Presentations

Have Platypus Media come to your event!

Whether your group is parents, health care professionals, peer counselors, nurses, lactation consultants,leaders, midwives, doulas, students or educator, Dia can entertain educate and excite them!
Call us to arrange for an author or illustrator to come to your event.

Some of our presentations include:

Women as Heroes: Empowerment Through Breastfeeding

A humorous look at the relationship between breastfeeding and women's self-esteem. How is it that something as wonderful as breastfeeding has an image problem? Just a few generations ago, breastfeeding was as universal as childbirth. Sadly, this is no longer the case. Advertising campaigns by infant formula manufacturers and the complacence and cooperation of the medical community played an important role in creating this situation. But are there other factors leading to the low public regard for breastfeeding in America? In this speech, Michels explores how our attitudes toward bodily fluids have affected our attitudes towards breastmilk and how our hatred of fat plays a role in our discomfort with women's bodies. By examining the values of our culture, we can come to understand that breastfeeding is too often discussed as a personal, individual choice, but, in fact, the choice of infant foods is a profound reflection of the values and priorities of our culture.

The Culture and Politics of Breastfeeding

This seminar is a lively discussion of why we have the breastfeeding attitudes and statistics we have in America today. We know that breastfeeding rates are on the rise, but a thorough understanding of the dynamics of breastfeeding requires an examination of the context in which it is viewed in this country. What are some of the myths about breastfeeding? What are the subtle and not-so-subtle messages about breastfeeding that new mothers receive? How do the American values of consumerism, technology, and information affect our attitudes toward breastfeeding? What is the impact on our parenting attitudes of a society that stresses independence, autonomy and freedom? And finally, what is the price we pay for living in a culture that has adopted bottle-feeding as the norm?

Extending Attachment Parenting Intimacy into the School Years

Pediatric organizations, medical researchers and mental health professionals have worked hard in the past decades to identify what an infant needs to flourish. Breastfeeding is one of the tools parents have to raise healthy, vibrant, and resilient children. In fact, there are many other ways a parent can encourage a child's growth and success. This presentation introduces the concepts of and strategies for attachment parenting for children of all ages, from infancy through the school years. Topics include the importance of reading and exercising together, grooming rituals, and nature exploration as part of the constellation of activities that trigger intellectual stimulation, sensory contact, and healthy family relationships.

If Your Mom Were a Platypus: What we can learn by studying mammal lactation

A baby mammal can't exist without a mother, it exists only as part of a pair. There are over 4200 species of mammals on our planet and for every one of them - with one exception -- the mothers suckle their young. Breastfeeding is at the core of the process whereby helpless infants mature into self-sufficient adults. Each mammal's milk is unique, containing a combination of water, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, cellular content and anti-infective agents that optimize the growth and development of the young. Dia Michels will discuss what life is like for a variety of mother and baby mammal pairs, how lactation is the crucial bridge between infancy and maturity, how the composition of each mammal's milk is related to the rate of growth of the species, some of the norms and some of the peculiarities of lactation. How is human milk different from the milk of other animals? How is it the same? A colorful presentation in which participants develop a keen sense of what makes mammals special.

The Hunger for Breastmilk

The lecture introduces the concept that you can't look at the task of feeding all the people on our planet without looking at the politics surrounding the first, best and most abundant food. Why are so many hungry babies denied a food that is both nutritious and ample? Michels explores the problem that economists typically analyze shortage issues by using a supply/demand scenario, but this model is useless in explaining why many babies never taste the fluid their mothers' so abundantly produce. What is the relationship between breastmilk and how land is used, how health care resources are spent, and how we treat our environment? Is our nation's alleged commitment to family values helping families make good choices about infant feeding? Why is there a solid commitment to universal use of car seats, vaccinations and lead screening, but not to breastfeeding? How did the federal government become the largest purchaser of infant formula in the country? This powerful speech helps us link the work of breastfeeding promotion to the goal of curbing world hunger.

