Conscious Family Journal

Healthy Family: How to Make Your Children Flu-Resistant

 

Just when you thought cold and flu season was over...

  

Two Christmases ago, we were unhappy participants in the rampaging outbreak of Norovirus. My older son picked it up in Orlando, presumably among the masses at Disney World. As he proceeded to “share” it with me, his brother, my parents and a couple cousins, we spent a lot of time talking about germs and how to avoid them.

When we weren’t vomiting.

  

With today’s headlines focused on swine flu and a possible pandemic, it feels like the right time to re-visit the subject.

 

Here are our Top 7 Healthy Family Tips for Making Your Children Flu-Resistant.

 

1. Set an Intention. Expect to be strong and healthy. Live like you are strong and healthy. Write an affirmation for yourself and your family and use it. Something like, “We are always healthy, strong and safe. We spread good health and happiness everywhere we go. We are always surrounded by healthy, happy people.”

Teach Your Children to Un-Plug for Earth Day

 

We are not the greenest family on the block. 

 

We aren’t terrible either, I hope. Our house is stocked with Energy Star appliances and our lighting costs are somewhat limited simply because I am always too busy to replace a lightbulb.

 

We purchase natural cleaning products and I found a service that uses turkey poop to fertilize our lawn.

There is so much more we can do.

 

Earth Day presents a great opportunity for conscious families to be more conscious. We can all work together to find ways to show love for the planet we live on.

 

It’s Time to Get Dirty!

 

A great way to start this kind of conversation with your family is to actually get outside and experience the planet we are trying to protect. Take your shoes off and walk barefoot. Do a little gardening. Swim in the ocean.

 

Cultivate a love of the great outdoors and you will teach your children that this is something worth protecting.

Perimenopausal Anger, Part 1

 

Do not teach your children never to be angry; teach them how to be angry. – Lyman Abbott

 

 

My acupuncturist was giving me a bit of a lecture the other day.

 

We were talking about my gall bladder meridian, which he had determined was in need of some TLC. Apparently, Traditional Chinese Medicine associates the liver and gall bladder with the emotion of anger. He asked me where my anger was coming from.

 

Me, angry??

 

I don’t usually think of myself as an angry person. My glass is always at least half full. Life is good. 

 

I accept that I am responsible for my life and I gladly create my own prosperity. I don’t feel like I am plagued by enemies or cursed by fate.

 

My future is bright. I am blessed.

 

Still, it would be true to say that when I entered perimenopause I started experiencing angry outbursts that seemed to roll up from the soles of my feet and explode out the top of my head.

Are You Too Attached to Your Stuff?

 

I know the kids are in here somewhere... I just lost them temporarily, in the middle of all my clutter.

 

We moved into our current house to be closer to my job. At the time, it was a major upgrade for us. We gained quite a bit of square footage, replete with built-in book shelves, numerous storage closets and a finished basement.

 

Woohoo.

 

Five years later and without too much dedicated effort, we had successfully filled up every closet, shelf, nook and cranny.

 

With what, you might ask?

 

Let’s see. My grandmother’s china, three additional sets of “everyday” dishes, four times as many pots and pans as there are burners on my stove and enough glassware to serve lemonade to the entire neighborhood.

Why I Haven't Posted This Week

 

I received an email from a dear friend this morning, asking why I haven’t posted recently. What can I say, I’ve been busy.

 

Lots of stuff going on.

 

It hasn’t all been bad stuff... some of it was really good. Still, I have once again fallen prey to the over-scheduled, over-stressed lifestyle that I have been trying to get out of.

 

Not a good week for conscious parenting.

 

Here is my “Why I Haven’t Posted This Week” explanation:

 

1. My older son had a really bad day last Friday. Let’s just say that disciplinary measures, report cards and hormones were all involved. This was one of those days when I really felt the whole single parent thing. By Saturday morning, the entire family was exhausted.

 

2. We hosted Easter dinner at our house on Sunday, after preparing most of the day Saturday. This was the good stuff. We had a lovely afternoon with my sister and her family. The food was delicious and relatively healthy. The sun was shining. 

Sending You Easter Blessings and Bunny Cakes

 

Greetings from my world: Easter eggs, bunny cakes and Jesus' Resurrection.

Hmm.

