MOTHERS DAY HURRAY!!!! WEEK 37 QUOTE 37

This Sunday May 8 is MOTHERS DAY. 
Maybe you have been a mum for decades, like my mum who is in her seventh decade of being a mother. Or all your children could have left home and the 'mum feeling' possibly only really returns when everyone comes home for lunch - which is likely happening this Sunday. Or you may be in the middle of lots of action with children and teenagers with lots of spontaneity. Or being a mum and marking Mothers Day personally may be a new experience in your foggy, lacking-in-sleep mind as you care for your babies. And of course there's all those first time pregnant mums who absolutely are classed as mums too.
Mums of all ages ~        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                            HAPPY   MOTHERS  DAY
                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Here for you to read are 6 comments from women at various phases in their life as a mum.

AS A NEW MUM, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO ONCE YOUR BABY IS BORN?
"For 8 months I have learnt all about a precious little being growing inside of me, admittedly though at first, I was sure it was an alien taking over my body. Lately though, I've begun to get to know little parts of its personality, such as the way it responds with kicks and rolls when Daddy comes home, the way it gets excited when I eat its favorite food and the way it dances to its favorite music and instantly settles when audio books are played.
It's such an amazing journey to become a Mum.
What I'm looking forward to most about becoming a Mum is firstly, seeing my baby's face on the day it's born and looking into its eyes and seeing it recognize me for the very first time. I can't wait to pick out which parts it gets from me or Andrew. I already know it has it's Daddy's big feet because I feel them wedged under my ribs constantly!
Beyond B'day I can't wait to teach the baby about the value of family and introduce it to all the people who matter most in our lives. I'm so excited to see the baby's face light up with love and excitement when Andrew comes home from work. Andrew is such an amazing teacher and I'm sure I will forever be in awe at what our baby learns from him.
Mostly though, I'm looking forward to lots of laughs and spending time learning and growing together as a family. I'm sure when I look back in years to come I will be amazed at what I have learnt from my children and from becoming a Mum."
From KELLY WHOSE DUE DATE IS JUNE 8 2011.


"I am most looking forward to meeting my baby and watching his/her personality develop. I can't wait to take my baby lots of places. I want her/him to know all about New Zealand and American traditions. And of course, I can't wait to shop for those adorable baby clothes."
From JOY WHOSE DUE DATE IS IN OCTOBER 2011.


WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT BEING A MUM TO LOTS OF LITTLE CHILDREN?
"7am, two sets of footsteps come running down the hallway. I never quite know who will be in front, Ashton or Hunter. Nevertheless, they come in eager for cuddles and kisses, or a few minutes snuggle in bed. Soon, we hear Cooper summoning one of us to pick him up from his cot. He too joins us in bed for a bit of rough and tumble. At 19 months he delights in rolling around the bed, being pushed over by dad or his older brothers. He takes simple pleasure in turning the lights on and off, then on, then off. Let's not forget Tayla who is either fast asleep in our bed from her early morning feed or simply observing her brothers antics trying to make sense of the madness. Yep, this is our typical morning with our kids - there is no easing into the day, no soft music to wake up to, sleep comes to an abrupt end when my children open their eyes, and soon I have no choice but to surrender. It's morning, no more sleep for me.
However, giving up my morning lie-in is a small price to pay for all the added benefits I get from having 4 precious little ones in my life. I enjoy the endless supply of cuddles and kisses from my kiddies. I love the spontaneous 'I love you' from the mouth of my babes. I enjoy talking to them, learning what is on their mind, in their hearts. They are all unique and so different. The smile that appears when my 4 month old sees me lights up my world. Watching them learn is also a huge perk of the job, to be there when they first roll over, sit, stand, take their first steps. The look of pride on their faces when they accomplish each milestone, no doubt my face would mirror theirs at that same moment. Who could be prouder than mum when her child achieves? 
I love that my children turn to me when they are excited, when they are happy, when they are sad or scared, when they just need someone to be with - they think of mum. I love being depended on, being needed and loved. I love that my children have turned my house into a home. You won't see picture perfect in my home, if you catch us on a good day you might get clean and orderly, but most often you get the lived in look, a trail of destruction as the boys work their way around the house, toys scattered behind them. Who knew cushions are not purely decorative, they make great weapons and fantastic huts. Tin openers make great helicopters to a curious being. My children fill the house with noise, with mess, with laughter, with tears, with energy and life. In doing so, they fill my heart with great memories. Memories of times spent together whether it be doing exciting things or doing nothing, going exotic places or staying right at home, being dressed up and fancy or slobbing around all day in our pajamas, having fun laughing at nothing in particular and everything. Doing life together.
What I enjoy most about being a mother is the unconditional love. Unconditional love I receive from my children, and give to my children. My children don't care if the house isn't spotless and the washing up-to-date. They are not particularly fussed if I serve them gourmet dinner or baked beans on toast. They just need to know that no matter what, mummy loves them! As for me, I love that no matter how tough, busy, stressful life gets at times, I always have 4 little ones that are ready to give and forgive, 4 little ones that love me, no matter what."
From NANCY.


