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Activities

The Benefits of Swimming: You and Your Child Should Get Along “Swimmingly”

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RNLI lifeguard offering safety advice

Did you know there are many benefits to swimming? Bucknell University lists 9 physical benefits:

  • Improved flexibility
  • Increased endurance
  • Muscular balance
  • Heart strength
  • Improved physique
  • Increased circulation
  • Rehabilitates muscle
  • Improves ease of weight management
  • Low impact on weight bearing joints

All these are important, but for your children swimming is just plain fun.  What are some reasons to get your kids in the water and create a healthy habit for life?

Safe from the start

Helping your child overcome their natural fear of water comes from a safe and stress-free introduction to swimming.  Seeking out your local Red Cross approved swimming program will give you an age appropriate entry point.  From babies to adults, there are first timer programs that will ease their way into swimming, by developing proper techniques and safety consciousness.  Their ability to react calmly to situations in the water, because of good basic safety skills, could save their life or the lives of others. [Read more…] about The Benefits of Swimming: You and Your Child Should Get Along “Swimmingly”

Make This Christmas Memorable

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As a parent, you shape how your children will remember Christmas. Will it be a time for hosting friends and throwing lavish parties? Will it be a family-only affair? Are there certain movies you’ll always watch? Activities that you’ll always do, and food you’ll always eat?

Before you answer those questions, you might want to examine what will make the holidays brighter for youngsters. Pick and choose from this list and include your own ideas for new traditions to give your kids the best holiday ever!

Make ornaments every yearChristmas Tree

You can obviously go the macaroni or construction paper route, but it’s also fun to have kids do a more lasting ornament. Buy clear bulbs, or simply bleach out the insides of a colored bulb that you no longer have a set for. Give kids their choice of photos of them from the year to put inside the ornament and let them pick ribbon colors. Roll up the photo, insert it inside the bulb with tweezers and then let it unfold naturally. Add a curled ribbon behind the photo to hold it upright. You’ll have a matching set of ornaments that will hold great memories.

Decorate the tree

So many families miss out on decorating the tree together. If your family tends to get frustrated at certain aspects, simply remove those obstacles. Fans of not having to string lights can look into pre-lit models, and those who hate the trek in the cold to find a tree can get an artificial Christmas tree. Let kids take turns picking out ornaments, and make sure they don’t try to put any glass ornaments too high above their heads!

Go on a Christmas lights tour

Your neighbors work hard to decorate their yards — it’s time to take an evening to appreciate that! Make hot chocolate in thermoses and pile in the car to get a sample of the local Christmas creativity. End the evening by driving to the center of town, or wherever the best lights in your area are. Kids will love listening to holiday music and pointing out the best lights.

Have a traditional dinner

Dinner is always too rushed. This year, set your family down for one nice meal where no one texts during the meal. Use the fancy china (you or your partner can serve the meal if you’re worried about the nice dishes!), and teach the kids which forks to use. The evening can be multicourse and have a dessert at the end, or you can just make your usual favorites and put it in a flashier package. Either way will be special!

Help the community

Teach kids the meaning of the season, whether it’s about love or a religious aspect. Your family can work in a soup kitchen or food pantry in the weeks before Christmas, or plan a visit to a nursing home to cheer up lonely residents. You can also participate in an “Adopt a Family” campaign, and assign one of your children the job of picking out and wrapping a child in need’s gift. This will help them learn the importance of giving and make them appreciate what they have. You can find a family to donate to through local organizations or your local United Way.

This holiday can stand out from the others, or begin a series of new traditions, with a little prep work. Make this holiday special for the kids and learn to enjoy it more yourself by picking activities that will be fun for your whole family.

The fake mustache: A fun new take on a kid’s party theme

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The fake mustache is all the rage these days – whether an irreverent accessory or silly sticker, the mustache is popping up almost everywhere. Adults and kids alike enjoy its appeal, so if you’re looking for a fun theme for your child’s next birthday party, consider the mustache!

First impressions

Who says kids are the only ones allowed to have fun at their birthday parties? Don a fake mustache sticker and guests will be laughing as soon as they see you (keep a straight, serious face for further comedic effect).   [Read more…] about The fake mustache: A fun new take on a kid’s party theme

Ways to Support Kids in their Music Lessons

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Now that summer is here, many parents are again thinking of what activities to provide their small kids. Some are thinking about sports while the others would like their children to be involved in music lessons.