Breastfeeding Against the Odds

Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world and for many mothers, it is as simple as inserting a nipple into a waiting mouth. But too often, it is not that simple, and the path of motherhood becomes treacherous. What tools do new mothers need to navigate life's twists and turns successfully? Where do we find the strength to protect ourselves and our babies in a culture that is often hostile to breastfeeding and attachment parenting? Who are our heroes? How can we learn from each other's trials and tribulations in order to grow and parent in the ways we value? Breastfeeding Against the Odds is a moving talk about responding to the many obstacles that society throws at breastfeeding moms.

Through the Lens of Lactation: Breastfeeding Benefits Everyone

Breastfeeding may be the single most important way to initiate and sustain a quality life marked by health and longevity. Using data from around the world, Dia Michels describes how breastfeeding impacts entire populations, not just the mother and child. She looks at some of the myths surrounds breastfeeding, describes how extensive the advantages of breastfeeding are, compares both initiation and duration rates around the world, looks at some of the ways breastfeeding is undermined, and examines how lifestyle choices have an impact on breastfeeding success. A wonderful session to understand the long list of benefits across the life cycle that breastfeeding confers.

Breastfeeding: Can Employed Women Do It?

Breastfeeding and gainful employment seem to be an oxymoron. But are they really incompatible? When employers, new mothers, and child care providers work together to make breastfeeding and work possible, everyone wins! Babies are healthier, parents are happier (and in the office more, rather than at home caring for sick babies) and companies have a workforce that focuses better on work. Using models from other countries, Ms Michels discusses strategies for new mothers, supervisors, human resource professionals to make breastfeeding and work a perfect match!

The Business of Breasts

Throughout history and across the world, almost all babies have fed from the breast. Breastfeeding was as universal as pregnancy. But by the early 1970's, only one quarter of new moms in the US even offered the breast to their babies-and those who took it usually fed from the bosom for just a few weeks. Sadly, many American babies never taste breastmilk. Even though breastfeeding initiation rates have risen dramatically in the past 30 years, even today, the typical American baby is weaned before she can hold up her own head! How did we go from a breastfeeding to a bottle-feeding culture? Breasts are big business! In the Unites States, breasts are used to sell everything from cars to soft drinks to sports events. Yet, women who nurse their babies at the mall are accused of indecent behavior and asked to leave. Dia Michels offers a fascinating look at the history of breasts and the decline of breastfeeding in the US.

The Courageous Act of Lifting Your Shirt: Breastfeeding as Political Activism

Generally when we think of trying to address world hunger, we evoke images of corn in Kansas and hungry people in Liberia. The barriers between the food and the hunger include miles, oceans, money, politics, and logistics. But the concept of hunger includes food quality, not just quantity. Family security begins with adequate nutrition and adequate nutrition begins at the breast. Breastmilk is what every baby hungers for. When the issue is breastmilk, the barrier is often nothing more than a shirt. Every woman who breastfeeds is participating in a quiet and peaceful revolution. Every woman who breastfeeds in public is a role model for her sisters, daughters, nieces. Breastfeeding, especially in public is a radical act. The personal is the political.

Controversies in Breastfeeding: A Cultural and Political Analysis

Breastfeeding is so simple. The mother's body produces this abundant, miraculous fluid for the baby who is born anxious to begin suckling. Yet, for the past century, breastfeeding has become increasingly mired in controversy and politics. Whether the issue is Vitamin D, DHA, co-sleeping, guilt, formula promotion, birthing practices, trans fat or "the breast pump requirement," mothers rarely have the information to make a truly informed choice. It is important for lactation professionals to examine the biases and factors that color our approach to decision-making, so we can better understand how we approach the decisions mothers make. As we support an increasing number of women stimulated by the Ad Council efforts, health professionals need to develop a framework to meet their clients as a partner in the parenting and infant feeding process.

