There are so many cosmetics on the market that claim they are keeping your family safe by killing the hidden bacteria that is out there to harm your children and family. But are they really protecting your kids?

Here are some points to ponder:

* The antibacterial components of soaps (usually triclosan or, less commonly, triclocarbon) need to be left on a surface for about two minutes in order to work. Most people are not this patient, and end up washing off the soap before the antibacterial ingredients can do their job.
* Some scientists theorize that bacteria may develop a resistance to bactericidal agents over time.
* Some bacteria actually benefit us. The normal population of bacteria on our bodies not only eats our sweat, but also helps defend us against truly harmful, invasive bacteria.
* Many common diseases are viral in nature, anyway, and are therefore not prevented by antibacterial products.

( see How stuff works for the full article…)

Yet another study points to triclosan not only being completely ineffective, but also potentially dangerous:

“…researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health have found that the ingredient commonly used in these products, triclosan, provides no additional benefits beyond those of plain soap; it also may contribute to the rise of many different drug-resistant bacteria, including a relative of tuberculosis.”

And if this isn’t enough, the article goes on to say:

“…triclosan can also form the probable human carcinogen chloroform when exposed to chlorinated water, you may take pause lathering up with that antibacterial soap next time you shower…”

All in all, it seems that the hype around protecting your loved ones by using antibacterial soap is not all that true and once again I am convinced that using the most natural products you can is the only way to go.

They said it would happen but I thought we had a wunderkind on our hands, but Jules finally crumbled on Fri night, sobbed and sobbed. She missed her special friends Lexi and Bellsy. I spent many hours playingthe psychologist as she doesn’t find it easy to express her feelings. So I do a lot of reading between the lines and guessing until suddenly it feels right for her then it all comes tumbling out….then she feels great.

But shes back at school today and once again no fuss and skipped ahead.

Hugo turned 10 today and is all of a sudden very grown up. He went to school and told the class about all the naughty things he has done over the last few years (it’s a tradition) and then left them 100’s of Chocolate Muffins to add to the general hyperactivity in the classroom.

We took a few of his friends to the farm for the weekend. They had a great time completely exhausting themselves by cycling , riding horses (The bucking broncos) we will give that a miss next time, and shooting cross bows….

We will be having a nice homemade cake for tea !!!!

We have just moved Julia to a new school mid year, and she started on Tuesday.

For the last 3 years we have felt that things were just not right with Jules. She has always been a confident bright kid , but things just started to change slowly.

In grade 1 in the mornings before school she would moan about her uniform not fitting properly or her hair would not look right, or she didn’t have the right crayons in her pencil case. It would be one thing after the other,she was also not showing any interest in all the wonderful extramurals she could do at school like ballet , music ,drama, swimming the list was endless which was strange for a kid that was great at singing , ballet and swimming.

I began to think that we really had a problem child .We started play therapy and tried to understand what the issues were, was she just a difficult kid, were we the problem, how could we change?

After 6 months of therapy and Julia resisting it every step of the way, the therapist recommended we change schools. I thought that was a bit drastic and didn’t want to even contemplate that and the school she was at was so nurturing. She had some nice friends and the other consideration was that it was so convenient around the corner from Hugo’s school . So we continued to look at Jules and wondered where we had gone wrong.

In grade 2 learning became a problem for her. She began to fall behind and this from a kid who started to read at nursery school! But, she loved her new teacher which was a big thing as she was completely terrified of her grade 1 teacher - things were not looking good.

After doing assessments and taking her to remedial and OT it became clear that a whole chunk of learning was missing . I was in shock …..this was really hard for me to comprehend - She had always been a bright kid I never thought she had learning problems.

But you know what I think it is a lot more complicated than that- I believe the environment was not right for her. The problems we were encountering every morning was a symptom , the cause was that she had lost her confidence and self esteem she was anxious and stressed and when you are in that state of mind you cannot learn anything .

I’m sorry we didn’t do it sooner. We moved her and you cannot believe this is the same child! She skips into school every morning , she hasn’t complained about her hair or uniform. It’s early days but the signs are good….every kid is different and I have learnt that it is really important to match your child to the right school - they all require different things and to learn they need to feel supported

Maybe some mothers would call me irresponsible when I tell you what happened to Jules on Sunday.

But the reason this happened, and in my defence, I think it’s really important that kids get outside and get dirty, build a mud pie, climb a tree, dig a hole, plant some herbs whatever it takes really. Kids today are often found behind TV or computer screens, which in my opinion sends them off into cyber space, and I would rather send them of into the garden which is great for grounding kids, brings them down to earth gets them to let off some steam.

We have a dusty plot of land in the bush. Nothing fancy - making it a great environment for me to get grounded (because parents need it too!).  Anyway on Sunday Jules, who loves cycling,  chose the smallest bike to ride around the farm on, the one she had when she was about 4 yrs old. It doesnt have brakes and is really not suitable for cycling on sandy stoney roads but you know how it is with kids - they want their own way.

So, off we went together. Rupert and I were walking and she was cycling and off she went down a dusty steep road. She really got into the swing of things picked up speed and was amazingly brave. Then she hit a large stone,  skidded,  wasn’t able to stop in time and tumbled all the way down the hill on her face….she looked like she had been in a war zone.

I felt really negligent as I had encouraged her to head off and that we would catch her up. But, she was really ok about the fall and in fact,  I think she was quite proud of herself.

She didn’t brake any bones - but she had hurt herself  and bruised her knee which are really just normal bumps and bruises.

Anyway, I got to thinking that falling off  your bike is actually a good thing for children and that despite it being hard as a mother, we mustn’t be overprotective parents all the time as kids learn so much from these experiences.