It has taken me a lot of years to figure out Easter... at least, Easter as it is celebrated by many families today. 

How can a holiday that features a giant rabbit sneaking into one's house to hide painted chicken eggs under the sofa possibly be related to Jesus rising from the dead? 

Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I have finally learned that eggs and rabbits are ancient symbols of fertility and rebirth.

I like ancient symbols, and these at least make sense to me.  

For me, Easter is indeed about rebirth. It is about joyfully receiving the blessings of eternal grace, no matter what we have done or not done in our lives.

And it is about taking the time, as parents, to share some of our beliefs with our children. They will eventually reach an age where they get to develop and choose their own belief system, but for now, we can pray for guidance and share our best thoughts with them.

We can help them find their own unique place in the Universe. Through holidays and traditions, we can help them build firm foundations from which to launch their lives.

We can take them to church and host family holiday gatherings. We can bake bunny cakes.

Happy Easter!

 

Related Posts:

How Do You Know When It's Spring?

Roots and Wings: How to Make Your Children Feel at Home in the Universe

 

P.S. Here are some more bunny cakes, baked by my sisters. Enjoy!

            

All Things Stinky and Gross: More on the Joys of Reading with Boys

 

In my last post, Teaching Our Sons to Love Reading, I talked about the link between strong reading skills and a boy’s probable success in school (and life!)

 

Just one more thought: For moms (or female teachers) in particular, it can be a challenge to adjust ourselves to a boy’s perspective on life.

 

As we search for beauty and harmony, they exercise the eternal battle of good and evil; as we delight in music and the arts, they perfect farting on cue.

 

Are these stereotypes? The result of gender conditioning in western society?

 

Whatever.

 

My point – as of this moment – is that in order to engage our sons on the reading front, we need to view the world through their eyes, for just a little while.

 

If we want them to love reading, then we must help them find books to read about things that they love.

Teaching Our Sons to Love Reading

 

Are you raising boys who love to read? Congratulations! For the rest of us, here are some conscious parenting tips to get our boys reading more.

 

Fifth grade was a tough year for us. We’d been warned about it – how we would be transitioning from “learning to read” to “reading to learn” – but that didn’t make it any easier. My older son’s reading skills were simply not ready. We nearly drowned in homework and test prep and our relationship became increasingly strained.

 

Sixth grade has been a little different... we are still drowning in homework and test prep, but now we have the added bonus of “hormone poisoning.” Reading a book simply cannot compete with texting the cute girl from the school bus.

 

Yahoo.

Are You and Your Family Getting Enough Vitamin D?

  

Dear Friends, I originally wrote this post for www.BodyEcology.com in February. Still, whether it is the bitter winds of winter or spring's April showers that are keeping you indoors, it pays to make sure that you and your family are getting enough of the sunshine vitamin. Enjoy!

 

Who knew that a week at Disney World could be good for your family’s health?
 
We are happily spending two weeks in Florida right now. While the kids were equally excited about the prospect of spending time with Grandma, Grandpa and Mickey Mouse, I was looking forward to something else: Sunshine.  
 
I love my parents dearly, but I was craving the sunshine... and I knew that my children and I all needed a healthy shot of the “sunshine vitamin,” vitamin D.

Who Needs Vitamin D?

We all need adequate amounts of vitamin D. It is an essential ingredient when it comes to absorbing calcium and building healthy bones in children and adults. It also plays an important role in creating a strong immune system by helping your body defend against chronic low grade inflammation.

What Are Your Most Powerful Affirmations?

Attention Conscious Parents: Maybe it's time to share the teachings of Louise Hay with your children. Affirmations can be a powerful tool for every member of the family!

So, we were running just a bit behind schedule this morning.

Mom: "Hurry up, you're going to miss the bus!"

Son (brushing teeth at a snail's pace): "I am hurrying."

Mom: "You need to move faster, if you don't want to miss the bus."

Son (putting on jacket at the speed of pudding rolling uphill): "I'm coming."

As we drove(?) at top speed to the bus stop down the street, I suddenly heard the following, coming from the back seat of the minivan:

"I will make my bus. I will make my bus. I will make my bus."

And guess what? He made the bus.

My children have really embraced the use of affirmations. They would not recognize the term "Law of Attraction" - or even "affirmation" for that matter - but they are definitely grooving to the whole concept of conscious creation.