Monthly Archives: September 2013

here, there & in between

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bridge babyLadies and Gentlegeeks,

A few links to warm your heart (or worry your mind …?)

Behold a collection of fab parenting blogs, starting with this excellent post about trusting our children from Bonnie Harris.  This is a lovely piece about how Mamas “do nothing” all day (reminding me: time to reread Naomi Stadlen’s magnificent book …) and this blog might have a slightly dorky name, but SHEESH the content is stellar.  The Scary Mommy blog also has some good content, but is the “Mommy Confessional” off to the right which feels so intimate and personal I can’t quite believe I’m reading it.  What up, Mamas?

Also taking it personally: a teacher pal of mine warned me after a meeting she’d attended … the controversial and FLAWED national standards of education being pushed on New Zealand schools is rumoured to have its insidious eyes on BABIES now.  I will keep y’all posted.

Another warning or three – marketers are coming for the tooth fairy now.  Here is some rebuttal for the nonsense of apps being marketed for babies, and finally from the RWJF, some harsh truths about fast food advertisers and the way they stalk our kids.

If all that is stressing you out, check out this splendid video from the Action for Happiness folks.  Then feel better.  (Cos we all are feeling a smidge better, apparently).  Phew.  Night night.

I got the power! (in praise of electricity)

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Sometimes, it’s tempting to romanticise all that is rustic.  I don’t know if it’s just that I am a momma who values simplicity in the lives of her children, or if it’s because I am a keen veggie gardener whose 1970’s upbringing included a reverence for self-sufficiency?

Anyway, those gnarly storms that hit us on Tuesday night left this family without power for 2 days, and now that it is back, I have never been so in love with electricity.  Gotta say, though: I DID love waking and sleeping in alignment with what the sun was doing.  Our poor wee caveman bodies are a bit confused by what faux lights do to our circadian rhythms.  I think we’d have less drama about babies’ sleep if we had slightly less spazzy sleep habits ourselves.  Anyway: Mt. Laundry is waiting for me after the washing machine hiatus.  Reminding me anew to be grateful for my modern mama life, with the absolute absence of time spent scrubbing clothing against rocks.

overanalysis paralysis

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Gotta be careful, my geeky brothers & sisters.  I’m all a-flutter about the new website and I have been kind of staring at it for ages … poised.  So full of anticipation and humble-hearted that I wind up a great ball of inactivity!  Thus: let’s dive in and do what Baby Geeks DO.  A broad trawl of interesting stuff and a scoot through some child-focused, science-y links.  Behold!

Let’s start with a piece from Slate that I am choosing to serve as an explanation as to why my photos are always a bit disjointed and odd.  I am pretty passionate about preserving the anonymity of my children.  Also from Slate: the grossness of celebrities who tweet the voices of their children.

While we’re being suspicious of technology (an effortless task for this geek), here is a li’l something about use of tablets with children (not asprin, iPads).  Might be time for an appy change?  For real, though, it should be no surprise that the advice for parents seems to be very similar as the advice we’ve always been given re: the telly – resist the temptation to use it as a babysitter, instead use it as an opportunity for connection and a springboard for conversation.  Because talking with children is really important, eh?

Here is a write up about some Australian research reinforcing the role of exercise in boosting kids’ cognitive abilities, let this inspire pregnant mommas (and the rest of us!) to eat well, and I’m a wee bit excited about this burgeoning parenting ed info from Norway.  While you’re there, have a geez at the menu on the left of the article.  You might go NUTS.  I did.

Here is yet another piece about the value of fathers, this is a fairly fabulous article from Psychology Today about “What Happy People Do Differently”, and … just cos I am a bit in love with myself for taking my kids swimming yesterday (*I am NOT a naturally aquatic creature and barely EVER do my poor children get this experience on my watch!) I will end with the neurological explanation for crinkly fingers and toes after overexposure to water.