Positive Parenting Magazine June ed 24

*FREE DIGITAL MAG *ISSUE 24 *JUNE 2016

REALITY CHECK

Male Circumcision

The Dangers of

‘Learning’ Toys

Pregnancy & Exercise

Teaching your daughter to use a tampon Healthy

Family Bonding Activities

Signs of Sexual Abuse Children of the World Playscapes at Riversands Farm

Positive Parenting Magazine www.childoftheuniverse.co.za

Photo: Playscapes at Riversands Farm

COVER MODELS: CHRISTY LEIGH & CARMEN CHE JARDIM

ed’s letter Hello Parents and family and friends

ABOUT US www.childoftheuniverse.co.za PUBLISHER 2Luni Media EDITOR Linda Navon 071 346 8138 linda@childoftheuniverse.co.za OUR “Little Boss” Carmen Ché Jardim NATIONAL SALES & MARKETING Cj Stott Matticks 082 900 1010 FREELANCE WRITER Arizona Quinn DISTRIBUTION & RESEARCH Dani Lee Coulter CONTACT NUMBERS TEL: (011) 462-2900 0110 262 643 0110 468 737 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.

MEDIA PARTNERS

I trust you are all well and managing to keep your home’s stocked up with all the natural remedies for any coughs and sniffles this winter. The cold has really settled in, here is Jozi anyway – I can hear the Cape Town wind howling at my door as I am completing this mag. Yes, it’s 4am and I am snug in bed, duvet firmly held down by my two cats.

You may have noticed by now that we are a tad on the unconventional side – reason being that we are not and never will be looking for the ever-elusive ‘G-Spot’, or dishing out tips on trimming your nostril hairs. We will, however, keep you enlightened about topics that are relevant to our everyday well-being and may sometimes introduce you to new ideas. We strive to keep our content alive and colourful.

Our magazines are usually published by the second week of each month, reason being that, once again, we are not conventional. We like to delight our readers with something fresh and insightful to read once you have gotten over the month end rush, and can put your feet up with a nice ‘cuppa’ tea, and consciously relax with us.

Having said all that, in this issue we have a hilarious article about a mother teaching her daughter how to use a tampon (yeah, I warned you we are unconventional), but we do keep it clean if you know what I mean. The Positive Parenting magazines strives to attend to issues that are realistic in our diverse homes and communities, and we welcome input from you. No-one said that having children will be a breeze – so we get to the nittygritty as much as we can.

Remember to enter our competitions – super hampers up for grabs!! And pass the magazine on to your friends and family.

As Kurt Cobain said “See you again on the 4th of July”.

Be well and keep smiling Much Love

Linda

Contributing Team & Experts

LINDA NAVON

MARNIE

AMY McCREADY

LEIGH DAVIES

Cj MATTICKS

MARGIE McALPINE

HELEN HANSEN

HERMANN KEPPLER

LISA RALEIGH

VALERIE DENEEN

LILLIAN DELL’AQUILA

HANNA KOK

RENEE JAIN

JILL POND

KARA LEWIS

SERGIO SALOTTO

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM & GA-GA, ON WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN YOUR 87th BIRTHDAY. WE LOVE & MISS YOU XXX HEATHER PICTON

contents BABIES & BEYOND

EXERCISE BASICS IN PREGNANCY LISA’S FIRST TRIMESTER WORKOUT OVERCOMING POST NATAL DEPRESSION REALITY CHECK – MALE CIRCUMCISION 10 THINGS ABOUT CHILDREN’S SLEEP

PLAYTIME

THE DANGERS OF ‘LEARNING’ TOYS FAVOURITE MESSY PAINTING PROJECTS

OUT & ABOUT

FEATURE ON PLAYSCAPES AT RIVERSANDS FARM

POSITIVE PARENTING

HEALTHY FAMILY BONDING ACTIVITIES CHILDREN OF OUR WORLD NATURAL APPROACH TO MULTIPLE ALLERGIES

YOUTH OF THE NATION

HOW TO TEACH YOUR DAUGHTER TO USE A TAMPON! SIGNS & SYMPTONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE

YUMMY TUMMY

CHILD OBESITY IN SOUTH AFRICA

HOME WISE

WHY YOU SHOULD INSURE YOUR HANDBAG HOUSEHOLD PEST CONTROL SOLUTION

ANIMAL WORLD

SENIOR CITIZEN PETS MY FUR COAT DARLING! YINZEE’S STORY

REACH OUT

HOPE BEGINS WITH YOU – SUNFLOWER FUND

COMPETITIONS & GIVEAWAYS

By Lisa Raleigh – Fitness Expert - who is expecting her 1st baby

Your body needs it: Exercising during your pregnancy is not only safe, it is advised. As long as you progress slowly, exercise can play a big part in keeping you healthy throughout your pregnancy.

Proceeding with caution and listening to your body will help you gauge the effect of certain exercises, and ensure that you are not pushing yourself beyond your means.

Core strength is a must: Contrary to popular belief, it is especially important for pregnant women to have strong abdominal muscles. These muscles help to support your growing baby and help carry him more comfortably. Strong abs will improve your mobility and strengthen you for delivery. In your second and third trimesters, just be sure to avoid ab exercises that require you to lie on your back. Focus more on all-round core exercises than those that just target the ‘six pack’ muscles, and stick to core exercises that you can do sitting, standing or on all fours.

“Contrary to popular belief, it is especially important for pregnant women to have strong abdominal muscles” Muscle strength is important: Weight training is another often-contested issue in pregnancy but, again, muscle strength and endurance will help you manage the posture adjustments and weight-gain that come with your growing baby. Remember that the purpose of strength training during pregnancy is to maintain your strength and endurance, not build it.

As you progress through your trimesters, reduce your weights slightly.

Conscious Life Magazine

“... first thing to steer clear of is highimpact exercise” Exercises preggie moms should avoid: • Your first thing to steer clear of is high-impact exercise. As you move through trimesters, your joints become looser, and your centre of gravity changes to accommodate your growing belly. This increases your susceptibility to injury, and keeping your balance becomes more of a challenge.

• Then, avoid racquet and contact sports like squash and hockey. These require quick changes of direction that stress your loosened joints and muscles.

• You want to refrain from any activity on an uneven surface, or those that increase your risk of falling.

Gymnastics, skiing or horseback riding should also be avoided, as should simple exercises like trail running or hiking.

• You need to watch your body temperature while working out – extreme temperatures are a no-go.

Bikram yoga is off the cards, and be cautious about pool water and exercising in the sun. You want to be in surroundings between 18-25 degrees.

• As a mother-to-be, your heart rate increases naturally throughout your trimesters, and you should limit your workouts accordingly. In past years, experts recommended that a pregnant woman’s heart rate not exceed 140 beats per minute, but for the first trimester, these restrictions have since been lifted. Thereafter, keep your heart rate to roughly between 140-155 – moderate to above-moderate intensity. You should be able to hold a conversation but not want to talk for long.

Questions preggie moms should ask before starting a workout class: • Preggie moms should first check that their instructor is qualified to train pregnant women. Ideally they should have built on the standard fitness teaching qualifications, in the form of pregnancy-focused courses or certificates.

• Moms-to-be should also check their trainer has basic medical training, should they fall ill during the class.

Every instructor is obligated to know first aid.

• Keep your instructor up to date. If you have symptoms that concern you, however small, you should share them.

Notifying a doctor about new workouts: You should always run your exercise routine by your doctor, as well as a fitness professional that specializes in pregnancy and post-natal training.

See Lisa’s First Trimester Full Body Workout in the fitness section of this month’s issue of Child of the Universe.

Conscious Life Magazine

With Lisa Raleigh

Conscious Life Magazine

The most important rules for first trimester exercises are to pay attention to those new limits to your energy and avoid falls. If you are a regular exerciser, you can try these exercises with heavier weights. If you’re just starting out, go smaller with 3kg or 4kg weights.

Start with a weight held in both hands and feet just wider than hip-width apart. Sink down into a squat, sticking glutes out and being careful to keep knees behind toes. As you do, raise your arms up in a straight line in front of you. Pause for a moment then rise back up to your starting position. Aim for 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

Stand with your left foot far in front of the right, torso bent to 45 degrees and left hand on your left knee. Hold a weight in your right arm. Bend your elbow and draw the weight back behind you, keeping elbows tucked in at your side. Pause for a moment then lower back down to your starting position. Aim for 3 sets of 10-15 reps with each hand.

Start in all fours with hands stacked under shoulders and knees under hips. Keeping your balance, extend one hand and the opposite foot out into a straight line. Hold for 10-20 seconds. Lower back down onto all fours. Aim for 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

Conscious Life Magazine

Stand with feet hip-width apart and a weight in each hand held at shoulder height. Keeping core tight, push your hands up above your head until they are almost straight. Hold for a moment then relax back down to your starting position. Aim for 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

This move is to improve posture more than to significantly tone muscle. Start on the ground with knees hip width apart, body upright and hands at your sides. Keeping your core strong, tuck your shoulders back, squeeze together and stretch your arms out behind you in a straight line. Aim for 3 sets, holding for 10-15 seconds at a time.

