The Art of Conscious Parenting: The Natural Way to Give Birth, Bond with, and Raise Healthy Children - Softcover

"This book has expanded my mind on what it means to be green. The Art of Conscious Parenting gives us a 'green parenting' ecosystem for our children that, if followed, will guarantee that our kids will thrive and not just survive."--J. Stace McGee, president, Environmental Dynamics, consultant to the U.S. Green Building Council

"This book will help us return to a wisdom we all have in our very bones. When free of the often destructive messages we imbibe from our culture, conscientiousness and conscience become the keys to successful parenting, family life, and world community. We ignore these lessons at deep peril to ourselves and our children."--David H. Albert, author of And the Skylark Sings with Me: Homeschooling and Community-Based Educatio

"Yet was I a son to my father,
tender and alone before my mother.
Then he taught me and said to me:
Keep my ways and live;
Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding.
"So says King Solomon, the son of King David. The Fines have given every reader the opportunity to acquire wisdom and acquire the understanding to choose life for their future generations."--Rabbi Isaac Vachmann, Temple Shalom, Pompano Beach, Florida

"The Fines truly start with the beginning: Parenting our children. If you have or are considering having children, this could be one of the most important books you read this year."--Thom Hartmann, author of The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight and The Edison Gene

"A 'Why to' book as well as a 'How to' book, the authors make the case for natural birth, bonding, and parenting. Well written and an easy read."--William Sears, M.D., coauthor of the bestselling The Baby Book

"The Art of Conscious Parenting shows that ancient wisdom on early nurturing experiences is corroborated by a vast range of contemporary scientific studies. With rampant family dysfunction, depression, violence, and other endemic ills traceable to morbid patterns of child-rearing, we cannot afford to ignore the exciting challenges posed by this compelling, thought-provoking, and loving book."--Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum, author of Wings of the Sun: Traditional Jewish Healing in Theory and Practi

"Jeffrey and Dalit Fine's book lends insight into the sacred art of parenting and the science that sheds light on our deepest bond. No subject could be more important."--Alex Grey, author of Sacred Mirrors and Transfigurations

"This is a superb book in every respect. I know of no other work quite like it, and none its equal."--Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of The Magical Child, From Magical Child to Magical Teen, and The Biol

". . . [The Fines] present a holistic approach to birth and bonding in infancy . . . "--Library Journal, Oct 2009

A new approach to creating, rediscovering, and renewing the intimate bonds between parents and children

· Explains the importance of bonding with your child in utero and the physical and mental preparation needed even before conception

· Shows how “green parenting”--breast-feeding, contact with nature, and low-tech creativity--can enhance your child’s life

· The Art of Conscious Parenting won the 2010 Gold Nautilus Award for the best Parenting/Childcare book. The Nautilus Awards recognize books that promote spiritual growth, conscious living and positive social change, while at the same time stimulating the “imagination” and offer the reader “new possibilities” for a better life and a better world.

Our first days and months of life are critical in forming the attitudes we bring into adulthood and in structuring the very roots of our personality. Simple bonding techniques--long forgotten in our modern world but stemming from the age-old customs of indigenous peoples--are at the core of a new model of conscious parenting that can produce happy and well-adjusted children. These practices also help parents experience an increased joy and intimacy both with their child and with each other.

Based on obstetric and psychological evidence, Jeffrey and Dalit Fine reveal how bonding begins in utero and that the physical and mental preparation of both the father and mother, even before conception, sets the tone for the future well-being of the child. They show how sustained physical contact and simple ways of consciously interacting with your infant--eye contact with the newborn, baby-wearing instead of stroller use, and co-sleeping--have an observable positive effect. They also show that the “green parenting” practices of breast-feeding, contact with nature, and simple low-tech creative play not only provide a more hands-on and intimate approach to parenting but also are more economical and environmentally sustainable. From in-utero bonding through the challenges and joys of consciously interacting with your growing child, this book will help parents rediscover and apply the natural art of conscious parenting.