vitamin C – also a water-soluble vitamin – has been known to cause nausea, stomach cramps, diarrhoea and even kidney stones when taken in excess!

It can also interfere with your body’s ability to metabolise other nutrients, leaving you with unwanted nutrient deficiencies and excesses. Vitamin deficiencies and excesses also take time – sometimes even months – for the body to show symptoms. That means that your triple doses of vitamin C once you’ve already been hit with flu aren’t going to significantly impact your symptoms.

Aim for Daily Recommendations.. Not excess So, let’s not get confused. Credible vitamin supplements ARE good for you! You just need to be tallying up what nutrients you take in organically (through your food), and which ones you would be better off ingesting through supplementation – and then sticking to reasonable, recommended doses.

More is NOT better, and supplements should never be a replacement for healthy eating. A diet rich in fruits, veggies and whole grains will give you the nutrients you need, in the optimal doses our body wants them in. In short? There is just no replacement for healthy eating!

Join Lisa Raleigh’s well i am 5: 100 day challenge starting 9th March 2016 Entries from R549 www.welliam.co.za

Why Dietary Supplements Are So Beneficial Our unique lifestyles and dietary habits mean that our true nutritional requirements can differ significantly from the choice of products that is available on shelf in pharmacies and health shops. This can make selecting the right food supplement, or complementary lifestyle products, very difficult at best.

Taking part in an activity of your As discerning consumers become more aware of the choice, whether its yoga, Pilates, source and production methods of their chosen foods the gym or a quick run in the and supplements, healthier choices are being made. evenings is a great way to de-stress, Consumers of health and wellness products are continually searching for supplements that firstly suit while increasing your vitality and their lifestyle and dietary choices, and secondly aid in fitness levels. achieving and supporting their own individualistic goals. These products are developed to complement your lifestyle, making your approach to eating, health and wellness a realistic one, while ensuring you stay on track with your nutritional requirements.

…the focus on good, quality, healthy food is a necessary and important tool to maintain our good health and wellness levels…

What has become clear over the last decade is that the focus on good, quality, healthy food is a necessary and important tool to maintain our good health and wellness levels. It’s this principle of ‘nutritional stress’ from the over processed and refined foods that has resulted in the health epidemics that we as a Western society face today. And, with the same token, it’s this very principle that has spurred on a global awareness of, and adjustments to the way we choose to consume an array of foods and nutritional supplements, from vegan, vegetarian and Banting approaches.

An absolute commitment to your nutritional plan is an important stepping stone to success. But realistically, this is very difficult to achieve with our fast-paced lifestyles and challenges around complying to strategic eating. It’s all about preparation, planning and making excellent choices around your supplement strategy.

A complimentary, healthy and wellness orientated lifestyle is one that includes a focus on fitness. Taking part in an activity of your choice, whether its Yoga, Pilates, going to the Gym or a quick run in the evenings, exercise is a great way to de-stress, while increasing your vitality and fitness levels. The trick is finding something that fits into your lifestyle, is enjoyable and provides progress. Naturally, you need to stick to this, or have variables between your training types to remain interested and challenged.

No doubt that as your proficiency and ability levels increase, you will be more motivated to get involved and see progress. The key is to keep moving, stay consistent and love what you do.

The role of nutrition is all about improving your quality of life! It needs to be both complementary to, and beneficial for the goals that you have set out for yourself. One of the most difficult tasks is to maintain the consistency and enjoyment of the approach, so it’s in your interest to look for training variety, while incorporating some of the most enjoyable, tasty and effective supplements into your lifestyle.

For ideas for tasty and healthy supplements have a look at USN’s Actilife Range Article Sourced from USN

NATURE FRESH & CHILD OF THE UNIVERSE PROUDLY SUPPORT

Our History

FACTS

Founded in 2006, Operation Smile South Africa (OSSA) joined Operation Smile, Inc. as its 25th partner country. Based in Cape Town, OSSA medical volunteers provide free surgeries to children and adults throughout Southern and Central Africa, as well as educational and training opportunities that promote sustainability and selfsufficiency throughout the region.

•Every 3 minutes, a child somewhere in the world is born with a cleft lip and cleft palate, and are often unable to eat, speak, socialize or smile.