Position yourself on all fours. Rest your forearms on the floor in a diamond shape, tuck your toes in and lift your knees off the ground. Aim for 3 sets, holding for 15-30 seconds at a time.

TV Personality, Author, Lifestyle & Wellness Expert www.lisaraleigh.co.za lisa@lisaraleigh.co.za www.facebook.com/LisaRaleighSA-Facebook LisaRaleighSA – Twitter LisaRaleighTV – YouTube

Conscious Life Magazine

By Lillian Dell’Aquila Cannon When I was pregnant with my first child, I just thought that circumcision was what you did, no big deal, and that every man was circumcised. Then one day I saw a picture of a baby being circumcised, and everything changed. Just one tiny, grainy photo was enough to make me want to know more, and the more I knew, the worse it got. It turns out, circumcision really is a big deal.

Male Circumcision Surgery Myths Myth #1: They just cut off a flap of skin.

Reality check: Not true. The foreskin is half of the penis’s skin, not just a flap. In an adult man, the foreskin is 15 square inches of skin. In babies and children, the foreskin is adhered to the head of the penis with the same type of tissue that adheres fingernails to their nail beds. Removing it requires shoving a blunt probe between the foreskin and the head of the penis and then cutting down and around the whole penis.

Myth #2: It doesn’t hurt the baby.

Reality check: Wrong. In 1997, doctors in Canada did a study to see what type of anesthesia was most effective in relieving the pain of circumcision. As with any study, they needed a control group that received no anesthesia. The doctors quickly realized that the babies who were not anesthetized were in so much pain that it would be unethical to continue with the study. Even the best commonly available method of pain relief studied, the dorsal penile nerve block, did not block all the babies’ pain. Some of the babies in the study were in such pain that they began choking and one even had a seizure.

Myth #3: My doctor uses anesthesia.

Reality check: Not necessarily. Most newborns do not receive adequate anesthesia. Only 45% of doctors who do circumcisions use any anesthesia at all. Obstetricians perform 70% of circumcisions and are least likely to use anesthesia – only 25% do. The most common reasons why they don’t?

They didn’t think the procedure warranted it, and it takes too long (Stang 1998). A circumcision with adequate anesthesia takes a half-hour – if they brought your baby back sooner, he was in severe pain during the surgery.

Myth #4: Even if it is painful, the baby won’t remember it.

Reality check: The body is a historical repository and remembers everything. The pain of circumcision causes a rewiring of the baby’s brain so that he is more sensitive to pain later (Taddio 1997, Anand 2000). Circumcision also can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anger, low self-esteem and problems with intimacy (Boyle 2002, Hammond 1999, Goldman 1999 – STUDY). Even with a lack of explicit memory and the inability to protest – does that make it right to inflict pain?

Myth #5: My baby slept right through it.

Reality check: Not possible without total anesthesia, which is not available. Even the dorsal penile nerve block leaves the underside of the penis receptive to pain. Babies go into shock, which though it looks like a quiet state, is actually the body’s reaction to profound pain and distress. Nurses often tell the parents “He slept right through it” so as not to upset them. Who would want to hear that his or her baby was screaming in agony?

Myth #6: It doesn’t cause the baby long-term harm.

Reality check: Incorrect. Removal of healthy tissue from a non-consenting patient is, in itself, harm (more on this point later). Circumcision has an array of risks and side effects. There is a 1-3% complication rate during the newborn period alone (Schwartz 1990).

Here is a short list potential complications.  Meatal Stenosis: Many circumcised boys and men suffer from meatal stenosis. This is a narrowing of the urethra which can interfere with urination and require surgery to fix.  Adhesions: Circumcised babies can suffer from adhesions, where the foreskin remnants try to heal to the head of the penis in an area they are not supposed to grow on. Doctors treat these by ripping them open with no anesthesia.  Buried penis: Circumcision can lead to trapped or buried penis – too much skin is removed, and so the penis is forced inside the body. This can lead to problems in adulthood when the man does not have enough skin to have a comfortable erection. Some men even have their skin split open when they have an erection. There are even more sexual consequences, which we will address in a future post.  Infection: The circumcision wound can become infected. This is especially dangerous now with the prevalence of hospital-acquired multi-drug resistant bacteria.  Death: Babies can even die of circumcision. Over 100 newborns die each year in the USA, mostly from loss of blood and infection (Van Howe 1997 & 2004, Bollinger 2010).

Myth #7: You have to get the baby circumcised because it is really hard to keep a baby’s penis clean.

Reality check: In babies, the foreskin is completely fused to the head of the penis. You cannot and should not retract it to clean it, as this would cause the child pain, and is akin to trying to clean the inside of a baby girl’s vagina. The infant foreskin is perfectly designed to protect the head of the penis and keep feces out. All you have to do is wipe the outside of the penis like a finger. It is harder to keep a circumcised baby’s penis clean because you have to carefully clean around the wound, make sure no feces got into the wound, and apply ointment.

Myth #8: Little boys won’t clean under their foreskins and will get infections.

Reality check: The foreskin separates and retracts on its own sometime between age 3 and puberty. Before it retracts on its own, you wipe the outside off like a finger. After it retracts on its own, it will get clean during the boy’s shower or bath. Once a boy discovers this cool, new feature of his penis, he will often retract the foreskin himself during his bath or shower, and you can encourage him to rinse it off. But he should not use soap as this upsets the natural balance and is very irritating. There is nothing special that the parents need to do. Most little boys have absolutely no problem playing with their penises in the shower or anywhere else! It was harder to teach my boys to wash their hair than it was to care for their penises. (Camille 2002)

Myth #9: Uncircumcised penises get smelly smegma.

Reality check: Actually, smegma is produced by the genitals of both women and men during the reproductive years. Smegma is made of sebum and skin cells and naturally lubricates the foreskin and glans in men, and the clitoral hood and inner labia in women. It is rinsed off during normal bathing and does not cause cancer or any other health problems.

Myth #10: “My uncle wasn’t circumcised and he kept getting infections and had to be circumcised as an adult.”

Reality check: Medical advice may have promoted infection in uncircumcised males. A shocking number of doctors are uneducated about the normal development of the foreskin, and they (incorrectly) tell parents that they have to retract the baby’s foreskin and wash inside it at every diaper change. Doing this tears the foreskin and the tissue (called synechia) that connects it to the head of the penis, leading to scarring and infection.

Misinformation was especially prevalent during the 1950s and 60s, when most babies were circumcised and we didn’t know as much about the care of the intact penis, which is why the story is always about someone’s uncle. Doing this to a baby boy would be like trying to clean the inside of a baby girl’s vagina with Q-tips at every diaper change. Rather than preventing problems, such practices would cause problems by introducing harmful bacteria. Remember that humans evolved from animals, so no body part that required special care would survive evolutionary pressures. The human genitals are wonderfully self-cleaning and require no special care.

Myth #11: My son was diagnosed with phimosis and so had to be circumcised.

Reality check: Phimosis means that the foreskin will not retract. Since children’s foreskins are naturally not retractable, it is impossible to diagnose phimosis in a child. Any such diagnoses in infants are based on misinformation, and are often made in order to secure insurance coverage of circumcision in states in which routine infant circumcision is no longer covered.

Even some adult men have foreskins that do not retract, but as long as it doesn’t interfere with sexual intercourse, it is no problem at all, as urination itself cleans the inside of the foreskin (note that urine is sterile when leaving the body.)

Phimosis can also be treated conservatively with a steroid cream and gentle stretching done by the man himself, should he so desire it, or, at worst, a slit on the foreskin, rather than total circumcision. (Ashfield 2003) These treatment decisions can and should be made by the adult man.

Myth #12: Uncircumcised boys get more urinary tract infections (UTIs.) Reality check: This claim is based on one study that looked at charts of babies born in one hospital (Wiswell 1985). The study had many problems, including that it didn’t accurately count whether or not the babies were circumcised, whether they were premature and thus more susceptible to infection in general, whether they were breastfed (breastfeeding protects against UTI), and if their foreskins had been forcibly retracted (which can introduce harmful bacteria and cause UTI) (Pisacane 1990). There have been many studies since which show either no decrease in UTI with circumcision, or else an increase in UTI from circumcision. Thus circumcision is not recommended to prevent UTI (Thompson 1990). Girls have higher rates of UTI than boys, and yet when a girl gets a UTI, she is simply prescribed antibiotics. The same treatment works for boys.

Myth #13: Circumcision prevents HIV/AIDS. Reality check: Three studies in Africa several years ago that claimed that circumcision prevented AIDS and that circumcision was as effective as a 60% effective vaccine (Auvert 2005, 2006). These studies had many flaws, including that they were stopped before all the results came in. There have also been several studies that show that circumcision does not prevent HIV (Connolly 2008). There are many issues at play in the spread of STDs which make it very hard to generalize results from one population to another.

