PACKING A HEALTHY SCHOOL LUNCH BOX
Did you know that over a school year, parents will pack approximately 200 lunch boxes per child!! With a third of a child’s total daily food intake being consumed at school, it is important that what you include in your child’s lunch box provides all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals needed for energy, growth and learning. After all, packing a healthy lunchbox every day is one of the most important things you can do to help support your child’s energy levels, behaviour, focus, and ability to learn. No pressure, right?
Read moreHow To Survive Mother's Day With A Difficult Mother
Some adult daughters have difficult relationships with their mum, still seeking their mother’s approval for their career, for their love interests, for her acceptance and unconditional love. They revert to being a child in their mother’s presence, wanting mum to nurture and encourage them, maintaining hope that mum will hold the little girl in her lap of tenderness, stroking her fondly, speaking gently from doting mother to her adoring child. This is the fantasy that adult daughters dream about.
Read moreDo you know all the Health Benefits of DanceSport for Children and Teens?
Since in competitive Ballroom and Latin Dancing, a boy and a girl work together as a couple from an early age, it also allows boys to learn how to communicate with girls, learn to work in a team, develop leadership skills and a desire for victory.
Read moreIt Takes A Village To Keep Kids Safe
After recently completing the very informative and at times confronting Child Safety Training from the Office of The Children’s Guardian (OCG) I am even more compelled to ensure child safety is put at the forefront of my dance school and encourage other dance school owners to do the same.
Read moreWomen and Super
I was recently having a chat over coffee with a group of other Mums in business (truthfully I was doing a bit of market research) and I asked them if they felt that they had less super savings than they should have considering their ages and stages. A conversation then followed about the gender pay-gap, taking time out of the workforce to raise a family and finding yourself sole breadwinner due to either illness or relationship breakdown.
Read moreBattling the Baby Eczema Blues
Summer is over, autumn leaves have fallen from the trees and winter has arrived. Winter is a challenging time for families. Not only do you worry about making sure everyone is keeping warm, avoiding the sniffles and trying to find activities for those wet and windy days. But trying to manage your family’s skin as well? Especially if any of you suffer from dry skin, eczema or dermatitis.
Read moreExisting in Photographs
Existing in photographs – it’s a thing and it’s important. So many of us duck, dodge, dip and dive when a camera is pointed our way. Who wants to be immortalised when we’re not feeling our most beautiful? We’re not as young as we used to be.. We’re having a fat day, a bad hair day, I couldn’t be bothered getting out of my tracksuit pants day… We have this bizarre notion that somehow we’ll be judged for how we look in photos or that we’re not worth capturing unless we can be Vanity Fair perfect.
Read moreHow to Regulate your Emotions: A Critical Skill for Parents and Children
Most would agree that there is not a parent among us who doesn’t have days where they feel overwhelmed by the pressures of being a parent or primary carer. No matter who you are, where you come from or what you do, parenting is a great equaliser and at one time or another, we all have those moments where we struggle to control our emotions during times of stress or pressure. We may end up reacting in ways we do not like and later feel overwhelmed by regret.
Read moreYour Kids Should Not be the most Important in the Family
I saw an article titled “Your Kids Should Not be Most the Important in the Family” and it made me feel lots of things. Defensive, angry, upset but I also agreed with the statement. Parenting doesn’t come with a manual. I’ve tried to follow a few cheat sheets - attachment parenting, conscious parenting, the Montessori approach… No matter how hard I tried, how hard I researched, I never felt like I was the best mum I could be. I just needed to try harder. Right?
Read moreWhats Behind the Popularity of Martial Arts Fitness among Australia's Youth?
Kids in Australia are drawn to Martial Arts Fitness for its unique blend of fitness and discipline, focus on health and wellness, self-defense empowerment, stress relief, sense of community, cultural appreciation, and the diversity of available styles.
Read moreWhat is The Buteyko Breathing Method?
'Is disease driving the breath, or is the breath driving disease?'
Read more7 Tips to Improve Your Child’s Difficult Behaviour
Try to be calm when a negative behaviour arises. If you react to your child’s misbehaviour, you will either have a big fight on your hands or your child will learn that if they get a reaction to a specific behaviour, they will repeat that behaviour next time. To diffuse rising tension, turn towards your child and talk in a quiet and firm voice.
Read moreEmpowering Adolescents: The Psychological Benefits of Rites of Passage
Weaving these ancient practices into our modern lives is more than just a nod to tradition
Read more‘Preschool Near Me’ - The Search Battle Between Convenience and Quality
How often does the over-caring mother type in the Google search bar “child care near me” in the hopes of finding a childcare centre which is ‘just around the corner’ and also possesses all of the finest quality options a childcare can offer?
Read more6 Tips for Hosting Your Own Pony Party
Talk with your son or daughter and get an idea of what they expect. You may need to point out that “more” isn’t always “merrier”! Some of the best parties we’ve seen are small in number, that is, less than 10 guests. As the saying goes “their age plus one” is how many invitations should go out! But, if it is going to be the whole class, you may want to organise some extra party activities in addition to the ponies.
Read morePerfection. Is it Paralysing You?
Just notice how often you don’t start because you are scared that it won’t be perfect. How often you feel angry or frustrated because things are not going perfectly.
Read moreYour Perception Is Your Reality!
“I’m not what I think I am, I’m not what you think I am, I’m what I think you think I am”. As confusing as this quote from Cooley is, it is the way most of us live our lives. We seem to be caught in the external trap of judgment of what we think others think which in turn sets our own limited way of thinking.
Read moreFrom Kickabouts to Competitions: The Thrilling World of Kids' Soccer
Of course, there are challenges to playing soccer at any age. Injuries can occur, and competition can be intense. However, by providing a safe and supportive environment for kids to develop their skills, these challenges can be minimized. Kids who play soccer learn valuable lessons about teamwork, resilience, and sportsmanship that will serve them well both on and off the field.
Read moreTop 10 things to buy before your first baby is born
As I write this, I am almost 19 weeks pregnant with my first child. So I know how you feel. Even for someone super organised, who loves spending hours doing research, Excel tables comparing the pros and cons, it is overwhelming. And if I was given $1 for everytime someone well-meaning told me “you have to get this type of pram, you can’t call them that or you must do this”, my unborn child would have a very healthy trust fund.
Read moreStory time – when books trump technology
We’re hearing more and more lately about the importance of reading to and with children; and its impact on language and literacy. Whilst more concrete evidence now exists of the impact on a child’s cognitive skills and the associated flow-on effects throughout their lives, it has been no secret that reading to and with children is a good idea. However, an abundance of technology, combined with the increasingly busy lives of families, mean that many simply aren’t finding the time.
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