mōrena e te whānau
it’s like a blossom festival around here. I love the visuals, but jeepers there is some sneezing going on. Not gonna grizzle, though, I’ll just continue to be grateful to live in an era of quality tissues. In a tangential observation, I do love the idea of a handkerchief and I’m charmed by those who carry one, but I’ve been ruined by the convenience of tissues … and still I wonder: what did humans do throughout much of our history? Just … sneeze and sniff, I guess?
Anyway, I’m pretty stoked to have been invited to deliver a keynote at the forthcoming Play Association conference. I’ve been shoulder tapped cos I know a thing or two about babies, and infant play is a much misunderstood phenomenon. My talk has the slightly provocative title of: Infant Play – more than ‘cute’; quite possibly the future of our whole darned species. I’ll letcha know how it goes. I still have lots to do in the preparation, and the juggle is real: dividing time between projects … this is very important, and so is the Feeding Companion!
Tell ya what, if the spirit moves you, I’d really appreciate your help in sharing your own real-world wisdom with the new mums who the podcast is for. This link has an option down the bottom of the page to send us a voice memo, and I’d love it if you would please consider so doing, and answer these questions:
If I could go back in time to when I first became a new parent, I would give myself this advice …
The best parenting advice I ever received was …
There was a parenting moment that was NOT funny at the time, but I can laugh about it now …
Something (bad or good) that has surprised me about parenting is …
An example of a family tradition for my family is …
My parenting tip for a ‘favourite simple pleasure”, a low-cost or no cost activity or treat, would be …
GO ON, friends! Don’t be shy! Just GO FOR IT! Then ask your cuz to do it too! The new mamas will thank you (as will I) and anyone submitting goes in the draw to win one of several grocery vouchers … right on.
Now for some sharing … here is a link to some very interesting research in the journal Nature: small sample size but super relevant … bit complicated all the neural entrapment malarkey, but worth persevering I think!
This is about the lies told by LLMs (Ai) and perhaps that is just the catalyst you need to take a decent break from your devices? You might wanna join me in signing up for the Spring Screen Break! More to come on that 🙂
And to finish for the day … holy ravioli you guys, this is a comprehensive and informative Systematic Review, from the 1001 Critical Days Foundation in the UK. This may keep you busy for the rest of the day, but you just might dig it and want to tell strangers about it!
love and kisses, I’d better get back to work~!