UK Family Bonding Advocate and Mummymusthave.co.uk Founder, Monic Joint, Launches Her Book, ‘The Koala Carer – Family Bonding’

And gives away free copies at ‘The Baby Show 07’, Earls Court, London, October 19-21 – at the MummyMustHave.co.uk stand - L40 - while stocks last.

October 08, 2007 - Press Dispensary - UK family bonding advocate, mum of two and former nanny, Monic Joint, is publishing her new book, ‘The Koala Carer - Family Bonding®’ (http://www.mummymusthave.co.uk/ebook.htm), which imparts invaluable tips for building stable family foundations. The book will be officially launched at ‘The Baby Show’, Earls Court, London, on October 19-21, and free copies will be given away at Monic’s MummyMustHave.co.uk stand - L40 - while stocks last. Monic will also be demonstrating free baby massage techniques at the show.

A guide for expectant and new parents, ‘The Koala Carer’ provides techniques for becoming closer to baby through approaches to positive, confident parenting from conception onwards. It focuses on both ante- and post-natal bonding, baby massage, baby sign language and fun games to play with babies at different stages in their development from 0-12 months.

Monic was inspired to write the book after the birth of her first child, as she personally experienced bonding issues when growing up. She was born to teenage parents and - after several years and a few separations – they divorced and the family dispersed. Her brother eventually moved to the opposite end of the country to live with their father, which she found quite isolating as our siblings are usually the ones with whom we have the longest relationship in our lives. By the time Monic was 22, her mother, father and brother were all living in different cities spread across North America, Britain and Europe. Monic also experienced being apart from her own first baby for a significant amount of time following the birth, because she required urgent surgery. These experiences made Monic curious about bonding and led her to discover, research and eventually demonstrate methods for families to begin bonding with one another from pregnancy onwards. Monic hopes that other parents will benefit from knowing how to get involved with forming strong family foundations before birth.

Monic says: “I believe that becoming well-bonded to our loved ones is one of the most important beginnings in life we can give a child. After much research, I’ve concluded that strong bonding at an early age encourages children to be emotionally healthy, have self-esteem and confidence, feel free to express their feelings, have trust towards individuals and feel comfortable forming different types of relationships throughout all stages of their lives.

“However, it would not be unusual for a child growing up in a family with a lack of bonding to experience loneliness, lack of confidence, and difficulty in forming friendships and relationships with partners or peers. Children who lack confidence or are lonely can be at risk of bullying if they have difficulties forming the right types of friendships; worse, they can be taken advantage of by the wrong types of individuals, especially on the internet. They could turn to negative forms of self-comfort, as a result of not feeling able to reach out and seek proper support from others during their formative years.”

Monic adds: “Post-natal depression, domestic violence, our own difficult childhood experiences, unexpected pregnancy, a breakdown of the relationship between parents and financial struggles can all interfere with connecting effectively as a family.

"Sadly, it is now commonplace to see families on TV publicly struggling to get along, anxiously searching for answers to bring peace into their lives. I believe children could benefit from their parents knowing how to approach problems and parent positively and confidently before the issues arise, even before their children are born. I hope that, by the end of the decade, parenthood training is included as a part of all maternity preparation throughout the U.K. Strong families grow strong children; strong children grow up to be healthy, positive individuals and become an asset to our society in general. ”

She concludes: “While pre-birth parenting classes may be a way off yet, I believe my ‘Koala Carer - Family Bonding’ book demonstrates easy to follow, fun, nurturing and most importantly, confident ways of bonding and parenting from pregnancy onwards, preparing parents for the emotional and practical sides of everyday family life.”

‘The Koala Carer – Family Bonding’ book costs £9.99 and can be purchased from http://www.mummymusthave.co.uk/ebook.htm . For a limited period after ‘The Baby Show 07’, copies will be given away free of charge on the MummyMustHave.co.uk parenting portal and web shop.

- Ends -

In addition to her roles as mother, UK family bonding advocate and running MummyMustHave.co.uk, Monic writes for several UK and Ireland parenting publications on topics such as surviving traumatic birth, methods for optimising birth, soothing colic naturally, and natural family bonding for everyone. During 2007, she has appeared on GMTV, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 Live on several occasions speaking about the topic of traumatic birth - including how it can affect bonding - as well as the current state of UK maternity services and how these can be improved. Monic can be contacted for further appearances or written, television or radio pieces relating to birth, maternity, parenthood or being a “mumpreneur”.

For further information, please contact:
Ms Monic Joint, MummyMustHave.co.uk
Tel: 02380 271 109 Email:
Site: www.mummymusthave.co.uk