Fathers - An Important Part of a Breastfeeding Family

Breastfeeding is considered a woman's issue, yet research shows that the father's stated preference for breastfeeding was found to be the most important factor influencing a woman's decision to breastfeed. Conventional wisdom has it that breastfeeding excludes men, but the reality is that men have a crucial role to play in not only encouraging any individual woman to breastfeed, but also in helping to create a culture in which breastfeeding women are visible, accepted and valued. This workshop looks at the information dads need to help them understand and feel comfortable with breastfeeding, ways to ensure that dads don't feel left out when it comes to baby's mealtime, and give answers to the questions that men worry about most.

Seven Lessons from Seven Ladies

La Leche league is more than just a mother-to-mother breastfeeding support group. For many of us, our connection to League has given us a set of beliefs and values that we use to raise our children, indeed, to live our lives. The seven women who founded League have instilled in us guidance for our decision-making processes. Each mother has to find her own way to parent, and there is no one way that suits everyone. Guiding principles such as, Trust your heart before trusting "experts." Join us as a publisher and a physician discuss the seven lessons they learned from the seven League founders.

If Your Mom Were a Platypus . . . what would you be like? (Educators' Program)

In this interactive and colorful presentation, educators learn how to explore and understand the diversity of the mammal world. By looking at such criteria as locomotion, eating habits, sleep patterns, and water source, educators help children paint a portrait of the biodiversity and species interdependence on this planet. Details about animal reproduction, lactation, sibling relationships, and maturation give graphic examples the similarities and differences among mammals. Hands-on activities stress key concepts and participants learn simple, inexpensive, yet effective ways to present material.

Multiple Learning Experiences from Simple Stories

Creative ways to make picture books and simple stories come alive for children. This workshop will include a hands-on demonstration of activities, crafts, games and songs based on the themes of a story. In Zack in the Middle, for example, children begin to understand the concept of "middle" - from numbers to children in a family to all the good things that come in the middle (like the cream in a sandwich cookie). Participants will have a chance to try some of the activities, take home samples and guides, and brainstorm ideas for actively meeting curriculum objectives through children's literature.

Learning About Your World Through Books

Let children's literature open the door to helping children learn about their community, explore family relationships and responsibilities, and discover multicultural experiences. Literature-based activities drawn from Platypus Media children's books, such as I Was Born to Be a Sister and the Look What I See! Where Can I Be? series. Design simple 'Fun at Home' activity sheets to boost literacy activities by parents. Learn how to help children write stories from their own experience and make their own guessing-game book just like the Look What I See! Where Can I Be? books.

Library Resources that Support Community and Cross-Cultural Connections in the Classroom

What makes a community? It's more than a collection of houses, shops and parking lots. Certain qualities make for strong communities -- sharing, friendship, participation. Young children are learning the "what" of community, older children are exploring the "why" and "how." Find out about books and resources that support learning about community, from services and places to cross-cultural connections, shared values and literacy promotion. Included are hands-on activities, games and crafts that the classroom teacher or librarian can use to support community units in the curriculum.

Supporting Literacy at Home

Parents can be key players on the road to reading. Come to this workshop to learn ways you can help parents support their children's efforts in reading and comprehension. Participants will learn easy games and projects to make reading fun, creative ways to capture your child's attention, ideas to share your own excitement about reading, and new ways to read aloud and read together. Includes making a book based on a child's home, community or other personal experiences. Participants are introduced to books, websites and other resources to encourage reading at home.

Parenting With Children's Books

Reading is not just about developing proficiency in a skill. Reading can help children understand the world around them, expose them to new worlds and give them ways to talk about goals, values and behavior. This workshop gives teachers and parents ways to use children's literature to promote discussion of the way we interact with other people, from siblings to parents to the people we meet at school or in the community. Books are used to help children identify and feel good about their multiple roles in the family, in the community and in the world. Books are also the starting point for hands-on games and projects that encourage parent-child interaction. Participants introduced to books, websites and other resources to encourage reading and other positive interaction at home.