In Africa, where the recent studies have been done, most HIV transmission is through male-female sex, but in the USA, it is mainly transmitted through blood exposure (like needle sharing) and malemale sex. Male circumcision does not protect women from acquiring HIV, nor does it protect men who have sex with men (Wawer 2009, Jameson 2009).

What’s worse, because of the publicity surrounding the African studies, men in Africa are now starting to believe that if they are circumcised, they do not need to wear condoms, which will increase the spread of HIV (Westercamp 2010). Even in the study with the most favorable effects of circumcision, the protective effect was only 60% – men would still have to wear condoms to protect themselves and their partners from HIV. In the USA, during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 90s, about 85% of adult men were circumcised (much higher rates of circumcision than in Africa), and yet HIV still spread.

It is important to understand, too, that the men in the African studies were adults and they volunteered for circumcision. Babies undergoing circumcision were not given the choice to decide for themselves.

Myth #14: Circumcision is worth it because it can save lives.

Reality check: Consider breast cancer: There is a 12% chance that a woman will get breast cancer in her lifetime. Removal of the breast buds at birth would prevent this, and yet no one would advocate doing this to a baby. It is still considered somewhat shocking when an adult woman chooses to have a prophylactic mastectomy because she has the breast cancer gene, yet this was a personal choice done based upon a higher risk of cancer. The lifetime risk of acquiring HIV is less than 2% for men, and can be lowered to near 0% through condom-wearing (Hall 2008). How, then, can we advocate prophylactic circumcision for baby boys?

Conclusion

Science and data do not support the practice of infant circumcision.

Circumcision does not preclude the use of the condom. The adult male should have the right to make the decision for himself and not have his body permanently damaged as a baby.

About the author:

Lillian Dell’Aquila Cannon describes herself as a parent, wife, entrepreneur, thinker, armchair psychologist, amateur anthropologist and an information junkie. Her writing has featured on Psychology Today.

You can read more of Lillian’s writing at her website www.moralogous.com

Why Your Kid Needs Her ZZZs It's not just to keep her from getting cranky! Little bodies need slumber to grow and stay healthy. Her muscles, including the heart, repair themselves during sleep.

Sleep also controls the signals that tell your kid if she's hungry or full, which helps keep her at a good weight.

Sleep Boosts the Brain While your kid's in dreamland, her brain stores memories from the day so she can recall them later.

That's a key part of learning.

Your child also needs sleep to help her pay attention in school. If she gets her shut-eye she'll get her work done faster and with fewer mistakes.

How Much Sleep Does My Child Need?

Kids need more snooze-time than you do. Got a toddler? He should get 11 to 14 hours of total sleep in a day. Three- to 5-year-olds need a little less -about 11 to 13 hours. If your child is 6 to 13, he should get 9 to 11 hours of ZZZs. Teens need 8 to 10 hours, but how much sleep they actually get is another story.

Does My Child Need a Nap? How much your kid snoozes during the day depends on how much she sleeps at night.

Your toddler may get most of her 13 hours after the sun goes down, or she may get 8 after dark and make up the rest with naps.

Most kids stop their daytime napping by age 5. If your child still does it at that age she might need an earlier bedtime.

If your teen takes an afternoon siesta, it's a sure sign she's not getting enough sleep at night.

How Do I Get My Kid to Bed? Bedtime doesn't have to be a battle! Stick to a routine, even on the weekends. It can include a soothing bath, brushing teeth, and going to the bathroom, but it should always end in the bedroom.

Plan an enjoyable wind-down activity before sleep, such as reading by dim light. Make sure the bedroom is dark, cool, quiet, and screen-free.

For problem sleepers, reserve the bed for shut-eye only -- no reading, homework, or playing games.

Can My Teen Get to Sleep on Time?

It's not "mission impossible," but let's face it, it's not easy either. Your teen's inner clock pushes her to go to bed late at night and sleep in the next morning.

Dim the lights at night, whether she's ready for bed or not. Keep the bedroom cool. And though it sounds like a no-brainer, tell your teen to unplug -- turn off the TV, cell phone, and computer.

On weekends, tell her not to sleep later than 2 hours past her weekday wake-up time.

Should School Start Later?

It's a controversial issue for schools and parents, and there's no easy solution.

Many high school bells ring before 8 a.m. That makes it tough for teens to get enough sleep, since most don't hit the pillow before 11 p.m.

A later start time might give kids an academic boost.

Studies show teens who get the slumber they need have better grades and higher standardized test scores.

Does My Kid Sleep Enough?

You'll know your child gets regular rest if he can nod off 15 to 30 minutes after he goes to bed at night. In the mornings, he'll wake up easily when it's time to get up. You won't have to go back to his room over and over to make sure he's out of bed.

More signs he probably gets enough sleep: He doesn't snooze in school and doesn't need naps.

Could It Be a Sleep Disorder?

Most of the time your kid's shut-eye woes are just part of growing up. But sometimes there's a medical condition that's behind the trouble. Watch for snoring, long pauses between breaths, or trouble breathing while he's asleep. He might need to be checked for sleep apnea.

Sleepwalking, nightmares, or bed-wetting could also be signs of a sleep disorder. Check with your pediatrician to find out what you can do.

Is It ADHD or Not Enough Sleep?

Grown-ups and kids don't act the same when they miss out on sleep. You may slow down, but your child could start bouncing off the walls. This behavior may make it look like he's got ADHD. Your pediatrician can help you figure out what's going on.

If your child does have ADHD, studies show getting the right amount of sleep can help him pay better attention and act less hyper.

NATURE FRESH & CHILD OF THE UNIVERSE PROUDLY SUPPORT

Riversands Farm

By Leanne Gray

Toys and Play I walked into a toy store the other day to find a gift for a baby shower. I was met by an overwhelming selection of bright plastic electronic toys for babies marketed as "developmental" and "stimulating" with claims like "promotes interaction and fine motor skill development." and "encourage your child's continuing development". Wow. No wonder these toys are so popular! It all sounds so magical.

Sadly, marketing is just that: marketing. I'm all for technology improving our lives and allowing parents to do things faster and easier than ever before. The issue here is these toys have no proof of increasing intelligence, motor development, language or basic skills. If anything, they get in the way of learning for babies and young children because they work against a child's biological drive and motivation.

Children have an inner guide that keeps them moving along their developmental path. It's evolutionary: a genetic coded plan for maturation. We are wired to repeat certain actions, be interested in specific skills or events, and move through a developmental progression to acquire all the necessary nerve and muscle connections, and adapt to whatever current conditions we are exposed to. It's how children who grow up in China are Chinese and a child with Chinese descent who grows up in America is American. It's a pretty sweet system.

Humans are able to take sensory input from the world around them and gather all the tools to be functionally independent.

Given a rich, responsive environment, a child is naturally attracted to exactly what she needs to accomplish in that moment. It may be tuning her ears to distinguish all the sounds in the word "duck" to repeat back in the correct order and communicate her thoughts. Or, a child is climbing one stair, then turning around and climbing back down, repeatedly. Maybe he is intently picking up small pieces of paper from the floor and lining them up in a straight row.

Children will follow their interests and given the opportunity, will learn independently on their own. We are all born with an insatiable curiosity about the world around us, with the ability for creative problem solving.

When a child is successful in one of these developmental tasks from the inner guide, his body releases the chemical dopamine that makes him feel good and want to continue working on that activity. Yes, the same dopamine released after rewarding activities like exercise, sex, drugs, helping others, or accomplishing a goal.

Their brains are wired to reinforce exactly the kind of behavior that will help them learn and grow.

How does this work exactly? Let's say, we know children of a certain age are working on reaching and grabbing an object, and are attracted to bright colors, changes in light and sound, and people. Given interesting, colorful objects in her environment, a child will naturally motivated to move toward them, and will then reach and grab for the objects.

It's this connection of "I want..." and action steps taken by the child that strengthens the connections of brain to nerve to muscle (methylation).

Being successful in this process builds self-confidence, and further connects the neurons and muscles needed for that action to work correctly. So, by practicing to reach for objects over and over, the child is refining her ability to think about grabbing the object, and doing so with exact precision. She develops a strong sense of concentration to complete this task, refines her ability to block sensory input, control her body, and problem solve. By moving, her body also builds muscle strength and the skills needed for the next developmental task. Her body rewards her for this effort when she accomplishes her goal with the release of dopamine.

What happens when we offer a toy that meets these developmental needs but requires little input from the child's brain and body? Give a child a toy that hijacks this system and now we've triggered the dopamine reward release for actions inconsequential, like pressing a button.

There's a famous science experiment involving a rat and a button that releases dopamine. If you put a rat in a cage with this magic button and other things the rat needs to survive (food, water), the rat will press the button repeatedly, eschewing all other activities. It won't eat, it won't play, and it will hardly sleep. The button hijacks the natural reward system that normally makes the rat feel good when it exercises, chews through boxes, and finds a nice piece of food.

