Why Baby Massage Matters By Karen Faulkner

Why baby massage really matters.
I’m a Child and Family Health Nurse from Australia and I’ve been teaching parents baby massage for over 14 years.
As a midwife I knew it was important but didn’t really understand why. Now that I
know why, I think every parent should be taught this marvellous skill. I think its integral to building a relationship and really understanding your baby.
Baby massage is touch at its most basic. It originated in India, we think, many
years ago. It has a very spiritual aspect to it and through practice we can learn to really understand our baby. It is mindful and in the moment. Something that our fast paced, technology driven lives, really are not.

I think that’s what initially hooked me, the in the moment stuff! It also
seemed a bit mysterious and there was something really powerful about it.

As a Health Visitor, working in a Sure Start area in Salford Manchester, this
perception I had was so different to my work reality. We were taught baby
massage to work, one on one with fathers in ‘at risk’ families to try and reduce
child protection issues. The idea was that if the father massages the baby, he
forms a relationship with his baby, which then hopefully helps to protect it. The
theory was that it’s hard to hurt something that you’ve formed an intimate
bonding experience with. The child protection cases on my caseload numbered
10%. It was huge and overwhelming.

What I witnessed was: learning by both parents of how to read and
understand their babies and linking into their cues. It was a light bulb moment. I
found that commenting on the reciprocal pleasure father and baby were
experiencing really helped the fathers blossom. In England, fathers from a lot of
low socio-economic areas are often absent from the parenting role, for a variety
of reasons. These fathers blossomed and looked forward to my visits at their
home.

Babies benefit from touch in many ways. As well as enhancing the infant parent relationship and bonding, it also has a beneficial effect on the immune system and circulation. Premature babies that are massaged are found to grow more than babies that aren’t. It helps the immature digestive system by reducing colic and wind and treating constipation and reflux.
When you massage your baby you really look into their eyes. We know that
direct eye contact builds connections in the baby’s brain and connects the
synapses that cement emotional intelligence. So never underestimate the power of
baby massage. It’s so much more than just a series of strokes with some lovely
oil.

Find out more about Karen, a Child and Family Health Nurse.
Nurture Parenting Solutions, was established in March 2011 by Karen Faulkner. A Sydney (Australia) based parenting support service that is located in the Inner West and Eastern Suburbs. Karen is a Child and Family Health Nurse and Registered Midwife with 24 years experience. She trained in England as a Nurse and Midwife at large teaching hospitals in Leeds and London; attending University of Manchester to study as a BSc (Hons) Community Specialist Practitioner/Health Visitor and Nurse Prescriber. She also holds a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from Bolton Institute, UK.

She has a strong interest in supporting families and strengthening the family unit. Having worked in social support and outreach programmes in the UK and Melbourne and in the Inner West and Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. She has a particular interest in Baby Massage and has taught this for the past 14 years. A proven ‘baby whisperer’, she teaches parents how to settle their babies/children and establish healthy and positive day and night routines. She believes very strongly in working in partnership with families and helping them find their own solutions to the modern challenges of parenting.

Prayer For The Planet

Sharing a request from our beautiful friend P.

"I am asking for your thoughts and prayers over this week for a major healing that is taking place. The power of the heart is mighty and so huge. In a quiet moment each day this week if you would lovingly and gently place your hand on your heart and feel the depth and expansion of love. Feel it for yourself and if you will, allow it to flow out to your family, your community, and like ripples on a pond, expanding out over our beautiful planet.  Breathe it into your heart and out to the Universe." Patricia Cloud

No matter what we call it, be it "God", "Great Spirit" , "The Force", or even just "It" this Thing I call God is all there IS.

Our really good friend Patricia sent this special prayer to us and we wanted to share it with you.

~  Please empower these words with the sound vibration of your voice
and read aloud.....

