The One Best Way? Breastfeeding History, Politics, and Policy in Canada
By Tasnim Nathoo and Aleck Ostry
An excerpt of the book summary reads: “Breastfeeding has officially been considered “the one best way” for feeding infants for the past 150 years of Canadian history. This book examines the history and evolution of breastfeeding policies and practices in Canada from the end of the nineteenth century to the turn of the twenty-first. The authors’ historical approach allows current debates to be situated within a broader social, political, cultural, and economic context.”
You should get it, really. Why? Because it is fantastic, well written, engaging, and informative. Also, breastfeeding practices are relevant to every single one of our lives. There is no escaping the reality that we all had to be fed something in our infancy, and you can be certain that questions as to “the one best way” to feed babies have been swirling fervently over the years.
In fact, debates surrounding decency and harassment (see WestJet harassment article and Delta/Freedom Air complaint), safety and regulation (see Drunken Breastfeeding article), acceptability (see Facebook’s War on Nipples article), and other elements of breastfeeding are still in the forefront of our daily lives. All of this controversy despite the fact that breastfeeding is indeed touted by both governmental and non-governmental health organization as the recommended way to feed your child.
This book is both fascinating and timely. For all our recommendations and guidelines, our "progressive" attitudes, and the right to breastfeed in public, the breastfeeding debates still reign.
For more information on the book check out the Wilfrid Laurier University Press website, and follow their blog for discussions of breastfeeding in the news. To purchase, check out amazon, chapters, or your local book store.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Increasing Potential, Decreasing Expectations
I think we have a problem in our society, a problem of decreasing expectations for individuals’ intellect, growth, progress, and general achievement. As a species, we have increasing potential as to what we are capable of achieving; we have more resources available to us now than we did 100 years ago, we know more about what is required for healthy growth and development, and in North America we have a wealth of resources and knowledge at our disposal. Yet despite this, our expectations for what people are capable of achieving seem to be slipping.
Take for example our changing perspective on children’s education: We don’t fail children in elementary school anymore, lest it hurt their feelings to be held back (like illiteracy isn’t going to hurt their feelings later on); We don’t push kids to learn more efficiently in public school because “they’re just kids, they should be playing not working.” And while that may be true to a certain degree, I have a nagging feeling that the expectations for how much children should be learning and retaining may just be slipping.
Why exactly don’t we set the bar higher for kids as they learn and grow? It’s great that we let kids be kids and all, truly, I am all for play, and fun, and recreation. I am not an advocate of over scheduled overstressed kids, nor would I suggest longer hours in school. But I do believe it is important to remember that children work towards what is expected of them, and children grow up to be adults one day. If we aren’t teaching children basic life management skills, they won’t simply acquire them on the day they become adults. Teaching children to set goals, work towards achievements, focus, and cope with disappointment can be hard lessons to watch, but they are all intended to help little people become highly functioning bigger people. Left to their own devices children will not magically grow into independent, educated, articulate, employed, even content, adults.
If we don’t have expectations for our children, they won’t grow to reach them. If we treat them as though they don’t need to learn to tie their own shoes, then they won’t be able to (for no actual reason other than decreased expectations and lacking lessons). And if we teach them that they can get through school regardless of what they learn, well then, we’ll have ourselves a nation of illiterate adults, with no one to blame but ourselves.
I find this troubling. It seems that although we have just about everything we need to continue growing into our increasing human potential, we aren’t taking advantage of that.
Now I am well aware that within the overall cultural practice I am droning on about there are most undeniably people in our society who challenge themselves every chance they get. They set extremely high standards for themselves, and help propel society forward in new ways. But as a whole, as a culture responsible for building and defining our education system, and our societal expectations, I find myself seriously questioning whether our general standards and expectations are increasing in appropriate relation to our human potential.
It is possible of course that expectations simply appear to be decreasing because, well, maybe it’s because I am aging, and I do believe that this sort of complaint has been a historically consistent gripe as people age (“Back in my day ...”). But I’m not really that old, so I’m not entirely convinced that my aging explains the concern I am documenting. So maybe, maybe it’s something more nuanced. Maybe our expectations are simply remaining constant as out potential grows, thus creating the impression of decreasing expectations, when really it’s more like stagnating than actively decreasing.
