Bathing Your Toddler

For most households bath times are either great fun or an ordeal that has to be endured. Most children love to have a bath, in fact the tears come when it’s time to get out. Once your child grows to be a toddler having a bath is a great opportunity to have one-on-one time with you, especially if you have other children.

Even though your child can now sit up, children drown silently in very little water so never leave your child in the bath alone. Scalding is another hazard in bathrooms, so make sure the taps are turned off securely so the hot water can’t be accidentally knocked on. If possible have a thermostat installed on your hot water system or turn your existing thermostat down to fifty degrees Celsius. 

Some children are afraid of the sound of water as it is sucked down the drain and this can make them fearful that they will also be pulled down into the murky pipes and lost. Wait until your child is out of the bath before you pull the plug and if they are concerned about getting in the bath, why not have baths with them until they’re more confident?

Making your toddler’s bath time fun and relaxing can help ensure that bath time at your place isn’t an ordeal.

Choosing a School for Your Children

Finding the perfect school for kids can be a daunting prospect for some parents. One thing to bear in mind is that there is simply no such thing as the perfect school. What you should really be looking for is the perfect school for your kids: which would be a school that will meet their needs, engage them and cater to their particular strengths and interests.

What are your expectations?

Make a list of the type of education you want your child to receive, as well as the types of values and ideals you want the school to emphasize. This can be invaluable in selecting the right school.

Look for recommendations

It's a great idea to source perspectives from parents, as well as from students attending a particular school. You can search online to find valuable information and feedback, or simply use your existing friendship networks to get an idea of who is happy with the education being provided by a particular school and why.

Visit the school

It's difficult to get a feel for a school without actually seeing it in person. While the grand private school down the road might seem impressive or the local public school warm and friendly, it's hard to tell whether it's right for your kids without actually taking the time to check out the grounds and facilities, and chat to the teachers and staff. Open days and working bee days are great for doing this.

Children spend so many hours at school and changing schools can be disruptive, so it’s worth being thorough when it comes to selecting a school.

Does Your Child Suffer from Night Terrors?

Night terrors are not the same as night mares. Night terrors are not a common occurrence in children but if they do occur it is usually in children between eighteen months and six years of age.  Night terrors can be extremely distressing for you, but despite appearances, they are not distressing for your child. 

The reason for this is that night terrors usually occur in the first few hours after going to bed when your child is in very deep sleep. Unlike a nightmare, your child remains asleep during the whole event; even if they are thrashing, walking, screaming or have their eyes open. In the morning they will have no memory of having had the night terror.

Night terrors are quite normal and nothing to be concerned over. They will usually go away by themselves as your child develops a more mature sleep pattern. If your child suffers night terrors don’t try to wake them up - they will only be disorientated and confused. Trying to console them is also futile as they are not conscious of your efforts. If they are thrashing, make sure that they are safe and not going to hurt themselves. Once they stop thrashing guide them back to bed and tuck them in, and they will usually slip back into a calm sleep state quite quickly.

If you’re concerned about the frequency or duration of your child’s night terrors, speak to your family doctor about it.

Healthy Food Ideas for Kids from Mother's Blog to keep kids Healthy and Active

Mothers face daily challenges as they struggle to take care of their child and find a way to be the best parent they can.We should all know about healthy eating, but you’d be surprised at how many people know almost nothing about the foods they and their kids eat . It’s important that everyone learn about eating healthy and which foods should be avoided, at least most of the time.

There are many nutrients that you need to have in your diet, and one of the most important is protein, which is a natural source of energy and helps our muscles to grow and be healthy. Protein is necessary for healing soft tissues following injuries and other trauma, and each and every cell in our bodies relies on protein to function properly.

Getting Your Kids To Eat Healthy Foods

For many mothers, one of the biggest challenges in raising their children is getting them to eat healthy. For some reason, kids really have an aversion to anything nutritious. Maybe it is because the foods don’t look good to them. Or maybe it’s simply an act of rebellion to refuse healthy food, because they don’t want to be told what to do. Whatever the reason, many children are not getting the proper nutrition, and childhood obesity is becoming more and more of a problem all the time.

