Flying with a toddler!

Flying with a toddler!

by | Nov 17, 2015 | Parenting

The thought of going on a long flight with a toddler can be daunting. You flash back to the time before you had kids and had to endure hours of screaming and crying, and wished you had brought ear plugs. Maybe you even thought to yourself “why can’t they just shut him up?!!”…

Well… now it’s your turn and how you regret having had those nasty thoughts. You worry that karma will finally pay you back 🙂 for having mentally cussed at those poor parents who probably were at their wits’ end. You don’t worry so much about your child because you know how to soothe him. Your main preoccupation is how will those fellow passengers react if you can’t console your tired child.

When my daughter was granted her wish trip to Hawaii we were elated… and unbeknownst to me that all our playing and role playing would pay off and was preparing her for a very long trip. Between playing the trip out, and proper planning for the long trip ahead, it proved to be an uneventful and fun journey!

So here I share what we did and hope it will have the same benefits for your family.

Feeling overwhelmed as a parent?

Feeling overwhelmed as a parent?

by | Nov 3, 2015 | Parenting

 

Too many activities!

Nowadays more and more parents are overwhelmed. One of the first areas I look at is at their kids’ schedules. Most of the time, children are over scheduled and have very little down time. Whether it be going to sports, music class, or a play date, when you add that to going to school all day, it ends up being a lot.

Tired after a long day at work and at school, then it’s rush rush rush to make dinner and get the kids out of the house to go somewhere. Then rush through homework. Rush through bed time… hurry, hurry, hurry! It’s no wonder kids act out, are stressed, overwhelmed and are disconnected from their parents.

Kim John Payne, the author of Simplicity Parenting covers 4 main areas in family life that can be improved upon. The subtitle of the book is “Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids“. There you go… the book cover says it all. So I thought I’d share with you quotes from various parts of the book, and this may spike your curiosity and make you want to buy the book to learn more.

In this post, I will cover his chapter on Schedules. So here are the quotes, I hope these pieces of wisdom make you  reflect… and ponder.

Too many scheduled activities may limit a child’s ability to motivate and direct themselves.

Activity without downtime is ultimately – like a plant without roots- unsustainable.

Bringing more awareness and balance to a child’s schedule can better serve his or her needs.

More than a simple pleasure, anticipation is identity-building.

To fully appreciate “the ordinary” is an extraordinary gift.

The “messiness” of free play, with its many changes and possibilities, builds an inner flexibility. A child’s love of an activity is not enough to protect him  or her from the effects of pursuing it too much, and too soon.

Food for thought… are your kids over scheduled? Do they have down time? Or are they busy from morning till bedtime? Children need a balance between busy times and break times… think about it… so do we !

 

8 steps to a struggle free bedtime routine

8 steps to a struggle free bedtime routine

by | Nov 1, 2015 | Parenting

Many parents struggle with getting their children to go to bed. Often it is a struggle and a source of stress and arguments and they have a hard time getting compliance. Hopefully these steps will help make the bedtime routine a bit easier.

Text Blog Post

YouTube Video

eZine article

Article on melatonin:

Recipe (Relaxing bath salts)

Article on why clutter causes stress

Great Yoga videos by Anita Goa. She is preparing one for children.

Photo Credits: This presentation contains images that were used under a Creative Commons License. Click here to see the full list of images and attributions

Is it safe to be different?

Is it safe to be different?

by | Oct 25, 2015 | Parenting

Pivoines by Alexandra Seinet

I was reading a comment in an awesome Facebook group (Glorius Gut) I am a member of and it sparked the topic of my post this early Sunday morning. I made a comment on that group then I thought it would be worth sharing here…

So here goes, my two cents on being different.

What is so called “normal” today is not necessarily healthy. How do you not fall prey to peer pressure?

Focus on your values and what matters most to you. Be confident that different is also OK… at times it takes one person to be brave enough to be different and question the status quo to spark a movement.

It takes someone to lead the pack… why not you…when you differ a bit from your tribe, the natural response is discomfort and they will want to bring you back in. It’s a natural instinct from caveman days… where being different from your tribe placed the whole tribe in danger..

it is no longer the case. Your life and your children’s lives are precious. Don’t worry so much that being different is bad… it’s not (even if people tell you it is).

Do what feels right in your gut, and don’t let that fear take over. When people see you stick to your guns and see how brave you are for doing so… then they will start asking questions, be curious… and you may spark some curiosity in them as a result. If not, worse case, people will respect your choices…

The best choices for you and your family may not be the most popular choices, but they are YOURS, and because of that, they matter!

Here are a few examples of choices our family makes, that really don’t follow the norm:
– we don’t have candy or sweets in the house or junk food
– we trick or treat and then we donate the candy… we enjoy the fun of dressing up, going from door to door and being with friends
– we don’t have cable and watch TV, we just have movie night, an odd show here and there on netflix if we are tired, sick or just want to snuggle… we find other ways to entertain ourselves or relax
– we homeschool
– we eat organic
– the only plastic or electronic toys that entered our house were gifts and we keep those to the minimum… most toys are natural, homemade and creative
– my child does not own an iPhone, an iPad, a WII… etc…
– we only eat real food…
– we rarely have dessert and if we do it is homemade and low in sugar
– we are not vaccinated
– our main health team are : chiropractor, naturopath, homeopath, energy healer, whom we see regularly for prevention … we go to the MD for emergencies 🙂
– we believe in metaphysical principles, quantum physics, energy etc…

These are but a few examples of us being different … and yet… we are not suffering and we still have friends 🙂 that accept us for who we are… and my daughter who is only 7 has always been kept informed of the why and the how of our choices so that she does not feel she is being “forbidden” just for the sake of us having authority over her. She understands the reason behind our choices… combined with teaching and modelling self love and self respect, and she would not dare hurt her own body or mind just to please others 🙂

Dare to be yourself, even if it’s different !

How Do Children Grow Us Up?

How Do Children Grow Us Up?

by | Oct 22, 2015 | Parenting

Usually it is more natural to think that children are the ones that need to grow up, not us :-). But you will be surprised to know, or maybe not, that children also allow us to grow up. You can read more about this in Dr Shefali Tsabary’s book on  Conscious Parenting. It is simply a good read for all parents and she explains in more details how, while we parent our children, our old wounds tend to come up to the surface. And in the process this can at times taint our judgment when it comes to our interactions with our children.

When we accept that we too need to grow, and we open our eyes to the lessons our children place upon our paths, it actually strengthens our bond, and in the process we have a lot more compassion for our children.

Multiple benefits of chores!

Multiple benefits of chores!

by | Oct 18, 2015 | Parenting

Photo by Jon Ottosson

Photo by Jon Ottosson

 

Here is a video version of a previous Blog post. I hope you enjoy it.

It covers the multiple benefits of getting your children involved in chores from a young age. It is a mistake to only focus on academics…. then their self esteem is defined solely on academic success. What if your child struggles in school, then what? Too many times I see children’s self esteem suffer because they define their worth on externals, such as academics or sports.

Chores, among other things, allow children to build their self esteem, a sense of mastery, competency, responsibility, and many other skills and qualities. We need to shift our negative focus from chores being”chores” and rather opportunities to connect, take a break, be mindful while doing a task and thus disconnecting from complicated life issues or struggles.

Maybe after watching this video you too will see your household responsibilities in a totally different light… Enjoy!

 

 

 

Maria Montessori Age Appropriate Chores List here

(Text version of this video here)

Photo Credits: This presentation contains images that were used under a Creative Commons License. Click here to see the full list of images and attributions: https://app.contentsamurai.com/cc/2588

 

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