Thursday, July 22, 2010 5:33 pm

Adams Memorial Library is adding another great resource for parents: a discussion course.

Healthy Children, Healthy Planet is designed to help parents consider how the effects of advertising, media, and consumer culture can influence a child’s view of the world.  Participants will also discover ways to create meaningful family times and healthy environments for children and explore ways to develop a child’s connection to nature and creativity.

Healthy Children, Healthy Planet is a seven-session discussion course in which a small group of parents read a set of short readings and then come together to discuss them.  Each session has a different theme. Weekly topics are: Cultural Pressures, Family Rituals and Celebrations, Advertising, Food and Health, Time and Creativity, Technology and the Media, and Exploring Nature.

The seventh session is a wrap-up session and celebration. The course is free and is open to only twelve participants at a time.  The course may be offered again in October if there is interest.

An organizational meeting will be held at the library on Tuesday, August 3 at 6:30 p.m.  Organizer Angie Ott will describe the course, answer questions, and help the new group decide on a meeting time. Interested parents will sign up and check the course book out from the library. 

“I’ve participated in several of these courses developed by the Northwest Earth Institute,” says Ott.  “The discussions get pretty lively and people develop deep friendships as they talk about really meaningful ideas.  The participants take turns leading the discussions, and there is no ‘teacher’. The course is more of a time to think deeply about how we are raising our children than anything else.”

Further information is available at www.nwei.org or by calling Angie Ott at 563-8132.