Baby Massage - a way to get to know your baby
Over the past few years I have worked with loads of mums & dads who recognised that they struggled with getting to know their baby! There is so much emphasis placed on getting everything ready for baby; all the material things that may be needed like cot blankets, bumpers, nappies, bottles, dummies, formula, clothes, etc. Then the books and don't forget googling the different colour baby's poop could be and if it is normal, the different skin rashes, etc.
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Story 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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Top 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.
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TURNING INTO MUM
I’ve never dreamed of having a baby. My husband did. I dreamed of having a career and being the CEO of a very large corporate by the time I’m 40. I liked my busy lifestyle. Flying around, meeting important people and giving advice on things that were and felt a lot bigger than me. So I agonised over, what everyone assured me, was going to be a complete change in my life and that you can “forget your career”. I was scared.
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Whats 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.
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Flying with expressed breastmilk
The last few years there have been a few highly publicised cases of women being made to discard or taste test their hard pumped liquid gold breastmilk when travelling through security or customs when flying. The vast majority of mum’s encounter no issues but its best to educate yourself on your rights as a breastfeeding/ pumping mother and the rules of travelling with expressed breast milk (EBM), so you are confident if you come across any problems.
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6 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.
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Immunising Your Kids Against Cyber bullying
Our kids are living in a modern world where cyber bullies are rife. I hear mums worrying this Internet age where our children are so susceptible to other people’s opinions.
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10 TOP TIPS for working from home with children:
Working from home is great! BUT can be a challenge when you have children under 5 years old. Or what about when the school holidays roll around? The kids are on holidays, but you may not necessarily be!
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Empowering Adolescents: The Psychological Benefits of Rites of Passage
Weaving these ancient practices into our modern lives is more than just a nod to tradition
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Battling 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.
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How to Deal with Loneliness in 3 Step Process
Loneliness is a feeling that we try and avoid. The most intense feeling of loneliness I remember was as a child sitting in a classroom full of people. I vividly remember the feeling scared by its power. From that day onward I tried to avoid any negative emotions. But now I understand what created that feeling of loneliness. I know some tools to relieve some of that emotional discomfort and I have learned how to move forward when I feel lonely. I’m going to teach you these things today.
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How 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.
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Perfection. 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.
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Women 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.
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How to add value to your home?
The average Australian lawn is 130m2, so you should pay around $1000-1500 for new grass without any labour costs. Based on around 130m2, you are looking at $2.50-3/m2 for installation if you don’t do it yourself. The cheapest option is to do the work yourself. The only thing it will cost you is your time. Do realise it isn’t simply a case of plonking the turf down and walking away.
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What Guitar Should I buy?
Most our students start with a 3/4 size guitar. We have many in our studios.
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Amazing listening in under a minute!
START DOING THESE FIVE THINGS AND YOU’LL HAVE AMAZING LISTENERS IN UNDER A MINUTE! DON’T BELIEVE ME? GO TRY! As a behaviour consultant with almost fifteen years of experience working with families....
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Existing 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.
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It 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.
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