"No matter what we call it, be it "God", "Great Spirit" , "The Force",
or even just "It" this Thing I call God is all there IS.
- It animates all life, it moves us, lives us, breathes us and is us.
We are all One thing in many forms, all perfect manifestations of God
whether or not we can detect that from our personal human perspective.
I give Gratitude for the perfection that God Is and know that total
healing takes place moment to moment.
That somewhere miracles happen every day, every hour and every minute.
Our hearts are healed in this holy instant and I give Gratitude for
the power of this word.
As I release these words into the Law of mind, I know it can only say "yes."
As I say it, I know it is done, and so it IS."


Happy Easter from Carol and Stacy.

Music An Expression Of The Soul

Music An Expression Of The Soul

In todays societies, closed minded choices are consistently being made through-out our school systems and communities, where greed rules the outcome of what is on the artistic menu.

There are those that see no value in the arts. children who are exposed to the arts are able to express themselves beyond boundaries and confinements. When music is invoved it expands their consciousness on so many levels. Anything can be enhanced with the involvement of music.

It awakens a vibration from within that helps them to connect with their raw organic feelings from past, present and future. It can portray an essence of who they are and what their needs may be through movement from dancing, audio from singing, alignment from vibration and contentment from stillness.

Open the floodgates and nourish your child's soul with the expression of music.

Originally shared at  www.aleaighedwards.com

KidSpeak Radio Show~A radio show where kids can speak their truth!

Update From Vicki Savini Speaking Your Truth!

KidSpeak Radio Show Makes a Debut A Radio Show Where Kids Can Speak THEIR Truth Hello Everyone! I am writing to you today to share our first radio show.  This particular show is a powerful 16 minutes.  If you have children, I encourage you to listen with your children.  My first graders have taken 'I Statements' to a whole new level! Enjoy! Vicki http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kidspeak/2012/03/29/speaking-our-truth

Rob Herring Questions What's Inside Our Food

When Stacy and I first saw this video on All Things Healing we knew we had to share it with you. Great lyrics with an incredible message. Our food supply is so important. Nutritious healthy food for ourselves and our kids are the goal. No more GMO's
Enjoy!! Your gonna love it. ~ Carol

Lay your head against a tree and learn what life could really be

Here's a poem my oldest son wrote when he was in 6th grade.
Tony is an Indigo through and through. He's always rejected any kind of box type thinking. He's a free thinker. He can't stand authority or rigid rules. He's a system buster and an awareness bringer. His generation is the generation holding the space for all the new energy (crystal and rainbow children) to enter our planet. Watch for huge changes to take place over the next 20 years! ~ Carol Lawrence (yes he likes to camp in the winter)

Hello all my funny friends

Come and join me in my Mercedes Bens

Look at this world of exaggerated fame

Turn into a big ball of flame

Go on ahead and live this lie

while I teach myself how to fly

I know the truth about all of this

why can't you see through the mist?

There's more to life than money and politics

We don't need technology or drug addicts

So let's just give a new meaning to life, 

And teach our children so

They can teach it to theirs.

Now lay your head against a tree and learn

what life could really be.

~Tony Lawrence~

7 Tips: How Does Emotional Abuse Damage Children's Self-Esteem? Part 2

7 Tips: How Does Emotional Abuse Damage Children’s Self-Esteem? Part 2

By Michael David Lawrience 

Previously, I gave the 1^st three tips in http://www.emotionalhealthtips.com/healing-emotional-abuse

1. Emotional Repression – Feel and express your feelings in healthy ways.

2. Emotional Violence – Heal your own inner child.

3. Parents Use Children to Satisfy Their Own Needs – Strengthen your self-esteem.

Emotional abuse includes verbal violence and the lack of positive emotional support. Abusers control, criticize, demean, ignore, make children less then, powerless, and victims.

So how does emotional abuse damage a child’s self-esteem?