Giving your child a button to push that makes noises, blinks lights, sings songs, vibrates, and grabs their attention will rob them of their inner guide, and shortcircuits their development. This magic button skips all the skill building side effects of the natural process, and directly encourages the child to remain passive, taking unfair advantage of her developmental interests.

If a child becomes acclimated to powerful rewards for doing nothing useful to her developing mind, she'll become less interested in all her other developmental needs, just like the rat.

What these "learning" toys actually teach is to remain passive, entertained by flashing lights, sounds, recorded songs, and moving pieces.

Not to mention these toys further confuse the idea of cause and effect, a big developmental hurdle for these ages. There's often so much going on, it's unclear which button turned on the songs, or how it started dancing.

Remember, the way young children learn is by using their brains and bodies to solve real problems and meet their developmental needs.

Creating motivation to interact with a toy isn't enough, this motivation needs to be directed toward an action with real purpose behind it.

The best toys are the simplest, toys that don't "do" anything unless the child acts on it. These objects allow the child to remain in full control of their actions, choices, and play.

Leanne Gray, M.Ed. is the owner of The Prepared Environment, which supports families in creating an ideal environment for their children at home.

She has over fifteen years experience working with children in both public, private, and Montessori schools, and is AMI primary trained.

You can always contact her for personalized support and answers to your questions.

Here are a couple of our favorite messy art projects – follow the link for details: Brush Bot Painting

Love Watercolor Resist Painting

Puffy Snowflake Paintings

An important part of the creative process is learning to embrace the mess, and some of our most FUN and memorable art experiences are quite messy! Don’t let the fear of messy art keep you from making some great memories with your kids. Here are some of our favorite messy paint projects of all time, along with a quick tip for keeping clothes clean and making laundry much easier!

Legions of child development experts have looked at the question as to why, with all the technology available, children seem to very quickly lose interest in what standardised modern play areas have to offer.

One of the main problems identified was that as health and safety regulations became increasingly strict, playground manufacturers, owners and administrators became more and more wary of law suits.

As a result of this, playground infrastructures have become tamer and less challenging and are often established without any real thought as to what children actually need and enjoy. They tend to be generically designed with the main emphasis on legal compliance, ease of design, manufacture, installation, and maintenance.

Consequently most modern playgrounds are uniform, sanitised plastic structures all largely identical to each other offering very little real stimulation and enjoyment opportunities for the children who are meant to use them. Apart from the structures looking very appealing (to adults), they are very quickly mastered by the children and have no real long term fun factor.

Researches decided to look back in time to see how children used to play and entertain themselves. What they discovered was that in past generations a greater proportion of children lived in rural or semi-rural environments, and these settings pretty much provided everything needed for virtually endless mental and physical stimulation.

But as more and more people moved off the land and urbanisation increased, less and less opportunities were available for children to simply wander outside and keep themselves busy for the rest of the day. Gradually artificial structures were built as substitutes for the natural play areas that were no longer available. While these playgrounds could never compare with running around in the wild they did provide children with some reasonable outdoor entertainment.

But as has been mentioned, the life was gradually squeezed out of playgrounds by the introduction of ever stricter, and often pedantic, health and safety regulations. The irony is that however well-meaning the intention of these measures was, statistics have shown that there has in fact been very little change in the amount of playground injuries since they were instituted. So we are now in the situation where modern playgrounds are not significantly safer than they were many generations ago, but are substantially more boring!

So where to from here? Fortunately, internationally, sanity has started to prevail and there has been a major turnaround in the design philosophy of play areas. As revolutionary as these change have seemed they are in essence really nothing more than an attempt to return the old style playgrounds with a modern twist here and there.

Playscapes is one of the first playgrounds in South Africa to fall in line with this “new” trend.

While the ideal of unsupervised, free play in a completely natural environment is no longer possible in urban areas, we have gone to great lengths to ensure that our play area allows children to at least express and enjoy themselves in a similar manner.

In terms of child development and general child care most parents, at some point, will have felt overwhelmed by all the information provided by experts as to how it should all be done perfectly.

The same is true of playground design. All sorts of categories of activity and technical definitions appear. For example body play, object play, social play and the list goes on and on. But with all due respect to the child development experts it is all really quite simple.

It pretty much all boils down to having FUN. The moment children are having fun everything starts to fall into place. Their self-confidence goes up a notch and they are then far more likely to test their boundaries, explore, express themselves, interact socially, absorb new information and again the list goes on. All the boxes regarding physical and mental stimulation automatically get ticked.

In a nutshell that is what playscapes is all about, having fun. To ensure this fun factor we have created an environment where there are a large variety of activities that accommodate toddlers’ right through to pre-teens.

Our kiddies menu includes a creek to splash around in, a slippy slide, all sorts of different swings and see saws. Large and small climbing structures. A fort, water walls, a sound garden, blackboard, busy board, huge sandpit, balance beams, monkey bars, scooters and small push bikes, and a ball area for cricket and soccer. As well as acres of open space simply to run around and play in.

We are constantly researching, and adding new elements to the area to ensure that there is always something new to stimulate the senses.

Playscapes is situated on the beautiful Riversands Village Market, which is about 10 min North of Fourways Mall on the William Nicol. A market is held every Sunday on the farm, so there is also lots to keep Mom and Dad busy as well.

We cater for birthday parties, nursery school outings, special needs groups, and casual visitors.

Please contact Andrea on 082 927 9675 for more details

Healthy Family Bonding Activities

By Lynn Joseph

A family is an important unit of society. As such, it has to be preserved and nurtured at all times. But many families these days suffer from lack of quality time and interaction.

“With the various kinds of gadgets that people, young and old alike, own these days, it’s easy for family members to grow apart,” said Ted Khalaf, a family lawyer. “As each member uses his or her own mobile device whether for work or entertainment, the opportunity to interact face to face gets lost.”

Previous studies have shown that quality parent time with children can have a positive impact on the kids. Quality time here refers to reading stories to a child, eating meals together as well as interacting with them one by one. Showing warmth and sensitivity to children also has the same positive effect.

On the contrary, other research noted that parents spend lesser time when their kids are older. For example, a study involving parents of kids aged 10 years old and older in England found that one in 10 parents claimed they only gave full attention to their children once or twice a week.

So here are some of the best bonding activities you can do to ensure that you maintain a close relationship with your kids moving forward.

Go on an Adventure It is always fun to try new things with the family such as explore new places or do activities you’ve never done before. You don’t have to go far because right there in the place you live, there might be hidden gems worth visiting. You can also dine at a new restaurant that offers an extraordinary cuisine.

Being outdoor also presents a good opportunity to go camping. You can choose to sleep in a tent or rent a motor home or cabin. This trip can even be very educational to your kids.

Dance and Get Fit If your family loves to dance, then make dancing your regular activity. This not only helps improve your family bond but it also promotes fitness. Take turns in choosing the music to play.

Parents can also teach their kids some dance moves of their generation.

Another great idea is to play that popular video dance game via the Wii Just Dance. It offers a wide selection of dance tunes and with dance moves you and your kids can follow.

Volunteer Volunteering is a noble act and it teaches children the value of sharing and giving one’s time to valuable projects. Your family can do this by joining a cause-oriented organization in your community. Whether you get involved in a fund-raising project, an environmental campaign or donating your personal stuff, you can be sure to have a priceless and enriching experience.

This act alone can already give a positive feeling to you and your family and it is effective in bringing you closer to each other.

Cooking Contest If you and your partner love to cook, chances are your kids will acquire some of those culinary skills. So why not do an Iron Chef type of competition in your home. This will encourage your children to learn cooking skills which might even inspire them towards pursuing a culinary career in the future.

A fun contest you can do is pick a fruit or vegetable available in your kitchen and let the kids come up with their own dish using that particular ingredient.

By Sergio Salotto

"Our children are our future"

"The future rests in our children's hands" "Let us build a future for our children" "Let us preserve our worldly heritage for our future generations"

Adults have been making these proclamations for decades.

But what progress have we really made towards fulfilling them?

We see more and more incidences of our youth turning to drug and alcohol abuse, becoming sexually active at a younger age, committing suicide, crime and violence, joining and following some or other cult group, gangsters etc. as a way of coping with or escaping from family and social pressures and demands, expectations and other prescribed norms and values. Isn’t this showing us that instead of creating an environment conducive to a healthy lifestyle we are creating one of ever-increasing despair and unhappiness?

From birth a child has no other role model to follow than its parents and family environment. As children, this was the same for us also and as it was for our parents and our parent’s parents and so on going back in time. The way we were raised and our respective family dynamics and environment have impacted all of us to some degree. Was our parent’s teachings and upbringing right or wrong? No one can stand in judgement over that because what our parents did and the way they behaved was only in accordance with what they knew.