Either way, I find it all a little sad. So I guess the questions of today are: (1) Does anyone else feel like maybe our expectations are slipping, or am I just being a negative nancy? And, (2) Assuming that they are decreasing, how large will the gap between potential and actual have to get before we find it problematic enough to act on?
Take for example our changing perspective on children’s education: We don’t fail children in elementary school anymore, lest it hurt their feelings to be held back (like illiteracy isn’t going to hurt their feelings later on); We don’t push kids to learn more efficiently in public school because “they’re just kids, they should be playing not working.” And while that may be true to a certain degree, I have a nagging feeling that the expectations for how much children should be learning and retaining may just be slipping.
Why exactly don’t we set the bar higher for kids as they learn and grow? It’s great that we let kids be kids and all, truly, I am all for play, and fun, and recreation. I am not an advocate of over scheduled overstressed kids, nor would I suggest longer hours in school. But I do believe it is important to remember that children work towards what is expected of them, and children grow up to be adults one day. If we aren’t teaching children basic life management skills, they won’t simply acquire them on the day they become adults. Teaching children to set goals, work towards achievements, focus, and cope with disappointment can be hard lessons to watch, but they are all intended to help little people become highly functioning bigger people. Left to their own devices children will not magically grow into independent, educated, articulate, employed, even content, adults.
If we don’t have expectations for our children, they won’t grow to reach them. If we treat them as though they don’t need to learn to tie their own shoes, then they won’t be able to (for no actual reason other than decreased expectations and lacking lessons). And if we teach them that they can get through school regardless of what they learn, well then, we’ll have ourselves a nation of illiterate adults, with no one to blame but ourselves.
I find this troubling. It seems that although we have just about everything we need to continue growing into our increasing human potential, we aren’t taking advantage of that.
Now I am well aware that within the overall cultural practice I am droning on about there are most undeniably people in our society who challenge themselves every chance they get. They set extremely high standards for themselves, and help propel society forward in new ways. But as a whole, as a culture responsible for building and defining our education system, and our societal expectations, I find myself seriously questioning whether our general standards and expectations are increasing in appropriate relation to our human potential.
It is possible of course that expectations simply appear to be decreasing because, well, maybe it’s because I am aging, and I do believe that this sort of complaint has been a historically consistent gripe as people age (“Back in my day ...”). But I’m not really that old, so I’m not entirely convinced that my aging explains the concern I am documenting. So maybe, maybe it’s something more nuanced. Maybe our expectations are simply remaining constant as out potential grows, thus creating the impression of decreasing expectations, when really it’s more like stagnating than actively decreasing.
Either way, I find it all a little sad. So I guess the questions of today are: (1) Does anyone else feel like maybe our expectations are slipping, or am I just being a negative nancy? And, (2) Assuming that they are decreasing, how large will the gap between potential and actual have to get before we find it problematic enough to act on?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
New strategy
Okay, new strategy. Since that poetic “Welcome back” from the beginning of May really only carried us through the end of the month, at which point I apparently became entirely distracted with life and somehow managed to not post any of my thoughts, I now have a new approach. No more niceties of hello, goodbye, or (attempts at) consistent posting. Love it or leave it, you’ll just have to perch on the edge of your chair and await the spontaneous sharing of my musings. (Or you can just subscribe to the blog in your newsreader and then you’ll know tout de suite when a new posting is there for your reading pleasure.) So stay tuned, there are plenty more unclassified thoughts and written words to come ... spontaneously.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
My Dear, Sweet, Lovely Library
Some days, as I leave the library with a new stack of books clutched to my chest, I can’t help but feel like the character of a middle aged man, having just left a brothel. His unfettered joy bubbling up inside as he walks the street, passers-by oblivious to his previous actions or his private elation. Elation achieved, no less, from the women working the brothel, women whose services are tied to the concepts and images they represent, not to their authentic selves or personal substance.
It may be a bit shameful, but that is often the thought that flashes through my mind as I walk briskly from the library doors, books clutched to chest, private elation bubbling up inside. All the while thinking excitedly to myself: These compilations of text, all mine (for three whole weeks), I can smother myself in them, smell that print and paper smell, dive into them, embrace them, get completely lost in them.
It is a fabulous moment, a private gleeful sensation experienced right there in the open. Somehow that makes it feel all that much more decadent, like in borrowing books I am getting away with something devilishly sumptuous.