WHAT ARE THE BEST PARTS OF BEING A MUM TO CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS?
"Being a child and being a teenager are two different stages in life, although at times I find I have the same conversations with both within the same week.
I love each of my kids and one of the great aspects in being a mum to children and teens is to watch the change in them as they move from childhood through the growing up years into teenagers and beyond. Living with children growing into teenagers I have regular opportunities to reassure them that I am proud of them. When they are troubled or confused about who they are and think themselves awkward and odd compared to others, I enjoy being able to tell them they are great individuals and it is normal to feel different at this stage in life.
I get excited at the growing and greater abilities in their thinking as we share in conversation.
I find it amazing to see the shift from doing things because of duty, to doing them by choice - all because they are maturing.
I am moved when I receive a text from one of my kids apologizing for their rudeness that morning.
I feel loved when at the end of the night they find me to give me a 'Good night' hug and kiss, then ask how I am.
I am thankful for each of my children and love discovering more about who they are through these years of growing up ~ they give me great happiness."
From CATHY.


WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT BEING A MUM NOW ALL YOUR CHILDREN HAVE LEFT HOME?
"My greatest pleasure in life was finally carrying a pregnancy to full term as I struggled to carry past three months. My pleasure in holding my children,  Jason and Tracy in my arms, can not be equalled. Now my life is full of grandchildren, all a great distance away which saddens me, but writing letters and postcards and facebook, keeps me in touch. 
Too go through life without children would have been unbearable. They caused me tears at times as they do, but caused me a lot of laughs, fun and excitement. Being a Mum was my career and enjoyment.  Love to my children."
From EVE.


WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT BEING A MUM AT THIS STAGE IN YOUR LIFE?
"This Mothers Day my four children are in different countries ~ one in Africa, one in Australia, one in America and one in New Zealand. My 18 grandchildren are in Australia, Indonesia, India the UK and New Zealand, and my 11 great grandchildren are with their parents. All of them care for me, I know they really have a strong feeling of affection for me and are interested deeply in me. This gives me true joy.  They love me and I love each of them."
From DOROTHY who is 88 years old.


All mums move on to the phases ahead, and it happens faster than we realize, so ~
THISWEEKWITHTHEKIDS -  make the most of 'where' you are right now.


HAPPY  MOTHERS  DAY  TO  YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cathy.

TALK TO ME ABOUT BREASTFEEDING WEEK 36 QUOTE 36

                                                    Margaret McGlashan - midwife.

"Right-thinking hospitals encourage skin-to-skin contact between mother and child as soon as conceivably possible. Slick with sweat ..... mucous-ey creature placed upon your breast. Unseeing, snuffling, it desperately seeks your nipple ..... "
Megan Nicol Reed : "The Agony and the Ecstasy". Sunday Star-Times   April 3  2011.


Today there is expert help available for mums. This is why I decided that I'd interview my great and highly respected friend, Margaret McGlashan, for this third post and for another following this one, in the series on Breastfeeding. 
I remember coming away from a conversation with Margaret, just after we met, encouraged and impressed having discussed the effect of breastfeeding being a form of contraception and preventing one from falling pregnant. A month or so later I happily fell pregnant with our second child who is now twenty-five. Margaret is a midwife and has been a major part in the delivery of four of our children. Both as I approached the births and in those first six weeks after birth, under Margaret's care I was supported, equipped and given confidence to head into raising my children. She is an expert in the field of breastfeeding. Thank you Marg!!!!! 


1. Margaret, to begin with could you tell us how long you have been practicing as a midwife? 
I finished my training in 1971 and have been practicing full-time for 26 years.


2. Over the 26 years, about how many mothers have you prepared and cared for before, during and after childbirth?
I would have helped between 1000 - 1500 women of various cultures.


3. In preparation when talking with these mothers, do you advocate that they breastfeed their baby?
Yes always, breastfeeding is best.


4. What reasons do you give them to encourage them to breastfeed?
* it is normal and natural, this is one reason women have breasts.
* to sit down and breastfeed gives you the option to sit and relax, enjoy the baby and be quiet.
* as a result of being pregnant you have milk in your breasts ready to breastfeed.
* breastfeeding gives your baby optimum nutrition - for the first 6 months breast-milk has all the nutrients your baby needs.                                        - for the next 6 months breast-milk continues to be the major source of energy and nutrients while family foods are introduced.
* bonding between you and your baby occurs best through breastfeeding.
* only breast-milk gives a baby antibodies which are rich in protection from sicknesses. For the first year and beyond, these important antibodies continue to protect your child.
* the growth and development of your baby's intestine in his digestive system, is helped by breast-milk.
* breastfeeding also helps protect your baby from food protein allergy.
* breastfeeding gives comfort to your baby.
* money wise, breastfeeding is a cheaper option compared to bottle feeding.
* your baby's brain and nervous system development is helped by breastfeeding.
* the structural shape of your baby's mouth is enhanced by breastfeeding, and future skills in clarity of speech and sound production rely on a well formed mouth interior.
* breastfeed babies have less risk of cot death, cancer, eczema, diabetes, diarrhea, ear, nose, throat, chest, bladder and kidney infections.
* breastfeeding lays down the myelin sheath, which is the lining of nerve cells for the baby.
* breastfeeding protects mums from cancer of the breast and ovaries, and gives protection from osteoporosis and anemia.
* mums also benefit from breastfeeding because it helps her abdomen to go down, returning it to normal and preventing hemorrhaging.


