Tornado season is upon us! Toddlers aren’t too young to start learning safety practices, we just have to be careful not to describe tornadoes so graphically that we terrify them. Following are some ideas I’ve found in my research to introduce tornado safety to your toddlers. 1 1. Introduce the Concept of Tornadoes During a Calm Moment: Don’t wait until …  Read More…

3 Comments | Posted in Family Safety

Many congratulations to the winner of the copy of Respectful Parents Respectful Kids: Jenna Z Jenna Z said: I’d love to read Eat by Choice, Not by Habit! This was a joint giveaway with Code Name: Mama, so entries were combined and one winner drawn. Jenna Z entered at Natural Parents Network. If you were not the lucky winner, you …  Read More…

Leave a comment | Posted in Natural Parenting Products, Reviews and Giveaways

I’d like you to meet an amazing mama, Jen of The Dinoia Family. Jen is a wonderful woman, mother, and writer. She is a member of our natural parenting community. She is the mother of three beautiful children, and she breastfed all of them. She was still breastfeeding her youngest, Nicholas, until this past October when she was diagnosed with …  Read More…

4 Comments | Posted in General

Cosleeping, also known as “sharing sleep” or having a “family bed,” is a parenting practice that still smacks of taboo in our Western culture. But recent scientific studies are building a much stronger argument for the benefits of sharing sleep with our children.1 Yet even with the scientific support and the changing cultural perception of cosleeping, the subject is typically …  Read More…

181 Comments | Posted in Attachment Parenting, Consistent Care, Cosleeping, Gentle Discipline, Nighttime Parenting, Parenting Philosophies, Responding With Sensitivity, Safe Sleep

Mamas of little ones are often at a loss on Halloween – we want them to have fun and celebrate, but we don’t want them to ingest a bunch of HFCS and artificial flavors/colors that will affect their sleep and moods for days, nor do we want to support corporations who violate human rights, destroy the environment, and use harmful …  Read More…

9 Comments | Posted in Activism, Ecological Responsibility, Healthy Eating, Healthy Living, Lactivism

I love pancakes. I especially love that I can make great big batches of them to freeze for later. This recipe is perfect for freezing – a little reheat in the microwave and they are still as fluffy and delicious as the day they were made. It’s a perfect quick breakfast for little fingers, at home or on the go. …  Read More…

Leave a comment | Posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy Living, Recipes

These stuffed peppers are easy to make and freeze, and you can modify the ingredients to your family’s preferences. Ingredients 9 bell peppers, rinsed, halved, and deseeded (I’ve used green and red, both are good) 1 lb ground turkey 3/4 cup quinoa (measure while dry, cooked it is closer to 3 cups) 1 onion (I use a red onion) 1 …  Read More…

Leave a comment | Posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy Living, Recipes

It doesn’t matter if you are a vegetarian, this meatless chili will quickly become a favorite for even the staunchest meat-eaters. Bursting with color and flavor, you can spice it up or down and add just about any vegetable that you want. The recipe below is our favorite variation, but we’ve also tried this chili with zucchini, squash, tomatillos, green …  Read More…

Leave a comment | Posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy Living, Recipes

A simple recipe for delicious applesauce, and easy enough for little ones to help. Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce 1 dozen apples 3/4 cup water Cinnamon to taste (I used about 1 tsp) 1. Core and peel your apples. We also cut ours in half even after using the apple corer, thinner slices = less cooking time. 2. Put apples in a …  Read More…

3 Comments | Posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy Living, Recipes

As soon as we found out we were expecting, I did what many pregnant American women do: I started watching “A Baby Story” religiously. The dozen or so episodes I watched left me with a relatively unpleasant impression of labor and delivery. Doctors, speaking with an impatient and detached authority, often paint their laboring patients as helpless and at the …  Read More…

2 Comments | Posted in Birth, Holistic Health, Pregnancy, Preparing for Parenting