posted July 13, 2005 05:46 AM         

and

'Change Your Life in Seven days' - Paul McKenna

and

'Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway' - Susan Jeffers

posted July 13, 2005 07:26 PM         

the unprocessed child
valerie fritzenreiter

summerhill
a.s. neill

unconditional parenting: moving from rewards and punishment to love and reason
alfie kohn

the last is an excellent treatment of raising children from the heart:

quote:

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Traditional discipline doesn't work...but what does? Most parenting guides begin with the question "How can we get kids to do what they're told?" -- and then proceed to offer various techniques for controlling them. In this truly groundbreaking book, nationally respected educator Alfie Kohn begins instead by asking "What do kids need - and how can we meet those needs?" What follows from that question are ideas for working with children rather than doing things to them.

One basic need all children have, Kohn argues, is to be loved unconditionally, to know that they will be accepted even if they screw up or fall short. Yet conventional approaches to parenting such as punishments (including "time-outs"), rewards (including positive reinforcement), and other forms of control teach children that they are loved only when they please us or impress us. Kohn cites a body of powerful, and largely unknown, research detailing the damage caused by leading children to believe they must earn our approval. That's precisely the message children derive from common discipline techniques, even though it's not the message most parents intend to send.

More than just another book about discipline, though, Unconditional Parenting addresses the ways parents think about, feel about, and act with their children. It invites them to question their most basic assumptions about raising kids while offering a wealth of practical strategies for shifting from "doing to" to "working with" parenting - including how to replace praise with the unconditional support that children need to grow into healthy, caring, responsible people. This is an eye-opening, paradigm-shattering book that will reconnect readers to their own best instincts and inspire them to become better parents.

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posted July 14, 2005 12:53 PM         

i learned much from this book...carrying babe in a sling, and i did, as much as possible -- and never using a playpen...i have the image of the dad smashing his handcrafted playpen to bits after his child ran from it in agonized tears imprinted on my brain forever.....awww little babes are the sweetest of all creatures....

i would love to chat more about this path of childrearing.

posted July 14, 2005 01:14 PM         

Right now I'm reading And Justice: There is None, by Deborah Crombie.

I'm re-reading Silver Ravenwolf's book about Angels as well ~ I'd been wanting that book for several years, and last Christmas (the Saturday before), I walked into a bookstore around 9pm, and saw it sticking out on the shelf ~ there was no way I was leaving the store without it.

I've also been trying to find our copy of, Ask and It Is Given. Mum was reading it, then I started it but gave it back to Mum ~ her mood was dipping, and I felt that she needed it more. It turns out that she thought I had it this entire time, so goodness knows where it is.

posted July 15, 2005 02:44 PM         

quote:

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unconditional parenting: moving from rewards and punishment to love and reason
alfie kohn

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posted July 15, 2005 03:17 PM         

Svetalana mentioned the continuum concept written by jean leidloff and i'd recommend this as well as unconditional parenting. i commented on cc above, stating that, after reading this book, i carried my babe in slings as often as possible, as it illustrates how very important this constant, close contact with mama is for a new babe. it's the motion and sway of being carried this way, the contact with the heart and the rhythm of breathing, among other things, that's crucial for a new babe's development. also how detrimental contraptions such as playpens are.

Svetlana touched on a most important fact from the book, that of the terror a babe faces when left alone in a crib. oh it really is so sad...this book helps so much in understanding the needs of newborns...and ongoing into the childhood years.

posted July 15, 2005 03:28 PM         

it's still worth it though...more than anything in the world.

posted July 15, 2005 04:08 PM         

the energy within
richard chin

posted July 16, 2005 05:14 PM         

Love All-ways

posted July 17, 2005 07:11 PM         

Ok.

posted July 19, 2005 09:23 AM         

Crystelle ~~ hi, i love primal mothering...hygeia halfmoon is a great inspiration. especially as one of my goals is to be fruitarian one day. she's awesome! even though my son won't use a sling any longer, i hope to purchse one of her slings.

i feel the guilt thing too. sometimes at the end of the day i look at my babe's sweet sleeping face and cry...wishing i had been a better mom that day. i'm finding that i do have to take care of myself, in order to be better for him. i use living light gem essences to focus my energies and balance the aspects of my personality that i feel i need to be a better parent. i use Archangel Chamuel-Unconditional Love and Third Divine Flame-Loving Patience...these two are great. also quite a few others...such as Archangel Jophiel-Illumination, for living in the moment with joy. quite lovely essences, that work wonders.

my son is almost 3 -- next month.