Part 2 gives the remaining four tips:

4. Parents Lacking Ability to Meet Dependency Needs

As young children we need physical touch and emotional warmth from our parents. As children we depend on this to develop trust, connection, and a strong sense of self, core self-esteem.

My mother received little touch and warmth for her Russian parents. In addition, her mother died when my mother was still young. My mother then became the caretaker mom for her dad and six other siblings. As I mentioned before I also had an emotionally absent father.

I grew up mistrusting others and most of all mistrusting myself. I lacked confidence. I always wanted to know how to do any new project before I did it, figure it out first.

Tip: Learn how to strengthen your self-esteem over time. See The Self-Esteem Workbook by Glenn R. Schiraldi.

5. Feelings Denied

Tips On Tantrums By Loren Buckner, LCSW

Tips on Tantrums

Whether the tantrum begins in the supermarket and you feel like everyone's eyes are on you, or you're in the privacy of your home, temper-tantrums are always frustrating, and they're often infuriating. So parents wonder, "What am I supposed to do when my child is having a tantrum?"

I recommend to parents that they stay as calm as possible. Yelling or threatening a child rarely gets them to settle down. When parents lose control, they are matching their child's behavior and this, in all likelihood, will make matters worse.

I've had many parents tell me that they could calm down if only their child wasn't making such an awful scene. Managing this difficult moment, however, rests in parental hands. We can't expect children to be more in control of their emotions than we are of our own.     

So as best as you can, lower your voice and look into your child's eyes. Say things like, "I know you're upset. I know you're mad. You are really really mad. I know. It feels terrible not to get your way. You are so disappointed. I understand." It's always worth it to name and understand your child's feelings. It may not stop this temper-tantrum, but you'll be giving your child tools for later on.

If this doesn't calm things down, though, you'll probably have to stop what you're doing. If you're in a store, consider leaving or at least going out to the car. Parents in a hurry and under pressure to get things done become focused on finishing their errands which, when a child is out of control, isn't going to end well.

      

It's inconvenient and frustrating to walk away from a grocery cart filled with food. But whenever possible, parenting becomes the priority. You want your child to experience the consequences of the tantrum. He/she goes home, to the car, sits in time out, goes to bed early, misses dessert, or TV time.

Giving in to tantrums pretty much guarantees the likelihood of another one, although all parents are guilty, from time to time, of taking this immediate way out. Remember that parenting is a messy business, sometimes the best you can do is muddle through and do better next time. To be thoughtful, purposeful, and unselfish every time a child asks for something is next to impossible.

Unless your child is too young to understand,

Carol And Stacy Interview Children's Author Vicki Scalzo-Savini

Article first published as The Light Inside of Me - An Interview with Author, Vicki Scalzo on Technorati.

1. What inspired you to write The Light Inside Of Me?

     I was inspired to write “The Light Inside of Me,” by a child who had anger issues. A few years ago I was in a situation where one of our elementary schools had asbestos, so they closed the school to remove it and moved our whole school into another building and we all doubled up. I worked with a friend of mine.  Together we had approximately 40 children in the class.  While one of us was teaching, the other would co-teach or prep the next lesson. One of my colleague’s students, named Bryce, was giving her an awful time.  He was very disrespectful and angry in general.  I took a liking to him because I saw that inside that hard shell he pretended to have, he was an amazing kid just looking to be noticed.  I sat down at the desk and wrote a poem titled, “The Light Inside of Me” to do a reader response with the kids. It changed Bryce’s life, my life, and hopefully millions of children in the near future!

2. Where did you get the idea to use children's illustrations?  What a fantastic concept!

     I had this book typed behind my desk for years. For fun, I would have the children illustrate different pages each year.  I never saw this book illustrated by an adult; I always knew it had to be illustrated by children because they have an amazing way of expressing their brilliance. When I finally decided to move forward to publish, there was never a question as to who would illustrate the book. I held an art contest in my elementary school and the rest is history.

    3. When did your deep love for teaching and inspiring children begin?