Travelling with kids can be a challenge at the best of times and, up until now, finding age appropriate activities, restaurants with healthy kid's menus, and family-friendly accommodation in Australia has been a case of trial and error.

Kids Welcome to Queensland is the first in a series of guidebooks designed especially for families. It enables parents to choose appropriate experiences without wasting valuable time. Queensland is broken into seven geographic areas. In each region, activities, attractions, tours, eating establishments, places to stay and events are identified that suit people travelling with children. A unique ‘traffic light' rating system indicates suitability in three different age groups - preschool, primary and teen and a companion website provides updates to the book, free downloadable treasure hunts and parent travel forums.

There is no other guide focused on family travel and this book is destined to be a stable on the shelf of families. The A5 format fits in the glove box on a family road trip, or slides in a handbag. In a no-nonsense, conversational style, Kids Welcome to Queensland takes the guess work out of a family holiday. Kids Welcome to NSW and ACT will be published early in 2011.

Features:
Easy to read reviews of activities, attractions, tours and restaurants
Contact numbers and websites accompany each review
Full colour images
Traffic light rating system indicates suitability for preschool, primary and teen
HEMA maps
Checklist of family friendly accommodation and campsites
Playgrounds, beaches and events you won't find easily online
Seven geographic sections from Brisbane to Cape York covering all of Queensland
Travel games, advice for travel

About the Author - Sarah Pye

Sarah Pye's life reads like an adventure novel. Her parents took her out of school at the age of 12 to sail around the world. Eight years later, already a qualified commercial boat captain, she left her floating home in the Caribbean to study tourism in California. An adventurous soul, Sarah has run a restaurant and a whale watch boat in Hawaii, canoed through the Canadian wilderness, created a Queensland Tourism Award winning tourism company in the Whitsundays and even found time to have a family.

In 2005 Sarah woke up one night with a passion for writing about travelling with kids. Not to let the whim pass her by, she enrolled in a Master of Communication degree at USC to learn to write. It took three years to complete her degree and along the way she ran her own brochure production business, worked as a writer at the Sunshine Coast Daily, started tutoring in journalism at USC and became the editor of Kids on the Coast magazine. IN October 2009, Sarah's first guidebook Kids Welcome to Queensland was launched at the Ginger Factory in Yandina. Now distributed nationally, it has been called "A must for every glovebox" by Sunshine Coast councillor Debbie Blumel and one of "Five top travel books" by News Limited newspapers. Kids Welcome to Queensland was feature on the Great Southeast on February 14, 2010.

Earth Hour is organised by WWF.  WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature.

Earth Hour 2011 will take place on Saturday 26 March at 8.30PM (local time).  All you need to do is turn off all your lights for that hour and together we contribute to a more sustainable Earth and healthier future for our children.

This Earth Hour WWF want us to go beyond the hour, so after the lights go back on think about what else you can do to make a difference. Together our actions add up.

Whether you are an individual, a business, a school or a city, Earth Hour 2011 is your Earth Hour. And you can show your support for the planet in the following ways:

1. Turning off your lights at 8.30PM on March 26 2011 wherever you are in the world and sign up on the Earth Hour website to let us know them know you will be taking part.
2. Run your own Earth Hour event, street or house party with friends and family. Add your event to our the Earth Hour website global meetup map.
3. Take Earth Hour beyond the Hour by taking action for the planet.
4. Tell the world through social media, blogs and websites.
5. Encourage your local government or community groups to run earth Hour in your region.
6. Rally your office or business to get involved.
7. Make a lantern on the Earth Hour website and send it your friends

For more information about what you or your organization can do to support Earth Hour, check out www.earthhour.org.

No, I'm not talking about you!

I'm talking about Hairy Nosed-Wombat whose favourite scratching tree has been chopped down!

This is a fantastic children's book with a great message.

You can join our marsupial hero on an itchity, scratchity adventure as he tries to find the perfect place to scratch his butt.

Hugely entertaining with a comical rhyme that children will be able to join in with, Hairy Nose, Itchy Butt is a children's delight featuring a very cute - and very endangered - Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat.

