What a winter we have had! But the cold should not keep Canadian families indoors. Bundle up, get outside and get physically active every day with one of our 10 outdoor winter activities for kids. Why? Because active play is essential to every child’s physical, cognitive, emotional and social development—even in winter. Unfortunately, one study shows Canadian kids spend only three hours per week playing actively in the winter, compared to four and a half hours in summer. (via www.participACTION.com). A part of this lack of play during the winter months is due to the four main barriers to play; safety concerns, too much screen time, unruly weather and not enough hours in the day.
Look out dust pans, watch out bristles, brooms, and mops, you’d better be scared. There is a new Swiffer in town and it is coming after your jobs. UrbanMommies tried the new Swiffer BISSELL SteamBoost and you’d think we’d done a full fall clean. A-hem. It’s a deeply penetrating steam mop that powers through dog footprints, coffee spills and mystery spots whose origins you no longer recall. It even cleans all the stuff your old mop leaves behind (and has left behind since the last time you were washing the floor on your hands and knees). For me that was when I was trying to induce labour contractions a while back….
July marked my tenth wedding anniversary this year. All of our family members wanted to send a gift. Do you know what we picked? RESP contributions to our sons’ education funds. Saving is hard. Especially with groceries costing a fortune, kids wanting to enroll in activities and the odd shoe sale that gets our heart racing and credit card exercised. While we all earn different incomes, have varying levels of expenses and manage finances differently, UrbanMommies has a few money-saving tips that will help you save sheckles (my Grandmother called them that) for the RESPs.
Agggh. I had a dinner party for two couples I didn’t know. And as they came into my kitchen (why do people arrive early?!) I was loading the dishwasher and I was mortified. Embarrassed about my dishwasher situation. It didn’t look clean, it didn’t smell clean, and I am not a big advocate of rinsing. So you can fill in the blanks… I am still hoping the smell of the French dinner overpowered the negative stench from the dishwasher.
UrbanMommies was given an opportunity to interview and hear advice to new parents from Barbara Coloroso. An internationally-known author of five parenting books, acclaimed speaker and consultant, we discuss her three tenets of parenting, navigating criticism and following your instincts as a parent. More of Barbara Coloroso’s wisdom can be found at Kids Are Worth It.
As a writer for the Tech Timeout Challenge by life insurance provider Foresters, I made a huge commitment as summer began. I set off to up the ante and do a full week without technology with the whole family. Over the summer, how hard could it be? It was hard. And I am embarrassed to say that we did not succeed. We lasted 3 days. But in the process we did accomplish the original intent of the program. We sat as a family for a minimum of an hour a day for the whole summer, talking, playing board games and playing in the sand. The art of balancing technology use as a parent proved far more challenging than I expected.
Forget Instamatch and online gaming. This tangible Marimekko memory game will verse your child in design as well as sharpening their little brain. Putting a new spin on an old classic, this Memory Game by Marimekko is sure to become a family favorite for games night with its beautifully designed circular tile pieces.
This memory game features a selection of Marimekko’s own textile designs, from their iconic Unikot print, to playful Cars. We’re so in love with the patterns, we may just have to practice lots.
As I mentioned in our Kitchen Tips article, I was part of a paper towel scientific experiment. I used a brand new dishcloth in my kitchen over three days and sent it to a lab for testing. I will never use a dishcloth again. I can hardly even bear to keep the results email in my inbox. Typically hard on myself as a Mom and woman, the results make me feel like quite the ogre.
She sat lightly on the sofa of the Shangri-La hotel and embraced me early as I entered. From the beginning it felt as if I was hanging out with a best friend. We talked of shoes, child rearing, philanthropy and music. I was astounded at Chantal Kreviazuk’s poise, her passion for knowledge and the way she broke into song to illustrate a point using favourite lyrics.
Walmart introduced the Mom of the Year award last year to celebrate moms as both role models and integral members of the community, and gives Canadians an opportunity to say thank you for everything moms do every day. “We’re thrilled to bring the Mom of the Year Award back for a second year,” said Emma Fox, chief marketing officer for Walmart Canada. Judges include notable comedian, actress and radio host, Sophie Prégent, the 2012 Mom of the Year, Katie Schulz, editor-in-chief of Walmart Live Better magazine, Sandra Martin, Emma Fox and Ms. Kreviasuk review the entries.
One of the most important jobs on the planet does not come with a paycheque, but Canadians have a salary in mind. According to a recent survey conducted by Leger Marketing on behalf of Walmart Canada, Canadians would pay their mom an average annual salary of $161,287 for all of her hard work. Asking about how she will begin to choose the finalists, Chantal paused and admitted that mothers are so exceptional that it would be difficult. “I think that the good the amazing mom today to honor would be that woman who has life experience, has overcome some things but she still has strength and resilience.”