5. Are there some predictable problems involved in breastfeeding?
Problems with breastfeeding can  ~  be due to the mother receiving incorrect teaching. As a beginner mother you need sound advice from an expert breastfeeding professional. All midwives are in the process of learning, so ask yours what her breastfeeding success rate statistically in the past has been. Does she encourage skin-to-skin? Or you could choose to deliver at a Birthing Unit.  They are specialists in breastfeeding and have high success rates. Join and attend a support group such as the  La Leche League, or a coffee group of successful happy breastfeeding mums. Start 'right' with your breastfeeding.
Problems with breastfeeding can  ~  be due to a drug induced birth. If you have drugs during labour it can affect your baby who may need more skin-to-skin time to establish their natural sucking instinct.
Problems with breastfeeding  can  ~  be due to a mum's mindset. You can help yourself by getting the correct teaching from a successful breastfeeding specialist which will give you a growing confidence. You need to be relaxed in yourself and feed in a quiet place.
Problems with breastfeeding can  ~  come from the interference that dummies, bottle teats, and nipple shields can cause your milk production. This equipment changes the action of the baby's tongue and jaw, compromising breastfeeding.


PART 4 on Breastfeeding to come, with more information from Margaret.


THISWEEKWITHTHEKIDS ~  enjoy the pleasure or the approaching pleasure, of breastfeeding your baby. Take time to understand the benefits you are giving your baby and yourself as you breastfeed.  And meet up with like-minded people to be encouraged and you will probably find that soon you'll be the one encouraging others.
Cathy

PUBLIC BREASTFEEDING? PLEASE BE DISCREET!! WEEK 35 QUOTE 35

"The Sunday Star-Times asked its readers panel about perceptions of breastfeeding in public. Again and again the respondents said they had no issue with either doing it, or it being done, but with one proviso - 'as long as it's discreet.'

'The woman should breastfeed with modesty', said one respondent. . . .

But then there's the issue of how best to do it in public. The days of open disapproval may be declining but most breastfeeding mums say they still feel the pressure for discretion to avoid the tut-tutting of strangers."

"Breastfeeding 'doesn't add up'": Susan Pepperell  Auckland Sunday Star-Times. April 3 2011.

"If we can get past the pain, the discomfort, the alarmed looks from other cafe-goers who, with every repulsed flinch seem to imply that you're transgressing some unwritten health and safety code, it does, most of the time, get better."

"The Agony and the Ecstasy": Megan Nicol Reed. Auckland Sunday Star-Times. April 3 2011.

This is PART 2 of the series on BREASTFEEDING.

The call for discretion to mothers who breastfeed in public is today being sounded in most western cultures. As a breastfeeding mum of the 1980's and '90's, I rarely heard this call as a nursing mum.

"Discretion" = "liberty of suiting one's action to circumstances."

"Discreet" = "skillful in adapting one's measures to the occasion, intentionally unobtrusive." 

My Oxford dictionary then referred me to 

"Discern" = "recognize with sense or mind the difference or distinction between things.

The message seems to to read, if you want to breastfeed your baby in a public place, remember you are in a public place. The baring of private body parts in that public place would be inappropriate, so when breastfeeding, cover up with a scarf or shawl, a baby wrap, or use a sling or pouch. There are plenty of products on the market to choose from. Or wear a top which is not fitted so your breast and the baby's connection to the breast, is covered. Again there is fashion clothing tops for breastfeeding mums.
It is not hard to discretely breastfeed. With just under ten years of breastfeeding history, both private and public, I happily fed our babies - often in the company of others who for most part were totally unaware.

You need to PLAN - (take the shawl with you, wear the loose top, think out where you are going and where you could feed once there. If the place is new to you, pick out a private place on arrival - a corner, near a wall, and sit yourself with your back to the crowd. If all fails, return to your car to feed, then return to the party afterwards.)

You need to PRACTICE - (practice at home in front of the mirror so you can see what others would see. Test how much different covers actually 'cover', and which position is the most modest. Pick up the baby and get them feeding in a relaxed style before their bellow causes you to become the in-cafe 'entertainment'.)

You need to RELAX - (My husband, of dairy farming background, always said the relaxed cows on the farm were the best mothers. So RELAX and enjoy yourself.)

The dictionary definition brings another point to the conversation, which I like. The word "liberty" first caught my eye and then the more I read the definitions I felt there was a general tone of respect for the one doing the discerning, the one practicing discretion. The idea of "suiting one's action to circumstance", is to maintain that respect for the mother who is breastfeeding.