It’s a funny scene, one that always makes me chuckle a little. And the most peculiar detail of all is, of course, the fact that I, like the character of the middle aged man, am often not all that attached to what the specific content of my newly acquired book pile is. More often than not, that decadent gleeful sensation comes just from clutching the books to my chest and reveling in all that the experience holds. It amazes me: that people produced these books, that my library has them, that I can put them on hold from the comfort of my own living room couch, that I can borrow them for free (for free!), that I am allowed to leaf through these pages, staring at all the words that someone felt compelled to muster, and then to share. In its minutia I find it a wondrous experience.
I love my library, my own private word brothel. I am sad, at times, knowing that for whatever reason in this phase in my life I am not entirely committed to the content of the books that I checkout. For awhile I thought this might be problematic, something to examine or try and change. But I’m over that now, if books can bring me delight just by virtue of their very existence, and the library gives me unlimited access to this delight, then who am I to argue?
So thank you my dear, sweet, lovely library (and all you fabulous librarians who ensure its ongoing existence and smooth functioning), thank you for all the joy you bring, and for all the words you hold, care for, and ever so graciously share with me.
It may be a bit shameful, but that is often the thought that flashes through my mind as I walk briskly from the library doors, books clutched to chest, private elation bubbling up inside. All the while thinking excitedly to myself: These compilations of text, all mine (for three whole weeks), I can smother myself in them, smell that print and paper smell, dive into them, embrace them, get completely lost in them.
It is a fabulous moment, a private gleeful sensation experienced right there in the open. Somehow that makes it feel all that much more decadent, like in borrowing books I am getting away with something devilishly sumptuous.
It’s a funny scene, one that always makes me chuckle a little. And the most peculiar detail of all is, of course, the fact that I, like the character of the middle aged man, am often not all that attached to what the specific content of my newly acquired book pile is. More often than not, that decadent gleeful sensation comes just from clutching the books to my chest and reveling in all that the experience holds. It amazes me: that people produced these books, that my library has them, that I can put them on hold from the comfort of my own living room couch, that I can borrow them for free (for free!), that I am allowed to leaf through these pages, staring at all the words that someone felt compelled to muster, and then to share. In its minutia I find it a wondrous experience.
I love my library, my own private word brothel. I am sad, at times, knowing that for whatever reason in this phase in my life I am not entirely committed to the content of the books that I checkout. For awhile I thought this might be problematic, something to examine or try and change. But I’m over that now, if books can bring me delight just by virtue of their very existence, and the library gives me unlimited access to this delight, then who am I to argue?
So thank you my dear, sweet, lovely library (and all you fabulous librarians who ensure its ongoing existence and smooth functioning), thank you for all the joy you bring, and for all the words you hold, care for, and ever so graciously share with me.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Grow up
This article is fantastic. It's not new, but it just got passed along to me. I enjoyed it, and I hope you do to.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Big Dream Little Dream
I was taught to dream big. Not so much taught as modelled I suppose, modelled and encouraged, but all the same, the dream big perspective took root in me. I do believe that in a great many ways this is a good thing, among other things it gave me a lot of hope and insight into a world of possibilities for my own future, and for the world’s future. But in some ways I think it was also a little smidge of a hindrance.
You see, sometimes when you dream big the task/goal/dream itself can seem so big and so far flung that it feels exactly like what it is, a dream. Something rooted in the imaginary. Sure, it may well be possible, but if a big dream is so, well, dreamy, it may feel rooted in something other than the reality of who and what I (or anyone) is. This is not to say that such a dream cannot be achieved, simply that such a dream runs the risk of teetering over the edge of motivating vision, and falling into the abyss of fantastical fantasies to visit in a moment of escapist glee.
So these days I am trying something radical; I am practicing dreaming small. I am trying to let go of the grand notions of what my life could look like, and start looking at what it is, and what my dreams are for my life in the now. What do I want for my life when I let go of all my values about success, my perceptions of expectations, my desire to fulfill most all possibilities, and the big dream future. What does my life look like when I think no one is watching, and no one cares (myself included) about how big I make it?
I hear that some people live like this by default, some people have no trouble at all living their lives, going about their business, likely not thinking big or small, not really thinking at all. And for them, learning to dream big would probably be of the utmost value. But I was never one of those people, I’ve always been the thinker, the planner, the plan B-er, the steps-to-success person. And now, now I’m wondering what happens if I think less, dream within my daily reality, and settle in to my present tense a little more. Might such a shift in perspective lead to a happier or more peaceful life?