Instead, despite these signs of despair and unhappiness children all over the world are left to suffer poverty, illness, starvation, lack of education and even death as adults continue to unwaveringly uphold and institute even grandeur ideologies of the existing education processes and systems, economic policies, political and religious principles and beliefs. Ideologies that throughout history have lead to war, destruction of our environment and other life forms on this planet. What more needs to happen to make us realise the need to change and do something meaningful about shifting away from all this? What needs to happen for adults to realise that our ideological “sacred cows” continue to fuel an unhealthy and destructive lifestyle and that our ways are not necessarily the only way, or, the only correct way. How can our children ever have the opportunity of doing something fundamentally different to bring about changes if adults insist that the present systems are the only way.

The question therefore is not what they did or did not do, but rather how that impacted our life. For example, did your upbringing make you feel accepted, wanted, loved, part of, give you a sense of belonging, allow you to be and do whatever you wanted and feel loved? Or, did you find you had to prove yourself to be accepted, had to meet your parent’s expectations of you, did you need to compromise yourself, did fear and/or experience rejection, have feelings and the belief of being not good enough? The chances are that it was more of the latter than the former. How does this affect and impact on our parent-child relationship and mankind?

If we really want to create a better place and society for our future generations, we need to address the fundamental cause or reason that drives adults and children to escape into a life of booze, sex, drugs and other addictions. It is a pointless, useless and meaningless exercise to advocate and demand changes in behaviour without addressing and eliminating the fundamental root cause of the problem.

The process of parenting starts when two people decide to have a child – unless an unplanned or unwanted child “comes along.”

Some reasons couples may have for wanting a child might be:  it is nice to have a baby  "I want lots of children - 5,6,10." (Why? What for? Are you perhaps missing something in your life?)  it will add meaning to our lives  to prove one's womanhood, manhood or parenthood  to continue the family name (would need to be a baby boy)  to keep our relationship or marriage together (the child becomes the relationship “glue")  it’s a demonstration of our love for one another  what one gets married for  religious indoctrination and unquestionable devotion to its teachings – like the prohibition of the use of condoms or other forms of "artificial" contraception preached by the Roman Catholic church; or that conception is the will of God  so that ageing parents can be cared for by their children  unwanted births from prostitution, promiscuity and irresponsible, unprotected sexual intercourse  … and many other reasons.

What is clear from that is how the reasons all relate to the fulfillment of the adult's/parent’s needs and fears.

No consideration is given to the child’s own dreams and how as parents we are going to support the child to fulfill them.

No matter how much excitement, anticipation and preparation parents may experience and acquaint themselves with, none are likely to be fully prepared for the real thing. So when the time comes and the child demands total parental attention and guidance, parents suddenly find themselves faced with a situation they did not anticipate of not being able to fulfill their own needs.

Mother may loose interest in intimacy, her devotion to the child may make dad feel left out and unloved, mom may feel she is expected to be the same partner she was before the child’s arrival (so stress and frustration), dad may feel unimportant, sleep trends become disrupted, socialising and entertainment become difficult to do, and so the issues and situations that were not present before the birth start accumulating and taking their toll.

This results in tempers become shortened, disagreements and arguments creep in, and in short the relationship begins to take strain.

What should have been a period of joy and harmony, turns into a “battlefield.” Of course, the case is not the same in every household or with every child. But in my experience of facilitating people, it seems that there are similar underlying tensions in all families related to children.

With the parent’s lifestyle disrupted, someone needs to be “blamed.” And who else but the child because things were fine before it came along. On the premise of acting in the child's best interest because they assume the child does not know anything and therefore needs to learn everything, they impose their expectations and sense of right, wrong and justice that the child must abide by. The family environment which was to nurture the child’s life skills and support fulfill its life dreams changes into a “battlefield” of wills, demands and rights.

With children learning through copying, certain behaviours and attitudes can only be a reflection of its family's (un)disciplines and (dis)functions. And some research shows that a child that manifests signs of depression, stress, boredom, lack of discipline, being a bully, or for that matter even being socially well-balanced and disciplined often are the result of the family environment they are exposed to.

When the child begins interacting with the "outside" world, it soon discovers that there too it has to fight for recognition and acceptance. A struggle that leads to more anger, frustration, depression and stress and other such emotions and feeling. Every person has their own way of coping with, handling, or escaping these "dis-eases" and resultant pains and perhaps the most common coping and escape mechanisms used by most people are:

 smoking, alcoholism, use of and addiction to prescription and/or illegal drugs  crime and violence, sex, prostitution  subservience or domination, social conformity to standards and norms  abuse - physical, mental, emotional or a combination of all three  the need to have power and control over ... (anything)  religious conformity and "blind" faith  eating disorders … and many other.

In their effort to be unconditionally accepted and loved, the child strives to meet and satisfy the parent’s expectations even by compromising on who he/she is. But despite even this the child finds it does not win. Their need for acceptance becomes an ongoing battle and journey in which the child feels that no matter what he/she does, they cannot win because parents keep “moving the goal posts.” This triggers and reinforces the child’s feelings and belief of being not good enough which in turn gives rise to their anger, frustration, stress, depression, rebelliousness, or in some cases, submission. It is quite amazing to have experienced how most adults still carry the need to “make it” with their parent/s. It seems there is a strong in-born need for this that does not go away until one has dealt with taking responsibility for their feelings and belief of being not good enough.

The degree of social acceptability of each of these practices may seem that some are less detrimental than others. So, drug addiction and crime are more physically damaging than social conformity. But to the drug addict and criminal their respective behaviour is a lesser evil than social conformity – otherwise they would not do it. The bottom line is that in fact each coping and escape mechanism is used to address the same emotional pains – not being unconditionally accepted for who and what they are … which equates to being unloved.

LIFE CAN BE DIFFERENT

The path for change and different future – perhaps a better one – certainly is in the hands of our children. But nothing will change unless adults have the willingness to be wrong about their self-righteous ideological sacred cows and allow our upcoming new generations to manifest themselves for who and what they truly are.

The lifestyle we have followed and upheld for centuries and continue to promote today needs to change if we really want a better life for every one and everything on our planet.

The lifestyle of the few living in pompous and obscene luxury at the expense of the vast majority needs to be brought to an end if we really want everyone to be contributors of their natural talents and expertise for a more meaningful and fulfilling unconditional lifestyle for all

For as long as there is Even one person Suffering from man's discrimination And But one blade of grass be broken Through his greed, There can be nothing To laugh about On this planet

For more information, Workshops and Consultations, contact Sergio on +27 (0) 82 412 3524 contact@sergiosalotto.co.za

Conscious Life Magazine

A natural approach to addressing multiple allergies

By Natural Health Practitioner and Homeopath, Hermann Keppler, for CNH (The College of Natural Health)

Multiple allergic reactions may be caused by a weak immune system which creates an immune reaction to a non-foreign substance, and/or a leaky gut where the lining of the intestine may have been damaged, for example by medications, digestive issues or a poor diet. Undigested food particles, toxins, yeasts, and other waste materials which the body doesn’t normally allow into the body can now enter and cause an immune reaction against these foreign bodies, known as an allergic reaction.

To address allergies, both the immune system and the digestive system need to be supported; the digestive and immune systems are intimately connected. A diet high in refined and processed foods, sugars, artificial sweeteners, and microwaved foods, preservatives, medications and immunization shots can introduce chemical toxins into the body. Reducing irritating foods and substances helps to alleviate inflammation in the gut, allowing the intestinal tract to return to its normal function. A diet rich in non-processed whole foods, including organic vegetables and fruits may be useful in supporting a healthy gut environment.

Any disruption to the gut affects digestion and absorption, so if gut function is sub-optimal it may contribute to nutritional deficiencies. A natural health practitioner can help identify these deficiencies, and suggest a tailor-made food plan, advising on possible supplementation of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that can support healing of the gut lining and reduction of allergies. Friendly gut bacteria are also affected by gut problems, and the addition of healthy bacteria in the form of probiotics can help bring gut function and the associated immune system back to normal; a natural health practitioner can advise on the most appropriate strain of probiotic to do this. Taking digestive enzymes for a short period of time may help your son’s recovery; these enzymes help digest foods so the body can absorb and use them. A natural health practitioner will advise if a supplement is appropriate. Digestive enzymes are naturally found in raw organic foods such as vegetables, herbs and fruit (especially pineapple and papaya). Eating foods rich in digestive enzymes may also support optimal digestion and absorption of foods.

If allergic symptoms affect your nostrils, look at natural nasal rinses, preferably using Himalayan Salt.

Read ‘Water and Salt: The Essence of Life’ by Hendel & Ferreira, to see how a Himalayan salt solution can support body functions.

An improvement in multiple allergies can be expected if the above-mentioned issues are addressed and you are not undergoing chronic stress, which may also trigger and sustain an immune response.

