Parents who work from home ~ finding your Parent Tribe

http://issuu.com/creativesoul/docs/parent_tribe_issue_1_issuu

 

Parent Tribe is a new online magazine from TM subscriber Hatti Burt. The ethos is about creating a lifestyle where you can be with your children and work from home. Follow the link to read the first issue. 

Love, Veronika

Why fewer toys will actually benefit your kids

http://www.becomingminimalist.com/why-fewer-toys-will-actually-benefit-your-kids/

Subscription offer

We’re just preparing to mail out issue 58 of The Mother magazine. We have a special offer running until May 22nd, 2013. Subscribe or re-subscribe for a year, and we'll give a friend of yours (in the same country as you) a half-year subscription (3 issues) to The Mother for free!!

www.themothermagazine.co.uk 

Here are some of the articles featured in this issue.

Do Children Need Boundaries?

by Veronika Sophia Robinson

The Montessori Toddler,

by Kim Fazackerly-Sale

Defining Self-Image,

by Michael Mendizza

The Baby Artist,

by Caylie Jeffery

Reconnecting,

by Keean Manketelow

Over-attachment Parenting,

by Chris Mercogliano

Breast-milk Medicine,

by Sara Simon

Preventing Vaccine Injury and Death,

by Barbara Loe Fisher

New ways of looking at children,

by Dr. Richard House

Rotavirus,

by Joanna Karpasea-Jones

The vision of natural parenting

When I wrote my novel Mosaic, I had no intention of it including parenting in the storyline. Indeed, the story was about growing up! It asks the question ‘Does life begin at 40?’ But I suppose my first novel would include elements of parenting…given how integral it is to my own life.

What readers are saying about Mosaic:

I read this in about three days, a miracle seeing as I never usually get time to read anything with having children 24/7, but you know when you find a good book you can't put it down. I knew it would be, thanks Veronika. Becky.

Really really enjoyed MOSAIC; it reminds me a bit of 'Love Actually' and that's a compliment! Thank you Veronika, it arrived at the perfect time 'Flu plus a self imposed 'screen free' week. And I DID cry! Xxx Elizabeth. France.

What a beautiful story it is, I so enjoyed reading it, so much so that I read it all in one go with sleeping children cuddled up around me! I think you are a really powerful healer, and your words are your medicine. They offer the potential to heal and reveal to the depths of the human heart and soul. The wise women in your story are archetypes for our time, offering grace, truth and wisdom. I love the way you include so many aspects of natural birthing and parenting, and liked to imagine younger women reading this then exploring these ideas for themselves and making them a reality when they become mothers for themselves. A beautiful, inspiring story of the many depths of love and the human heart. Loved it and looking forward to your next ones! Clare

It's a fantastic book, I finished it last night (Monday) (it arrived Saturday morning). I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to everyone. It has the most beautiful description of a birth that I've ever read in a novel. I look forward to your next novel, Veronika. Michelle 

I awoke early this morning to sunlight streaming through the house. Making a pot of cinnamon tea I settled down in my favourite chair and read Mosaic. What a treat ~ simple, truthful, peaceful, evocative, inspiring. A time spent with friends old and new ~ Thank you, Samantha

Well I could savour no more and just sat and read it all!! I can tell you it takes a lot to make me sit down in the day and read! I have cried my way through your beautiful book. I have truly loved it, and am so honoured to be in it. I really am. It is a beautiful book, and I miss all the characters hugely already! Bring on the next one!! Mandy Bingham, Irish singer and songwriter

I just have to share that I received my copy of Mosaic yesterday, and managed to finish it already between naps and my son's bedtime. What a WONDERFUL read. It is poignant to all of us, and truly relevant to everyone who is human. It was an amazing catalyst for me into some of the sore places in my heart that are so deeply in need of healing; places that are affecting my mothering of my son, and are crying out for ways to heal. I literally began to remember how to cry them out as I read the book.

The first page had me... the characters were immediately like my old friends and as they shared more of themselves with Topaz, the main character, I felt like I had known them all my life... it reminded me how incredibly important it is to have a circle of women in my life... something I have been desperately missing since moving to England 2.5 yrs ago.