Creating Books for Children: How to Write, Illustrate, and Create a Book for Your Family

You don't need to be a published author to create books. In fact, creating books about your family is a wonderful way to build your child's literacy, imagination, and feeling of family pride and belonging. In this session, successful children's book authors will show numerous ways to create a unique book for and about your family. Book projects not only involve your child in writing, editing, illustrating, and putting together a special story, but they also give you a book to cherish for a lifetime. Learn how to create a family book that honors your traditions and creates family pride for the future. Whether you chose to capture family memories, tell favorite family stories, or showcase family photographs or artwork, a homemade book is a wonderful way to capture the warmth and rituals of your own family-for very little money. This is a good project for home-schooling parents, too.

Building a Family Library

Reading together is a cornerstone in fostering family values and it can begin as soon as a newborn family member comes home. The family library should include favorites from the parents' childhood as well as new books that are sensitive to the expanding world of all children today. Discussion will include finding quality booksellers, utilizing libraries and librarians, and exploring internet resources.

Using Children's Literature to Nourish Sibling Relationships

No home is complete without a collection of treasured children's books. Reading together is a cornerstone of family life. But families committed to closeness don't want to read just any book to the kids at bedtime. This workshop concentrates on the titles that attachment parents want ---books that model the behaviors they value and promote healthy relationships. Find out about books that portray siblings who get along, learn how to resolve conflicts, overcome challenges, and use their family experiences to grow and mature. The elements of book selection introduced in this workshop are useful not only for the home library and for new families who want to learn about attachment parenting, but also for La Leche League libraries serving health professionals.

Raising a Creative, Imaginative, Inventive Child

The latest pitch for infant formula claims you can give your child the mind of a scientist. Any breastfeeding mother knows there are better ways to build literacy and encourage your child's natural creative thought processes than by feeding infant formula. This session provides ideas and activities to inspire and intrigue your children. Learn ways to foster confidence, ambition, and energy from two authors of children's books who present creativity exercises for every age. Nothing more is required than a desire to spend time with your child. We will show you how to incorporate science into mealtimes, how to add inventiveness to playtime, and how to inject creativity and literacy into each day. A perfect session for learning how to maximize fun and the education.

Programs for Families

If Your Mom Were a Platypus . . . what would you be like? (Family Program)

A colorful, hands-on workshop about mammal families for human families. Children's science writer Dia L. Michels shares insights about the behaviors and characteristics of young mammals from her book, If My Mom Were a Platypus: Animal Babies and Their Mothers. Using a combination of examples, illustrations and activities, Michels explores how different mammals reproduce, survive and learn. Sharing life cycle stories from animals as varied as platypuses, koalas, whales, elephants, bats and shrews, this workshop helps children understand similarities and differences between mammals. Children will do hands-on activities and games to demonstrate different topics and take home arts & crafts that teach survival skills. Themes including adaptations, anatomy, habitats, reproduction, health, and classification will be included. Each children will receive an autographed copy of If My Mom Were a Platypus to take home as part of this workshop.

Look What I See! Where Can I Be?

Gather round for storytime fun as we share the adventures and explorations of Baby in the delightful series, Look What I See! Where Can I Be? Listen to the story, guess where the Baby is, find the hidden objects, and marvel at all the different ways babies are carried in these innovative, beautifully photographed concept books that delight small children as much as they entertain their parents. Author Dia Michels leads kids through the explorations of the world as Baby discovers her home and community, secure in the embrace of those who love her. Fun for the whole family!

A Celebration of Brothers - and Sisters, too!

How can parents help an older child adjust to the new baby? What is it like for the older sibling when a new baby arrives on the scene? Listen and watch as child authors, Zaydek and Akaela Michels-Gualtieri, read books they have written. I Was Born to be a Brother by Zaydek Michels-Gualtieri and I Was Born to be a Sister by Akaela Michels-Gualtieri. Each book chronicles the older sibling's journey through the joys and exasperations of adapting to a younger sibling. Then warm up your vocal cords as we learn the words to the original songs I Was Born to be a Brother and I Was Born to be a Sister. Finally, join in on a lively discussion about birth order.

Making a Book: Understanding the Process

How do words and pictures go from draft to a book? What are the steps involved in putting together a book. Author and publisher Dia Michels and author, Akaela Michels-Gualtieri, discuss how books get conceived and edited, how artists get selected, how illustrations get modified, how the design, assembly, and printing process works. Students will see original artwork, see galleys of books in progress, see samples of editing, and learn about photo retouching. A great session for kids interested in making their own books.