Treating allergies with pharmaceutical medication may contribute to further allergic reactions; in order to break this perpetuating cycle, it may be useful to see a natural health practitioner so that a tailored nutrition and herbal program may be developed to address the underlying cause and drivers of the multiple allergies. When seeing clients who present with multiple allergies, it is important for a natural health practitioner to understand the whole health history of a person to understand what may have triggered the onset of multiple allergies, how it has been treated previously and what may be driving the ongoing allergic responses. This information allows the development of a comprehensive and tailored intervention program.

Hermann Keppler is a Natural Health Practitioner and Homeopath. He is Principal of CNH (College of Natural Health, South Africa) and CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine in the UK and Ireland) which train students in a range of natural therapies. Email info@collegeofnaturalhealth.co.za or phone 086 100 7824. www.collegeofnaturalhealth.co.za

How Do I Teach My Daughter How to Use a Tampon?

By Jill Pond

Tampon-Talk. Girls fear it and mothers dread it, but it doesn’t have to be so hard. In addition to being a sexual health educator, I fancy myself somewhat of a comedian and by the end of one of my Period-Prep workshops, girls are rolling with laughter and moms are eager to share their stories. Comedy and storytelling have amazing powers and can help any mother master the art of all things vagina, including instructing our daughter’s in how to use a tampon

Every woman has a tampon story to tell. Some are terribly sad, some uneventful, and some are surprisingly hilarious. These stories deserve to be told and are extraordinarily useful tools for starting historically awkward conversations like Tampon Insertion 101. These are some of the more common themes I’ve heard, which you can share with your own daughter.

The Show and Tell

The Step-By-Step

This scenario most typically happens when a girl needs to figure out how to use a tampon for the first time ASAP, thanks to a surprise visit from Aunt Flo before some event: swimming, gymnastics or any other sport that involves skin-tight uniforms. Frantic girls can be found in bathrooms, searching wildly for their vaginas and discarding unsuccessful tampons like the shells of a peanut. Mothers, hovering just outside the stall whisper, “Are you OK?” or “How’s it going in there, sweetie?” or “Are you getting any closer? Your swim meet starts in 6 minutes!”

The step-by-step involves a girl in a bathroom wondering how to use a tampon, with a mom shouting instructions from the hallway, face smashed up against the crack of the door to better be heard.

As things get down to the wire, some mothers will make the desperate decision to drop drawers, and give a 3-D demonstration. And you thought talking about vaginas was awkward – try giving a full-blown vagina show and tell.

Embarrassing? Yes, but an amazing opportunity to bond with your daughter and for her to see just how much you love her (she might think you’re just trying to embarrass her, but when she’s twenty, she’ll get it).

The Do-It-Yourself This method is arguably the most invasive of the bunch and basically involves a mother getting up close and personal with her daughter’s junk. I’ve instructed scores of girls on how to use a tampon, but never have I had to put a tampon in another person’s body (I’m hoping to keep it that way). My daughters, at 6 and 8 years old, have heard plenty of my stories and lurked in my bathroom enough times to know the low-down on tampons, but should my motherly obligations ever require me to perform The Do-It-Yourself technique, without a doubt, I will show up and suit up, tampon in hand and ready to roll.

Mom: “Just… just find the biggest hole down there and stick it in – wait, no! Not the biggest hole, the second biggest hole!”

Mom: “Find the one just under your clitoris and past the hole where your pee comes out – it’s hard to see, but it’s there. Use your fingers to feel for it.”

Daughter: “Huh! What’s a clitoris? And double ewww. I’m not going to touch myself there!”

Mom (curses self for leaving clitoris out of the puberty talk): “It’s just your vagina. If you want to find the hole, touch the damn thing!”

Daughter (3 minutes later): “Ok, I found it! I’m unwrapping the tampon and am going to try to put it in.”

Mom: “Don’t take the cotton thingy out of the plastic thingy! Stick the plastic thing up your vagina and then press that skinny stick and the cotton part will shoot out like a bullet and stay up there.”

You get the picture. It’s complicated.

So, How Do I Teach My Daughter How to Use a Tampon?

In all seriousness, girls do need specific guidance when trying out tampons for the first few times. Here are a few pointers to give your daughter specific and helpful advice:

1. FIGURE OUT WHAT’S WHAT. Advise that she find her vaginal opening and to insert her finger as far as it will go (wash with soap first) before trying to insert the tampon.

Once she finds the opening and understands her own anatomy, which can be the hardest part, it will be much easier to start the process and save her the frustration of poking herself a million times.

2. USE VISUALS. Show her a diagram with a side-view of the female reproductive system and point out the angle of the vagina and how it slants towards the spine. It helps if she holds the tampon at a 45-degree angle as she inserts it.

4. START SMALL (and PLASTIC).

Plastic applicators are the easiest to use, and be sure to buy small tampons geared towards the tweens and teens.

These aren’t the only methods employed and some girls get no help at all. Whatever your technique, any help at all can go a long way and bravo for trying. Consider having a girls’ night, with several mother-daughter pairs clad in jammies and eating pizza – the group dynamic is fun and can significantly increase the quality of the conversation. You can do it, and don’t forget how to tell them to take the damn thing out!

3. BE SPECIFIC. Be sure to tell her to insert the tampon into her vagina as far as it will go (without causing pain); if her tampon is even remotely sticking out of her vagina, it will cause discomfort and possibly pain. It’s also important that she knows that the applicator must be inserted all the way into her vagina before she pushes the tampon out.

Jill is a seeker, writer and blurter of truth. She is a sexual health educator, a wife to a hoarder of camping gear, mother to two wild girls, and walker of two stinky dogs. Comedic with a twist of serious, the stories on her blog detail adventures in life. Totally Inappropriate Mom, houses her writing where a ‘life-uncensored’ philosophy, naughty humor and general inappropriateness run the show.

Source: with gratitude to The Mama Bear Effect, Inc.

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Did you know that South Africa has one of the highest rates of child obesity in the world? Recent research shows that about two thirds of South African women are classified as obese or overweight. It’s no surprise then that as adult obesity increases, obesity in children increases too.

Child obesity in South Africa is becoming more and more concerning, and parents need to be aware of habits and patterns that could affect the health of their children. Parents are overfeeding and underexercising their children and the consequences are disturbing.

Overweight parents are raising overweight children.

“…almost 2 out of every 10 children in South Africa are either obese or overweight” Child Obesity in South Africa: The Stats If that’s not enough to get you to sit up a little straighter, try some of these stats on for size…

Recent statistics show that almost 2 out of every 10 children in South Africa are either obese or overweight.

According to the Medical Research Council of South Africa, over 17% of South African children aged between one and nine living in urban areas are obese or overweight.

Some of you might say, “But I know all this. I know the dangers of bad eating habits in my kids”. Well, as with any other healthy lifestyle habit, sometimes we all need a good reminder. This is a weighty issue we cannot afford to ignore, and we need to be aware of the warning signs.

Child Obesity in South Africa: The Lifestyle Our lifestyles are more fast-paced than ever before and there is often little to no time to prepare healthy meals for the family. Moms and dads who work long hours often choose the quickest and most convenient meals for school and home, not realising that bad food choices eventually turn into poor eating habits.

Conscious Life Magazine

“We live in an age of instant gratification: fast food, readymade meals…snacks packed with sugar, sodium and unhealthy fats…

We live in an age of instant gratification: fast food, ready-made meals we can just pop into the microwave, snacks packed with sugar, sodium and unhealthy fats; the list goes on. We need to slow down and take stock of our eating habits for the sake of our kids.

Parents (and moms specifically) are promoting lifestyles, behaviours and eating patterns that their children are modelling. The habits we foster in our children need to change.

When is a Child Considered Obese?

The best indication of child obesity lies in their Body Mass Index (or BMI). This number is related to a child’s weight and height, and whether the two are in proportion.

If this number is higher than 95% of children in the same age and gender category, then the child can be considered obese.

The Causes The number one cause of child obesity in South Africa is overeating (or being overfed by caregivers).

Overeating Obesity is usually the result of excessive calorie intake and low physical activity rates. In the same vein, weight loss happens when the tables turn: increase in exercise and lower intake of calories.

Most people would think that since children are growing at such a rapid rate at their age, dramatic weight gain should be almost unheard of. However, when we look at the frequency at which children consume high-fat and high-sugar foods these days, paired with little to no exercise at all, an increase in child obesity is understandable.

“There are other factors that contribute to child obesity, and a genetic predisposition could be one. “ Genetics There are other factors that contribute to child obesity, and a genetic predisposition could be one. A child is 50% more likely to become obese if obesity runs in the family.

However, this is not guaranteed. Parents who commit to promoting a healthy lifestyle in their kids can turn that statistic around.

The Health Risks The health risks for obese children are significant.