•One in 10 of children born with a cleft will die before their first birthday.

•Approximately one in every 1000 babies in Africa is born with a cleft lip or cleft palate.

•Children with facial deformities who do not receive reconstructive surgery often have difficulty breathing, drinking, eating and speaking. As a result, many suffer from malnutrition, medical and psychological problems.

•Many children with untreated cleft lips and cleft palates develop permanent and significant hearing loss.

•A cleft lip or cleft palate operation and follow up care costs approximately R5500.

•In as little as 45 minutes, one cleft lip surgery can change a child's life forever.

•Operation Smile South Africa (OSSA) has treated more than 4 000 children since 2006.

•Since 1982, more than 200 000 children and young adults have been treated by thousands of Operation Smile volunteers worldwide and thousands of healthcare professionals have been trained globally. http://southafrica.operationsmile.org/

WELCOME TO LIONHEARTED KIDS Lionhearted Kids is a non-profit organization that believes in building upon the strengths and resiliency of the child, family, and community. We hold firmly to the inherent wisdom that exists within each of us collectively and cross-culturally. Therefore, the role of the therapist and supporter is to work alongside community members as facilitators. Regardless of one’s country of origin or belief system, we believe that the experience of one’s own reflection in another human being is essential to understanding our interconnectedness, developing compassion, and embracing our humanity. www.lionheartedkids.org

FOUNDER / EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – Lauren Pech

The Future of the Ketogenic Diet The ketogenic diet (KD) has been applied for the nutritional management of refractory (drugresistant) epilepsy since 1921 with research continuously expanding on the applications thereof [1].

This high fat, low carbohydrate and adequate protein diet give rise to a metabolic state comparable to fasting, if managed correctly, without catabolism [1]. It is recommended to implement the ketogenic diet in individuals suffering from epilepsy after two anticonvulsants have been unsuccessful in alleviating seizures [2].

There are several other medical conditions in which the KD can be implemented even earlier [2]. For example, Glucose transporter I (GLUT1) deficiency syndrome (DS), in which the KD is the treatment of choice [2]. In GLUT1-DS there is an impairment in the transport of glucose to the brain, which means that the brain is deprived of energy, resulting in seizures [2]. The KD is also considered to be the treatment of choice for pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency (PDHD), which is a severe mitochondrial disorder that is associated with a flaw in pyruvate/lactate metabolism [2].

Evidence also shows that the KD provides beneficial effects for individuals suffering from inborn errors of metabolism such as Phosphofructokinase (PFK) deficiency, Glycogen Storage Diseases (GSDs) and disorders of mitochondrial energy supply [2].

In these conditions the KD can target the underlying pathophysiology or clinical symptoms in order to alleviate side effects associated with the condition [1].

ADVERTORIAL

Evidence also shows that the KD provides beneficial effects for individuals suffering from inborn errors of metabolism such as Phosphofructokinase (PFK) deficiency, Glycogen Storage Diseases (GSDs) and disorders of mitochondrial energy supply [2]. In these conditions the KD can target the underlying pathophysiology or clinical symptoms in order to alleviate side effects associated with the condition [1].

Data has been emerging in which it is suggested that the KD can be an effective treatment for cancer, as cancer cells make use of glucose (as metabolized from carbohydrates) as their primary energy source [3].

Once the energy source (glucose) for cancer cells are restricted, division of these cells become more manageable [4]. The KD selectively provides normal non-cancerous cells with energy in the form of fat and ketones, thereby starving the cancer cells of energy. Therefore, individuals suffering from aggressive cancer may benefit from the KD, either as combination or standalone therapy.

In combination with the benefits associated with the KD as discussed previously, the KD has also been proven to provide neuroprotective effects. The increase in ketone bodies (formed from metabolized fat), decrease in blood glucose and involvement of different pathways, has revealed to be protective against neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson disease [5].

The benefits of the KD expand beyond improvement of seizure control, and although the applications are still being researched, there is a magnitude of evidence that has proven its benefits in epilepsy and many other neurological disorders.

References: 1.

Scholl-Bürgi S, Höller A, Pichler K, Michel M, Haberlandt E, Karall D. Ketogenic diets in patients with inherited metabolic disorders. Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease. 2015: 38; 768-773.

2.

