I think its great to limit exposure to those things for a good many years...but by teenage years, possibly a bit before, I think its very important for kids to feel comfortable navigating our culture. In the Steiner schools, they insist on no TV until the kids are about 9 I think. Thats the age they feel that kids start to become a lot more aware of the world around them, and it can be an emotional age. I think computer literacy can be picked up quite quickly by kids who are 10 or 12 or 14- most of us have picked it up as adults and are doing ok :) I think you have a few years up your sleeve before you need to worry about it...then it might happen in spite of you. Visiting friends, watching tv at other peoples' homes, etc etc. If you come down too negative, I think pop culture then you are giving pop culture more power than it deserves. We have all survived it. And in the end...your parents probably didnt like the culture you grew up in either, the music and movies and icons...but it happens to every generation, and I swore I wouldnt be a fuddy duddy to my kids. I listen to their music in the car and let them teach me things, because I want them to keep the communications open and not feel I am too alien to them. My son shows me his computer games. I think there IS a point at which it is not helpful to be too rigid, and to find compromises that help it work both ways. And you can open up and have some fun and not be too judgemental of all the pop culture. My kids and I had a wonderful time enjoying Twilight together- the books and movies. I am glad we did that because it gives us a common language. If it werent for my kids though I would never have read them. But as I said, you are a few years off needing to worry about it- I honestly dont think they are going to be upset with you for not being exposed to children's cartoons.

My dreams: eco house- solar heating/water, water tanks, positioned to make best use of sun and shade etc large house, lots of big windows and greenery outside them large laundry room with clothesline just outside, in sun ginormous kitchen area with plenty of bench space large bedrooms, one per person guest room that is slightly separate from the house and self contained open air bathroom with bathtub, shower, spa, natural surrounds (got Bali on my mind). OK, a plunge pool too then. wood fireplace, plus other economical heating air con in main living area huge garden area for creating a paradise vegie patch and fruit orchard as well as outdoor sitting area separate living area for kids and adults (as in, formal lounge, plus playroom) separate office area

I dont think it matters at all - all are good for you and all contain a slightly different array of nutrients- variety is best. None are "better" than others, except that I do think that darker greens are good- however, it can be better to start with lighter ones to get used to eating more greens. Trust your instincts too- if you are attracted to kale or a particular fruit, maybe your body needs something in that right now. My body is just craving greens. Its as if, once i started eating more of them, my body went "oh yeah" and I just want greens in everything. I love baby spinach in particular. I wouldnt be too serious about it- have fun and enjoy whatever is in season near you. Its all good. If you want some inspiration for green smoothies, have a look here: rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=54452

I just dont bother trying to convince anyone of my choices. Its not worth it unless they are genuinely interested. Mostly people like that are ignorant, and defensive of their ignorance, so I leave them with it.

I find that strange because you get more crude nudity in the newspaper, on billboards, and its plenty available on the internet. I cant see why anyone would watch Avatar to get turned on. I didnt even notice it. I have been surprised to hear this sentiment on these boards lately. Maybe you are being hit on the head with it over there in the U.S.. But the truth is, its not making much difference...money is still first and we are still making a mess of the planet at a faster rate than we are cleaning it up. The oceans are polluted, the air is poisoned, and so are the rivers. We think its normal, like the frog put in the pot of cold water who is boiled alive as the heat is turned up. We are barely scratching the surface of the change thats necessary. So I am thrilled this movie, which will be watched by millions, has such a strong environmental message. No one need feel guilty....none of us individually made the mess, and none of us are individually responsible for cleaning it up. As far as I am concerned, until we vote in governments that are prepared to be stronger on the issues, its all still going downhill badly. I don't take it personally.

I would say its common, but not normal. As in, its a sign that her body is out of balance anyway, and PMS just brings it to the surface. My dd15 has various symptoms as well- although she has always had digestive issues and they are usually related to sugar for her. She is learning to take care of her body better, as she can't get away with much. She eats chocolate, she gets pimples. She eats sugar, she gets stomach cramps. She doesnt exercise, her whole wellbeing drops. She cant veer too far off a reasonably healthy diet or she will get some sort of symptom, and its always worse at PMS time.

Mmm, I just had a green smoothie of mango, papaya, blueberries, and a handful of lettuce and parsley. Some water to make it pour. Absolutely delicious (and purple, not green)! You can barely taste the greens but they add a fresh flavour. I had about a quart.

Ill almost certainly be asleep...why stay up until midnight so that I am tired on New Year's Day? However, if I wanted to stay up, it would probabyl take a raging party- not my thing any more- or a really good movie.