Featuring factual information on the wombats and beautiful illustrations by Australian illustrator, Garry Duncan, this book is certain to entertain whilst deliver a very important environmental message of the impact of construction and deforestation on Hairy-Nosed habitats.

Part proceeds also go towards Wombat conservation which means by purchasing the book you're doing your bit too!

Copies avaiable in all good bookstores.

What's in your kid's lunchbox?

New Truefood Guide gives parents choice  

Truefood Guide launched their children's edition this week and are absolutely over the moon to announce that Kellogg's has done a 180-degree turn. The food giant contacted us today at the last minute and committed to phase out all GM ingredients over the next year. 

The exciting news comes just days after Greenpeace exposed Kellogs use of genetically modified corn ingredients in their popular K-Time twists in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Kellogg's joins Snackbrands Australia - makers of CC's, Samboy, Cheezels and Thins - and SPC beans and spaghetti, who committed to stop using GM ingredients for the first time this year.

"Food companies know that Australians don't want to eat GM, so it makes business sense for these companies to assure us GM isn't lurking in their products," said Greenpeace GM campaigner, Laura Kelly. "

 Unfortunately, Aussie favourites Kraft Vegemite and Smith's chips are still rated 'red' and may contain GM.

The Truefood Guide will be launched this morning with Sydney's top celebrity chefs, Murray Cook from The Wiggles, parents and farmers. We'll be joining together at one of Sydney's most popular dining destinations, Danks Street Depot, to take action against genetically modified (GM) organisms contaminating our food.

The new guide is a special kids edition - helping Aussie parents know if they're feeding their children GM food, which hasn't been proven safe to eat. The Truefood Guide aims to fill the gap left by Australia's poor food labelling laws.

"Kids are the most susceptible to the potential and untested health impacts of GM ingredients and this will be the first generation of Aussie children dealing with a lifetime exposure to GM" said Greenpeace GM campaigner, Laura Kelly.

Another popular family dinner choice, chicken, is the only product rated red for almost all brands. The problem with Australia's chicken is it's mostly fed GM soy and the research increasingly shows that GM DNA stays in the animal's organs, muscles and blood.

Coles and Woolworths - the biggest purchases of chicken - are in a position to rule out this GM contamination. Yet they refuse to heed consumer concerns. In fact, Woolworths is rated red on everything in the Truefood Guide.

And it's not just supermarket shoppers who are concerned. The widespread support of our new guide - from celebrity chefs, to farmers, to senators like Nick Xenophon - shows that GM is an issue that needs urgent attention.

We have a right to feed our family food that is safe, healthy and doesn't cost the earth. The government must respect this right and improve Australia's GM labelling laws and stop the spread of more GM crops.

Until then, make sure you hit the shops armed with our latest Truefood

For those living in Sydney, wanting to explore available choices in natural birth and parenting, this is the perfect event for you!

 Birth Choices Expo

Petersham Town Hall

Sunday April 3 2011.  Free entry.

Your natural birth begins long, long before you feel the first hints of labour.  Birth Choices Expo at Petersham Town Hall  (cnr Of Crystal St and Frederick St) on April 3rd 2011 is the one stop place to start to gather this information.

1pm -5pm FREE ENTRY!

Pregnancy and Parenting can be overwhelming physically and mentally with lots of decisions and choices to be made; Birth Choices Expo is a unique opportunity for women & families to meet a range of highly experienced birth professionals and obtain information on how to have a great pregnancy and birth, and natural parenting all in one evening in a supportive and fun community event. 

We have four interactive talks on the day, tickets can be purchased in advance from the Birth Choices website:  

Birth Choices, How to sort through the choices available - Michelle Meares

Planning a  Natural Birth & Harnessing Natural Pain Management - Erika Elliot

The Secret to Wellness during Pregnancy - Nimrod Weiner

Preparing a healthier body for pregnancy: Detoxify your life - Sonia Walker

Find us on  Facebook and  join the great  prize give away leading up to the event! www.birthchoiceexpo.com.au