Kossof EH, Zupec-Kania BA, Amark PE, Ballaban-Gil KR, Bergqvist AGC, Blackford R, Bchhalter JR. Optimal clinical management of children receiving the ketogenic diet: Recommendations of the International Ketogenic Diet Study Group.

Epilepsia. 2008: 1-14.

3.

Poff AM, Ari C, Seyfried TN, D’Agostino DP. The Ketogenic Diet and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Prolong Survival in Mice with Systemic Metastatic Cancer.

PLOSone. 2013: 8(6); 1-9.

4.

Seyfried TN, Flores RE, Poff AM, D’Agostino DP. Cancer as a metabolic disease: implications of novel therapies.

Carcinogenesis. 2014: 35(3); 515-527.

5.

Paoli A, Bianco A, Damiani E, Bosco G. Ketogenic Diet in Neuromuscular and Neurodegenerative Disease. BioMed Research International. 2014; 1-10.

Understanding Adult ADHD DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE A CHAMELEON LIVING ON A SMARTIE BOX

By Heather Picton – Founder and CEO of ADHASA

“Living with my ADD partner is impossible – we swing from one extreme to the other and there is no middle ground! I cannot keep up with the clutter, or the trail of unfinished projects! We can never finish a conversation and I can no longer manage the determination to have it all their own way; or the moods which change in an instant with devastating effects on the family!

SOUND FAMILIAR? These are fairly common traits but certainly don’t cover all the aspects of ADHD in Adults. The condition manifests in many different ways and so not all adults with ADHD will have the same symptoms. Confusing, isn’t it?

Symptoms of ADHD manifested by children are said to fall into three basic categories which are (1) Inability to pay attention (unless fascinated); (2) Impulsivity; and (3) Hyperactivity. Poor Organizing Skills fall under Inattention (no 1 above) and this alone can cause tremendous difficulty.

Looking at the above helps us to understand a vast majority of ADHD unacceptable behaviours of in terms of these four points. The same basic symptoms can be expressed throughout their lives but in different ways. For example, the child who impulsively runs around the block may become the adult who drives to Durban on a whim. Some families seem to cope and manage their ADHD members in a way that they can accept themselves, but where there is no understanding and no coping strategies, things can fall apart.

As symptoms of misunderstood and mismanaged ADHD combine to create further difficulties, this often leads to what has become one of the most damaging legacies of an ADHD childhood : poor self-esteem. It can have a powerful and devastating effect on every aspect of their life for as long as they are on this earth.

LOW SELF ESTEEM Poor self esteem is the most damaging “symptom” of all. The child, and later the adult, usually finds ways to work through his challenges, but it is far more difficult to work through a poor self esteem. Unfortunately low self-esteem in ADHD adults is very common because they have invariably struggled with the challenges of ADD since they were children. They probably tried their very best but were constantly told every single day that they were not trying hard enough; that their work wasn’t good enough; that they were naughty, lazy and plain bad! Often there was no one they could turn to for support.

We are hurt when we hear one nasty comment, but consider what it’s like for children with ADHD who are verbally hammered every day? We all nurse those incidents in our childhood which still affect us as adults. But what about the ADHD adult who carries such an enormous burden from his earlier years … and still no-one really understands why he is so complicated, and is so over-sensitive. I have seen 30 year old adults with ADHD burst into tears of relief when they realize that they are not ‘bad people’, and finally understand that they’ve never had acceptance because nobody, and least of all themselves, understood the challenges and difficulties they faced on a daily basis.

Some of the saddest people I have ever met are ADD adults totally disillusioned with the human race.

WHAT CAN WE DO? A good place to start is taking the advice of Dr Edward Hallowell who suggested The Seven Habits of Highly Successful ADDers. In fact they make a lot of sense for all people: 1.

Do what you are good at.

2.

Delegate what you are bad at.

3.

Connect your Creativity with an outlet.

4.

Get well enough organized to meet your goals.

5.

Ask for advice (Good Advice) where and whenever you can.

6.

Make sure you keep close contact with your friends.

7.

Go with your positive side; Run your life with your positive side.

THINK ABOUT IT: Do what you are good at: Think about it … is there any point in pushing a pen for the rest of your life if you struggle to write – you’re going to end up hating it! Find your strength and if possible find the kind of employment that entails using your strengths. If you love people and enjoy talking, maybe you should be a salesman. Try to incorporate your strengths into other activities as well.