When I searched the #momoftheyear hashtag on twitter I was disheartened to see that moms across the globe use it in a disparaging way. They forget to bring diapers on an outing and they ridicule themselves. I asked Chantal about this trend. She has noticed that women in general are very critical of themselves. “Canadians are very different than Americans in that we have this bizarre thing in our particular cultural nature whereby we diminish our successes and dwell on our mistakes. Americans don’t do that – Americans are very proud and they tend to want to celebrate their success. I think also as mothers we make a mistake and it defines us. We have so much power as as a parent – we really need to define ourselves by the greatness, not the errors.”
Not only has Chantal Kreviazuk been influenced by Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace (her eyes light up every time he’s mentioned) but her mother-in-law has played a huge part in how Chantal has carved her style as a mother of 3 boys. She is “very graceful and elegant in her style of coping and resilience – the older generation just gets up and keeps going with that classic beauty”. Travel and philanthropy keep her busy but she is highly attentive to ensuring constant communication with her kids. “I’m really frightened of the idea of raising children to be too certain.” She admits her mistakes to the kids and takes time to answer questions. Remembering when she attended an event for a hospital foundation and the kids asked a ton of questions, she used it as an “organic opportunity to tell them why and who benefits from the charity and what it’s like for a child that you know is born three months early”. Highly involved in building schools in the third world and the charity War Child, Chantal continually exposes her kids to the notion that their circumstance is not reflective of the human condition. “Currency is many things. It’s not just money and I really believe that a value system for all those currencies is what creates a great human being because we are more than just you know money mongers and it’s not just living to work.”
An electric and intelligent woman, Chantal spoke about her passion for science and how our brains work. She always framed her thoughts from a mother’s point of view and it was clear that research and career exist to make life better for her family and the world around her. Yeah – beautiful, talented, incredibly smart and does some light neuroscience reading in her free time.
She focused our discussion on modeling for our kids – and why moms who are condescending towards themselves are not doing their kids a service. Modelling is vital (and scary) in parenting, and I personally believe that corporations and can help us model well for our children. That Walmart is celebrating moms who model beautifully for their kids is a great step. All I know is after spending quality time with Chantal, she can model what a woman should be for my kids anytime!
New this year to the Mom of the Year contest is public voting, where Canadians will have the chance to review the top 20 candidates and vote for one mom they want to see become one of the eight finalists. Each finalist will receive $10,000 to spend on themselves and the remaining seven will receive $10,000 for the charity or cause of their choice. The Mom of the Year award recipient will receive $100,000 for the charity or cause of her choice.
The Mom of the Year finalists will be flown to Toronto for a day of pampering and an awards gala on October 6, 2013. Nominations for the Mom of the Year Award close on June 16 and My Finalist public voting will begin on July 4 through August 1. The eight finalists will be notified around August 6. To participate in the program and support Canadian moms, visit www.momoftheyear.ca.
What kid doesn’t want to set up on the front lawn with ice-cold lemonade and a cash box? Not only to pass the time and teach them some math skills, you can up the ante a bit by encouraging them to donate the proceeds to a charitable organization. Make a day of it with girly lemonade stands that help fellow women attain their basic rights in third world countries.
Small actions can drive big change. Plan Canada’s ‘Because I am a Girl’ initiative is helping to inspire youth to turn lemons into Pink LemonAid by hosting LemonAid fundraisers in their communities.
The girl issue is real, and it’s affecting girls and women around the world – but what is it? Girls in the poorest regions of the world are among the most disadvantaged people on the planet. They are more likely to live in poverty, more likely to be denied access to education, and more likely to be malnourished, simply because they are young and female.
And yet, studies show that when you invest in girls, the whole world benefits. If a girl has enough to eat, a safe environment, and an education, she’ll work to raise the standard of living for herself, her family and her community. And in time, she can even strengthen the economy of her entire country.
Did you know?
- 70% of the one billion people living in extreme poverty are women and girls.
- Girls are 3x more likely to be malnourished than boys.
- Globally, 66 million girls do not attend primary or secondary school.
There is an urgent need to stand up for the rights of millions of girls. In the poorest regions of the world, girls face double discrimination and unique barriers to survival and development, simply because they are young and female.
But when girls attain their basic human rights, they will:
- Be 6x less likely to be married as children
- Have 2.2 fewer yet healthier children
- Increase their contributions to household income by 18%
Pink LemonAid Kits full of helpful tips, educational materials and instructions on hosting can be downloaded online here. Moms can review the materials with their children and educate them on the importance of helping out girls from around the world who are less fortunate.