It seems that the people at Harvard Business Review (HBR), the journal for corporate high flyers and those that aspire, have caught on to Mindfulness! In a recent article the latest thing in “Leadership Development” is apparently Mindful Leadership! As regular readers of this blog are aware, we’re been preaching Mindful Eating for a long time, so it’s nice to see Harvard discovering what our Mindful Mums already know.
I noticed some recent comments by Australian personality Katriona Rowntree, who clearly has Mindful Eating on her family agenda. Says Rowntree:
“I’ll put out blueberries, grapes, maybe some sliced apple before Andrew has his toast. You can’t force them [to eat], you just leave them to it.”
Rowntree has even managed to convince her jungle-mad son that dates, mangos and grapes are “jungle lollies”, and tries to follow her own advice, reaching for fruit when she has a sweet craving.
She also finds that good routines, with set mealtimes and snack times, help develop good eating habits.
“Then they are less likely to ask for ‘chippies’ and ‘bikkies’,” she said.
“Parents: you are responsible for what your children eat. Choose wisely.”
I don’t think we could say it better ourselves. Bellamy’s is always trying to provide mothers with pure organic foods that enable them to exercise their Mindful Eating options. And that brings us back to Mindful Leadership.
In the HBR article, long time executive coach Pamela Weiss says” “If you want to transform an organisation it’s not about changing systems and processes so much as it’s about changing the hearts and minds of people. Mindfulness is one of the all-time most brilliant technologies for helping to alleviate human suffering and for bringing out our extraordinary potential as human beings.”
We couldn’t agree more. That’s why we don’t make anything other than organic foods – for Mindful Mums.
Read more about Mindful Leadership at http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/developing_mindful_leaders.html?referral=0
Read Katriona Rowntree’s comments at: http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/healthy-eating-starts-with-what-goes-in-the-pantry-rowntree-20111125-1ny1j.html#ixzz1iu0zGVn5
If you’d like to know more about Bellamy’s Organic baby formula, cereals and our other products for older children click on this link. It will take you straight to our on-line store.
Convincing young children to try new things is pretty challenging for most parents; it certainly is for me. My two girls are notoriously NOT interested in trying new foods, particularly when the new food is green (not counting green jelly beans or smarties of course!) and of vegetable origin.
I introduce new vegies, particularly from certified organic producers, regularly and encourage my girls to try them. My current success rate sits at a mere 5% of vegies tried converted to now “on the menu”, but recent additions have included raw capsicum and, amazingly enough, asparagus.
When trying the red capsicum and asparagus my girls asked lots of questions about what the plants looked like and how they were grown. Both are pretty inquisitive about things in nature and it seems food (along with volcanoes and crystals) is one of those interesting things. Maybe my efforts in encouraging mindful thinking about food are paying off!
So, with a background in agriculture and a passion for certified organic food production, I answered their questions with relish (and probably a little too much science). I talked about why we should farm sustainably and look after nature so that when they are older, they will have good wholesome organic food to eat, and a healthy environment to live in.
My oldest, ever the deep thinker, responded to my encouraging chat by reminding me that if we looked after the environment then all the frogs would be happy. Such an insightful observation for an eight year old! On the other hand, my youngest – serious look on her face – told me the most important thing about eating asparagus is… “It makes your pee smell funny!”
I laughed.
Enjoying the experience of talking, and laughing about food and where it comes from, can really develop a mindful attitude to eating.
And remember, children are better equipped to make mindful choices if they see parents choosing nutrient-rich foods, such as organic fruits and vegetables, low-fat or fat-free milk, cheese and yoghurt, and whole grains.
To find out more, head to our website www.bellamysorganic.com.au
Not sure about you, but I didn’t know there was an Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy. It’s a five year plan (2010 – 2015) to promote breastfeeding and here’s its charter:
Not too much to argue with there, assuming you are in a position to express your milk and/or take your baby around with you. But there’s other interesting stuff on how many of you actually keep up “Exclusive breastfeeding” That’s defined as feeding only breast milk, including expressed, but no formula and no other food (except water, medicines and vitamins and minerals of course). Here’s a table (1) from the report that shows what happens.
It’s interesting to see the drop-off rate as mothers move to supplement their feeding regime with formula and then, of course, solids. The reason I thought you’d find this interesting is that I know that many mothers feel pressure to keep on breast feeding when either they can’t or their circumstances make it very difficult to continue. So the message is, sure breastfeeding is best, but don’t start feeling guilty if you can’t keep it up. The table below (2) shows the percentage of mothers who are using both breast and formula at the same age intervals
So essentially, if you take the two tables together we find that in Australia, at six months of age when the Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend introducing solid foods, a total of 56% are still receiving at least some breast milk and 14% are still fully breastfeeding.
So the health system is rightly promoting extending breastfeeding through the creation of breastfeeding-friendly environments.
But the bottom line? If you can keep it up – great; if you can’t – don’t stress, because you’re not alone by any means. And you can always give them Bellamy’s Organic.
Did you know Bellamy’s is the only Australian manufacturer that produces certified organic formula in Infant Formula (0 – 12 months), Follow-On Formula (6 – 12 months) and Toddler Milk Drink (from 12 months)? So you can complement with the best formula all through those first formative years.
If you’d like to know more about Bellamy’s Organic baby formula, cereals and our other products for older children click on this link. It will take you straight to our on-line store.
We read so much about a mum’s role in nurturing babies that it can be easy to forget that dad can play a part. It’s pretty usual these days for dad’s to be around and take an interest, sure, but recent evidence puts dads back on the front row of parenting with findings that show how they play a vital role in early baby development.
In his book “The Dad Factor” Richard Fletcher, a pioneer researcher on fathers’ role with young children, provides the hard evidence and practical guidance for fathering that builds children’s brains and capabilities.
New research into child development is producing some surprising findings. One is that in the first hours after birth a baby can be looking for its father. Another is that when fathers create a bond with their child from the earliest days this boosts the way their child’s brain develops.
Fathers are told that they should be ‘involved’ with their baby but not how to go about building the connection. This book provides the nuts and bolts of bonding, showing how the effect of a dad simply ‘playing around’ with his child can alter the pathways formed by the neurons in the brain of that growing infant. (So fathers playing ‘peek-a-boo’ are not wasting time but doing the real stuff of parenting!)
By explaining how play wrestling, which comes naturally to most fathers, not only builds bones and muscles but also develops social skills “The Dad Factor” offers guidance for the fathers of high-energy mini-warriors as well those with boys who are shy or ‘different’. The importance of father-daughter play wrestling is also made clear.
If you’d like to know more about The Dad Factor, go to http://www.finch.com.au/books/dad-factor.
If you’d like to know more about Bellamy’s Organic baby formula and our other certified organic baby and toddler products, click on this link. It will take you straight to our on-line store.