Delegate: If you are relying on your areas of weakness to earn your income it is inevitable that results can be disappointing. If you were forced to rely on them for most of your life, wouldn’t your life be less enjoyable? If possible, delegate tasks that you are bad at to someone else who has strengths in that area, and who enjoys that particular type of work more than you do. If you are not in the position to delegate, start changing things by reading books or joining courses in order to gain marketable skills your areas of strength.

Creativity: If you are creative and enjoy painting, drawing, sculpting, writing, gardening or cooking, make time to be involved with and enjoy the activity. It would be even better if the family enjoy it too, but don’t expect your partner to have to pick up the mess or always wash the dishes after that sumptuous meal that used every dish in the kitchen!

Organization: Improved organization may require assistance from partners, close friends, an educational psychologist or a coach who will help with structure and strategies.

Whichever way you choose it could prove invaluable as you find yourself meeting deadlines more easily, or being more punctual, or find yourself being better able to plan your life. It will help you feel much better about yourself.

SUPPORT AND UNDERSTANDING Adults with ADHD often need tremendous support and understanding and it can be heavy going for their partners. Even so, it can be highly rewarding for everyone concerned. A word of caution though; building your ADHD partner’s self-image is not to be at the expense of turning yourself into a doormat – it’s better if you both grow in the process.

Twenty years ago few people even recognized that adults could be affected by ADHD and there was little help for them, not even in the medical field. There was usually little regard or sympathy for them. There is now so much information available and so many resources that a lot can be done to gain insight and understanding, and undo some of the harm.

Thank heaven that people are becoming more aware of healthy eating, but unfortunately this is often avoided by the ADHDers – usually because it takes a bit of planning rather than stopping at the first fast food outlet. If only they realized what a tremendous difference healthy eating and supplementation with EFAs and multivitamins could make to their lives, no matter what their age, they’d change their eating habits immediately. But that is a topic I’ll be covering at a later date...

THE BRIGHTER SIDE People with ADHD often have many advantages over the rest of the population but are usually so bogged down with all the problems of ADHD that they often don’t recognize the gifts they have. Take time and, if possible, uncritically examine yourself and your partner. Look at some past events and you may be amazed at the overlooked talents and capabilities in your lives. Start using them and be surprised by what you can do.

Children with ADHD may spend twelve or thirteen years of their lives in the school system, relying on their weaknesses every step of the way. The irony is that they usually have to go through the school system in order to secure a future in which they can choose to avoid the same kind of (school) environment, and find something else that they can enjoy and where they can excel!

Dog Food: Ten Scary Truths

By Jan Rasmusen in Nutrition And Diet

1) Commercial dog food is “fast food.”

Heavily-processed fast foods (burgers, fries, tacos, etc.) as a big diet component can cause major health problems in people. How can fast foods be good for dogs? Only dog food manufacturers think this nonsense makes sense. Dogs and people share roughly 75% the same genetic makeup, and we have similar nutritional needs. What we’re doing to our own health with processed foods, we’re also doing to our dogs. And it’s happening faster.

2) dogs.

People food is good for

Despite what you’ve heard from friends, vets and pet food manufacturers, wholesome ”people food” is good for dogs.

People food is only bad for dog food makers.

The same fresh, nutritious foods people eat can offer your dog the nutrition he needs and save you a mountain of vet bills. It just takes a little education to learn the small differences between human and canine nutritional needs. (Hint: no onions, grapes or raisins. Rinse off rich spices and sauces.

Go easy on carbs and avoid wheat and corn.)

40% of dogs are obese. 46% of dogs and 39% of cats now die of cancer. Heart, kidney and liver disease are epidemic. Like people, dogs are what they eat. Save your dog a lot of suffering, and save yourself a fortune in vet bills, by learning the truth about your dog’s diet. Here are 10 important things you may not know about what your dog is eating:

3) Don’t presume the food your vet sells is a superior product.

Veterinarians, like medical doctors, learn relatively little about nutrition in school.

