Pope proclaims marriage and family to be shared human values

Pope Benedict has sent a message to the head of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, as the cities of Pistoia and Pisa mark the 45th Social Week, asserting that respect for life and the protection of marriage and the family are human values.

The theme for this year’s Social Week is: “The common good today: a commitment that comes from afar.” The Pope affirmed that this theme “still maintains all its importance.”

The pontiff spoke directly to lay men and women about their role in society saying that they must “work for a correct ordering of society … and to cooperate in the just organization of social life together with all other citizens, each according to their skills and under their own autonomous responsibility.”

Countering the assertion by some segments of society that marriage, the family and the right to life are solely religious issues, Pope Benedict XVI reasoned that “these are not just ‘Catholic’ values and principles, but shared human values to be protected and safeguarded, like justice, peace and the defense of creation.”

He went on to say that “respect for life and the attention that must be given to the needs of the family based on marriage between a man and a woman,” are issues that cannot be ignored.

Via Catholic.org

Two books aim to cut down the Christmas stress

Dare I say that it’s just a little over two months until Christmas Day, with the preparations — and stress — likely to start well before that.

Small surprise, then, that two books have been publicised on the same day, aiming to beat down some of that stress and get things in perspective.

Charles Linden has written “Stress Free in 30 Days”, which seems to focus on Christmas but could no doubt be a useful resource at any time of the year, particularly if you’re juggling a busy family.

“Christmas is a key stress trigger due to the high expectations people often put on that one day! Pre-planning and budgeting can ease the pressure for many, or learning how to deal with volatile family situations can turn a fraught Christmas into an enjoyable one!” Linden says.

“It is not always about removing the stress from your life, but more about how you deal with it that is the key to feeling less stressed”

Stress Free in 30 Days costs £17.99 and is available in Waterstones, WH Smith and Amazon.

Meanwhile, “The S.U.M.O. Guy”, Paul McGee, author of “S.U.M.O. Your Relationships”, says, “You’’ll be better placed to deal with the festive season if you can get it into perspective. Christmas Day, for example, is only one day out of 365. Stop thinking everything has to be ‘perfect’ and try to plan how you can simplify Christmas as much as possible, and get friends and family to help you! For example, if you’’re planning to host a Christmas party, ask your friends to all bring either a mystery sweet or savoury dish - they’’ll be happy to help and it will be fun to see what everyone brings! Cease thinking you have to ‘be all, provide all’ - that can make for a very dull and frazzled hostess. Encourage others to step up to the proverbial plate.””

He also offers up some tips for staying sane this Christmastime.

1. Be Careful Who You Talk To!

The phrase ‘a trouble shared is a trouble halved’ is an important principle, but not always helpful. Some people have the ability to make you actually feel worse and more troubled after you’ve spoken to them and will end up telling you all their worries – or they’ll tell you they’ve finished all their preparations and “don’t understand what all the fuss is about” –not helpful.

2. Be Careful How Many People You Talk To During Hippo Time!

Repeating all the stresses of your ‘terrible afternoon’ to everyone you speak to will not actually make you feel any better as you’ll just end up in replay mode. Sharing your day’s woes with more than one person can actually be one too many be choosy who to include during your Hippo Time.

3. Do Something You Enjoy!

There are perhaps cheaper and healthier ways to spend your time wallowing, but if eating a little chocolate, or having a few drinks in a bar works for you — why not? Do whatever helps you to relax. Alternatively, it could be a walk in the park with the dog, or a long wallowing bath.

Hippo Time provides a useful ‘mini break’ from life and relieves us from our day-to-day pressures. Time out during Hippo Time also helps you S.U.M.O (Shut Up, Move On) with what you really need to do, and get life in perspective. Remember when things don’t go as planned, ask yourself: ““Where is this on a scale of 1-10?” (where 10 equates to death)” or ““How important will this be in six months time?”” You’’ll realise it’’s not worth really worrying so much.

Easier said than done, perhaps, but worth bearing in mind.

TwinsClub launches charity 2008 Calendar featuring pictures and stories of twins and triplets

TwinsClub.co.uk, which claims to be the UK’s largest website for parenting twins, triplets, and more, has announced the availability of its 2008 Twins & Triplets calendar, featuring 57 beautiful photographs and 13 moving stories.

The calendar will be sold in aid of Tommy’s, the Baby Charity.

Co-founder Lindsey Gray said “As far as we know our calendar is totally unique - the only calendar dedicated to Twins & Triplets and we are extremely proud of it. We have raised over £5000 for BLISS and TAMBA (the Twins and Multiple Birth Association) through sales of our previous calendars, and we are hoping to have the same success this year.”

Stories in the calendar include twins conceived after vasectomy, triplets conceived after a sterilisation, the heaviest set of twins born naturally in the UK, twins born on different days, identical twins with downs syndrome, and 2 sets of twins born to same parents in 2 years.

The calendar costs £10.50 and is available from TwinsClub.co.uk or by post from 1 Matthews Close, Stratford St. Mary, Suffolk, CO7 6LH (cheques made payable to Twinsclub).

Teens place “health” low down on list of priorities

A new study from the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) shows that teenagers are putting their health at risk, because they place very little importance on it.

47% of teenagers say that if they experienced any pain or felt unwell, they would do nothing and simply hope that the problem went away.