My last post "Public Perceptions of How Competent a Mother is Who Breastfeeds" WEEK 34  QUOTE 34, commented on Montana State University's studies into how the public viewed breastfeeding mums in areas of their mental competence, mathematical skills and if they should offer them employment. The findings were that the public viewed breastfeeding mums as incompetent, poor in mathematical skills and therefore didn't want to employ them. The researchers at Montana University saw this as a bias against breastfeeding mothers and suggested the public's poor attitudes had been affected by the increase of "sexualized breasts" on display publicly.

  Megan Nicol Reed in her article "The Agony and the Ecstasy" said, "As breasts have been implanted, lifted, exposed, they have become sexual entities unto themselves. For the next generation of mothers, fed a diet of promo girls and Girls of the Playboy Mansions, it must be confusing, inappropriate even, to look down and find a baby on the end of your nipple. Shouldn't there be a tassel?...." This 'enlightenment' gives understanding to the mindset of participants in the Montana University study.         
This widespread mentality toward a woman's breast has had detrimental affect on the public's attitude to breastfeeding mothers. The word used in last week's post "objectification", sums it up.
This huge shift of mindset found both in men and women, has removed the respectful admiration, which not too long ago was the public's view of breastfeeding mums, and left us with the "repulsed", "tut-tutting" which today just pressures and confuses a Learner mum.
It is often said that mothers today are overly barraged with instructions on what to do, how to do it... A third of Megan Nicol Reed's article is full of the like. Near the end of her article she says, "And now we're all grown up, with the benefit of several decades of women's rights giving wind to our wings, we're really cross that anyone can presume to tell us what to do." What a sad thought, and then her article's conclusion, "The feminist in me thinks, well, it's a woman's right to choose. The mother in me thinks, suck it up and get on with it. Motherhood involves sacrifice." This may sound partially true but the underlying philosophy is faulty and results in a motherhood which is not beneficial to the mother herself, and is a poor example of motherhood to her children and observing friends around her. Possibly here is another reason for the negative attitudes to breastfeeding mothers by the participants in the Montana study and in our community.
The offer of huge amounts of information to breastfeeding mothers, I think is wonderful. Could it be the problem of annoyance "...that anyone can presume to tell us what to do..." , comes with the increase of older mothers or grandmothers and women stepping too much into the lives of young Learner mums - doing all for them, arranging everything, paying for everything, overly instructing even dictating - instead of answering a question when asked, simply giving the advice to be picked up as the new, thinking mother wishes. This second method shows respect for the new mother to, yes "choose" how she will proceed. (You may like to refer to my post on "Controlling Mothers" WEEK 15  QUOTE 15, or another post full of ideas to help be a confident mum WEEK 11  QUOTE 11).

"The Montana State University study concluded breastfeeding was viewed negatively and the only way to fight this was to encourage more women to do it openly." from Susan Pepperell"s : "Breastfeeding 'doesn't add up'".
SO ~
THISWEEKWITHTHEKIDS ~ if you are a breastfeeding mum -
BE PREPARED - by reading and understanding the wealth of information on breastfeeding. Plan how to tackle the feeding time in public.
BE WISE - and cover yourself showing respect for others. With no skin showing most people will think you are holding a sleeping baby. Choose maternity bras that are quick and easy to open and close one handed.
BE CONFIDENT - and ask questions of those you admire and trust in the field. There is nothing shameful in breastfeeding your baby regardless if other people think differently.
BE RELAXED
BE POSITIVE - with a correct attitude of respect for yourself as you feed your baby using the best method ever devised for your baby's health and development, for your own future health, while practicing the start of a great relationship with your child.
As Karen Hunt : "How to Discreetly Breastfeed Your Baby in Public" says, "nurse proud and nurse long."

Cathy.

                                                                     

PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF HOW COMPETENT A MOTHER IS WHO BREASTFEEDS. WEEK 34 QUOTE 34

The recent release of "Spoiled Milk:An Experimental Examination of Bias Against Mothers Who Breastfeed", Montana State University's studies in attitudes to breastfeeding, published in the "Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin", seemed to have found their way into the press both here in New Zealand and internationally.
Background from which the studies were set up ~
"In 2008, Facebook ...... forbade photographs of breastfeeding mothers if any part of the areola was showing. Facebook declared such photos "obscene, pornographic, and offensive" and removed them from websites. ....... Moreover, empirical evidence suggests that people feel offended by and less comfortable with a woman who nurses in public compared to one who nurses privately. ....... As a cause or consequence of this sexualization of the maternal breast, mothers who breastfeed often go to great lengths to avoid the public 'male gaze' and being 'misread as sexual'. ........ "
"Given that a woman's breast is highly sexualized in Western cultures, it follows that to the extent that sexualized women are devalued and mothers are devalued, the breastfeeding mother may be particularly prone to experiencing bias. ....."
Tests by Montana State University were set up with the "hypothesis that breastfeeding mothers are the victims of bias."
The experimental studies involved student participants with the average age of twenty years.
Findings ~
"These results (from all three studies) confirm that knowledge that a woman who is lactating serves as a source of bias in how observers perceive her level of competence." ......
" ...... an unwillingness to hire the breastfeeding mother. This behavioral intention, coupled with the consistently low ratings of workplace capabilities ...... suggests that the probability of workplace discrimination is high for nursing mothers. ....."
"We speculate that this somewhat more negative view of the maternal breast is because a mother's breasts are viewed as instruments (objects) meant to be handled by her lover or her infant and that sexual conflation (putting together two variant elements, the combination possibly producing confusion) of the maternal breast resulted in the negative views of the breastfeeding mother. This link, however remains for future research to determine."


