All over the place for the weekend blog of the past 24. Allotment, The Bridge, amazing results of autonomous learning, re-synchronising sleep cycles, adjusting to my new program at the gym and THAT Time Magazine article all merit a mention.
E , 5, and his Star Wars pictionary game he has invented. He draws scenes from the movie and we have to guess which one it is. The top one, drawn last night, is the Snow Trooper Arch House and the bottom one is Ewok Battle. His pencil control has improved so much.
If you engage in any kind media you will almost certainly have noticed the controversial Time magazine cover featuring a mother breastfeeding her 3 year old son. As a mother who is also in that minority of breastfeeding a 3 year old it was of course of interest to me. My take? I didn't need Time Magazine to tell me that gorgeous, glamorous women breastfeed toddlers I knew that already as a result of my involvement with La Leche League.
Would I have done the article? No. I rarely post pictures of breastfeeding on the blog, not because of me but because of the children. There are protected to a large degree by their home educated status but I have said several times before had school or nursery even been on the agenda I certainly would not have been public about full term breastfeeding.
Not because I think it isn't a great nutritional and parenting option but because it is something that hardly anyone else does and young children shouldn't have to defend such outside the box decisions.
One article on the BBC website currently has over 590 comments on. Not sure why it is titled "Extreme Breastfeeding." Full term breastfeeding would be more accurate. My 7 years experience of breastfeeding and the media reporting around it I have become much more mellow. Initially it angered me that the BBC were on record as saying "Bottles are an acceptable symbol of babyhood." but once you've read the "Politics of Breastfeeding" and you see how it all fits together it is hard to criticize little actors in a big play.
Anyway. Back to our breastfed 3 year old, all those comments about how attachment parenting excludes Dads don't really apply to our family. Following an epic afternoon snooze til 4pm O was awake til nearly 10pm last night and slept in til 10:30am this morning! In the early evening he went to the allotment with TDO and planted seeds. In the photo you can see the dents in the ground and thanks to O's fab hand eye coordination he was able to throw a seed accurately in all bar 2 of the holes! Apparently the fellow plot holders were pretty amazed by his accuracy. Growing things. Growing brains.
S did this writing at Pallant House workshop yesterday. It says "I think that I love the cabinet of curiosity." Hand writing has been at the heart of deschooling me on our home ed journey. It is not something we practice daily but more take the relaxed view that it will happen when he need arises and so it has. This is the smallest and straightest writing I have ever seen S, 7, produce even though she may go days without doing so. It is not a behaviour that she really sees modeled and I would say her typing is better. Although the results are all around me everyday I learn to trust the power of autonomous learning a little more.
TDO had a late one last night watching The Bridge, our current fave subtitled drama on BBC4. Regular readers will know we have enjoyed The Killing, Borgen, Spiral and Wallander and this latest offering is no disappointment. The lead character has Aspergers syndrome and plays the part exceptionally well. She has had letter from Aspergers charities confirming this. We have several Aspergers children in our home ed friendship groups as, for obvious reasons, these children can find school a challenge.
It was gym for me first thing, still really stiff after Fridays session a little gentle cycling and rowing loosened up the quad muscles and a steam room and Jacuzzi helped too :)
Not sure what bedtime will bring tonight with both larks and owls in the family in their own groove thanks to the holiday vibe. TDO is back at work tomorrow after his week off, only for 3 weeks before he has another two weeks off. That must mean that one month tomorrow I'll be celebrating the big four oh! I'll need to change the strap line at the top of the blog.
S's restrictive diet is really finding her out at the moment, especially her behavior. She mostly only eats carbohydrate heavy risotto, bread and jacket potatoes washed down with orange juice! Although I sneak in vitamins and smoothie drinks and home made stock and peas. You are what you eat and S is lacking. Very tough. The rest of us eat a really varied and healthy diet but S is just not interested, despite my efforts with cooking, baking and so on, in departing from her staple favorites.
So it goes. Another 24 in the life of the allotmenting, home educating, breastfeeding gallivanters. We have some gallivants lined up for next week. After Pallant House and Parham House last week another local PH, (no, not ordnance survey shorthand for pub!) Petworth House, is on the agenda along with regular Fishers Farm, a London day and possibly the Sea Life Centre.
In Other News
It still makes me smile when O calls his croc shoes Crooks. At the park today they came off on the swing and he said "My crooks, my crooks have fallen off!"
In Other News
It still makes me smile when O calls his croc shoes Crooks. At the park today they came off on the swing and he said "My crooks, my crooks have fallen off!"
9 comments:
I thought "Extreme breastfeeding" a silly title too Katie. I quite liked the pictures, I think breastfeeding length is a very personal choice. I breastfed all my four up to 1 year old. That was just my choice and also seemed a natural progression for my babies too, C stopped at 8 months because she point blank refused it any longer! She knows exactly what she wants and always has done. I don't judge because I think its a very personal experience and none of anyone else's business. Sometimes it seems your dammed if you do and dammed if you don't.
Yes, I agree. Someone posted a funny cartoon on facebook with a journalists editorial meeting whilst they were discussing a topic for a front page and, as all the spin - off articles and commentary illustrate - it sure has got people talking.
I have different breastfeeding experiences will all three children and know how hard it is to even breastfeed at all in England atm. I think one of the reasons this topic always attracts debate is because people haven't had chance to work through their own feelings and choices and there is a huge lack of understanding generally about breastfeeding in the media and the medical profession.
There are parallels with autonomous learning really it the coming to understand to trust your child.
Here it is - this is such a great piece http://www.acornpack.com/content/breastfeeding-research-massive-guilt
At least stories like this generate PR and let people know what is possible. After 15 years of state education I had absolutely no idea it was even possible to breastfeed a child with teeth and at my first meeting I asked that very question. Our societies lack of understanding about an infant's need to suck explains much.
I alsi never knew that breastfeeding suppresses menstruation and had I know about natural child spacing in the 80s and the role of marketing formula to the developing world it would have coloured my politics for sure.
Investing weeks learning how to breastfeed seems daft if your goal is months but when your goal is years for some it makes the learning process more worthwhile.
There are some fab shares doing the rounds. Several photos of madonna and child marble sculptures and 500 year old oil paintings depicting the same pose ad the Time cover for eg.
I will take a look at the link thanks. I feel quite fortunate that I was well informed about breast feeding with teeth & suppressing menstration. I don't think it's daft to invest weeks into learning to breast feed if your goal is only months though. Not everyone has a "goal" some of us go with the flow and follow our own natural pattern of things. I think a lot of problems regarding breast feeding arrive when women don't have the support they need to continue/stop feeding if it's not working. It is a personal choice after all and we should be supportive whatever the situation.
The title on the BBC comes from a TV programme a few years back. Found it pretty good myself - basically it let full term and adoptive breastfeeders speak for themselves. But the title and the media reaction to it was extreme. I think it was very important. Every woman should know that it is an option and that they are not alone if they find themselves in that position.
Maybe goal isn't the right word. Maybe aim? I was thinking of how short term attitudes to breastfeeding impact health professionals as they are quick to suggest weaning.
Oh yes Katherine I'd forgotten that program.
On the Crocs on Crooks front. HB used to call a burger a burglar and a burglar a burger! Highly amusing it was. Do you know I'm not sure when she grew out of it!
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