Sunshine

How precious to us is the sunlight. It's so easy to take for granted that the sun will rise and set every morning and evening, and yet how much we owe to this most important of planets. To mention just a few of its blessings: a bright day will lift our mood, help the plants to grow, illumine the world and bring us that all-important Vitamin D.

But these days, with the depletion of the ozone layer, we need to be cautious and careful with the children's sun-exposure. As mention already, exposure before 10 a.m. and after 4 or even 5 in the afternoon is beneficial. Don't forget the hat!

Hmmm. Maybe I'll ask the grand-daughter-of-my-heart to compose a little ditty to promote hat-wearing. She's musical and good at improvising... something she gets from her dad. I'm intending to write about heredity in a later post.

Meanwhile...

Remember that the skin is the largest organ of the body, and that it absorbs ointments, unguents, oils and so on. It's important to use organic products. I've recommended the Dr. Hauschka sunscreen before, and Badger also makes an excellent line. But bear in mind that sunscreens inhibit skin function. So it's best if you can wash off the barrier in the evening before you put your little ones to bed... and for you too, for that matter.

Thinking about bath-time, I realize it's harder in summer and during vacation-time to keep to a normal rhythm of life. Still, it's helpful to the child if you can keep the bed-time ritual going at least to some extent. This adds to the little one's sense of security and helps towards healthy sleep.

Father Sun, Mother Earth

In these summer days and nights my focus is generally more outward than inward, which means my mind isn't much occupied with what I want to say on my blogs! So my apologies if posts are somewhat sporadic for a few weeks.

For the children, though, summer means more sun and more connection with nature. This is kind of my theme today. To begin, here is a simple verse that children can echo:

The sun is in my heart
It warms me with its power,
And wakens light and love
In bird and beast and flower.

What very great blessings we find in sunlight. But we also have to beware of it and take care that children don't get burned. This means limiting their exposure from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. As I suggested before, Dr. Hauschka sunscreen for children is good to use. However, all sunscreen inhibits skin function so remember to wash it off after use.

Did my children ever get sunburned? Yes, they did. When Ben went out for the day with friends he came back with reddened skin, although his hat had protected his face. Luckily I had some Weleda Combudoron lotion (for burns) on hand. I ran a deep bath, added the whole bottle, and let him soak for twenty minutes.

And now to Mother Earth.

Soon it will be Cheryl's birthday. One of the things I'm planning to do with the boys is plant radishes to give her as a present. Yes, she likes them. We'll prepare a small patch about two weeks before, and then plant the seeds. While doing so, we'll acknowledge the earth by saying this simple verse:

Mother Earth, Mother Earth,
Take our seeds and give them birth.

These verses are helpful for small children, especially as we want to nurture and encourage awareness of the wonders of nature. Little kids have a natural affinity for the spiritual, both within and without. But they also have a natural curiosity! I won't be at all surprised if Curly-Locks digs up some seeds 'to see what's happening'. I'll be sure to plant enough, in a longish row, so that won't be a problem. Then we'll thin the radishes out at some point and the children will see the roots. But before we do that, we'll warn the plants' unseen helpers-to-their-growth to prevent them getting a shock.

Scientific Validation (long post)

The way my life works these days means that some things relevant to recent posts presented themselves to me. (Big ups to you if you can work out what that sentence means. If not, please complain... uh, I mean, comment!)

Did you register that throw-away remark about how walking in nature was the best thing for my grandsons? Well, yesterday I happened to turn on the radio while I was making my mid-morning coffee. The topic had to do with the need for green spaces in our cities, not simply for cosmetic purposes, but for  our mental and physical health. It was mentioned that the Victorians got this right. Having lived near Regents Park in London, I can totally endorse that. Also, much was made about the latest brain research, especially around the difference of living in the city versus living in the country. Stress is higher in the city. No surprise there, although adults benefit from a certain amount of stress. Children? Not. And the sad thing is that children today are increasingly suffering from stress and anxiety. Apparently, the main cause of stress in the city is around noise. (another subject I mentioned recently) The antidote to all this, in case you haven't worked it out already, is to be in nature, walking through the green, listening to bird song and the whisperings of brooks and streams. More, being in a green space can restore something of what is damaged. It lifts the mood too (so, a good effect on the body and the pscyhe). In fact, the radio show mentioned that even looking out the window at green grass can give us a lift.

Now, I'm not a science buff. At school, the only scientific subject I had was biology. On the other hand I had arts in abundance, and religion when I was at primary school. These last two form the general bent of my soul, so I'm not complaining. Rather, I'm grateful. But I do feel a little tad ashamed at my lack of science. If I had more, I could throw all sorts of convincing terms at you so you wouldn't have to take my words at face value! Because more and more, the latest research validates the kinds of things I recommend and write about.

Now, too much noise = stress, which creates cortisol in the brain and that has a dampening effect on the immune system. As a side note, small children are more susceptible to noise than adults and their hearing can be damaged at a lower decibel rate than ours. So, if you can't eliminate electronic-sounds from their toys, at the very least avoid the loud ones. When you absolutely have to go into an environment which you know is going to be noisy, maybe investigate earplugs for your kid? These are not a good idea as a general rule, but okay in exceptional cases, I imagine.

Since I published 'Magical Motherhood' in 2008, much of what I wrote has been validated by the latest research, although with a slightly different twist. For instance, I advocate a back-facing stroller. That is, where your little one can face you and gaze at your face instead of being exposed and completely vulnerable to whatever is coming towards them. This makes babies and small children feel more secure. But research done in England says it also makes them more intelligent. And that's the general bent of the research.

All very well, but I sometimes wonder if I've done myself a favour here. The Blue-Eyed boy is much too smart and not only asks questions but, as he thinks through my answer, follows that up with more inquiry. Not only that, but he remembers what is said. And frankly, I'm not very good at finding imaginative ways to explain things to him. Wish I were.

Anyhow, the acquisition of an excellent memory is another benefit to bringing up a child in this manner. Our memories are increasingly under threat from our overloaded lives. I notice that friends much younger than me have worse memories than I do.

What all this boils down to is very simple. You'll be doing your children a favour if you let them enjoy the outdoors, take them into nature as often as possible and simply let them be and play under God's heaven whenever the weather is mild enough.