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TheGreenParent

ISSUE22

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There are eco aware people out there! I just wanted to let you know that I have been reading your magazine for over a year now and really enjoy every issue. Although I’m not a fully paid-up eco chick, I find your articles interesting and inspiring and especially love the craft ideas. It’s really nice to feel that there

are like-minded people out there celebrating the seasons with homemade decorations, such as Easter eggs - although I have yet to master the trick of blowing an egg! As an editor for a charity magazine I also know the hard work that goes into a non-commercial magazine like this, so well done to everyone on the team! Best wishes Alison Wareham, London

Positive language has helped our family I very much enjoyed the article Mind Your Language (Feb/Mar 08) . My partner and I have been testing out using positive language with each other for some time and our discoveries have been very telling. “Remember your lunch today” has a much higher success rate than “Don’t forget your lunch”. We are also aware of how easy it is to enforce negative beliefs by using

H My toddler is still breastfeeding I was really excited to read the article on extended breastfeeding as a mother of a 22 month year old who still loves to breastfeed during the day and night. When I was pregnant the main thing on my mind was whether I would be able to breastfeed and it did not cross my mind that I would be breastfeeding a toddler, having only ever seen it being done once in my life. It wasn’t something that I knew much about until my son was a few months old and I started attending my local branch of La Leche League. I came to understand that it is perfectly natural to breastfeed a toddler and that it has many health benefits for both parties. The thought of weaning my child off the breast before he was ready did not feel right. Why would I want to take away something that was good for him and he enjoyed so much just because this is what was culturally expected of me? When my son was a young baby I breastfed in public without worrying about it too much but now that he is approaching his second birthday I do feel uncomfortable breastfeeding him publicly and avoid doing so by breastfeeding in the car, baby change facilities or public toilets. I look forward to the day that extended breastfeeding is considered the norm and to reading more articles about it in the informative and inspiring Green Parent. Renia Spong

H Write to us and win H Write to us and you could win a gorgeous set of pampering goodies from Neal’s Yard Remedies. This sweet smelling citrus collection is worth £27 and contains Organic Citrus hand lotion, a fresh scented lemon and grapefruit lotion, blended with almond and apricot to smooth and soften the skin; Organic Citrus hand softener with avocado, blackcurrant seed and coconut oils, combined with nourishing shea nut butter to restore work worn hands; Organic Citrus handwash made with orange and lemon oils that add the zest to this foamy hand wash and a soft organic flannel. Great for cooks, gardeners and those who use their hands a lot! Visit the website at nealsyardremedies.com for more of this iconic range.

language such as “I’m so clumsy” and as such we try to avoid these as much as possible. We now have a one year old daughter and we are trying hard to speak positively to her from an early age. It can be quite testing at times. – “No” and “Don’t” are such instinctive ways to start sentences. But with awareness and practice, we are finding more and more ways to get across our point in a positive way. “Please leave the flowers where they are so that they can continue to look pretty,” or “Please be gentle with the cat when you stroke her. Here, let me show you.” It’s early days but we hope that by starting out as we mean to continue, we will encourage in our daughter the behaviour we do want, rather than focusing on what we don’t. Christine Ford, Bristol

Our youngest reader? I love reading The Green Parent and get so much inspiration to help me follow a gentler approach to life and parenting. I look forward to your magazine landing on my doormat so I can curl up on the sofa during a quiet half hour and

have some me time. But it looks like I might have another avid reader of GP in the family now. My daughter is normally very active and hardly stays still for a moment. So, when I was working in the kitchen and realised I hadn’t heard a peep out of her for a while, I went to investigate. I found her on the sofa quietly ‘reading’ back issues of The Green Parent. She seemed particularly interested in an article about Home Education - perhaps she was trying to tell me something! Anyway, it looks like I might have some competition for the next edition. Yours sincerely, Luissa Conlan, Swansea

6 The Green Parent
Celebrate summer

The celebration of Midsummer’s Eve has been linked to the summer solstice since ancient times. People believed that at midsummer, plants had miraculous healing powers and therefore many herbalists gathered their medicine on this night. Bonfires were lit to protect against evil spirits which were believed to roam freely when the sun was turning southwards again. The summer solstice is the time when the sun is in its glory - the longest day and the shortest night. This year it falls on June 21.

Study Insects

The Royal Entomological Society organizes National Insect Week from 23- 29 June with dozens of events taking place throughout the UK. If you would like to take part in a survey, visit nationalinsectweek.co.uk, where you can find local events and also learn more about the wide range of insects found in our gardens.

Out & About

Worl d E nvir onmen t Day is on 5 J une , tr ylitt er p ick ing , cr eati ng a garden or pl ant ing a tree to bene fit you r commu nity

Fancy doing something challenging and exciting this summer? Get involved in some of these events.

QUEEN WASP RESTING ON GRAPE HYACINTH AFTER WAKING © BY DAVID MAITLAND

Time to volounteer

From 1- 7 June, Volunteers’ Week is the UK’s annual celebration of volunteers with events held across the country to recognise, reward and recruit. From helping an elderly neighbour with their shopping to providing legal advice for a local charity, volunteers make a vital contribution to all aspects of community life. Now in its 24th year, Volunteers’ Week is the major event in the UK to recognise the nation’s 21 million volunteers. To find out about opportunities in your area visit volunteering.org.uk

Save old brock

Badgers have lived in Britain for at least 250,000 years. The latest surveys show that there are a quarter of a million badgers in the UK, unevenly distributed across the country as the effects of persecution and changing land use mean that they have almost disappeared from some areas. On 14 June, National Badger Day helps to raise awareness of the plight of these nocturnal creatures. Visit the home of the Badger Trust at badgertrust.org.uk.

Raise money for marine life

Our amazing oceans cover over 70% of the earth’s surface and it’s up to each one of us to help ensure that they are protected and conserved for future generations. World Ocean Day on 7 June gives us a chance to raise cash and awareness for the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) through organising a fundraising event. Whatever you choose to do, this is a great day for it! If you don’t have enough time to raise money, but still want to do something, then help is at hand in the form of the dress-down-day-witha-difference: The MCS Big Blue Day! You just have to wear something blue for a suggested donation to MCS of £1. For the more adventurous the blue theme can be extended to dying hair or beards or perhaps playing the blues. Why not get creative? Find out more at msc.org

The Green Parent 7