"Spoiled Milk:An Experimental Examination of Bias Against Mothers Who Breastfeed" : Jessi Smith, Kristin Hawkinson, Kelli Paull of Montana State University,  published March 18 2011.


The findings of the Montana State University study was that the public perceived a breastfeeding mother to be less competent, less likely to get a job and less competent mathematically, than a woman who bottle fed her baby.
Journalists and parents alike have reacted to these studies and their conclusions. David Berreby in "Proof That People are Prejudice Against Breast-Feeding Women? Not So Fast." at Bigthink.com says, "I noticed that not one media report about this article took a step back to ask about the path from experiment to conclusion.... If we want to understand what the behavioral sciences can tell us about ourselves, we're going to have to do better than that."
The Auckland Sunday Star-Times readers' panel said, "Perhaps this panelist summed it up best: 'It's time we taught all our sons that breasts have a practical use beyond giving them a subject for crass jokes'. "
Lisa Belkin at the New York Times site Motherlode, linked the Montana University studies with the recent Durham University research, "that the longer a mother is pregnant and the longer she nurses, the larger her baby's brain." (This was in fact more to do with the comparison of varied lengths of gestation and mothers feeding between different species, rather than the varied length of human pregnancies and feeding) Then Lisa asked the question, "Still, more breast feeding more brain growth - reason to encourage nursing no matter what the perceived competence, right?"
May be you are gasping and gaping to hear this is how three American sample groups of students view breastfeeding mothers. The researchers particularly made the point that this age group "of childbearing age", were appropriate to be the sample groups. A separate groups of students was used for each of the three studies. The researchers also stated that they believed the perceptions of this age group were an accurate measure of the views held by the general public. They believed the general public's attitude to the competence of breastfeeding mothers would be far lower than the students' perception. But possibly, as David Berreby writes, there is too much surmising going on between experiment and conclusions.
The fact that the research used Brooke Shields as the identity of motherhood in the first study, caused some to immediately push the study 'out the window'. But on reading the study she was used identically in all categories for breastfeeding and bottle feeding. Their reasons for their choice was that they believed Brooke to be both well known and popular and respected by the age group of the participants in the experiment. I personally was surprised and still think other identities would have better filled the 'well known, well respected' criteria.
Large amounts of the study material discussed the "objectification theory" which the researchers believed to be prevalent in Western culture. "....individuals - particularly women - are subject to experiences that highlight body parts as 'things' to be used or looked at by others ..... This compartmentalization of a woman's body reduces her value to that of an object rather than a whole embodied person...."  ( You may wish to read my post WEEK 24 QUOTE 24 on "Modesty", which looks into this area)
As an example, they spoke of larger breasted women "under male gaze" as being interpreted with low worth and value. From here the Montana team moved onto say ".... assuming the sexualization of the maternal breast, objectification theory would predict that not only will women who are high in self-objectification feel more shame and embarrassment with public breastfeeding, ...... but onlookers should prejudge women who breastfeed with the same negative bias they use to judge sexualized women."
If you live here in New Zealand, I am told that the view towards mothers who breastfeed is not so severe or biased. Are we 'behind' in the trend, or could we be the new trend-setters? I am also told that the American view is equally held by those in Britain and that Australians are currently somewhere in between the American and New Zealand mindset.
The Montana State University study encouraged as did a number of writers, that the present American attitude could and should be influenced, even changed, by what present and future mothers do.
Therefore I intend to write two more posts on Breastfeeding ~ one on the public call for discretion by mothers who breastfeed, and ~ another, an interview with a long-term friend who has an incredibly impressive career practicing as a midwife.


THISWEEKWITHTHEKIDS ~ If you're presently a breastfeeding mum or one from the past, publicly educate your community by expressing YOUR thoughts on the Montana State University findings. It may begin that needed influence for change in the mindset of our communities.


Cathy

SHOULD THE SCREEN BE MY CHILD'S PLAY PAL? WEEK 33 QUOTE 33

This is my fourth and final post on PLAY, based on Stuart Brown's book "play".


"The intense visual stimuli that screens provide, along with a captivating narrative, can be very seductive playmates. I've seen kids who are happily playing with blocks on the floor, interacting with each other, negotiating, inventing new story lines, being energetic and talkative. And then the television comes on and play stops. Interaction is no more. The story line is set by the box, and the kids are now merely along for the ride, motionless and mute. Single-player video games are similarly attention hogs and socially isolating.....
......The other concern I have with the excessive use of screen based entertainments is that they neglect a deep human need to interact with the material world:...... Much of our interaction with this world is through the hands ........ the hand has been far and away the primary tool our body uses for manipulating (a word derived from the Latin word for "hand") the world around us. ......  "a hand is always searching for a brain and a brain is in search for a hand" as Frank Wilson likes to say.
Wilson feels, as do I, ....... that the use of the hands to manipulate three-dimensional objects is an essential part of brain development. All over the world kids play with blocks, fashion mud pies, push around toys, throw balls, build 'forts' and 'houses'. Normal play, the play that I have shown is constantly fertilizing neural growth and complexity, is packed with examples of hand use.
......... So when kids involve their hands in work, play and exploration, they are developing their brains in a manner that is in line with our design ......."
Page 184 -185 "play": Stuart Brown.


