Pagan Parenting

Bringing up children in a Pagan household can be a great experience for the whole family.  Some parents may choose to involve their children in Pagan aspects from an early age, others may choose to shield them until they are old enough to understand or make the decision for themselves.  Being an Earth religion, we should do things naturally right?

I can't give you much advice, as I have a toddler and my husband isn't Pagan, so we aren't at the stage yet where we have to make any decisions or involve our daughter in anything particularly Pagan, but hopefully this page will give you some ideas and you can check through the links to find other Pagan parenting sites.



Nappy Choices | Natural Foods | Skin Care Creams |Wiccaning | Baby Gift | Toys | Clothing | Links

Nappy Choices
Many non-Pagan families use disposable nappies without thinking twice about it.  Pagan families and other families who care for the environment might like to consider cloth nappies.  These have come along way from the boring white square of towelling that needed plastic pants and always seemed to leak.  Now there are fitted cloth nappies that include a waterproof layer, attach with velcro and look like a disposable nappy!  For more information, see my cloth nappy page.
Did you know in most councils it's actually illegal to put human waste into the garbage bin - this includes poo.  So you are supposed to tip any solid contents of a disposable into the toilet and flush it, rather than tossing it into the bin where it can go into the ground and find it's way into our water supply!   If you still want to use disposables, choose the papery kind, and consider nappy recycling

Home Made Nappy Rash Cream
Take a handful of dried calendula (Look for it in healthfood shops as a tea) and add to about a cup of any type of vegetable oil.  Let this gently heat for about 10 mins (Don't cook the calendula, just warm it).  Then strain out the flowers keeping the oil.  Add about half a jar of vaseline, and stir well.  When starting to cool and thicken, add a few drops of lavender essential oil.  Pour into jars.  You can store excess batches in the freezer until you need them.  The vaseline, because not natural, will not be absorbed so helps form a barrier on the skin, while the oils penetrate the skin to work on the rash.  If you want a more natural base, you can use beeswax.

Store Bought Nappy Rash/Eczema Cream
My Daughter always seems to get eczema in her elbows, behind her knees and at the front of her armpits.  The thing that helps this quickest seem to be a product called Paw Paw ointment, as is made from (you guessed it) Paw Paw.  Though there are some other chemicals and things in it, I thought it deserved a mention.  Its also fairly good as a nappy rash cream (depending on the severity) You should be able to get it in most chemists.  http://www.nbnutrition.com/Products/SkinCare/PawpawOintment

Nipple Cream
One of the best products for cracked nipples (from breastfeeding) is a lanolin product you can buy from  chemists.  Its pure lanolin, so doesn't need to be removed for breastfeeding (like some other creams). http://www.lansinoh.com

Crystal Pouch
A lovely gift for a Wiccaning or the birth of a new Pagan baby!  A pouch of Crystals  Click here for more info

Wiccaning Ceremony
Wiccaning Ceremony I wrote for our daughter's Wiccaning  For the ceremony she wore a purple cotton dress with a star print (My Aunt made it as she'd made my Niece's Baptism gown).  She wore my Pentagram and crystal necklace.  She wore the dress later to a Pagan gathering I went to, and I made her a bib from purple flannel with a pentagram made from ribbon sewn on.  I should have thought to make the bib for her Wicanning!  Click here for more info

Pagan(ish) Toys
We were at Hungry jacks/Burger King one day (yes, evil I know), and I noticed that the Kids meals had Elemental figures.  The Earth one was a brown blobby guy, the Fire was a red flamey guy, the Air was a glow in the dark yellowish guy, and the water guy was a suit to keep his watery self contained (you could fill it with water).  While not technically Pagan, I thought these would be a great way to teach a child about the Elements, so I bought them :)   You could make a version yourself using "Fimo" or "Sculpy" or other oven bake modelling clays. 

Another idea (I have yet to make), is a set of cloth dolls.  I got a book from the library once on making dolls, and they had a tribalish doll in there that gave me the inspiration to make a set of 4 Elemental dolls.  I intend to make plain calico cloth dolls, but each will have the Elemental colours, and any symbols I can find.  For example different coloured hair and clothing, with appropriate buttons and charms sewn onto the clothing.