From Pen to Printed Page

Professional illustrator Marcy Dunn Ramsey tells her own story of meeting the family featured in I Was Born to Be a Sister, drawing tiny pictures of them with pencil, then larger pictures to be painted. Marcy uses all of her original materials for this book in the presentation.

Animal Families: How families are the same? How families are different?

Humans are social creatures who raise their children in family units. The Golden Lion Tamerin monkeys are, too. The male in the Dingo family sees to it that the pup is prepared for the real world, just as a human dad might. On the other hand, a polar bear cub never knows who her father is, and a mother lion will nurse any cub that suckles on her. Come to this family session to see how your family is similar to many wild animal families - and how it is different. Craft projects and hands-on activities will help demonstrate many of the topics and give kids a souvenir to take home.

Name That Mammal!

Some questions are easy: What is a baby kangaroo called? A group of what mammal is called a pride? What mammal has the genus and species name - Homo sapiens? But some questions aren't as easy: What mammal has the longest migration? What is the primary food of the giant panda bear? Which of the following animals is not a dog - Dingo, Prairie Dog, Dachshund? Some questions aren't easy at all: What mammal has the slowest metabolism? Why do koala bears smell like cough drops? From what mammalian milk is genuine mozzarella cheese made? Whether the questions are easy or hard, trying to answer them is always fun …when you're playing Name That Mammal!! Join us for a fun and educational family event playing Name That Mammal!! Have a great time while you learn about the world of mammals and find out about the diversity of how mammals eat, sleep, and learn from birth to maturity. The questions get harder as the competition heats up - and prizes are awarded to all players.

Babies and Mothers, Mothers and Babies: How Animals Care for Their Young

Using colorful markers and pastels, master animal illustrator Andrew Barthelmes (illustrator of If My Mom Were a Platypus) shares the fount of knowledge he has accumulated bout how animals care for their young in New York City, in the jungles of Borneo and in the icy waters of Antarctica. Sketching as he speaks, he describes the birth, nurture and loving relationship between mother and child across the mammal spectrum, from the tiny shrew to the huge whale. He shows with a dozen examples how regardless of the species, caring for young is a special mandate for all living creatures.

Sharing the World with my Animal Friends

In this hands-on workshop, children will explore the world of animals in their everyday lives. Focusing on animals that kids see at a petting zoo, nature center, aquarium -- or in their own backyard -- they will learn about how they are born, learn and survive. Dia L. Michels, a popular lecturer and science writer, uses her acclaimed children's book Look What I See! Where Can I Be? With My Animal Friends as a launching pad for children to further their understanding of the animals around them. Hands-on activities and demonstrations include making an edible butterfly while learning about its anatomy, tasting goat's milk and comparing it to cow's milk, measuring a child's height in hands (just like a horse), understanding camouflage, and learning how dolphins adjust the air in their lungs to maneuver through the water. Each child will create their own touch-and-feel "Look What I See! Animals" book. All participants will receive an autographed copy of Michel's Look What I See! Where Can I Be? With My Animals Friends to take home.

Exploring China and Chinese New Year

Young children will welcome "the year of the monkey" in a hands-on workshop that uses science, arts and crafts, and math activities to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Children's author Dia L. Michels will read from her just published Look What I See! Where Can I Be? Visiting China. Then, through demonstrations and hands-on activities, children will be introduced to several Chinese New Year traditions including the giving of red Lai-See envelopes in which children receive good luck money; the lantern festival; fireworks; and dragon dances. Projects include dyeing paper red and then folding it into an envelope, making colorful paper lanterns, creating a fireworks painting, and making dragon shadow puppets. Michels will also tell stories of the monkey king, one of the most popular characters in Chinese opera. In honor of the year of the monkey, children will create their own monkey masks to take home. All participants will receive an autographed copy of Look What I See! Where Can I Be? Visiting China to take home.

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