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This month, we're talking all about green living and the important steps that families can take to lessen their carbon footprint and live more eco-friendly lifestyles. It's a well-known fact that we live in somewhat of a beautiful green bubble here in the Pacific Northwest, but how truly green are we -- and where does Seattle rank on a national level? Unsurprisingly, Seattle sits pretty high on the green totem pole, but there's always room for growth. Check out this month's feature to see how Seattle's matching up -- in our homes, on our roads, in our schools, and much more. Also included in this month's Ages & Stages: We've got the full scoop on avoiding toxic kids' toys, eco-friendly birthday bash ideas, and the urban farming movement that is taking Seattle's heart by storm.
Read the entire issue online, or scroll down for links and cool online-only content. |
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Ages & Stages: Out & About: Spring Arts Preview Someone you should know: Marsha Linehan |
Feature: How green are Seattle families? Regulars: Check out this month's great giveaways! |
About this issue
Spring into mindfulness
Our team is about to enter our tenth year producing ParentMap. Over these many years together, we’ve found that great job satisfaction comes from knowing that parents like you appreciate and value what we do.
We feel proud when your hunger for information is satisfied because our collective toil brings you a thought-provoking article, creative and fun family outing ideas, a much-needed resource, or a speaker that hits a top concern of the day for your family.
This month’s Life Skills Parenting event featuring the University of Washington’s Dr. Marsha Linehan (“Someone you should know,”) is in a league of its very own. Positive comments have been flying our way like never before!
We’re gathering four UW psychology luminaries to introduce and demonstrate DBT, Linehan’s therapeutic invention. DBT is a skill-based treatment that combines mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness. Who wouldn’t benefit from sharpening these skills?
Meanwhile, sharpen your pencils and mark your calendars with the myriad theatrical, puppetry, musical, magical and dance performances overflowing in our “Spring arts preview”. Good luck making choices when faced with outstanding options that include The Color Purple, Kids Rock, Tutankhamun and Urinetown (whose characters Bobby Strong and Hope Cladwell were included on New York Theatre Monthly’s list of “The 100 Greatest Roles in Musical Theatre”).
Our kids are such amazing motivators for us, even before they’re born. Seconds after we learn we’re pregnant, we eat and drink differently. After they arrive, we often drive a different car. Today, your little sustainability smarty-pants is likely elevating your carbon neutral consciousness and forcing your family to answer the question, “How green are we?”.
Seattle may score high on national “green cities” lists, but we have a ways to go to get to “carbon neutrality, hyper-efficient use of natural resources, zero-pollution industries” and my favorite, “low-stuff, high-satisfaction lives.”
Keep that low/high concept in mind while reading our Ages + Stages stories about “Toxic toys”, “Green birthday bashes”, and “Urban farming”.
—Alayne
P. S. SummerMap 2012 is a pullout for you in this bursting spring issue that includes the don’t-miss feature, “It’s summer! What are your kids reading?”