So I am giving it a go. I am trying to shake the big dream and try something different for myself. I’m challenging myself to let go of my “big” and see what happens when I embrace the historically-ignored “small.” (I suppose I could argue that in some ways I’m trying to dream even bigger here, by pushing myself to dream smaller, to think in a way that is not natural for me, but I’m afraid if I walk myself down that route I may just wander innocently, and obliviously, into a catch-22, never to be seen again...)
And so, with that, I am learning to dream small, to think small, to start thinking about the little things I want for my life, to wrap my head around the idea of being ordinary, doing nothing extraordinary with my life at all. To live as if there were no expectations or boundaries for me, to toss my constructs overboard, and to see what comes of this risky-feeling action. It is an interesting experience, and I am starting to feel that it may well end up creating more room for the extraordinary. As if, by letting go of my expectations, big dreams, and random goals I am leaving space to act, to try new things, and to create the extraordinary out of my ordinary. By not filling all the voids of myself with big fluffy socially- or personally-appropriate dreams, I am creating the necessary space to play with what my life has to offer.
It may or may not work, but hey, I’m branching out. I am trying to be quietly bold, to explore a different way of life. I figure that life, in its own short way, is long (if things go accordingly), so we might as well explore what it has to offer, what I have to offer, while we carry on along the journey.
You see, sometimes when you dream big the task/goal/dream itself can seem so big and so far flung that it feels exactly like what it is, a dream. Something rooted in the imaginary. Sure, it may well be possible, but if a big dream is so, well, dreamy, it may feel rooted in something other than the reality of who and what I (or anyone) is. This is not to say that such a dream cannot be achieved, simply that such a dream runs the risk of teetering over the edge of motivating vision, and falling into the abyss of fantastical fantasies to visit in a moment of escapist glee.
So these days I am trying something radical; I am practicing dreaming small. I am trying to let go of the grand notions of what my life could look like, and start looking at what it is, and what my dreams are for my life in the now. What do I want for my life when I let go of all my values about success, my perceptions of expectations, my desire to fulfill most all possibilities, and the big dream future. What does my life look like when I think no one is watching, and no one cares (myself included) about how big I make it?
I hear that some people live like this by default, some people have no trouble at all living their lives, going about their business, likely not thinking big or small, not really thinking at all. And for them, learning to dream big would probably be of the utmost value. But I was never one of those people, I’ve always been the thinker, the planner, the plan B-er, the steps-to-success person. And now, now I’m wondering what happens if I think less, dream within my daily reality, and settle in to my present tense a little more. Might such a shift in perspective lead to a happier or more peaceful life?
So I am giving it a go. I am trying to shake the big dream and try something different for myself. I’m challenging myself to let go of my “big” and see what happens when I embrace the historically-ignored “small.” (I suppose I could argue that in some ways I’m trying to dream even bigger here, by pushing myself to dream smaller, to think in a way that is not natural for me, but I’m afraid if I walk myself down that route I may just wander innocently, and obliviously, into a catch-22, never to be seen again...)
And so, with that, I am learning to dream small, to think small, to start thinking about the little things I want for my life, to wrap my head around the idea of being ordinary, doing nothing extraordinary with my life at all. To live as if there were no expectations or boundaries for me, to toss my constructs overboard, and to see what comes of this risky-feeling action. It is an interesting experience, and I am starting to feel that it may well end up creating more room for the extraordinary. As if, by letting go of my expectations, big dreams, and random goals I am leaving space to act, to try new things, and to create the extraordinary out of my ordinary. By not filling all the voids of myself with big fluffy socially- or personally-appropriate dreams, I am creating the necessary space to play with what my life has to offer.
It may or may not work, but hey, I’m branching out. I am trying to be quietly bold, to explore a different way of life. I figure that life, in its own short way, is long (if things go accordingly), so we might as well explore what it has to offer, what I have to offer, while we carry on along the journey.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Bring Back Home Economics
Bring it back, make it a required course in the public education system. I know, I know, how can I campaign to bring this particular course back when so many other equally important classes are being cut—music, sports, etc. They are indeed all of significant value; they are all critical to human development, and removing them is arguably an atrocity and an affront to our human growth potential. However, this little rant cannot be about the importance of every class deemed “non-essential,” that would result in a tome or two. So to keep things in check, and at a readable length, this little rant is all about the importance of Home Ec.
