Nothing like the weekend where one can relax with their family and friends.

I have had a great weekend, and so has the family. It’s been my birthday, so it’s been a weekend full of family celebrations, lots of eating out and just having a good time with my hubby and the kids.

Today is Canada’s Thanksgiving. We decided to be rebellious this year, and not eat soup and turkey together.Instead, we decided to make the most of another HOT October day, so we took the kids bike riding in Unionville Ontario, and afterwards we enjoyed ice cream and the October festival in Unionville. It was busy, and full of vibe and good energy. A good time was had by all.

Well nice to know a short working and school week is ahead of us.

So enjoy until next weekend arrives again

When my oldest child was born, a nurse gave me the best advice she said, despite all the advice from doctors, friends, family members, books and the internet, the best advice to follow is your mother’s instinct.

You will always have lots of questions to ask your paediatrician about your child and by all means listen to the advice. There are so many books out there today and each one will give you a different opinion on childcare topics. You will also probably be comparing notes with your friends, and ask them questions about their children and the different stages of development. People seem to think they are experts, and are quick to judge and criticize and give you lots of advice on parenting your child. You are the mother of this child and you will get to know your child’s personality and needs, and you will be the best judge and know the best way to deal with different situations and circumstances with your child.

No two children are the same. Every child has their own unique personality; even identical twins have different personalities. Every child develops differently and at their own pace, some walk earlier than others, some talk earlier than others Therefore we know that as parents we have to address the needs of each child differently.

Some children are easy going and uncomplicated, other children may have a more challenging personality. Some children are more outgoing, some children are shyer. Some children get more anxious about change; other children aren’t bothered with change. Nobody knows their child better than their mother. We are the ones that know what makes our child happy or sad.

So no matter how many people are ready to help and give advice to you about your child, use your mothers instinct and you do what’s best for your child

There really is no right or wrong answer to this question. The answer is which ever works best for your baby and you.

The different factors that pertain to breast and bottle feeding are;

A) Convenience: breast feeding can be very convenient, especially during the night time feeds. There is nothing to prepare or heat up and your baby can be fed immediately as they need to. If you are bottle feeding, the best thing to do is to prepare the quantity of formula in the bottles ready for the night time, and have water that has already been sterilized in a jug waiting to pour directly into the bottle. These days’ hospitals will tell you that it’s alright to give the formula at room temperature, so one doesn’t even have to heat the bottle up at night. Your bottle fed baby can receive their feed as quickly as possible.

B) Bonding with your baby. Breast feeding did not work for me with both of my children, and I probably have a closer bond with my children than a lot of people who did breast feed their babies. You definitely have the opportunity to bond with your baby whilst breast feeding, but bottle fed babies can be equally bonded with their moms.

C) Nutrition – breast fed babies certainly do receive a wonderful nutrition from their moms provided they themselves eat a healthy diet, and do build up a strong immune system. Fortunately the formula today actually has a lot of wonderful vitamins in it, and bottle fed babies do receive enough vitamins to build up a strong immune system too.

D) When do you stop? There are no rules to end feeding your baby. Breast fed babies can continue to be fed until the mom feels it’s time to change over to bottle feeding or even drinking milk from a ‘sippi’ cup. Babies, who are bottle fed, generally stay on formula for a full year, and after a year their paediatricians recommend they can change over to regular milk, either in a bottle or cup.

At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong answer to breast or bottle fed babies. Use your mothers instinct and do what works best for your baby and you.

Nothing like the weekend where one can relax with their family and friends.

This weekend, my kids and I enjoyed watching High School Musical 2.

It’s a great movie for school age kids, and I think that we enjoyed it even better than the first one.

We took the kids apple picking today. Have you ever been to Chudleigh’s farm near Milton Ontario?

It’s a great place and very kid friendly.

The kids can go on a wagon ride to the various apple orchards and there are lots of different kinds of apples to pick. They also had a farm with wonderful animals such as goats, cows, lamas, rabbits, ducks and more. The children were even allowed in to feed and pet the animals.

There was a “hay” maze for them to play in and also a kid’s playground.

The kids could also get free balloons which put a big smile on my daughter’s face.

There was a great little store where you could buy apple and pumpkin pie.

A great day was had by all but make sure you go early in the morning to avoid the crowds and traffic.

Take a deep breath as you face the working and school week ahead, and before you know it we can enjoy the next weekend.

Should we be exposing our children to germs or should we be walking around with hand sanitizer in our purses?

Babies and little children tend to get sick a lot, especially after they join a daycare or preschool for the first time.

Unfortunately babies and toddlers put their hands in their mouths a lot, and also put toys in their mouths, especially babies who are teething. Other babies and toddlers will then pick up the same toys and put it in their mouths a minute later, and that’s how they pass their germs to one another. Is this avoidable? Not really when they are this little. However the best thing that one can do about this is to teach your baby and toddler from a very young age, not to put toys in their mouths. Take it out their mouths and repeatedly say, no Michael no toys in your mouth. It will take a long time but eventually when they become toddlers, they will learn not to put either toys or their hands in their mouths.