Topaz is a beautiful mix of already-amazing woman and one open to expanding and learning new ways of being in the world. I was inspired and reassured that there is still time to become everything I dream of. And the storyline unfolding in her life kept me turning the pages well after I should have been in bed.

It was also incredibly refreshing to read a novel that fully encompasses the parenting life I find so natural and comfortable... scenes of delicious
food, sweet experiences of birthing, parenting, educating ~ a way of
being in the world that is in line with Nature. Usually reading novels there is some place that sticks, or prickles; some place where the way "the world" assumes a way of being that just goes against what I feel that I end up with a bad taste in my mouth. Mosaic left me with sweetness the whole way through, even through the bitter, painful, tearful parts.
Much Love, Kirsten

A lovely novel with a very human theme which almost everyone will relate to. I enjoyed this book - it is an accessible read with simple but touching descriptions that capture moments in human life and nature in a very evocative way. I loved the introduction of important issues such as gentle birthing, empathetic parenting and the importance of finding a peaceful connection with the earth. I hope that the novel will open the eyes of readers who happen upon it and do not yet know the joys of such a way of life.
I specifically liked the ending and the way the author has not shied from the sadness which so many of us, if not all, experience - bereavement, baby loss, changes that are difficult to manage and accept. I suppose life is a mosaic, as per the title, and beautiful in all its parts as well as a whole picture - a fitting title then for this snap-shot of a very human protagonist and part of her uplifting, open-hearted journey.

Clare Sage (review on Amazon)

Thank you for sharing your heart with us. The novel was intimately moving; I would like to get one for my eldest granddaughter. Would you sign it from your heart to hers from her grandma? I so want her to read it; beautiful seeds will be sown within. Not sure if she will read it, but just her being in the holding of it, will touch her and kindle a deep memory knowing. 

Ruth

Betrayed by love, internationally successful children’s illustrator, Topaz Lane, has a jaundiced view of relationships. Sworn off men for life, she feels embittered that she’ll never achieve her one true dream: to have a family. With her 34th birthday looming, Topaz feels like part of her life is over: her love life! When her sister enters her in a local radio competition, which asks the question Does life begin at forty?, her life changes forever. She soon discovers that everyone has a wound, and everyone has a gift to share. 

Available from www.starflowerpress.com or www.themothermagazine.co.uk or good bookshops or Amazon and other online book retailers.  

Italian foreign exchange student

One of our Italian subscribers, Samuela, has written asking if we know someone who might like to be part of a foreign exchange. I have posted her letter below. If you're interested in hosting Ennio, or doing an exchange, please drop me an email and I'll pass on Samuela's contact details. Thanks! Veronika xx


I'm writing you because my son, Ennio, 14 and homeschooled for the past four years, is learning English and I would like to organise so that he can spend 3-4 weeks in July with a family in England. It would be a great experience both in terms of learning the language and also living abroad in another family, on his own for the first time (I had the same opportunity at his age and it was great).

So I'm looking for a family, possibly with children his age, willing to host him and help him with the language - in month, end of June - July, I hope you could help me, may be you know some family that might be interested or you could please forward my request to your friends.

We can either in turn host a child from the hosting family or we can pay for his stay. We live in Rome and, in case we host, during the summer, in August, we will go first to the south at the seaside and then to the north in the countryside.

What is important is that we find a nice family where he can stay and take English lessons, either in the family itself or by some teacher nearby. On our side, we are a family of four, in addition to Ennio we have a daughter 20 years old, we are both researchers, my husband is geology prof. at University of Rome and I am a psychologist. 

 

Many dear greetings from Rome

Samuela

Welsh Measles Epidemic was Faked

Surprise, surprise....

http://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2013-05-04/welsh-measles-epidemic-was-faked/

The Vegetarian Teenager (and the myth of protein and food combining)

By Veronika Sophia Robinson

When I was a teenager, the local farmers in our rural beef-raising community would look pityingly at me and say “You’ll die!”

