The New Parenting Club

Release on Thursday 7/30/09

PRESIDENT OBAMA PRESENTED
WITH STARTLING BOOK
“The Art of Conscious Parenting”
American Foundation for Conscious Parenting

President Obama is presented with a pre-publication copy of “The Art of Conscious Parenting”. It is being presented by the American Foundation for Conscious Parenting. The book is published by Inner Traditions Press and is on Amazon. It is being given to the President on behalf of the grass roots movement of more than twenty million American families who follow a natural birth and parenting lifestyle.
The President is an avid reader, particularly of books that can inform his presidency and in leading the country.
It is given in the hope that Mr. Obama and his advisors support and include Alternative Medicine, Midwifery and Birth Reforms in his Health Care Plan before congress for a vote on the first of August.
It is also hoped that with this Plan, much of the present care-cost and suffering will be alleviated. It is further hoped that Mr. Obama will provide for the education of American parents enabling a regeneration of the American family.
It is believed by many scientists and thinkers that the methods presented in this book will help defer the cost of putting unthinkably expensive bandages on national health problems. In its place it will help people use simple low-tech solutions that provide the ounce of prevention humanity needs so dearly today.
“The Art of Conscious parenting” comments Dr. Jeffrey Fine, will not only save families energy and money, but billions of wasted dollars for the government and industry in future medical expenses and lost hours of work due to depression, addictions, and broken homes.

In the words of Thom Hartmann Author of “The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight; And What We Can Do Before it’s Too Late” -
“If you have, or are considering having children, The Art of Conscious Parenting could be the most important book you read this year.”
The aim of the presentation to the President and this press release is to awaken the American public to the crises in our midst, and to bring this information to the individuals and committees responsible for our health policies.
“The Art of Conscious Parenting”: Jeffrey L. Fine, Ph.D. & Dalit Fine, MS.
In Stores: – November 2009
ABOUT THE FOUNDATION
The Foundation was formed in 2004, a 501(c)3 to provide the latest scientific evidence about birth, nurture and parental influence on the development of children, from pregnancy through adolescence and its global impact.
The co-directors of the Foundation are Jeffrey L. Fine, Ph.D., a Humanistic Psychologist and his co-therapist and wife, Dalit Fine, an MS in Family Counseling.
They are both public speakers who travel to serve communities around the world. They provide couples and families with psycho educational services, lectures and trainings.
The American Foundation for Conscious Parenting.

All children of all ages from birth to the teen years have two main drives which are operative during these growth years. These are: – first – the drive for safety and security which comes down to; always, always knowing that the connection with mommy and daddy is there. Once this is assured the next drive is to explore and learn everything about their world.

You as a parent should avail your child of everything needed to gain this knowledge. Of course your child needs the academic skills to fit in and succeed in tomorrow’s world, and children learn best through play.
Whether your child goes to school or is part of a growing number of children who are freed from the drudgery of sitting for six hours every day, you can expand their skills and interest them in non-violent and helpful ‘edutainment’.

When you imagine homeschooling, some of the first images that may come to mind are that of a child sitting at the kitchen table with textbooks or perhaps a child sitting on the sofa reading to mom or dad. Traditional homeschooling usually will involve some textbooks, workbooks, copy work and reading to other family members. These methods are widely used and often make an appearance when schooling at home.

More and more though, homeschooling parents are finding even more options available to them to help their children learn and they are fun too!
A wide variety of electronic games, board games, video learning tools, and electronic reading and writing devices have hit the market in recent years and they are quickly gaining popularity. They make learning fun and engaging in ways that textbooks cannot.

My son, age 10 has a game called ‘Simms 3’ where he creates people in a town. He gives them physical characteristics and personality traits. After which he chooses vocations and designs a home. They can marry other created characters and have children. Ingenious!

Board games have always been a favorite among children so it is no wonder that a few innovative companies have developed a line of educational games for kids. There are dozens of games for children of all ages that teach math, science, spelling, problem solving, and even history. Playing these games together as a family helps them to learn new things with little effort. Cariboo by Cranium is a game that teaches younger kids shape recognition, color recognition, letter recognition, and counting in ways that kids find engaging and exciting. Blokus by Educational Insights teaches strategy and reasoning, as well as spatial perception. Scrabble, Cranium, and Trivial Pursuit are great educational games for older kids.

Online computer games are also gaining popularity. The JumpStart World series for preschoolers to second graders has become a favorite among homeschooling parents. Through these games children access a 3D world of their very own where they can work on reading and math skills at their own pace and in a fun environment. Spelling lessons are mixed in with tic tac toe and counting is learned while searching for buried treasure. New adventures can be downloaded monthly so that the fun and learning can continue.

Parents are also able to access scores online so that they can see what skills their child needs to work on and which ones they have mastered. The same company also has a fun Math Blaster program for older kids.

Reading and other basic skills can also be learned with the help of digital books and electronic devices. LeapFrog is a leader for this type of product. They have a new Tag system that seeks to teach children how to read. Children read through the many books they have available and they can get help with words they are stuck on by touching the Tag pen to the book page. LeapFrog also has the LeapPad with books organized by grade to teach reading, phonics, vocabulary, math, science, music, and more.

All of these tools have taken traditional learning techniques and made them play. This children are sure to love.

When it comes to making lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise, a February 2007 Mayo Clinic Special Report announced that counting on willpower alone invites failure. However, supplementing willpower with mental images of your intentions gives people a much greater chance of success. Without a doubt, the mind is a powerful force capable of amazing feats.

People have been known to walk across hot coals, break through wooden boards with a karate chop and bicycle ride over 1,800 miles in the Tour de France – all unimaginable tasks without intense focus on goal visualization.