How many screens do you have at your house? I have to be honest and report that currently there are 5 at my house :(

As Nicholas Carr says, "........ it is hard to imagine life without it (the worldwide web)." But Carr joins Stuart Brown in his concern about its affect on our brain, then goes a step further to say ~ "The digital age is changing the makeup of our brains in a negative way". Carr speaks of scientific research revealing that the net's constant interruptions and distractions "is turning us into scattered and superficial thinkers". Carr admits his own difficulty in this area in an article "The Internet is Making us Dumber", saying, "I realised I was losing my own capacity for concentration and contemplation. Even when I was away from my computer, my mind seemed hungry for stimulation, for quick hits of information. I felt perpetually distracted." His research backed up his personal concerns - that computers increase the speed of mind function or automatic thinking, but that simultaneously the mind lessens its rigorous thinking skills and the "subtlety of human thought."

Nicholas Carr also compared the comprehension level of a reader reading "text studded with links", to the reader "who reads words printed on pages." The first reader, who was reading online with the ready-to-go clicks to numerous extras on offer, comprehends less when compared to a reader reading words printed on the page of a book. (For your better reading comprehension I will stay add-free and linkless if possible :))  He says the same is true for people watching a multi media presentation versus "a more sedate and focused manner" of information presentation.


The common element under attack here is one's concentration or one's attention.
Paying close attention to new pieces of information is essential for any connection "meaningfully and systematically with knowledge already well established in our memory" to occur, says Nobel Prize winning Neuroscientist Eric Kandel.
The constant distraction of the screen of our computer or mobile phone makes it virtually impossible for our brain to form the deep and wide connections essential for the development of a mind of substance.
Patricia Greenfield is a developmental psychologist and runs UCLA's Children's Digital Media Centre. She has reviewed dozens of studies on how media technologies affect cognitive abilities. Greenfield says that the asset of screen-based media is that it develops visual-spacial intelligence, providing skills of "keeping track of lots of rapidly changing signals", as a pilot would use when piloting a plane, or a medic would use when "monitoring a patient during surgery." But the detrimental side is dramatic, with "new weaknesses in higher-order cognitive processes", and lacks in "abstract vocabulary, mindfulness, reflection, inductive problem solving, critical thinking and imagination." It all points to "shallow" brain development.
Working styles of both academic researchers and the working habits of school and university students on line, involves rapid movement from document to document with little time actually spent looking at the words on each page. 
A recent experiment at Stanford University found that people who are heavy media multi-taskers were more easily distracted, had trouble controlling their attention and were less competent in identifying important information from trivia. these findings surprised the researchers, with one summing it up saying, "Everything distracts them".
Nicholas Carr says that the trouble is that when we turn the screen off, these problems don't leave us, because "our habits of mind" are being remodelled by the computer. Some aspects are being strengthened while others are weakened, permanently altering how we think.


But, you may say, this is all 'miles away' from where my children are, and you may think their video gaming or computer screen play is completely suitable.
Online gaming, Stuart Brown says, "offers a world in which they (kids) can succeed. They are quickly rewarded for success and failure is easily reversed." But real life is not like this - full of regular quick rewards, or offering control to reverse failures. The child therefore who spends a lot of time in online gaming is learning a distortion of how life and relationships work. Regular gamers are not equipped to deal well with life's varied and ambiguous challenges because they 'live' so much in the false game-created world. 
Brown says that children. as well as adults who experience intense pressure to succeed, a strong need to 'get to the top', or find themselves in 'rigid career paths' which offer little opportunities for them to express or be themselves, can often find online gaming very attractive ~ even addictive. The controlled world, the clear unambiguous qualities and the decisive WIN nature of these games, is extremely comfortable to them.

THISWEEKWITHTHEKIDS ~ where will you 'go' with this information?
It may all be old knowledge, or seem thoroughly 'over the top', or a worry to you.
Stuart Brown throughout his book, "play", refers to the need for children and adults to be involved in "three-dimensional, physical and social play". He likens this to being on a balanced healthy diet that gives nourishment and maximum strength in development as well as contentment and satisfaction.

Dominant play that consists of gaming, Stuart describes to be like a two-dimensional picture which activates only part of the visual cortex of the brain, leaving vast areas unaroused and "silent". This he compares to be like living on a diet full of sugar hits - yes providing instant gratification but in truth being hugely damaging in the long term.


I know I need to have some conversations with my family. 
How about you?


Cathy

PLAY DEVELOPS CREATIVITY, INNOVATION AND IMAGINATION. WEEK 32 QUOTE 32

JAPAN   -   OUR HEARTS AND MINDS THINK OF YOU EVERY DAY AS YOU 
                                                RE-ESTABLISH YOURSELF AGAIN.