For boys aged 13 to 19, friends are the single most important thing in their life, followed by social life, money, family and the way they look.

For girls, friends are also most important, but Britain’s teen queens are pre-occupied with the way they look too - their appearance is their other main concern, way above their health and well being.

Commenting on these disturbing findings Tim Hutchful of the BCA said, ““Today’’s teens have become so engrossed in their social lives and with their appearance that the most important thing, their personal health, seems to have slipped off their agenda. Many teenagers are ignoring aches and pains which could lead to back and joint problems in later life.””

62% of teenagers have already experienced back ache, yet less that 5% of teenagers said they would actually look to seek advice from a doctor or health professional, such as a chiropractor.

The survey also revealed:

• 53% boys and 63% girls spend between one and two hours a day using social networking sites like Facebook and Bebo.
• 75% of girls spend between one to three hours a day emailing friends.
• 66% of girls and 48% of boys spend a minimum of one hour ‘preening themselves every day.
• Over three quarters (77%) of teen males and 84% of teen girls spend a minimum of five hours or more a week socialising with friends.
• Only one in five teen males spend just an hour a week exercising outside of school or college.
• 16% of males and 22% of females admit to not exercising at all in their free time.

Sleeping in an awkward position was cited as the largest cause of back pain amongst Britain’s teens (81%), followed by carrying heavy bags (76%) as well as sitting for long periods of time in the same position (59%).

This year the BCA has launched Straighten Up UK, a simple 3-minute exercise programme designed to improve posture. By incorporating just a few simple exercises into their daily routine, teenagers can really make a difference to their health. Visit  www.straightenupuk.org for more information.

Vote for best kids’ activities in Britain, raise money for Children in Need

From 1st November, Britain’s parents (and indeed, anyone else) can vote for the best kids’ activities in the UK.

Every vote cast in November will see 5p donated to the BBC’s Children in Need appeal.

The What’’s On 4 Little Ones 2008 awards, sponsored by pioneering food company Organix, are now in their second year.

This year, the awards are bigger than ever, covering 20 different categories ranging from Best Antenatal Class to Best Messy Play Class.

The awards are divided into three categories: national, for activities that are available in more than one area of the UK; local, for activities that are based in one area of the UK, and a set of special awards.

Parents can vote online for the national awards. The other awards are being judged by an independent panel, which includes broadcaster, author and mother-of-two Alice Beer. All the winners will be announced in March 2008.

The awards also include the Organix Make A Difference Food Award, which
will go to any class or activity that has made a difference by introducing
healthy food choices.

What’’s On 4 Little Ones co-founder Sam Willoughby said, ““We wanted to give parents a chance to say thank you to the many class teachers and activity organisers across the UK. We’ve gained such enjoyment from reading the nominations - so often activities provide a lifeline to parents”.”

There have already been more than 300 nominations for the awards, and
there’s still time to nominate your favourite local activity before the
closing date of October 31 2007.

Visit www.whatson4littleones.co.uk for more info.

Orange launches mobile and broadband advice site for families

At the end of September, Orange UK launched an online resource aimed at helping families deal with the issues of technology misuse, including cyber-bullying, email fraud, spam, phishing, and mobile theft.

Each section on Orange’s website at http://www.orange.co.uk/communicate/safety/ describes an issue, offers clear and practical advice and also provides links to other authoritative sources of information.

Trish Church, Community & Abuse Operations Manager, said, “Technology provides great opportunities and offers real value but the sad fact is some will find ways of misusing it. Orange’s new online resource provides advice on ways to stay safe and offers useful and practical information to everyone, especially families. The website will help parents understand how their children are using technology and help them to ensure they are using it safely. It also provides top tips to children about the things they shouldn’t do on the internet.”

UK mums get 23 minutes “me time” per day, dads 4.5 hours: how to unwind

A recent research study by the online games company PopCap (the relevance of which will become apparent in a moment), in association with The Stress Management Society, suggests that British mums get, on average, just 23 minutes of “me time” each day, whereas dads enjoy around four-and-a-half hours of leisure time daily.

I’m sure this isn’t true across the board, but the study suggests that dads get plenty of time to enjoy such stress-busting activities as going to the gym, taking a leisurely lunch hour (they obviously never worked in the offices I did), watching TV, hobbies such as football or golf, or just reading the newspaper whilst going to the loo.

Mums, on the other hand, use the sub-half-hour break to grab a cuppa or a quick swig of wine, smoke a cigarette, or eat a snack. The study suggests that this type of break can actual be counterproductive, because the amount of time and actual activity doesn’t allow for mum to unwind from the daily stress.

PopCap would like to suggest that, as well as physical exercise which can reduce stress levels, pressure, and anger, and activities such as yoga which can stretch both mind and body, a five-minute “cyber-break” with one of their online games can help lower stress levels, by reducing blood pressure, and slowing the breathing and heart rate.

Cathy Orr, European PR Director at PopCap, said, “The disparity in down time between mums and dads is staggering. Even if mums can’t change their quantity of ‘Me time’, they can still positively affect the quality of the time they have available. A recent study in association with The Stress Management Society showed that playing casual games on sites like www.popcap.com for as little as 5 minutes a day has stress relieving benefits. If time-poor mums replace their cuppa with a quick PopCap session, it will help relax, recharge and refocus their minds to face the rest of the day.”

Don’t underestimate the power of a cuppa, though.