One doesn’t always have the time to wash toys daily, but when ever you have a chance you should try and keep the toys clean, also if you have taken a toy out of your child’s mouth, immediately put in the sink to be cleaned.

From the time your children are babies and toddlers, get them in to the habit of washing their hands, before and after meal time.

As your children grow into school age children, the best method of prevention of germs is to them to wash their hands. Get your children to wash their hands before and after meal time, as well as each time after going to the bathroom.

Although we do not want our children getting sick often, it is not always a bad thing, if our children are exposed to some form of germs. This helps build up a strong immune system later in life. We wonder how doctors stay as healthy as they do when they have a lot of bad germs around them, and this is probably because they have been exposed to so many bad germs they have had the opportunity to build up a stronger immune system. It is important to introduce your children to as many different types of foods as you can when they are young, this can also help build up their immune system, and prevent allergies later on.

One doesn’t realize that your children are not only exposed to germs in daycares, preschool and schools, but that even in the parks and shopping malls and any other public place, they are exposed to germs.

Don’t wrap your child up in cotton wool, but provide them with a healthy and nutritious diet, exercise, and a positive outlook on life, and your child will grow and develop into a healthy child.

A lot of the time yes. Of course each child has a different personality and sometimes it’s the way we approach situations with our children that cause them to react in certain ways.

However if we are very anxious parents, and if we tend to be anxious about most situations that our children are in, then absolutely we will cause nervous and anxious children. Children feed off our emotions.

If we are relaxed parents and we approach each new and challenging situation that our children are in, in a calm and positive manner, then our children will feel calm about their new situations.

When your children are small, and experience situations like new daycares, or preschools, one must remember that this it is as equally new for your child as it is for the parents. I understand that change is not easy and that we all want our little children to be happy in their new situations. Parents must remember that just like an adult takes time to adjust and settle in to new situations, so does a child.

When your little one is adjusting to their new daycare or preschool environment, parents must be prepared for adjustment time. Always make your goodbyes quick as the quicker one leaves the quicker your child’s attention can be redirected and they can settle down easily into their new environment.

This also applies to your children from kindergarten right through the elementary grades and high school too. It even applies to your children who become young adults and approach university and after that have to go for their first job interview.

Parenting is not always easy and no one gave us a manual to follow. However a lot of children’s problems and anxiety’s comes from their parents own doing. So try and relax on your journey during parenting, and approach each step calmly and positively.

From the time our children are babies, it is important to communicate with them. Our little children understand more than we think they do. Don’t change the way you speak to your baby or toddler, don’t talk in a different tone of voice, and don’t talk down to them.

Don’t speak to them like they are little robots. Be yourself, and your little one will understand you.

From as early as kindergarten, and then right through the grades and especially during high school days, keep the lines of communication open.

When talking to your children each day, ask very specific questions. Ask them things like what did you learn in math today, or did you have a good day or a bad day and then get them to elaborate. Ask them questions such as did you play with Sally at recess? If your child is in high school ask questions such as which close friends did you hang out with at recess.

Teach your children from a young age, not to be afraid to talk to you if things are bothering them. If you ever notice your child seems to be sad, or just not their regular happy selves, approach them with lots of questions. If your teenager does not want to speak to you, leave it alone, but let them know you are there for them to turn to if need be.

Your child must know that it’s important to talk to you if they experience any form of social, verbal or physical bullying. Teach your children to be strong, to stand up for their rights and generally that bullies pick on other children, because they have very low sense of self esteem, are very insecure, and that most bullies try make themselves feel better by making other children feel bad. If bullying ever becomes a more serious issue, contact your child’s school principal immediately.

As children grow up and become teenagers they are exposed to a lot of things in the world today, that us as parents never were when we were their age.

Young children are exposed to smoking, alcohol, drugs and sex at a very young age. They are also exposed to the internet and various chat lines that aren’t always safe for our children.

It is therefore important for parents to be a step ahead of their children’s friends and that we educate our children about what is going on in the world today, and that we teach them to make responsible decisions.

It is also important that we teach them that we will not judge them and that if they make incorrect decisions for themselves and that we are the first people that they must always turn to for help. Unfortunately in the world today there are many “sick” people that do horrible things to children , therefore it is important to street wise and educate our children as best as we possibly can.

Often we hear parents say that they can’t believe that their babies and toddlers understand so much, and that they are so smart.

Yet, when it comes to having to discipline our babies and toddlers, a lot of parents say, oh she/he is too young to understand that they are doing something wrong – quite a contradictory isn’t it?

Discipline does not mean being mean to babies and toddlers, but rather teaching them and giving them direction.

Here are some methods of discipline that can guide parents along.

Firstly, always reward positive behaviour! Children thrive on praise, and it also helps to develop a good sense of self confidence.