I can sure relate to the computer time thing. Its always best when I am present for my kids but they are so independent, its easy to get sucked into the computer and feel like i am using my time efficiently doing important things...that in retrospect werent so important as marking ds's work as soon as he finished. Thats one of the big things that always works better...when I mark work straight away. Our memory work time faded out this year but we still got a couple of good poems memorised and thats better than nothing. For us, getting as much work done in the first 6 months of the year (calendar year for us, in the southern hemisphere) makes all the difference. The last part of the year always has more interruptions. Its good to look back and remember all the things we got accomplished before we got sidetracked. What also worked was changing some of our subjects over to Connect the Thoughts. The different approach just jelled with us. As usual, our hour a day of together time was very productive and we got through a lot of books in the year, and that felt like good bonding time as well as productive. Going to science classes, and letting go of trying to do science at home in addition to classes, was a good thing. It also doubled as social time. Its been a good year.

Dh and I are going to Bali next month and it has cost us less than a trip within Australia. We are going for 4 days, 3 nights...and its our first ever trip away together without the kids (since they arrived). I wish I had thought of it before (it was my brilliant idea).

I read before bed, and before an afternoon nap. Its rare I read at other times, except that I read a lot on the computer while my kids are doing school...but not books, just websites. Probably woudl be time better spent if I sat and read a book while they worked instead.

Sounds to me like you need to take care of your most immediate family first...taking on an elderly alcoholic is hardly going to be good for your family. I know when we take on dh's father, who is has alcoholic dementia, for a few days to give his wife a break, it is a major strain on our family. I know it "shouldnt" be like that, and in an ideal world, we would all care for our old, wise and caring parents...but it aint like that, and they have also sown the seeds in their lives. You care...you dont need to feel guilty about not being able to be all things to everyone you care about.

I have several types of seaweed. My favourite at the moment is dulse flakes. I add them to everything- dressings, soups, sprinkle them on salads. They really don't have a strong flavour so they blend in quite well. I love them! Full of yummy micronutrients and iodine. My family haven't noticed or they would complain. I do nutrition by stealth around here. Miso soup is something they will eat though, and that has lots of seaweed in it.

I agree with Rosie- it neednt be complicated, but it might be difficult. You will naturally detox whenever you stop putting something toxic into your system. Your body will naturally start to detoxify. In fact, do you realise that your body is detoxifying all the time? All night, especially, it is detoxifying. So...you can help it, or hinder the natural process. Its not something you need to "do" so much as "not do", often. As in, dont get in the way with adding more toxins. One way you can help is to make sure your organs of elimination are working well. If you are eating healthy foods but having once a week bowel movements, you are not going to detoxify. Other than that, lots of water, healthy green salads with all meals, or as a meal, and other green foods every single day. You can go for green juices or green smoothies. I am on a detox thing at the moment and the whole family gets a green juice and/or a green smoothie every morning. Green juice- half the juice is made up from celery, cucumber, parsley, spinach, kale, and whatever other green things I can lay my hands on. The other half of the juice is sweet things like carrot, apple and beetroot, and I often add a whole lemon to this as well. I take a huge milkshake sized glass of this every morning, and divide the rest among my family (normal sized glasses). I make sure it is sweet enough for them to not rebel too much :) Green smoothie- handful of greens (dark lettuce, spinach, kale) and several pieces of fruit, and some water. Blend together. Its sweet, tasting mostly of the fruit. And it's green and healthy and a great way to eat more greens. Greens help stop cravings. ANother thing many people like to do is drink a glass of water with half a lemon squeezed into it eahc morning. I think it is very healthy...it's just not something I enjoy so I won't do it. But make it fun. Try new recipes. My lucky family get to eat all my experiments :) You just move one step at a time- move to the next level. If you have given up coffee...thats actually a big thing. BUt maybe replace it with something that appeals. When I started juicing a few weeks ago, my desire for my morning cup of tea just dropped away completely, to my surprise. But I did get headaches for a few days. Anyway, its one of my favourite topics of conversation :)

You know, thats another Australian icon- the mince meat pie- smothered in tomato sauce, which is what we call ketchup. Most of us grew up on them, and many people live on them even today. Amazing but true. They are available in every corner store. You dont want to think too deeply though about what's actually inside them. In fact, it was very confusing to me that English mince pies had fruit in them.