Looking around at the current state of North American culture, it strikes me as abundantly obvious that as a society we are lacking some basic skills in personal life management. In fact, it seems so abundantly obvious that I almost feel like it is redundant to make the case here. However, clearly it is not as obvious to everyone as it is to me, because if it was then this rant would never have arisen in the first place, and sharing it would be entirely unnecessary.
As I scan the surface of North American culture I see a society that is running up huge amounts of personal debt and walking full speed ahead towards a life determined by obesity and its associated health considerations. Basic skills like budgeting, saving, accounting, personal nutrition, and simple cooking seem clearly lacking from dominant culture. All these skills seem to me to be paramount to success—not necessarily to a successful career, but to success in life, to staying afloat, staying alive, and staying healthy. All of these basic skills that they don’t teach you in elementary math, science, or English class, that are pivotal to a successful community and successful country seem to be MIA.
Hence, bring back home economics classes. We have a problem, and we have a decent solution—a curriculum that teaches these skills to the majority of the population at a time in their lives when they can easily be learned and gradually implemented as age appropriate—so why are we busy cutting this sort of education only to spend more money on obesity related health care and other preventable costs? I just do not understand, and I know that I am not alone in this confusion.
So I am begging the general population, the parents, the administrators, and the activists to recall the days when home economics were taught to all students, and envision a day when all children in Canada, and heck, lets say all of North America, have the basic skills to manage their lives on a day to day basis. A nation where students don’t graduate from high school unable to manage a bank account, and young adults don’t graduate from undergrad still oblivious to the perils of compound interest as it relates to debt. A nation that understands that nutrition involves more than Kraft Dinner and processed grains.
This vision is within our realm of possibilities, I know it is. We have the knowledge, we have the teachers, we have the students, all we need now is the drive to make it a reality.
In my fantasies I am born in a time when common sense is common, and basic education doesn’t have to be fought for. So hop on the rosy glasses bandwagon with me and lets bring back home economics as a core elementary school class, let’s teach those wee little things how to manage their homes and manage their lives, so that when they grow up, they will know how to meet their basic needs. They can feel a little more secure in their daily lives, and their energies can be directed to other more challenging endeavours.
Looking around at the current state of North American culture, it strikes me as abundantly obvious that as a society we are lacking some basic skills in personal life management. In fact, it seems so abundantly obvious that I almost feel like it is redundant to make the case here. However, clearly it is not as obvious to everyone as it is to me, because if it was then this rant would never have arisen in the first place, and sharing it would be entirely unnecessary.
As I scan the surface of North American culture I see a society that is running up huge amounts of personal debt and walking full speed ahead towards a life determined by obesity and its associated health considerations. Basic skills like budgeting, saving, accounting, personal nutrition, and simple cooking seem clearly lacking from dominant culture. All these skills seem to me to be paramount to success—not necessarily to a successful career, but to success in life, to staying afloat, staying alive, and staying healthy. All of these basic skills that they don’t teach you in elementary math, science, or English class, that are pivotal to a successful community and successful country seem to be MIA.
Hence, bring back home economics classes. We have a problem, and we have a decent solution—a curriculum that teaches these skills to the majority of the population at a time in their lives when they can easily be learned and gradually implemented as age appropriate—so why are we busy cutting this sort of education only to spend more money on obesity related health care and other preventable costs? I just do not understand, and I know that I am not alone in this confusion.
So I am begging the general population, the parents, the administrators, and the activists to recall the days when home economics were taught to all students, and envision a day when all children in Canada, and heck, lets say all of North America, have the basic skills to manage their lives on a day to day basis. A nation where students don’t graduate from high school unable to manage a bank account, and young adults don’t graduate from undergrad still oblivious to the perils of compound interest as it relates to debt. A nation that understands that nutrition involves more than Kraft Dinner and processed grains.
This vision is within our realm of possibilities, I know it is. We have the knowledge, we have the teachers, we have the students, all we need now is the drive to make it a reality.
In my fantasies I am born in a time when common sense is common, and basic education doesn’t have to be fought for. So hop on the rosy glasses bandwagon with me and lets bring back home economics as a core elementary school class, let’s teach those wee little things how to manage their homes and manage their lives, so that when they grow up, they will know how to meet their basic needs. They can feel a little more secure in their daily lives, and their energies can be directed to other more challenging endeavours.
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