This post is PART 3 of a series on PLAY based on Stuart Brown's book "play".

"The  creative process is popularly thought to be mysterious. Highly creative people come in various temperaments, work habits and educational backgrounds, making it difficult to find a common denominator to their creative processes..... Creative people can be simultaneously hardworking and goof-offs. They can have a laser focus on a task, but keep the wide view that lets them see how something fits into the big picture. They are well-versed in their domain of knowledge, but they don't automatically discount new bits of information that don't seem to fit with the accepted canon. Creative people can escape into the imagination, but also are firmly grounded in reality. Creative ideas are often those that bring together ideas from different domains or fields.
Many of the paradoxes of creativity are embodied in play. Creative people know the rules of the game, but they are often open to improvisation and serendipity. Play is..... designed, to activate functionally diverse brain regions to synergistically integrate their function."
Today huge searches go on for innovative and creative people in their 20's and 30's. The hope is that these people will provide the new technology, new ideas, new processes for the future through their ability to think 'outside the square' in imaginative and radically new ways.
"....... a human resources officer working for a ....... US bank, Dave Stevens ........ found accurate indicators for innovation hiding within emotionally charged early play memories ........ he was able to establish criteria to assay whether prospective employees enjoyed novelty, how they reacted to making mistakes and learning from them, whether they were willing to take risks, and other factors that he had previously identified as being really important ....... He was able to accurately identify creative people and screen out those for whom innovation and creativity were not their primary nature."   
Page 135 - 137 "play": Stuart Brown.


As the opening sentences of this week's quote states creative, innovative and imaginative people come in many different varieties. Straight away as parents wanting to do our best in encouraging these qualities in our children, we are freed from a search to find THE product, game, book, school system or whatever to provide our child with exactly what they need leading to success in the creative areas of life. All children are unique and therefore certain games and activities that help one in their creativity, may be of no help for another.
As the quote goes on to say creative people - creative children are ecclectic. Even if their special favourite area is say drawing, their imagination which is naturally open scanning for ideas from other spheres, will be activated when in a completely different area such as touching a wet surface in the dark, or listening to sounds in the bush. Regardless of our thinking these areas to be unrelated, an imaginative mind can find parallels and connections between them, unique to their mind.

Children therefore need freedom to find, pursue, and work with a variety of experiences in life, and that most naturally happens for children through play - child-directed play (see the previous post on PLAY - How Can I Help my Kids Through Play? Week 30  Quote 30).
Play, the perfect situation where dealing with mistakes in several ways can be explored by the child.
Play, the perfect circumstance where one can gain confidence in self, finding aspects in oneself through taking risks.
Play, the perfect place to explore humor, things that could be described as zany, bizarre, foolish or crazy.
The trouble is that many of these aspects of play, which I clearly remember from my childhood, are now no longer the norm.
Some of these aspects are just too hard or take too much time.
Some are not thought educational.
Some would be thought to be nonsense, only leading to bad or uncontrolled behaviour. But these were the areas when played in through childhood, that grew creative, innovative and imaginative adults.
My often referred to 'hero' Charlotte Mason, wrote over a hundred years ago of imagination growing during childhood years "by what it gets". Childhood she said, "is the time for its (imagination) nourishing".
Dave Stevens joins with Charlotte Mason in pointing to rich experiences where children are enabled to put themselves into another's place, time, or person. Charlotte writes that this is also as essential of educational material, claiming that if the material is unable to transport a child's imagination, then it has failed in its purpose to educate - maybe this is something to test our systems of schooling by today! Her point is that to 'educate' a child or to work at extending their mind the development of their imaginative powers was essential.
So, what does a childhood that results in innovative, creative and imaginative adults, look like? As already stated there is no one model. But here are a few descriptions of some creative people's childhoods.
1.  He was born into a small community beside the Derwent River where he played alone in the mountains, in and by the river and in the ruins of the old castle tower. He was sent off to school at eight when his mother died, where his priority to be in nature continued, now along with his keen mates. Being in nature was like an addiction to him, with the trips over the hills and on the water becoming more daring. Study took him to Cambridge University after which he went to France, back to London then finally to the Lakes District where he began to write poetry. In time he was summoned by Queen Victoria to be her Poet Laureate. This was the life of William Wordsworth, poet of dozens of brilliantly clear, detailed poems about nature. This creative man was profoundly influenced all his life by his imaginative play in childhood.
2.  He was born in Germany near the end of the nineteenth century into a Jewish family. His father was a salesman and engineer. His father's gift of a pocket compass at age five intrigued the tiny boy who was mesmerized by the movement of its needle. The building of models and mechanical devices filled his childhood which led to a developing interest in mathematics. By age twelve, study-wise he was well into geometry and calculus. He did not finish high school, applying for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. He failed the entrance exam, but did exceptionally well in its mathematics and physics areas. At sixteen "he performed his first famous thought experiment, visualizing travelling alongside a beam of light". Albert went on to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his phenomenal contribution to theoretical physics. Albert Einstein is best known for his Theory of Relativity and is one of the most creative and innovative men in the science world. It all began in imaginative childhood play.