Much of what they do learn comes directly from pet food company vets, sales reps, articles, studies, and seminars. If your vet hasn’t studied and experimented on his or her own with raw or homemade diets, it’s unlikely that he or she knows bad food from good, and may be acting on outdated information or superstition. And if vets profit from selling one brand, and not another, they have a conflict of interest that may influence their opinions. (Some may even be prohibited by a manufacturer from selling more than one brand.)

4) The quality of processed commercial foods is suspect.

7) Feeding the same food day after day limits nutrition.

Dog food may legally contain “4-D” meat: meat from dead, dying, diseased and disabled animals. Add a little road kill, mill floor sweepings labeled as grain, and corn contaminated with high levels of pesticide (yes, really) and you have a recipe for ill health. The cheaper the food, the cheaper the ingredients, the worse the nutrition.

Read the labels!

Imagine eating corn, rancid fat and chicken wings (without meat) every meal of your life, with the same mix of cheap vitamins and minerals added. Nutritionists urge people to eat a variety of foods, both for improved nutrition and also to prevent allergies.

5)

Kibble does not clean teeth.

Almost all dogs age three and over have dental diseases. Most of these dogs eat kibble. That should tell you something.

Although a small study once suggested that kibble might clean teeth better than canned food, better doesn’t mean effectively.

Hoping to avoid brushing our dog’s teeth, we too willingly grasp at kibble’s unsubstantiated health benefits. But pretending that kibble or hard treats will keep teeth clean will only lead to huge vet bills, lost teeth and much canine suffering.

6) “Complete and balanced” does not mean “optimum.”

“Complete and balanced” means that a food meets minimal theoretical health requirements for the average dog. Food boasting that it conducted Feeding Trials often just test only the lead product in a line of foods. Trials, too, are for only a small number of dogs for a short period of time.

Over time, nutrient and enzyme deficiencies are inevitable. Of course, complete and balanced is better than not complete and balanced, but again, better does not mean good.

Dogs need variety, too. But variety can cause gastrointestinal upset in dogs, right? In the short run, yes. Nutritionally-deprived animals have sick guts. In fact, intestinal upset when switching foods is a sign your dog needs more variety. Once good nutrition has healed a dog’s digestive system, the dog can eat different foods every meal — just as people do. Just switch foods gradually over several weeks while your dog’s gut heals.

8) Kibble is not better than canned.

Whereas canned food is preserved by the process of canning, most kibble is preserved artificially. (Ever contemplate how much preservative must be required to retard spoilage of food left out all day?) Kibble begins as a dry cooked meal whereas canned food is canned fresh. Kibble is exposed to more heat than canned (destroying nutrients).

Worse yet, kibble is linked to kidney and bladder problems in cats, and to bloat, a deadly problem especially for large, broadchested dogs. It’s also dehydrating. Of course, canned isn’t perfect either. Fresh is best, raw or cooked. Next best is frozen prepared food and then dehydrated and freeze dried foods, all available at better pet stores.

9) Some common foods can be hazardous to canine health.

Cooked bones and rawhide chews can cause major health problems requiring emergency surgery. Wheat-based treats can bring on allergies. Onions, grapes, raisins, chocolate, the article sweetener Xylitol and other common foods can be toxic for dogs and must be avoided.

10) Corn kills.

Most kibble is loaded with corn, a cheap filler. Unfortunately, the corn isn’t the luscious kind you and I eat. It’s feed corn (like cattle eat), or cheap feed corn remnants. Even corn meal dust counts as corn. The corn may even have been condemned for human consumption, there being no upper level of pesticide contamination for pet foods. If that weren’t bad enough, corn (which gives us both high fructose corn syrup and corn oil) is fattening.

Any wonder so many dogs are obese and suffer from diabetes

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE JUST FOR A GIGGLE! For women, blind dates can be stressful -- and not because we don't know what to wear.

A new video from YouTube comedy channel Unsolicited Project called "How Women Get Ready for First Dates" captures a crucial difference between women's and men's date-prep routines. (And no, it doesn't involve how long it takes women to pick out an outfit or get all dolled up.)

The dude, on the other hand, throws on his jacket, says bye to his roommate and heads out the door to meet his blind date.

The video is a spot-on commentary on the different approaches men and women take when it comes to safety. What should sound excessive, is sadly pretty typical when it comes to women's preparations for blind dates.

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