Dr. O. Carl Simonton in his famous book about visualization for curing cancer, tells of a ten year old boy who was in his clinic and was visuakizing his tumor as a chunk of raw hamburger.  He saw his white-killer cells as mini white sharks. For 20 minutes twice a day he concentrated on seeing those sharks eating away at the tumor.  After two weeks he announced to Dr. Simonton that his tumor was all gone.  Curious, Dr. Simonton ran some scans and to his surprise and joy the boy was correct.  There was no sign of any tumor.

A colleague of mind told me of a case she witnessed.  A woman had come to her complaining of a severe pain in her lower back.  She had been to many doctors and they could find nothing wrong.  My colleague had her sit and visuakize an angel who was there to help her.  She sat for 15 minutes and after she opened her eyes she told of seeing the angel who was blowing the words “I love you” into her ear.  Her ear sh said began to weep tears.  She went home with no change, but when she awoke next morning her pain was completely gone.

Here’s what you can do: – Instead of perceiving fatty, fried foods as a delicious treat, envision them as disgusting pieces of lard. Imagine the sludge that lard creates in your blood vessels, contributing to feelings of sluggishness, being bloated and tired. Picture sugar foods as little Pac-men gobbling all your healthy enzymes and stopping the clean function of your liver and pancreas. These visualizations can help end your junk food cravings.

Visualize eating fruits, vegetables or other healthful snacks when you are hungry between meals. Picture your nutritious food melting away the fat in your body, similar to how warm water dissolves salt crystals. Make a mental connection between this dissolving of your body’s fat with feeling good and having increased levels of energy.

Choosing to flop on the couch and stare at a television encourages your body to amass fat. If your torso is not subjected to repeated motion, it will get stiff and congested, just like a forgotten pair of gardening gloves, left outside for weeks. Whenever you are overcome by laziness, equate your inactivity with inviting more lard to infiltrate and stiffen your body.

Visualize it. Focus clearly and see it in your mind’s eye. Instead of laziness, imagine physical routines to liquefy the extra fat your body is carrying. Whether walking, bicycling, swimming, boxing or any other form of vigorous exercise, picture yourself in motion. An active torso prevents fat from accumulating. This is similar to how consistently using those gardening gloves will maintain their suppleness and flexibility.

Creating visual images for the choices you make  will fortify your willpower. This will help you to follow through on your goals for a healthy lifestyle change. Transforming diet and activity levels does not have to seem like climbing an endless mountain. By using the psychological tool of visualization, keeping these daily commitments can feel effortless.

The rewards of sticking to a diet and exercise program is increased energy, greater flexibility, feeling lighter even before dropping any weight and reduced stress on organs. Reduction of internal fat will decrease your insulin resistance and normalize sugar metabolism. The additional gift will be a significant decrease in your craving for sweets.

You will not only be feeling great and be looking better in the mirror, but you will be leading the way to a healthy life. You will be preventing any future heart disease; you will sleep better and find yourself in better moods. Whenever we make an effort to take care of ourselves, our inner being feels that as love. So you will feel better, and, feel better about yourself too.

Remember; the first time you do something it leaves a trace in your neurons, the second time the trace deepens and the third time momentum starts working for you. 

Do the visualization and MOVE for one week and keeping it going will be easy.  “It’s the lightest thing in the world once you shoulder it!”   ONWARD & UPWARD

STANDING YOUR GROUND
For a breastfeeding mother, it is often difficult in our culture to deal with the critical remarks from uninformed and conventional people. Though well meaning, friends and family can put the breastfeeding mom on the defensive or quietly feeling embarrassed. How best can one ‘stand her ground’?
What you are doing is an ancient womanly art. Be proud as only truly dedicated and loving mothers nurse their young. Among the animal kingdom all mothers nurse their young. Know the facts and you can answer anyone who is ignorant about breastfeeding. The first thing I would say is to remind the person that the human being is the only mammal on the planet that denies their young the breast. Breast milk is loaded with the antibodies produced by the mother’s body and is a protection for the infant’s immature immune system. It’s always immediately available…and your baby never cries, because the time it takes from his or her first signal to momma’s breast is usually less than fifteen seconds. Compare that to seven or eight minutes to prepare and heat formula.
Beside the ‘anxious’ waiting time, the mother’s milk is super rich in everything the baby needs. Study the facts and have them in mind when the need for them arises.
Most important is to develop a circle of breastfeeding moms. This will create a source of learning, camaraderie and support.
I read a short heartwarming article in this week’s People Magazine I will share with you.
MOTHER’S MILK
June 10 would have been Robbie Goodrich’s third wedding anniversary. But instead of celebrating with his wife, he cast some of her ashes from the bridge where the couple had made their vows near Marquette, Mich. Susan had died from an embolism hours after their son Moses was born. In a remarkable turn of events, 25 Marquette women banded together to take turns nursing or pumping breast milk for little Moses. Says Robbie about the women’s ongoing efforts: “For all the health benefits of breast-feeding, I think the nurturing love Moses receives from each of the moms is just as important.” A reader, Angie Nolle of Tecumseh, Kans. Agreed: “As I read this story, I nursed my own son and held him a little tighter, thankful for the time we have together.”
I will close with a few words from my friend Sarah Kraft
www.mindful-mama.com –
About standing your ground.
“Whether it’s just saying no to plastic toys, breastfeeding without an exit strategy, or believing candy and kids are not a good mix, standing your ground as a parent offers plenty of challenges. A little self-trust goes a long way in making unorthodox choices, as does developing a thick parenting skin, and finding a community (virtual or real) of like-minded moms. So dare to parent with equal measures of intuition, common sense, nonsense, and ever-present humor. We applaud you for your staying with your gut, and who knows? One day your kids may thank you too.”