We are very excited to be bringing you our first edition of Parenting Australia’s enews for 2009 with the launch of The Parenting Australia Baby of The Month Competition, as a subscriber to our enews you are eligible to enter, simply visit www.parentingaustralia.com.au and send your little Pumpkin’s name, photo with address and best day time contact number, the winner will receive a $200 Pumpkin Patch Voucher.

Sue Atkins author of Raising Happy Children for Dummies and founder of www.positive-parents.com has joined www.parentingaustralia.com.au as a regular contributor, Sue will be bringing her vast experience and knowledge to us with large helpings of commonsense and humour to help us all along the way and will provide sound advice on a wide range of subjects over the coming year, including:
- Bringing up children as a single parent
- Coping with divorce
- Changing schools
- Toddler taming
- Bringing up teenagers
- Work-life balance
- Effective communication

Jane King
Mother of Cristian, 13 and Emily, 7
Founder of Parenting Australia

Sue Atkins, parent coach and author, has seven top tips on how to become the best parent you can be in 2009.

Most of us will make a New Year's resolution but only one in ten will succeed in keeping their goals.  The secret of success is to plan what to achieve and then visualize what success will look, sound and feel like.

“Some people say that we cannot control the future.  If you have a wait-and-see attitude then whatever happens simply happens and life feels like it is controlling you.  When you do something as simple as writing down the goals that you would like to achieve you feel far more in control of your life, less stressed and more energized,” says Sue Atkins.

According to Sue Atkins the path to being a better parent starts with these seven steps:

1. Daydream – grab a pen and paper and take a few moments to daydream.  What kind of parent do you want to be?  How would you like your child to describe you when they are grown up and telling their own children about you?

2. Set goals – as there is twelve months in a year set yourself twelve goals. Start by asking yourself:
- What do I most want to change in my family relationships in 2009?
- What would be different in my life if my problems, niggles or worries were gone permanently?
- What will happen if I don’t sort them out once and for all?
- What small thing could I do today to start the process off?

3. Read – once you have written this list keep it somewhere handy or put it somewhere you can see it easily.  Read it first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

4. Imagine - read your goals to yourself slowly and deliberately and start to relax and imagine, in great detail, them happening. See what you see, hear what you hear, and feel how great you feel as you start to see these things happening for real in your life.  Be as detailed as possible in your pictures and make them really bright and colourful.

5. Habits - let the list of goals go into your unconscious mind by reading them a couple of times each day (before you brush your teeth is a good time as it’s something you naturally do regularly every day) and soon your goals will turn into habits. This is genuinely the key to success as your unconscious mind starts to explore ways to make these things happen - it starts to deliver a plan that will be the turnkey in achieving your goals.

6. Visualization - if you want your relationship with your stroppy teenager or unpredictable toddler to improve, relax and keep visualizing in lots of detail how you would like it to be in a perfect world.  See yourself relaxed and hear the sorts of things you say and do in this perfect scenario as this will inspire you and keep you motivated and enthusiastic.  Visualization is far more powerful than just “wishing for” things to improve.

7. Action - you must take ACTION.  Don’t be like someone at the pub talking a good game and blaming someone else. Actually DO SOMETHING about achieving your goals. Change your tone of voice, appear more assertive and confident, listen more and talk less, read a parenting book on communicating with teenagers - whatever it takes to make a small change that can make a huge difference.

“It is important to take stock and spend a few moments reflecting on the achievements and challenges you experienced in 2008.  Really celebrate the things you did well - as parents we forget to celebrate and praise ourselves for doing a great job, often under difficult circumstances. The year is just starting and there is a whole world of possibilities out there. Don’t beat yourself up about last year’s mistakes - learn from them and get excited about the things you can do in 2009,” says Sue Atkins.

Be the woman you want to be in 2009

The reality of motherhood is that life after a baby means that you really don't have much time.  Without spending time on yourself after a while your health, motivation & confidence can dwindle away leaving you powerless.

Many chronic illnesses in mothers go untreated, because symptoms are mistaken for common complaints of sleep-deprivation or tiredness.  “Well, you’re a mum” can answer for a lot of problems, but sometimes there is more to the story.

If in 2008 you felt exhausted, depressed with debilitating fatigue, experienced hair loss, and had trouble concentrating you could be suffering from hormonal imbalance. So if you can relate to feeling this way, adopting a simple approach of just eating better & exercising more is not going to be your ‘magic feel better pill’.

1. Turning stress to harmony
You need to combat stress starting today.  It creates havoc with moods! One thing that won't rescue your mood is simply putting on a happy face and trying to will yourself into happiness. In fact you may drive your darker feelings underground, re-emerging later as anxiety, insomnia, anger, depression, or stress-related illness – having a less than favourable impact upon your family life.
By identifying your stressors and working with a strategy to combat them you will find life will begin to get easier.  Stress is also a hidden catalyst to many women’s health issues, so you NEED to take time to relax and nurture yourself.

