Robin Grille: But when they experience violence in the family or if they are hit a lot, later on this produces a stress hormone, well a number of stress hormones, the main one is cortisol. The human body is built to be able to tolerate cortisol as long as the stress will go down soon and there is something comforting and soothing.

When children are exposed to stress that does not get easier for hours, cortisol levels get very, very high and they remain high in the body. That is when you got to really worry because high cortisol levels are for a period of time they are neurotoxic, which means they start to literally kill brain cells. They kill brain cells in the part of the brain that regulates emotions and helps us to be empathic, caring individuals. That is how the brain gets reshaped towards the brain that will be more anxious or a brain that will be more depressed or a brain that will be more violent.

Suddenly, we are starting to realize that the parenting environment and the social environment that a child has ... the word environment is the all important thing and the implications are very, very powerful that if we want it more peaceful, if we want a society that is more caring of their natural environment, more sustainable in its development, if we want a society that is more observant of human rights and more just and egalitarian, we are not going to get that unless we reform childhood and unless we give mothers and fathers far more support than what we can give them today.

Carrie Lauth: Yes. I believe that. Well, please let our listeners know where they can get your book.

Robin Grille: Yes, for American readers and Canadian readers, my book is available from a website called The Natural Child Project. You can order it online. It is called Parenting for a Peaceful World and the web address is www.naturalchild.org.

[Parenting for a Peaceful World is also available on Amazon.com]

Carrie Lauth: Well, I just thought that your book was fantastic and I am looking forward to finishing the last couple of chapters. I have so many pages dog-eared because they are very meaningful to me personally just looking at my own children and people that I know who have had those experiences in childhood and how that has manifested itself into their adult experience. It is just a wonderful book and I thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us.

Robin Grille: It has been a real pleasure talking with you, Carrie, and I really appreciate the opportunity, thank you.
 

Robin Grille