3.  Another of my life 'heroes' was born in Spain, into a not particularly affluent environment. From an early age he was plagued with rheumatic ailments removing him from a normal active childhood of physical romping play. However it was with his eyes and thoughts which had free rein, that he 'played'. His standards of accomplishments in school and university seems to have been measured as completely ordinary. But from this man's creative brain came the most innovative architectural designs of all time. At the time of his premature death in 1926, the genius of this man was only starting to be discovered. Today in 2011, Antoni Gaudi's exquisite "Sagrada Familia" in Barcelona, Spain, began in 1883, is nearing completion. When I saw it 18 months ago, after a wait of 36 years, I was not disappointed, but totally inspired by Gaudi's imaginative creativity. The most complex architectural, topographical and engineering computer programs still can not reproduce what this man nearly 100 years ago created through models of thread and plaster -  that's imaginative innovation!
There are many examples of creative people that prove this link of early beginnings in imaginative childhood play. In every case there must be time, space and freedom to explore, pursue, investigate, get-to-know, to feel comfortable and choose when to step off into one's next level, through imaginative thinking and doing, in play.
THISWEEKWITHTHEKIDS ~ give your kids space and time to pursue what captivates them. Read this quote from Plato to be personally inspired, to then inspire your children -
"He (Plato) desired not to assist in storing the passive mind with various sorts of knowledge most in request, as if the human soul was a mere ...... banqueting room, but to place it in such relations of circumstance as should gradually excite its germinating powers to produce new fruits of thought, new conceptions and imaginations and ideas."
Cathy

CONTRIBUTORS OR CONSUMERS? WEEK 31 QUOTE 31

I have been memorizing this week's quote with my son for the last couple of weeks. It is actually an ancient oath that the young men of Athens took at age seventeen.
Although it was written for a different time to our own, I find some very impressive ideas in this oath to think about today.


                                                         "THE ATHENIAN OATH
We will never bring disgrace on this our City by an act of dishonesty or cowardice.
We will fight for the ideals and Sacred Things of the City both alone and with many.
We will revere and obey the City's laws, and will do our best to incite a like reverence and respect in those above us who are prone to annul them or set them at naught.
We will strive increasingly to quicken the public's sense of civic duty.
Thus in all these ways will transmit this City, not only not less, but greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us."


The earthquake in Christchurch New Zealand this past week prompted me to look at this oath through new 'eyes'. 
In Christchurch we have heard of wonderful examples of "the public's sense of civic duty" through individual works and the Student Army's eleven bus strong free labour gifts to the city of Christchurch. There's a real sense too that people in the Canterbury region are "fighting for the ideals and Sacred Things of the City both alone and with many". Here are displays of the deep connection The Athenian Oath describes, between individual people and the corporate people of a city. It could be that most of us don't realize this connection exists until it's called on or awakened through a situation such as the disaster this week in Christchurch.
But back in Athens in ancient Greece, young men were given deliberate attitude training which orientated them to the community, the city and not to self.
There are 5 things in this oath that are worth thinking on.
1.  I like the repeated focus of their oath being on what the individual can do for the city - their responsibility to the city. What a contrast to today's perspective of what the city and others should provide for me or owe me.
2.  The connection they make of personal "dishonesty" and "cowardice" reflecting onto one's city, bringing "disgrace" to the city. It really doesn't enter our heads to think like this today. We have lost the sense that our actions affect our city. We have also lost the feeling of honor for our city which the Athenians had towards theirs.
3.  They had a commitment to the "ideals" and "Sacred Things" of their city and fought for them individually and communally. Do we have ideals and Sacred Things in our city today? It seems we have become so individualistic and caught up in our own personal "ideals" and "Sacred Things", that there is no room left to accommodate 'someone else's'. 
4.  Their respect and honor for the laws of the city and those in leadership over them even if they did not uphold the city's laws. They then convinced and encouraged all to live and work as a contributing member to the city. Possibly today it would be thought ridiculous to honor or respect people over us. For some it is fashionable to criticize the lot of them. In contrast the Athenians are taking up the responsibility to respect and honor their laws, the leaders over them ( regardless of how they behave) and to convince and encourage others to see it as their duty also, to live and work as contributing members to the city. The view here is that you are part of a whole, not autonomous within yourself.
5.  But the last statement entails a commitment to personally contribute to the city in such a manner that you leave it a far greater, 'richer', more advanced, developed and improved city in comparison to how you came into it. Now this is something to think on. 
I remember when I left high school decades ago, my school year all personally put in money and gave the school the gift of two carved wooden gates for the school entrance as a 'thank you' for what they had given to us. Today when my kids have finished high school they are looking for what 'gifts' the school will send them off with.


THISWEEKWITHTHEKIDS Are you bringing up your children with this type of mind set? A simplified version is to ask, Am I bringing up my child to be a contributor to or a consumer of our city?
Have a happy week - and remember those in Christchurch.
Back to the series on play next time.
Cathy