It’s easy to get bogged down with the daily ins-and-outs of parenting, work, and life. There are dishwashers to unload, grocery shopping to do, and paychecks to earn.
Sometimes, though, it’s worthwhile to step back and simply enjoy quality time with our children. Easier said than done in the midst of another busy week, yes, but so worth it. We came up with five simple mother-son playdate ideas to inspire you to set aside some one-on-one time with the little dude in your life.
The tooth fairy is a magical character who swoops in and leaves some funds under your child’s pillow on the night they lose their teeth. If Mom and Dad remember. (And hasn’t every parent awakened in a cold sweat trying to remember if the tooth fairy made her visit?)
When it comes to doing arts and crafts with my 4yo daughter, I aim for projects to be KISS-able: Keep It Simple, Sweetheart! With that in mind, I organized materials we had already and together we whipped up a handful of shamrock projects that were fun, fast, and can even be a little educational, too.
“Want to have your ears pierced?” I asked Elsa, my newly turned five-year-old. Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head back and forth.
“No, mommy! It’ll hurt. And it seems scary. No, thank you.”
We had discussed having her ears pierced several times. Every time she said the same thing, she was too scared. Every time, I felt a tiny twinge of sadness. I couldn’t wait to buy her earrings, to share my love of jewelry with my little girl.
Oops. Registrations are full, and you’re green with envy as your friends get the airbrush tan in preparation to head south. March Break is here and you kind of forgot to plan anything. Worse? The whole family is feeling burnout from the holidays, school, and our treacherous Canadian winter. Is a change as good as a rest? We think so. If you’re creative and have a semblance of a plan, you can pull through. Here are a few ideas.
Many parents are asking how to strengthen their child’s immune system this fall, to help prevent catching colds and also the flu. The immune system is basically a bunch of different types of cells that together fight bacteria and viruses that cause infection. Many children get sick in the fall as they return to school and daycare where they are exposed to a variety of bugs. Their immune systems are still growing and developing, so they are more likely to get sick than adults. There are several factors that can influence how healthy and robust a child’s immune system is. Follow these steps to boost your child’s immune system and help them stay healthy through this cold and flu season.
The other day I was so engrossed with something happening on a Facebook feed, I didn’t realize my children were completely trashing our playroom. Cry for attention maybe? It’s so easy to get distracted with the never ending access to people and entertainment with smart technology. What started as a “quick check” of Facebook turned into, well, a lot longer.
I travel often with my kids and while it’s much easier now as they’re getting older, I still remember the horrific time with one baby in a carrier, the other standing beside me trying to manoeuvre in a tiny airplane stall. And then there’s the flight where at least one child has cried for 9 straight hours. Yes, I have experienced flights from hell, and lived to tell the tale.
I blinked through tears as the words caught in my throat, “I should report this.” I was 17 years old and school had let out for the day. It was sunny and warm and my boyfriend and I had plans to hang out and enjoy the weather. He was the one who found the envelope with my name colorfully written across it. Someone had slipped it into the open sunroof of his Volkswagen. The words inside were anything but colorful. They were dark, ugly, and mean. They encouraged me to take my own life, they called me worthless. They were authored by three girls I had, up until that very moment, thought were my friends.
When I was still part of the working world, I was forever crafting mile-long to-do lists, oftentimes writing down things I’d already completed just for the thrill of striking them through with a heavy-handed double line. If you flipped through my spiral notebook with the green patterned whales on the cover, you’d see each day’s minutiae penciled carefully into uniform lines—every task from showering to laundry folding to playdating—satisfyingly crossed out as each is completed. I thrived on the feeling of contentment I got from seeing a day of hard work spelled out on the page, tangible and real.