2. Increasing Energy Levels
Thyroid function and Insulin can hold your energy levels back.  Things instantly change when a woman becomes a mother, and we are taught to expect that. But how things change often take women by surprise: the intensity of emotions, unexpected strains in marriage, a new connection with in-laws, and unintended disconnection from friends without children. All of these can affect your thyroid function and metabolism leaving your energy lagging and you feeling sluggish.  Eat more whole foods, wholegrain and low GI foods to sustain yourself, reduce cravings and keep your energy levels balanced.

3. Reassess Your Girly Bits
Yes that’s right! Living in the ‘fast’ world of today interferes with healthy hormonal function contributing to conditions such as Weight Gain, PMS, Moods Swings, Painful Breasts, Period Pain, Cravings, Bloating & Headaches. Think of how many days these hormonally related symptoms have held you back in life.  Getting your hormones assessed is a great way to check your symptoms, treat them and move on to better things.  Leaving things tends to compound health issues and your weight over time.

3. Self Esteem & Motivation
It’s hard to feel better and get your health back on board if your self-esteem is one step away from the curb!  Riding the emotional roller coaster of life can leave you feeling depleted and worse for wear.  One thing to remember though is that each step forward that you take towards a new healthier life, will move you one step closer to a healthier, new you.  Sometimes even if you don’t feel like doing something, the act of starting and doing it actually empowers you, boosting your self-confidence.  It’s a self-fulfilling process, the more you act the more motivated and confident you become!

Once you agree to nurture yourself as well as your children, you face purely logistical hurdles to getting your life - a new version of it - back.

Wise moves to a better life

1. Banish the guilt – so what if you enjoyed your Christmas deserts…moderation is the key
2. Don't wait- start today - even if it’s in the smallest of ways.
3. Make small achievable goals – and then allow them to grow…
4. Surround yourself with positive people – and sack the negative ones!
5. Stay open to the possibilities – if asked why, say why not!
6. Get out side and enjoy the sunshine – walk and be active outdoors.
7. Breath Deeply & Smile – laughter makes you feel fantastic and sends happy hormones through your whole body!
8. Fresh is best.  Now is a great time to take advantage of summer fruit and veggies that give you energy!  What you eat you is what become, so be fresh and delicious!
9. Take responsibility for your health – it’s your body & it has to last you a lifetime
10. …And remember as always to drink more water! – It hydrates your body and allows your mind to flow and create!

Getting YOUR life back takes time. Acknowledging this is half the battle.  Remember, your health reflects the way you live – so isn’t it time you started making some healthy changes?

Narelle Stegehuis, CEO of MassAttack, is a Naturopath specializing in the treatment of PCOS, Fibroids, and Endometriosis & Thyroid imbalance.  Uniquely her services are offered online. She is both an accomplished writer and recent recipient of the Australian Naturopathic Excellence Award. Download her free e-book “7 Secrets of Weight Loss Revealed” at www.massattack.com.au

In the spirit of fresh starts and a new you www.inspiredwellbeing.com.au has given our subscribers a $10 off voucher to use when purchasing from their range of affordable Natural and Organic Products that are on average 20% cheaper than Health Food Stores and Chemists and delivered to your door! Inspired Wellbeing has over 1000 products and over 100 brands of the best quality natural and organic products available, they believe that a healthy and chemical free lifestyle should be affordable!

Categories include, Baby and Children Products, Gluten Free, Vitamins and Supplements (including for Kids), Groceries, Hair Care, Skin Care, Make-Up, Health and Nutrition as well as a gift section. We are also fans of freebies, so each order comes with samples and vouchers.

Home based swimming lessons mean safety and flexibility, ActiveUnlimited’s Lessons fit around your schedule and your children learn at their own pace instead of having to fit with the swim school lesson program, their instructors work closely with your family to build tailored lessons ensuring an ongoing focus on the safety rules of your pool.

ActiveUnlimited has launched the ‘Pool Safe’ swim lesson in a bid to reduce backyard pool drowning this summer. With a focus on fun and education, it is endorsed by the Royal Lifesaving Society and involves the whole family (including grandma).  Designed to help families put the RLSS ‘Keep Watch’ messaging into action, it includes:

- Establishing Rules of your Pool
- Personal survival & swimming in clothes
-  Basic rescue techniques
-  Play-acting potential emergency situations
-  Introduction to resuscitation
-  Quizzes, games, competitions, races, prizes

To book call Active Unlimited on 02 9130 5282 / 0410 743 151 or email karen@activeunlimited.com

Many children will commence formalized care this year and items will go astray and your odd sock pile will increase at a rapid rate, one way to ensure they find their was back to you is to label, label and label !!

To advertise in the newsletter send an email to sales@parentingaustralia.com.au