Pagan Clothing and Accessories
Often you can find childrens clothing with a star design.  If you make your own, you could include Star buttons or embroidery for protection. If you are Pagan and Proud, and out of the broom closet, you can decorate bibs etc. with pentagram or Goddess Symbol designs. 

I made a polar fleece blanket for my baby to be wrapped in once born, and decorated it with a Pentagram.  I got a metre of Polar fleece and about half a metre of black cotton and iron on interfacing.  I used my computer to print out a pentacle design, and transferred this to the cotton fabric, and cut out the design.  Then I used the interfacing to stick it to the polar fleece, and did a small zigzag stitch around all the pentagram edges to finish it off nicely.  Then I folded it in half so the fluffy side was on both sides of the blanket (makes a small bunny rug size) and all the stitching was hidden, then used a blanket stitch to sew them together.  When she was a newborn it made a great bunny rug, and how she is older, it is a great dolls rug.  You could use it as a wall hanging once the baby has outgrown it.
 
 


Assorted Pagan Parenting or Pagan Kids Websites
(No particular order)
http://www.paganparenting.com
http://www.crystalforest1.homestead.com/paganparenting.html
http://paganparenting.net/phpnuke
http://clik.to/witchykids
http://www.musicforthegoddess.com/parent
http://www.witchvox.com/_x.html?c=parent
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/pagan_parenting
http://members.tripod.com/paganparent-ivil
http://members.cruzio.com/~thezoo/paganparenting.html
http://www.mind-n-magick.com/search/html/Lifestyles/Pagan_Parenting
http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/parenting
http://www.conjure.com/COG/parents.html
http://www.fote.org/parents.htm
http://www.littlepagans.com
http://dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Pagan/Parenting
http://www.glasstemple.com/parents
http://www.ladybridget.com/parents.html
http://www.mysticmooncoven.org/parent.htm
http://www.geocities.com/k_garber/pparent.html
http://www.stjohnsuu.org/earthspirit/parent.htm
Pagan parenting yahoo group mailing lists
http://www.moondragon.org/pagan/ppp.html
http://pub14.ezboard.com/bchildrenrmylife
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2962/bos/lore/pagan_parent.html
http://oakdancer.com/parenting.htm
http://www.branwenscauldron.com/resources/parenting.html
http://parentcenter.bbs.babycenter.com/board/preschooler/pfamilylife/17694
http://www.beliefnet.com/boards/discussion_list.asp?boardID=73762
http://www.spiritandsky.com/religion/pagan/parenting/homeschooling
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/religion/pagan.htm
http://northernway.org/paganparenting.html
 

Pagan Parenting / Pagan Kids Books
(Ones I know of.. in no particular order)
Pagan Parenting: Spiritual, Magical & Emotional Development of the Child  - Kristin Madden
Reviews at www.amazon.com

Circle Round : Raising Children in Goddess Traditions - Starhawk, Diane Baker, Anne Hill
Reviews at www.amazon.com

The Family Wicca Book: The Craft for Parents & Children - Ashleen O'Gaea
Reviews at www.amazon.com

Raising Witches - Ashleen O'Gaea
Reviews at www.amazon.com

Celebrating the Great Mother :....... - Cait Johnson, Maura D. Shaw
Reviews at www.amazon.com

Wiccacraft for Families -  Margie McArthur
Reviews at www.amazon.com

The Pagan Family: Handing the Old Ways Down -  Ceisiwr Serith
Reviews at www.amazon.com

Pagan Kids' Activity Book - Amber K
Reviews at www.amazon.com

Pagan Homeschooling -  Kristin Madden
Reviews at www.amazon.com

Moon Mother, Moon Daughter: Myths and Rituals That Celebrate a Girl's Coming-of-Age - Jennifer Louden
Reviews at www.amazon.com

The Thundering Years: Rituals and Sacred Wisdom for Teens - Julie Tallard Johnson
Reviews at www.amazon.com

First Moon: Celebration And Support For A Girl's Growing-Up Journey -  Maureen Theresa Smith
Reviews at www.amazon.com

Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation -  Silver Ravenwolf
Reviews at www.amazon.com

Spellcraft for Teens: A Magickal Guide to Writing & Casting Spells - Gwinevere Rain
Reviews at www.amazon.com
 
 


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