They were thoughtful, and explained themselves: “You can’t live without protein”. These are words that stay with you. What saddens me most, however, is that variations of this myth still abound.

It is most commonly female teenagers who break away from their family’s dietary lifestyle and opt to become vegetarian. Parents are left flummoxed (what do I feed her?), and in what can only be described as tragic cases, some are forced to eat meat.

My teenage daughters are vegetarian, and have been since birth. They know, however, that the choice is now theirs and that they can choose to eat animals if they want or feel the need to. 

My oldest daughter has friends who are vegetarian, and I know that this adds to their bond. But what of protein? I’ll explain in a moment. What is really important is that any human has a balanced diet ~ our food choices should never just rest on one vitamin or mineral.

One of the common mistakes that a meat-eating parent makes (and actually, sometimes a veg parent does the same) for their teenager’s diet is that they look for meat replacements, and end up feeding them something totally inappropriate like Quorn. Or the diet rests on pasta or bread. A pastatarian diet is NOT a vegetarian diet.

The body thrives on fresh vegetables, fruits, sea vegetables, nuts and seeds. It does not need products made in a laboratory. 

If you want to look at how well you’re eating, think in terms of a nutrient-rich diet. Natural nutrients come from natural foods in as close to their natural state as possible.

Protein is a term which covers 22 organic compounds known as amino acids. Our body is able to synthesise thirteen of these acids. The remaining eight, known as essential amino acids, must come from our diet.

Protein is found throughout the body in the form of hair, nails, bones, red blood cells and muscle tissue. The body requires it to build and repair tissue, carry nutrients and for hormonal function. Protein comes from the Greek word: proteios, which means: of first quality. One third of our body’s dry weight comes in the form of muscles, one fifth in bone and cartilage, and one tenth in skin. The rest is made up of tissue, body fluids and blood.

In the Western world we’ve been brainwashed into believing that we’re at risk of not getting enough protein if we don’t eat meat. Vegetarians are always given the advice that plant-based proteins are inadequate, and therefore they must ‘combine’ proteins.

Let’s look at these two myths closely. There’s no factual basis for the belief that a high protein diet is necessary for good health. It’s an ungrounded fear conveniently propounded by the meat and dairy industries. It’s been repeated so often that just about everyone believes it to be true.

The meat industry led us to believe that we need about 120 grams of protein a day. This information came out of Germany at the start of the last century. Nowadays, we know that a human needs more like 20 to 35 grams a day. In fact, only about 2.5% of our daily calorie intake should come from proteins.

Breast milk has about 5% of its calories coming from protein.

In the 1980s, the idea of food combining to obtain the right protein was made popular. It was probably from this that fear-mongering for vegetarians really set in, because people were concerned that they weren’t getting ‘complete’ proteins.

What we now know is that humans store protein, so combining is unnecessary. As with any diet, variety is the key, and this is no different for a vegetarian diet. Unless such a diet is laden with junk foods and sugar, there’s absolutely no reason for it to be deficient in protein. And the more living (raw) foods which are included, the more protein is available, as about half of the assimilable protein is destroyed during cooking.

Overconsumption of protein, which is common in Western society, results in heart disease, cancer, kidney damage, arthritis, pyorrhea, schizophrenia and atherosclerosis, as well as premature aging.

Overconsumption of meat leads to cell, organ and tissue degeneration and amyloid deposits. This all creates an acidic system.

There is overwhelming evidence that decreasing the amount of protein in a diet (that is, removing meat) can prevent osteoporosis. Research into protein intake shows that consuming 75g a day or more draws calcium from the bones.

Protein absorption is inhibited by fizzy liquids, antacids and baking soda.

If you’re concerned about protein, ensure dark leafy greens are part of your daily food consumption.

Sources of protein:

all leafy greens

most fruits

soybeans

tofu

sunflower seeds

pumpkin seeds

sesame seeds

almonds

buckwheat

Mila (a mix of chia seeds)

quinoa

breast milk

amaranth

millet

*pollen (not for vegans), if sourced from a shamanic beekeeper, is an excellent source of protein, as well as all the other nutrients a human needs. See www.kiki-health.co.uk