Overweight and obese children are susceptible to a host of health-related problems, such as: • High blood pressure • Heart disease • Diabetes (as a result of impaired glucose tolerance) • Gall bladder problems • High cholesterol levels • Joint problems

“Parents who commit to promoting a healthy lifestyle can turn that statistic around” But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are ways to get it right, and it’s easier than you think…

Promote a Healthy Lifestyle in the Home As with most good things in life, a healthy lifestyle starts at home. Luckily there are easy ways to foster healthy lifestyle habits at home.

Montagu Dried Fruit and Nuts believes and encourages the 1, 2, 3 formula: 1. Eat well 2. Sleep well 3. Stay active

Eat Well What does it mean to eat well?

Be sure to encourage a good breakfast every morning.

Breakfast aids concentration, sustainable energy throughout the day, and decreases the likelihood of binge eating during lunch or supper. The best breakfast foods are ones that release energy slowly: like unrefined oats, whole grain bread or cereals, fruit and unsweetened yoghurt with honey.

During the day, kids should be eating snacks and meals that are low in sugar and fats, and high in essential vitamins, minerals, good carbohydrates and protein - all vital elements for healthy, growing bodies.

A child should never be on a restrictive weight loss diet – only a healthy eating plan. It’s important for parents to first identify what habits, patterns or eating behaviours are causing significant weight gain, and make adjustments from there.

It’s so important to develop healthy relationships with food in our children. Force-feeding could cause poor attitudes towards food, which could lead to eating disorders later on.

“A child should never be on a restrictive weight loss diet – only a healthy eating plan” Food should never be used in the following situations: • As a bribe • As punishment • As a pacifier • As a tool to manipulate behaviour

Sleep Well Enough sleep is essential for early childhood development. Parents, we need to be strict about this. Don’t allow your kids to manipulate you in this area. Stick to a routine wherever possible.

Sleep deprived children often suffer from a number of these symptoms: • Anxiety • Mood swings • ADHD • Impaired ability to concentrate and learn effectively at school • Poor eating habits The Sleep Foundation advises that: Children aged 3 – 5 should get 11 – 13 hours of sleep each night.

Children aged 6 – 13 should get 9 – 11 hours of sleep each night

Conscious Life Magazine

Stay Active The general consensus indicates that children today are far less active than they ought to be.

Media, gaming and entertainment have replaced fun and games outside, as more parents are opting to keep their kids indoors. Aside from the safety aspect of this, it’s simply easier to prop your kids in front of the television for a couple hours of blissful silence.

This in itself is quite normal and easily understandable. The problem comes in when physical activity is replaced altogether.

Unfortunately many schools don’t offer physical education as part of their curriculum, and sports are often only manageable when a parent or caregiver is available to transport them to and from practices or classes.

If extramural activities aren’t possible during the week, try and promote physical activity in the home and as a family: • Go for regular walks together in the evenings or on weekends • Play sports in the backyard in the evenings • Play fun indoor games like Wii Sports or table tennis

Tips to promote healthy eating habits in children: • Avoid issuing tuck shop money regularly.

Make it a rare treat. You can’t control what the tuck shop sells, but you can control when you give them tuck shop money and the kind of snacks you put in their lunchboxes.

Article Courtesy of Montagu Dried Fruit and Nuts

• Always check food packaging.

Avoid snacks that are high in fats and select snacks that are unprocessed where possible. Most fruit juices marketed as “pure” fruit juice often contain added sugars. Default to water, and diluted fruit juices as a second choice.

• Prepare school lunches the night before.

Mornings are usually rushed and unpredictable.

Lunch that is prepped the night before will reduce the chance of you issuing tuck shop money last minute.

• Get your kids to drink more water.

The sensation of thirst is often masked as hunger.

So if your child has eaten recently and still tells you they’re hungry, first try getting them to drink water or diluted fruit juice. If they maintain that they are hungry, only give out healthy snacks like dried fruit, nuts or seeds in small portions.

By fostering healthy lifestyle habits, child obesity in South Africa can be reduced and even avoided.

Hopefully these tips to promote healthy eating habits and physical activities will help you promote a healthy lifestyle for your family.

About Montagu Dried Fruit and Nuts Montagu Dried Fruit and Nuts is a specialist supplier of the widest range of dried fruit and nuts to the South African market. They care about people living a healthier lifestyle and this is why they supply top quality products that supports a healthier lifestyle in a delicious and convenient way.

They have over 140 dedicated stores nationwide, manned by trained sales assistants who provide them with support and valuable information to make their buying decisions. For more information, health tips and lip-smacking recipes visit www.mdfn.co.za.

Should you insure your handbag?

For many women a handbag is one of those items they can’t leave home without.

It’s the accessory that gets carried around every day, but many owners don’t insure their handbags even though the contents could be valued at thousands of Rands.

If the actual handbag is a designer brand, it alone can be worth a small fortune, and that isn’t taking into account what is kept inside. From designer purses and money, to gadgets like cellphones and tablets, and other items such as perfume, sunglasses, make-up and jewellery.

Then there are other less expensive but arguably more important objects including an ID, driver’s licence, keys and remote controls. The value of the items in a handbag can quickly add up, which is why it’s important to look at insurance in case the bag is damaged, lost or stolen.

To get the right cover you first need to check your household insurance policy, as this will likely only protect you when you are at home, not once you have left your house. This insurance cover may also place a limit on the amount you’ll be paid out for individual items, which is why it’s important that you know the details of the policy. You do also have the option of applying for cover for specific items that have a high value.

Of course you don’t want to think about something happening to your handbag, but in the event that it is lost or stolen, it’s usually a long, costly and stressful process to make a claim to replace the bag and its contents. As many women underestimate the value of their handbag, we recommend that you write a list of contents and that you know their approximate value.

This will help you to check that your insurance is adequate and it will help you to claim quickly and correctly for missing items.

The planet is in danger of being destroyed by our greatest threat, ourselves!!!! It’s up to all of us to ensure we do not destroy the environment in which we live and the future environment in which our children will live.

Recycling is as simple as separating home waste and educating our children to do the same.

If we all take this step, it will make a huge difference to our environment and ensure that the various recyclables are recycled and disposed of in the correct manner or sent to the correct facilities for re-use.

Recycling is a great way to save our natural resources and even generate energy.

At ECOmonkey they are taking the first important step to try and minimise harmful waste left in our environment, by working with communities to clean up our surroundings, namely local parks and streams to create a clean environment and further creating employment opportunities through this initiative.

Earth Probiotic help you to recycle your food waste into food for the soil with their Bokashi Recycling Kits.

Working together, these two companies do a great job in helping to ensure the health of the planet. Let them help you do the same…

We make a difference…

Do you???

Let's take the 1st step in creating a cleaner environment & ensuring our children have a brighter, cleaner future... http://www.ecomonkey.co.za

We collect your recycling & create employment: We collect & deliver the materials to various, community recycling projects we support, the materials are sorted & the income goes directly to the community members involved.

Who do we service?

Households, flats, townhouse complexes, estates, office complexes, industrial companies & shopping centres.

Ensuring recyclables are processed correctly & don’t end up on unsightly, dirty & negatively impacting land fill sites.

www.ecomonkey.co.za

SOS PEST CONTROL is a successful family business that is well known for its reliability, friendly service and professional results.

Established in 1993 in Johannesburg, SOS PEST CONTROL has vast experience in all pest eradication.

SOS PEST CONTROL has recognized the need and opened a specialized dedicated division for Termite Control.

SOS PEST CONTROL understands that each client has their own needs, from abnormal working hours, to the specific extermination methods of each and every pest.

SOS PEST CONTROL specializes in homes, offices, industrial areas and hospitality industries.

SOS PEST CONTROL and their highly trained, professional staff will assist you with all your requirements, and solve your problems.

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Pallet Perfect

Aging is an on-going process from the day we are born. Our bodies change, our hormones change and our outlook on life changes. Senior pets, just like senior humans have different requirements when it comes to nutrition, exercise and supplementation.

When is a pet considered a senior, or geriatric pet?

HORSES are considered ‘senior’ when their age is greater than 20-years, but with changes in care and nutrition we are seeing an increase in longevity with many reaching their upper 20’s and even 30’s.

BIRDS have a large variation in longevity, varying from 4-7 years for the Zebra finch, to 60 years for a large Macaw (in captivity).

As pets mature and move into their senior and geriatric years, they become less physically active.

Regular exercise is still of utmost importance, but you should take your dog for shorter walks or a shorter swim more frequently, or let your horse do a lighter work-out. You need to keep their weight stable as the extra weight they now may gain so easily will only put additional stress on their feet and joints.

Once CATS celebrate their 11th birthday, they are considered senior cats, and geriatric, when they reach 15+ years.

“…your dog’s age does not follow a linear aging curve as with humans”

Ensure that you change your horse, cat, or dog’s food portion to reflect his reduced energy need, his lifestyle and age. If you do not follow a natural or semi-natural diet for your pet, but use commercially packaged pet food, now may be the time to change to something that has been specially designed with the older pet in mind.

