So…parents can expect more improvement in literacy and numeracy?

“Australia's curriculum authority has said parents have the right to expect more improvement than what is being shown in the nation's annual numeracy and literacy skills report.

NAPLAN test results that were released this morning (August 05 2015) showed that in the seven years since the tests were introduced in primary and high schools, most measurements show no major improvement.”

I’m not a big fan of testing kids’ literacy and numeracy nor am I a fan of putting the whole responsibility for these aspects of learning in the schools’ courts, instead here’s another idea.

If parents can indeed expect more improvement in literacy and numeracy, they might consider the very significant steps that they can take.

Let's start with the time before conception … most effective place to ensure optimal mental health in the offspring. Sure, this needs some foresight, planning and commitment on the part of two prospective parents, but the payoff is huge! Most important outcome as far as this subject goes is a truly healthy, bright child. 

Then, once the optimal physical and mental health of the child is assured, parents can get rid of some popular parenting practices (e.g. controlled crying, separate sleeping quarters and formula feeding) and embrace responsive, attached, nurturing practices that also nurture optimal mental development. 

The research is clear on both counts! For almost forty years, Foresight Association UK, renowned epidemiologist Professor David Barker from Southhampton University and many others have proposed that two optimally healthy prospective parents will give their child the best chance of a lifetime of optimal physical and mental health. Furthermore, the findings of interdisciplinary studies at University of Notre Dame are clear. “Breast-feeding infants, responsiveness to crying, almost constant touch and having multiple adult caregivers are some of the nurturing ancestral parenting practices that are shown to positively impact the developing brain, which not only shapes personality, but also helps physical health and moral development.”

Yep, there’s no doubt. If all parents were to fully embrace these opportunities for more enlightened parenting practices, they’d be rewarded with a great deal more than kids who do better on their NAPLAN tests.

Getting with the program

I’ve always said that my Healthy Parents, Healthy Baby preconception program is about exactly that ... truly healthy parents and truly healthy babies! In other words it’s about a great deal more than fertility. Sadly, when there’s so much publicity given to those increasing numbers TTC (trying to conceive) in vain, when marketing of ART (assisted reproductive technology) as the answer to the baby prayers of anyone over thirty floods the media, it’s a wonderful endorsement of my work when the preconception workup works, just like it’s supposed to.

There’s nothing to beat the wonderful excitement of an easy conception and a first trimester free of morning sickness! Add to that a GP who advises no scan until post 16 weeks (of course I’d ask why scan at all if everything is proceeding normally, but hooray for a medical voice of caution) and I like the chances of a normal, unmedicated birth and successful breastfeeding.  Just as exciting are the words and actions of a young mum in my local wholefood market this morning, endorsing baby-wearing and co-sleeping as the reasons for her secure, confident, adventurous toddler! Hooray for another sane voice and may there be more of you...

When your child needs a room of his own

I couldn’t help but laugh when I read this article ... “warm grey palette”, “intuitively calm space” “contemporary look while maintaining that intimate lived-in feel.”

I just hope this couple’s child was old enough to appreciate their care and attention to colour and form before he moved into his designer-space! I ask whose needs are the parents actually serving in “stringing a knitted flag garland under our Aesop’s fable artwork?” Let’s face it guys - little kids do best when they sleep within arm’s length of their parents. The things that matter are the warmth and comfort of another human body, a mum or dad they can reach out and touch, the security of other family members in their immediate night-time environment.

The time will come when they’ll want a space of their own, but chances are they’ll be on the way to choosing their own decor and furnishings when that happens!

Of course co-sleeping and family-bed are still a contentious issue. When raised however, I suggest those advocates for solitary sleeping (usually those at pains to decorate their child’s room long before his birth) heed the wise words of Margot Sunderland, Director of Education at the Centre for Child Mental Health in London and one of Britain’s leading experts in children’s mental health. Based on the most current findings in neurological and psychological development, she advises parents to adopt co-sleeping practices until their child is five, affirming that co-sleeping makes children more likely to grow up as calm and healthy adults. End of debate as far as I’m concerned ... reckon it’s unlikely that “a warm grey palette” would have the same effect!

More in Healthy Parents, Healthy Toddler

You say ... "a cot!"

The invitation to the baby shower began...

A Gift for Baby...

X and Y have got the lot 

The only thing left to buy is a cot ... 

and continued in rhyming fashion until

A comfortable and cozy bed

For Bubba Z to rest it's head.

I couldn't resist a reply in kind

You say a cot ...

but maybe not?

The family bed

is good instead!

For night time feeds 

and night time needs.

Stay horizontal, warm & snug -

the nursery option is a dud!

Mum least disturbed,

Bub least distressed.

Don’t leave your bed -

just bare the breast. 

A side-car so she will not fall

or mattresses placed wall to wall.

It’s easy, best ... what more to say?

Ignore the doubters who say nay! 

The world has always slept this way ...

and she WILL leave your bed one day! 

AND long before she goes to University - that’s a promise :)