Parents who prefer music lessons are normally those who also have an interest in music or who, as a kid, were also music-oriented. So how can you determine then if your son or daughter likes music?

The first step is to observe your child. A parent should know if his kid likes music when he or she watches a music video attentively or stops, listen and makes actions whenever he or she hears music. For the older kids, they may hum or sing along with a tune that they’ve been hearing over and over again. Or you may just be surprised to hear your kid tell you “I want to learn to play the piano or the guitar, Mom!”
[Read more…] about Ways to Support Kids in their Music Lessons

Expecting Mums: Games To Keep You Busy

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This post is dedicated to our reader, Betty, who is expecting her baby next month. For many mothers-to-be, the last month or so of pregnancy can be the hardest period for many reasons. If you are a working mother, and you get to stay at home during the last couple of months (or even the last month) of pregnancy, the respite from work is very much welcome. After a while, though, you might find yourself wanting to do something – anything – to help you kill time. Even if you’re a stay at home mom (and maybe even more so), you might be interested in alternative ways to bide your time while you wait for your bundle of joy to arrive.

Here are some web sites that you might like if you’re the type who would want to spend some time on the computer playing games.

Fupa.com is a web site that features tons of flash games. They have a parenting section, which has many alternatives to choose from. Some of the more interesting ones that I saw are Childs Play Word Search Game and Parenting Word Search Game, which I think are perfect if you’re the kind that likes word games – and I sure do. There are also games for little kids, which are pretty safe for your tiny ones. You do, however, have to register for FREE. It’s like an online community of its own, with some benefits.

Another fun site that I discovered is BabyYum.com. There is just one game – Baby Yum. It’s a pretty easy flash game, where you can practice your multi-tasking skills. I love the stork, which is actually your character. For some reason, the game reminded me of that old Game & Watch game where you caught eggs that fell off the shelves, which you can find left and right. Maybe it’s the set up of the graphics. In any case, I think this is a great game to play when you have some free time.

Of course, there are other countless games that you can play online – not necessarily parenting games, but still games that are worth your while. And, if you’re on Facebook (I know very few people who aren’t), you can have all the games that you want to keep yourself busy. If you like cooking, go for Restaurant City and Café World. If you’re into fantasy, try Castle Age.

For you mums who are not into games, what do you suggest?

Alternatives To Television

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I remember the days when the television was NOT the first option to keep children occupied. Back then, there were so many things that children could do in their spare time and not bother mommy or daddy. Today, it is sad to say that many parents (and even nannies) turn to the black box to keep the children quiet and behaved. Now I am not saying that the TV is all bad. We do have a lot of good shows for children, and with DVDs being the norm, we have even more choices on hand.

Still, I am a firm believer in engaging children in other activities and not letting the TV run their lives. While I find the TV useful and entertaining, I also think that children should be exposed to many other activities. There is a whole world of ideas and values to be learned in so many other ways, don’t you think? So, here’s a list of my alternatives to watching TV.

Stickers! There is no doubt about it – children LOVE stickers. Both boys and girls have this thing for stickers so you really should stock up on them. There are a lot of stickers that you can buy in bookstores – whenever you see some that you think your children would like, just grab a bunch. Also make sure that you have a blank notebook where your children could put the stickers. Otherwise, you might end up with stickers on the walls, on the furniture, and even the fish tank! To encourage creativity, tell your children to make up their own story with the stickers. Another idea is to buy sticker books. They have all sorts of themes – dinosaurs, gadgets, and more. Choose the ones that will interest your children and bring the books out when necessary.

Match colors…sock colors, that it. With several children in the house, I have tons of socks to pair up after washing. Instead of doing it myself, I can actually enlist the kids’ help. Toddlers who know the basic colors are excellent helpers. Just ask them to pick out matching pairs and put them together. Older kids will even be able to wrap or bind them up together. That’s killing two birds with one stone, don’t you think?

Audio books! I love to read and I love listening to audio books. I think my children should have the same passion as well. With any mp3 player, they can listen to all the stories they want. It’s better than TV because listening to stories can help sharpen their imagination as well as their comprehension skills.

So what’s on your list of activities?