Teach your children to use good manners and to respect other children and people.

From the time our children are babies, and begin to move around and explore their environment, it is important to teach them what they can and can’t touch. This is important for safety reasons too. All we have to do is in a firm tone say “No Jack you cannot put your hands all over the television!” Move Jack away from the television and re-direct his attention on to a toy that he can play with safely. Keep repeating this to your child and eventually they will loose interest in touching things that they are not supposed to. Be consistent so that your child learns well and does not receive mixed messages.

When our children are toddlers, disciple is a real challenge. Once again always reward positive behaviour, by doing this you will encourage good behaviour, and also develop a good sense of self esteem.

Your toddler will understand if you speak in a firm tone, when teaching them that certain behaviour like aggressive behaviour or impolite behaviour is not acceptable.

Toddlers become strong willed and will try everything to fight for what they want. Re-direction is a wonderful way of moving your child’s attention on to something else, and preventing a lot of upset behaviour. Be positive and show your toddler that they can have fun with lots of different toys, teach them to take turns and share while socializing with their friends.

Time out is also successful, it does not need to be something harsh or negative .It removes a toddler from the situation, and gives them a small moment to understand that what they where doing is not right. Teach your toddler to apologize to other children for upsetting them, and once again re-direct their attention to different toys.

Discipline can be a challenge with our babies and toddlers, but be consistent and be patient, so that we can encourage our babies and toddlers to grow into happy confident children.

The internet today brings 3 things to mind: excitement, knowledge and danger.

Children as young as 3 or 4 years old, already start to learn how to use the internet. They learn from a young age with the help of their parents how to log onto sites such as Nick Jr. as well as many other sites that can now be found on the internet appropriate to their age group. These sites contain games for children to play on the computer.

There are also lots of wonderful educational sites for children to learn from. Some of these sites can help children develop their reading, spelling and other skills.

As children get a little older, they become very familiar with surfing the internet. Today, most children use the internet for homework projects. The internet has a lot of knowledge on it, and children can use this information for education purposes, with a little guidance from their parents.

Teenagers use the internet to socialize with their friends and also to make new friends both locally and internationally on chat lines and sites such as the MSN messenger and face book.

Unfortunately as much as the internet is very exciting, and has brought us a wealth of knowledge that we never had before, there is also a down side to it in that people use and abuse the internet.

Today we read in the news and hear stories of young teenagers who thought they were socializing innocently with someone new on one of the chat lines. The person on the other side begins the relationship very innocently and will often lie about their name, age and intentions. With time these people carefully manipulate and lure the children into meeting them at strange places. These people are smart, and make it all sound very innocent to the victim. Unfortunately a lot of these cases do end up in missing children, rapes and murders.

I am not saying that all of the internet is bad. A lot of it is wonderful. I am just saying as parents, we must not be naive, but rather be aware of what is happening out there, and also educate our children about being aware and careful when using the internet, especially as they grow older and spend a lot of time on chat lines. Parents should try their best to monitor their children’s use of the internet, one way is to keep computers in public areas of your home.

Food seems to be a common topic among parents with young children.

You often hear parents say: “I’m so lucky, my child eats what ever I put in front of him” Then you hear the opposite from other parents, “Food is a constant battle”

There usually are 3 categories, when it comes to young children ad eating.

1) The “perfect” little eater.

2) The child that has a lot of variety in his or her diet, but is a little “fussy’ with certain things.

3) The very ‘fussy’ eater.

If your young child is a “perfect” eater like in category number one, then you are very lucky, so continue to incorporate a variety of foods in his or her diet, which should incorporate all four food groups.

Don’t be alarmed though, as your child grows up, their tastes do change with age, and so he or she may not be as open to as much of a variety of food as when they were young.

If your young child fits into category number two, don’t make a fuss about the food that he or she might not like. Rather continue to give the variety in their diet that they already have, and slowly but surely you can introduce other new things.

If your child fits into category number 3, I would first of all not make any issue of meal times. Find things that your child likes to eat, continue to give that as long as they are eating either fruit or vegetables. Slowly encourage new and different things from the four food groups. Try to make meal time and food fun, and even consider offering food in different ways e.g. try offering frozen peas instead of cook peas, you’ll be pleasantly surprised in how you can get your child to enjoy something new just by changing the way you prepare it. Also sometimes get them to choose want they want to eat and to help you prepare the meal. Children feel important to be involved in the process and you’ll be surprised once again at the variety that they might be willing to try. However if your child is adamant not to eat new things, don’t make an issue of it. Leave it alone. As children grow up, their tastes do change and they certainly become a lot more willing to try different food.

You’ll be surprised. Some of the children, who began as the fussiest eaters when they were small, eventually learn to appreciate all kinds of food. Usually the ones you least expect, will like the most variety of foods later on in life, and become ‘food adventurous’.

When you have young children, meal time and eating should not become a stressful issue. If it does, then later in life these are the children who will be prone to developing more serious eating disorder.