There are many ways to get your kids to eat healthy foods, without them even realizing it. Pizza is a healthy food, containing foods from all four of the important food groups, and when made right, it’s loaded with all kinds of nutritional value. You can make a homemade pizza with sauce made from fresh tomatoes in a blender, topped with lean ground meat, peppers, mushrooms, pineapples, and low-fat cheese for a very healthy meal that just about every kid (and adult) in the world will absolutely love.

Another thing to try is adding cheese to foods your kids wouldn’t normally eat. It is amazing what a little bit of cheese can do to change a kid’s mind. Or if you have a juicer, you can make slushiest for your kids with delicious, healthy vegetables, which will be overpowered by the taste of fruit juice.
Get creative and you can be assured that your kids will get all of the proper nutrition they need to grow up healthy.

 

Food and Fun For Kids

Food and Fun For Kids

 

Kids love helping out in the kitchen. It can also be a big source of pride for them to tell you that they made the meal, almost all by themselves. It's also wonderful being able to combine fun, hands-on play time with meal preparation time.

There are incredible many children who suffer because of an unhealthy nutrition. We are not referring to kids who don't eat too much, but to the ones we try so hard to give everything to. A lot of products or types of food contain different E-s, especially chips, snacks and jelly. Our kids are happy, then we are happy, but they will end up having an ulcer or gastritis.

Here is a healthy and funny recipe for kids to whom they will like very much.

"Baked Bean & Vegie Nachos"

This is a great recipe from my children’s Kindy, They make healthy well balanced and most importantly yummy meals for all the Kids at club Junior. Keep your eye out as I will be posting more great recipes from the kindy.

INGREDIENTS:

225 gm Baked Beans

1 x Medium Carrot grated

1 x medium zucchini grated

1 x small onion chopped finely

125 gm crushed tomatoes

I x tablespoon of canola oil

Salt and pepper to taste

A little grated cheese for the top (optional)

METHOD:

1. Fry onion in oil until it softens

2. Add grated carrots and crushed tomatoes, simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Add in zucchini and Baked Beans then cook for another 10 minutes slowly bring up to the boil.

4. Remove from the heat and serve with corn chips; Grated cheese.

TIPS:

- For a healthy alternative to corn chips, cut mountain bread into triangles and bake in the oven on medium until crispy, Really good and they don't take long to make.

- To keep the corn chips crunchy serve in a separate bowl to the bean nachos mix.

- Get creative and add some sour cream if your kids like it.

For more information on other recipes visit: http://www.mother2mother.com/recipes

Getting Help from Online Childcare Articles

Having a child is a life-changing event. No matter how much reading you do before your baby’s arrival or how prepared you think you are going to be, nothing can prepare you for the realities of parenthood - other than going through it. When you leave hospital and bring your child home for the first time the reality of it dawns: you are responsible for this little person.

Online childcare articles are a great source of information and reassurance for parents and the best part is you can get all the information you need from the comfort of your own home.

 

Being daunted by parenthood is very normal. There will be good days and there will be bad days but the most important thing is to not suffer in silence.  Family and friends provide a great deal of support but they can’t always be on hand when you need them. 

Your home computer can become a life line when you need to get some quick advice or have the reassurance that you’re not the only person having a tough time with a screaming baby.

Apart from helpful childcare articles written by parents and child care professionals you can also connect with like-minded parents over the net to share ideas and get the support you need.

Dealing with Allergies at School

Allergies and allergic reactions have been given widespread coverage in the news of late, so it's no wonder that both parents and schools are flustered. Here are some tips for helping to deal with allergies on school grounds.

Alert your child to the dangers of allergies

Many children don’t really understand what allergies are, and many have no idea how serious an allergic reaction can be. Make sure your child knows how important it is to be aware of allergies, and to ensure they're careful in dealing with other children's allergies: for example, they should be aware of the dangers of sharing food with children with allergies.

Ensure your child knows what to do

Make sure that your child is aware of what's involved in an allergic reaction. This includes things such as symptoms and reactions. You'll also want to check that they know to get help, and who they can go to for help. 

Talk to your child about bullying

Children with allergies are often bullied at school because it’s seen as a difference, so if your child has allergies, you may wish to check with them regularly to ensure that they're happy at school. Many victims of bullying avoid alerting anyone about their victimisation, so it might be worth checking with a teacher to ensure that everything's okay.

Allergies are common place in this day and age so it’s more important than ever to ensure your children are allergy aware.