Community

Free holiday activity for children with disabilities and their families: Guided exhibition tour and music workshop.

The National Museum of Australia, in collaboration with Music For Everyone, invites children with disabilities and their families to visit the Museum for a unique holiday activity, free of charge.

Participants will enjoy a guided tour of the exhibition, Water: H2O=Life, followed by a fun group music workshop led by Music For Everyone's experienced staff, who have some wonderful games and activities planned around the exhibition's theme.

Do you remember doing long distance trips as a kid, asking "are we there yet?" every five minutes? If you're not looking forward to re-living the experience from the parental perspective, here's some tips on long-distance car trips with toddlers and pre-schoolers.

Plan Ahead

Sewing Modern Cloth Nappies

Using modern cloth nappies (often referred to as MCN's) instead of disposable nappies can save over $700 a year in buying nappies, and over 2 tonnes of landfill waste that will take centuries to break down.

Need some help with cloth nappies? Come along to an Australian Nappy Network cloth nappy meet. On the first Monday of every month from 10am in the sitting room at Brindabella Baby. Fair trade tea, coffee, and organic Cocolo chocolate provided. Ask questions, or check out what other people are using.

Looking for something fun to take your toddler or pre-schooler to that will also stimulate their imagination? There's a free Story Time at Brindabella Baby on the first Friday of every month, at 10am. For Friday 4 September, we're doing "Do Dogs Dream?" by Geraldine Taylor and illustrated by Amy Schimler. This beautiful book answers some of the tricky questions that curious children ask about the animal world. Kids will go home with a colouring-in sheet, and there's an activity ideas sheet for the parents or grandparents too.

Get ready, it's on again in March! The Great Down Under Nappy Hunt is a great way to find out about cloth nappies and lots more, plus you could win part of thousands of dollars worth of prizes! Entry is free, the hunt is usually pretty easy and lots of fun, but you've got to be in it to win it - registrations for hunters are now open. Brindabella Baby also has free postage during March if you enter your Nappy Hunt discount code, lots of specials, and anyone subscribed to the Brindabella Baby email newsletter on 1 April 2010 will have a chance to win a one-year subscription to Barefoot magazine (RRP $30). I only send out newsletters once or twice a month, and I don't share my mailing list with anyone. Read on to see the first clue in pink:

Women's right to make informed choices about their own care during pregnancy and birth is under threat.

No matter how you choose to have babies, it is important that women are legally able to make their own choice.

Three Bills have been introduced to Commonwealth Parliament to give Medicare and subsidised insurance to eligible midwives. The problem is that the Government doesn't intend the insurance to cover homebirths.

There will be a rally at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday 7 September from 11:30am til 2:30pm, organised by Homebirth Australia.

You can find out more about this issue, and what you can do about it, at the websites for Maternity Coalition and Homebirth Australia.

To try on baby carriers, fondle fabrics, and ask questions, drop in to our newly opened shop in Canberra Monday to Saturday, 10am til 4pm. We're upstairs at 29 Lonsdale Street, Braddon - opposite Debacle bar, and upstairs from Thrifty Car Hire. Look for the Brindabella Baby signs on the footpath. Phone (02) 6176 1400.Canberra Store