Author: Rita Brhel

Rita Brhel, BS, CLC, API Leader, lives with her family near Hastings, NE, USA, where she works as a WIC Breastfeeding Counselor. She also writes for Mothering and La Leche League's New Beginnings.

Connecting with Older Children during Pregnancy

When Kathleen Mitchell-Askar was pregnant with her first child, she wrote in her journal nearly every day about what she felt and the changes she was experiencing. Once a week, she went to a prenatal yoga class and she listened to special meditations to connect with her baby. If she wasn’t at work or caring for the home, she used to just lie down and feel her baby sweep her elbows and knees across her belly. Pregnancy with her second child brought an entirely different experience on The Attached Family online magazine at http://theattachedfamily.com/membersonly/?p=2951

What Happens to the Brain When We “Lose It”

Learning neuroscience isn’t something every parent has time for, so Dr. Dan Siegel and Mary Hartzell, authors of Parenting from the Inside Out, developed a simple and surprisingly accurate model of the brain that parents can make with their own hands, which helps us understand what goes on in there. When we know what’s going on in our children’s brains (and in our own), we are better able to respond sensitively and appropriately when emotions run strong. Read more on The Attached Family online magazine at http://theattachedfamily.com/membersonly/?p=2942

The Invisible Bond Not Limited to Parents

Ricki was in trouble again with her first-grade substitute teacher, this time for accidentally spilling water on her desk. She missed her regular teacher who was on a four-month leave of absence after giving birth. Every since the new teacher came, Ricki hated school. She was sure the teacher didn’t like her — for forgetting her homework one day, for not paying attention another day, and now for spilling water on the desk. She returned home each day, filled with foul frustration, which erupted in attacking her younger brother, taunting her older sister, and talking back to her parents. Israeli parenting educator Shoshana Hayman continues…

Pregnancy Fun (and Mocktails)

As your body changes during pregnancy, the activities you used to enjoy may be off limits. You may not be able to drink your morning coffee, have sushi for lunch, or indulge in a glass of wine with dinner. And a pregnant woman can forget about roller coasters, riding a bicycle, or skiing, Yet, while it may be difficult to give up favorite activities and food, you can find fun in different and new ways. Pregnancy Editor Kathleen Mitchell-Askar explains…

Playful Parenting with Older Children and Teens

How does playtime change as kids get older? How can parents adapt their approach to playful parenting after kids outgrow the desire to get silly, wrestle, and pretend? How can we achieve the same results with our teenagers that we can by playing “tickle monster” with our toddlers? American parenting educator Kelly Bartlett answers on The Attached Family online magazine at:

http://theattachedfamily.com/membersonly/?p=2878

This week on The Attached Family online magazine…

Reflections on Motherhood

Poet and children’s author Barbara Benjamin is the mother of a 26-year-old daughter. She received a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Auburn University in 1979. While her daughter was young, she happily chose to be a stay-at-home mother. When the school days arrived, she became a substitute teacher in the local school system where her daughter attended. Read more about her story, as well as poems illustrating her views, at http://theattachedfamily.com/membersonly/?p=2888 and learn about if the instagram automated likes still working? which it help this story get to many more !

Creating a Village

The life of a parent can feel very isolated. Warm relationships with caring adults can sustain us when we’re struggling and help our children feel at ease when they’re away from home. So, how do we build the village we need to raise our children? API Leader Jenni Pertuset answers at http://theattachedfamily.com/membersonly/?p=2893 .