Richard Louv wrote this is a great article in Psychology Today about why nature is such an important part of building a more peaceable society; nature is important for our children and their social and emotional health and well-being.
 http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/people-in-nature/201308/restoring-peace

This past month I’ve been connecting with the local chapter of the Children and Nature Network to create a nearby nature group in my area.. I’m so excited to be starting the process for so many reasons. The Children and Nature Network already has several of these local nature groups throughout the city, but none in my region.

The model we’re working with comes from the Children and Nature Network’s “Nature Clubs for Families” and the ideas is to help families connect with their ‘nearby nature’ resources and create a community for those families. 

I strongly suggest you check it out and get involved in a group near you or, if there isn’t one, start one. They have so many resources on their website (www.childrenandnature.org), including a Nature Clubs for Families Toolkit! Also, check out Richard Louv’s book - The Last Child in the Woods; his work is the original inspiration for the Children and Nature Network and the Nature Clubs of Families

Welcome to the August 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Sibling Revelry

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about siblings — their own, their hopes for their kids, and more. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

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A few months ago I read this great article, Why I’m choosing to write a book instead of having a second child. I really related to the writer, who talks about her crossroads between having a second child and pursuing other opportunities… She speaks to many emotions I also struggle with, including the conflict between my deep love and dedication to my daughter and the limitations on my time to pursue some of my deepest passions.

Like the author, I also agree that:

All of this is not to say that women can’t have multiple children and successful careers… But when I take a hard look at my life I have to admit that I have a finite amount of time and energy and everything is a tradeoff.

Some women are amazing at balancing their home-work lives, but I’m not so much… I still do have dreams I would like to pursue as my daughter gets older. If I had more children, I know that I would want to be there for them the way I am for my daughter now and that would mean sacrificing my other dreams.

I consider myself an aspiring activist and strive hard to doing things to help other people and the planet. As a mom, I feel this renewed sense of urgency towards those goals. The responsibility I feel towards my daughter and the other children of the world is stronger than my desire to bring more children into this world.

"Reflecting on the social pressure on mothers to restrict themselves to only raising children, my mother always said that a mother also owed it to her children to go out to make sure that the world was good enough for them."

So for now future as a mother is to focus on my daughter and making sure that I do my best give her a better world then the one she was born into.