DOGS on average are considered senior at the age of 7. Small dogs and toy breeds tend to live longer than big breeds, but they tend to mature more quickly in the first few years. A big breed pup may mature slower, yet reaches senior status at around 5-years, while tiny and toy breeds only become classified as seniors at the 10-year mark.

“Ensure that you change your pet’s food to reflect their reduced energy need”

Calculating your dog’s age in human years is a bit complicated, as it does not follow a linear aging curve as with humans. Dogs actually grow five times faster than humans in their first year, and therefore adolescence and maturity occur much faster in animals.

Senior pets will also have worn teeth by now, or they may even have some missing teeth or teeth that had worn unevenly. Regular dental checks becomes even more crucial to ensure they stay in good health and can feed without pain.

Here is a veterinarian established correlation table to see your dog’s equivalent age in human years.

H u m a n

y e a r s

Your Dog's Age

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Small dog age

20

28

32

36

40

44

48

52

56

60

64

68

72

76

80

84

88

94

Average dog

18

27

33

39

45

51

57

63

69

75

81

87

93

100

Big dog age

16

22

31

40

49

58

67

76

85

96

105

Conscious Life Magazine

“Elderly cats are less able to retract their claws. Regular trimming will ensure that they do not overgrow and stick in their pads…”

Regular hoof care for your horse becomes as important as regular dental care. Check your cat’s nails and trim them regularly. Elderly cats are less able to retract their claws. Regular trimming will ensure that they do not overgrow and stick in their pads, or get caught on their scratch pole or your carpet.

Your cat and dog will take longer naps and thus have greater periods of inactivity. Your dog may develop calluses on his elbows due to laying down for longer periods on hard surfaces. Calluses can be avoided by providing a dog bed, especially an orthopaedic one.

In toy breeds heart problems is common in the aging dog, whilst in cats the kidneys are often the first organ to show signs of aging. One of the most common and visible signs of aging may be the stiffening of joints and in some sad cases, debilitating arthritis and lameness occurs. A bird suffering from arthritis may struggle to preen himself, and you will see that his feathers remain out of place, and not kept clean.

“…supplementing with a natural ‘tonic’ created especially with the aging pet in mind.”

Your senior and geriatric pet will do well by supplementing with a natural ‘tonic’ created especially with the aging pet in mind. Something that will support the functioning of their organs as well as their musculo-skeletal system. You can assist them to grow old gracefully by ensuring that their changing needs are met.

Grooming your senior pet is an ideal way of spending quality time with him. Ensure that you have enough toys to keep him stimulated and encourage activity.

Just like humans, senior pets have an important role to play in the family, e.g. it’s the senior horse that is ideal for teaching your young children (or grandchildren) to ride. Let them grow old in the best possible way by loving them NATURALLY!!

Erika Bornman CEO-Eco-Vet www.ecovet.co.za

Conscious Life Magazine

MY FUR COAT, DARLING!

By Sue & Jim Visser – Nature Fresh Yindee’s Story Yindee is a lilac Siamese gentleman, with a passion for interfering with my sewing, writing, handicrafts, research and especially photography. As such, he insists on being photographed or ambushing pieces of paper, fabric, and in this case, some cultured pearls. So I draped them around his neck, much to his delight and took some pictures.

Culture? Yes, "come alive with culture!" Cultured strains of probiotics. We had been developing as well as testing out a unique self-culturing blend of beneficial gut flora as well as other probiotic strains.

Yindee too, was offered some of the PROBIOTIC-15 culture in a separate glass of water to drink. Did you say glass? Yes, darling. He drank it dry.

I noticed his coat became glossier and he was not itchy and scratchy from fleas. I grabbed the spray bottle of PROBIOTIC-15 that also contains the colloidal silver. "Let's go topical!" I said, and gently misted some of it onto the back of his neck. I rubbed it in convincingly and sprayed his paws and itchy spots. Not appreciated, darling. Lick lick. But no more itching.

The next day, a shiny coat. He was due for another deworming treatment. Oh, how I hate to rub a toxic substance onto the back of his neck, so it can be absorbed into his blood stream and thus eliminate parasites, but leave a poisonous residue. So I gave him more of the spray and decided that was that. To my delight, he stopped the tell-tale bout of vomiting that always announced the presence of worms.

Yindee gained weight and his fur coat, darling, became ravishing. Every night at bed time he jumps up onto his cat stand and begs for more and more grooming. Worms continue to hatch out every 3 weeks and take their toll on our pets. Every few weeks we have noticed he makes a B-line for the glass of water that is treated with PROBIOTIC-15.

How does he know this? So now we give him the spray on treatment and no longer need to use toxic deworming products.

We too, can benefit in so many ways from using live probiotic cultures. The reason we put it in drinking water is because overnight, the microbial action doubles. It truly does "come alive with culture." So now you know, we have let the cat out of the bag!

Regards, Jim, Sue and Yindee Read more about Pro Biotic 15

What did Loki say to Mowgli that made her laugh?

The best/funniest captions for the 3 pictures in the series, will win this awesome Eco Vet hamper valued at R1270!!

In the Hamper: Eco-Geriat 50ml, Eco-Teeth 50ml, Eco-Hair 50ml, Eco-Joint 200ml, and a Surprise product.

To enter email your captions for each of the 3 pictures, your full name and contact details to: ecovetcompetition@childoftheuniverse.co.za Subject line: Subscribe. Judges decision will take place on the 1st July 2016

WINNER OF THE MAY USN COMPETITION: TANYA VILJOEN

MAKE A DIFFERENCE Because you CAN

HOPE BEGINS WITH YOU The diagnosis of a dread disease like leukaemia is devastating, not only to the individual, but also for their family, friends and colleagues – especially when the only treatment option is a stem cell transplant.

News like this leaves no-one untouched, but the role of The Sunflower Fund is to reach out to this community, supporting both patients and their loved ones in their search for a stem cell match through the Fund’s expertise in increasing donor numbers for the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR).

“One of our very important jobs,” says Alana James, CEO of The Sunflower Fund, “is to ensure that we have an ethnically diverse source of wellinformed potential stem cell donors, who are committed to helping others and willing to undergo a relatively painless procedure – not unlike an extended blood donation – to help save lives”.

A patient is only able to search for a match within their own ethnic group, as a stem cell donor needs to be a genetic or DNA match, and not a blood group match. With the odds of patients finding a suitable person being 1:100 000, it is imperative that The Sunflower Fund grows the registry in order to offer hope for these patients.

“Imagine that you are a patient awaiting a lifesaving stem cell transplant – how you would feel if a match were found and the donor said that he or she ‘didn’t feel like donating today’, or no longer wished to be a part of the Registry?

This is a serious commitment and one should consider the full implications for both the donor and the patient when completing the consent form and providing a blood sample for testing,” she adds.

Education, awareness, recruitment and testing of donors are inextricably linked. The one activity cannot happen in isolation of the other. In order to continue this valuable work, The Sunflower Fund seeks ongoing assistance from the general public and corporate SA. It takes just two test tubes of blood to become registered as a stem cell donor but it costs The Sunflower Fund R2,000 to tissue type that sample at the required molecular (DNA) level.

The blood samples are analysed and the individuals’ data is then stored on the SABMR until the age of 60 years old.

There are currently approximately 71 000 people registered on the SABMR (South African Bone Marrow Registry), and the Fund’s aim is to achieve their goal of 400 000. In order to ensure that cost is not a limiting factor for a prospective donor, The Sunflower Fund bears the costs of the initial test. It is greatly appreciated when a prospective donor makes a voluntary contribution towards the test cost to allow the organisation to reach more potential donors.

James concludes by saying that even if you are not able to be a stem cell donor yourself, you can still be a lifesaver by donating the funds that make the organisation’s work possible.

ALANA JAMES CEO: The Sunflower Fund

HOPE BEGINS WITH YOU About The Sunflower Fund The Sunflower Fund, a South African NonProfit Company (NPC), is dedicated to creating awareness, educating the public and handling the registration process for people to join the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR).

The Sunflower Fund pays for the test cost of people joining the SABMR. This is fundamental to saving the lives of thousands of South Africans each year. The chance of finding a matching donor is 1 in 100,000 – and as ethnic origin plays a significant role in the search for a donor, South Africa’s rainbow nation is at a distinct disadvantage, requiring a large pool of prospective donors.

The aim of The Sunflower Fund is to increase the number of donors on the current registry to at least 400,000 with proportionate representation of the four main ethnic groups in South Africa.

Should you wish to become a donor, support one of the fundraising projects or make a financial contribution, please contact The Sunflower Fund on toll-free number: 0800 12 10 82.

Visit www.sunflowerfund.org.za to learn more or look out for the DONATE button to make a cash donation via the website.

Media contact: Lauren Corlett Tel: (021) 701-0661 / Cell: 082 688 4788 Email: lauren@sunflowerfund.org.za

with much appreciation to our advertisers, contributors, endorsers and our readers namaste