OMG, is that another one of our Australian oddities? Surely everyone knows what chocolate crackles are? They are rice bubbles (surely you know what they are?) covered with copha and cocoa and icing sugar- so that they kind of glob together once set in the fridge, and you have these little mountains of chocolatey crunchy things that taste amazing. Every Australian child, probably with the exception of the many nowadays with crunchy parents who dont allow sugar, or those with certain allergies, grows up with chocolate crackles at birthday parties. I can't think of anything that is especially wierd that i have eaten...maybe kangaroo meat? That tastes pretty good and its common in our supermarkets, understandably- there are lots of kangaroos and they compete with grazing land. I am playing with eating raw and my diet is about 80-90% raw at the moment. I guess thats pretty wierd to most people. And no I am not eating raw meat with the exception of ocasional sushi. My family certainly think I am way out there, but actually, are adapting quite well.

There is no ultimate answer to this. I have been trying green smoothies for breakfast, (green smoothies are a handful of greens like baby spinach or kale, blended with lots of fruit) and extra fruit, but I have been starving by mid morning and obsessed with food all morning. So I need something more than fruit. For ages I was having an egg on toast- now I can't stomach that. This morning it was a green smoothie and some avocado on sprouted bread, and a glass of almond milk- and I was full all morning. There are two schools of thought- the big, high protein breakfast...breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. Then there is the opposite- light breakfast, medium lunch and dinner as main meal. Or, lunch as main meal. I don't seem to fit into either of those. I need something more than simple carbs for breakfast, but nothing too much. My meals dont need to be huge, but I really need to eat when I need to eat. I love to play with these theories, but in the end I come back to listening to my own body.

For me it honestly depends on the situation and how I feel in the moment. We have often had aborigines begging when I go to town, and if they are respectful about it I usually do give them money- they usually need it for a bus fare. I don't feel its up to me to judge when the person deserves it or not. I go by whether I feel drawn or not, rather than making an intellectual decision about it. If you have ever been to India, you get used to the beggars there. And there is no way you could possibly feed all the ones that ask for money any single day. Even the children. So, you learn to get instinctual about it and find a way that works for you, that doesn't send you broke, but that makes a difference. Here in Australia its not so bad there are many people are begging- just the usual alcoholics, but not so common. I feel for you guys over there.

Just keep going with lots of read alouds. My son is dyslexic and hated reading when I took him out of school at age 7- he basically couldnt read. By 8 he could basically read but still hated it. But I made him read for a certain amount of time each day- 10 minutes, 20 minutes- it crept up. Then when he was 9.5, he took off. I was reading aloud to him The Sea of Trolls, which is a thick book. When I had read enough for the evening, he asked me if he could continue reading it himself, and that was it, he never looked back. And for ages he would only read "thick" books- anything else was beneath him ! He has read far more than his sister who never had a problem with reading. He does like fantasy though. I still read aloud, during schooltime, and they still love it.

Not a degree but a naturopathy diploma. I shut down my practice when I started homeschooling 6.5 years ago. I am thinking about starting up again though.

Well, checking out my kids' Facebook accounts is one way I stay in touch with their social lives- it's easier for me to monitor than MSN, and I get to keep an eye on their friends' FB as well. They are not allowed to have any FB friends that they don't know in real life. My kids are ages 14 and 15.

I found that as the children got older, we needed to protect them with some rules like not playing nude in the front yard or in public, generally (although the beach was fine for quite a while)- but that was not to develop a sense of shame in them about their bodies- only to protect them from unwanted attention. Dh and I have no problem with nudity, with our bodies, and we feel it is only a cultural and learned shame that anyone would feel that there is any problem with nudity. However, we live in a society that has huge issues with it, so we act accordingly around others. Our kids have found their own way with that and learned to cover up once they approached puberty. We didn't teach them to do that- they did it themselves and we respect it. My own feeling is that its only a big deal if you make it so.

Yes, I must admit I dont use it at all really. I read aloud because they seem to learn well that way, but I wouldnt call either of my kids "auditory". Neither needed a lot of hands on, but maybe my dyslexic kid would have been better if he had more hands on. Whatever a kids strength, they should be developing the others anyway. We all need to be able to listen and learn, read and learn, do and learn. But I think like many things- like the "intelligences" theories and all sorts of other things, they are a bit of a fad someone is making a lot of money out of. I tihnk it generally boils down to common sense and doesnt need millions of $ spent on studies. Just ask some homeschooling mums :)

Yes- for the most expensive movie ever produced, I am so glad it wasn't a disappointment. Best movie I have seen in ages.

Wow, that is so, so amazing. Good luck!