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For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Parenting

Has anyone else read Toxic Childhood and what changes did they make to their kids lives as a result?

20 replies

Malaleche · 10/04/2007 21:31

I know this was in the news last year but i live abroad in a country where there isnt much debate about anything as far as i can see and I only just got this book...
I think this toxic childhood thing is probably a bit like global warming - nobody will do anything until its too late...

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Report

Malaleche · 10/04/2007 21:39

no-one?

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Malaleche · 10/04/2007 21:46

come on , there's enough in this book to keep us all going for months!

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kittypants · 10/04/2007 21:46

never heard of it,whats it about?

moondog · 10/04/2007 21:46

I plan to read it in near future.

GooseyLoosey · 10/04/2007 21:52

Never heard of it - is it about all the chemicals we expose our children to without even realising it?

snipersmum · 10/04/2007 22:01

I'm just reading 'toxic parents' - is it the same?

Malaleche · 10/04/2007 22:14

It's by Sue Palmer and it's about how modern life is damaging our children - diet, TV, tiredness, lack of freedom to go out and play/being too removed from nature etc etc

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Malaleche · 10/04/2007 22:15

It says 'the book that sparked an international debate' on the cover...

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SenoraPostrophe · 10/04/2007 22:16

don't you think the Spanish in general have a better mix than (what I've heard about) British children though ml?

school dinners are FAB here, and home cooking is more common at least. plus the neighbours' kids are out at all flippin hours (cue "but it's not bedtime because xxx is still playing in the road" )

SenoraPostrophe · 10/04/2007 22:18

...how bad does it say telly is?

Malaleche · 10/04/2007 22:18

better mix of what señora?

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SenoraPostrophe · 10/04/2007 22:19

better mix of modern and traditional life stuff.

Malaleche · 10/04/2007 22:22

it seems to be the fact that telly is used to babysit that is bad, apart fromt the trash on it of course and the fact that small kids dont actually find it relaxing, quite the opposite. My DD always gets grumpier and more difficult after too much TV. Also laptops and pcs. Have to admit baby gets less attention since we got the laptop...i would spend more time talking. singing to her etc if i wasnt 'just checking my mail' 'oh, now i have to check this other thing'....

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Snaf · 10/04/2007 22:23

I keep seeing it in bookshops and thinking 'Hmm, looks interesting.'

But I've never bought it because I think it's probably one of those books that tells me a load of stuff that I already know, in a way that makes me feel even more guilty and useless than I do already.

So i haven't bought it. Yet.

Malaleche · 10/04/2007 22:24

dont know if they have a better mix here, its still not as bad as the UK but going that way rapidly, dont you think? I know my kids would have more contact with nature if we lived there but their diet would probably go bad...BTW arent you moving back? Why?

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SenoraPostrophe · 10/04/2007 22:25

true. I have read that elsewhere. I try to watch telly with them so they don't just get left to it.

But they do sometimes get left while I finsih off sa bit of work, bless them. must stop that.

Malaleche · 10/04/2007 22:27

Snaf - im only about a third of the way through it and yes it does seem obvious when its all laid out but she does give pointers for improving things for your own kids and even for society in general if youre a mover or shaker.

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SenoraPostrophe · 10/04/2007 22:30

we're moving back because I miss my family and can't stay with them now I have 3 children. I told dh he could buy an audi if we went, plus we can't find english speaking employees here (it's a long story!) and I have misgivings about those 3yr infantil classes for ds1.

I will miss those school dinners though, they're brill. and I'll miss the mountains. You should get out of the city more: we're 10 mins drive from the national park. and I'll miss people saying "ai que tres!" when we walk past on the street.

Malaleche · 10/04/2007 22:34

Señora - I miss my family toobut im crap at computers and i cant think of any other way to earn a living...so im stuck here...
We dont go anywhere because we dont drive, yet...
DD1 is very happy at her patronato school, but she didnt start till she was 2, now 3.5.

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nell12 · 11/04/2007 19:42

Went to a conference with Sue Palmer and bought her book as a result. She is such an inspiring speaker.
Her basic point is that childrens lifestyles have changed so much since our childhoods, that they are growing up quite unprepared to face the world...
Children no longer play outside as we did; playing outside gives you skills in communication, problem-solving, sharing, boredom relief etc. etc. etc.
Children now watch much more tv, so they do not get the opportunity to talk as much any more. As a result language development is generally slower.
This is it in a HUGE nutshell. It is NOT a book saying we are bad parents, the opposite, in fact.
I would recommend it to everyone!

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