My family & fam friends called me the “weird hippie mom” for years because I was adamant about eating clean, minimal screen time, gardening, Independent play, homeschooling, healing through nutrition, natural remedies, etc.

Now everyone is trying to hit me for advice

“Can’t find this in the store how can I make this at home” head ass

I guess I'll go into this more and my "parenting style".

I lean towards the more lenient side as far as what Silas can say, do, and how he expresses himself.

It's important that he's not afraid to speak his mind, say what he wants/doesn't want, & isn't afraid to talk to me

about things.

He has a very strong personality, like his mama, and he will try me all the time but if I throw him "the look", he knows what's up.

I'm not into spanking or popping him. I've done it before. Hated it and it's not effective for him (he's a Sag).

Instead, I tell

him to do something and what the consequence will be if he doesn't listen.

I implement the consequence if he doesn't listen (time out with a timer or take away his tablet or show time).

I stopped spoiling him w toys and instead he has a responsibility chart where he "does his

business" (his words, lol) and then he can pick a toy or reward.

He has to collect 70 stars from his chart to earn something and when it comes, he has to pick one toy to give away.

I also don't force him to go to bed or wake up at a certain time.

He's a night owl like me.

I'll encourage sleep by feeding him, giving him a warm bath, and then putting him in bed with a book or his tablet on night time mode, while turning off the lights in the room.

Most of the time he's out within 30 mins but he does like to stay up and "work" with me.

For food, I'd say the majority of our diet consists of whole foods, good quality meats and fish (never farm-raised, always wild, grass fed, etc), organic fruits & veggies.

For any snacks and treats, I buy the best quality version (ingredients wise).

I don't force him to finish

what's on his plate and he's great at communicating when he's hungry and when he's finished.

He's free to grab snacks and juices and water from the kitchen at any time and he's great at self-regulating what he's intaking.

I'd say we're 90/10 w eating well.

One thing I don't let him eat a lot of is sugar. I will bribe him w ice cream but he cracks out.

Might start making my own. Blended + frozen fruit > popsicles has been working great too.

As far as natural remedies and herbalism, I've been studying that shit for years now.

Start with reddit and YouTube. I do not recommend foraging on your own or even right now, chill on that & don't poison yourself.

Grab some recipe books and see what you can do w tinctures.

I know how to make natural cough syrups, pain relievers, salves, balms, chapstick, bitters, tinctures, and I have a pretty thorough knowledge of the core herbs I like to use.

W gardening, I started growing my own herbs from my patio in Seattle.

I think I had thyme, stevia, rosemary, tarragon, and basil.

Silas insisted we start a garden here in Vegas and we've done tomatoes, okra, a fig tree, peach tree, and basil.

We're gearing up to grow more fruits & veggies this year also. He loves gardening!

Homeschool is our biggest struggle because of my work load.

We suck @ homeschool and sticking to a routine. Can def improve here.

If/when I have more kids, I'll have to work a lot less or hire tutors to fill this gap.

For OTC medicine, Silas doesn't take anything unless he's SUPER sick and the natural stuff needs a boost.

I'm not into letting the kid suffer. He hardly gets sick though because we eat really well & he's active, gets rest, & isn't stressed.

I can improve w myself on taking

Tylenol (headaches, lots of headaches but it's lifestyle and stress induced) and Claritin (neti pot helps but minimally).

If I have a cold, I'll usually rid it through unless I'm miserable.

In the winter, I usually keep a fresh batch of bone broth going as well.

OK I think that's it for now.

Few other things:

Silas has never slept in a crib, always (and still do) co-sleep. This was super helpful w getting enough rest.

I breastfed on demand for 2.5 years. Exhausting, part-time job, I think it was worth it though.

I have never baby-talked Silas, not even when he was

a newborn.

I've always spoken to him like I do w everyone else. Good morning, Silas. I'm going to change your diaper now. Do you want milk? Are you tired?

Same thing now. He has a great vocabulary. He's also always had nannies that speak a language other than English

and I ask them to speak to him in their language.

His current nanny does a mix of English and Brazilian Portuguese.