Most children develop a strong sense of balance simply through engaging in everyday play activities that allow for exploration and movement.
Unleash the Power of Balance!
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Finding Your Balance
The development of balance happens in a place called the vestibular system. Think of this system as your child’s very own GPS, it keeps them balanced and in tune as they move, learn, and grow. It ensures that your kids can spin, swing, and slide without turning into dizzy little tornados.
I Can Do It Myself
From an early age, a child’s search for independence is energised by the desire to make things happen and to feel capable and competent. A young child’s opinion about their capabilities is, to a large extent, based on their environment provided, and on their parent’s and caregiver’s responses. In the context of lifelong learning, self-regulated learning is an important competence.
Encourage your Kids to be Active
Encouraging children to be physically active has always been a daunting task if they decide to dig their heels in, cross their arms and refuse to take part. But what new challenges does this strange new world pose? How can you manage them and how can you ensure that they remain active without the need for constant encouragement?
Colic in Babies – Enough to make you scream!
We estimate that Colic affects 15 to 25 percent of families. I use the word families on purpose here because the effects of colic are not just limited to the baby; everybody in that household (be it mom, dad, or siblings) are, to some degree affected by the change in the family dynamic when an inconsolable baby is dropped into the mix.
The Sense of Movement
Everyone knows how important a diverse set of experiences that stimulates all five of our senses is for development. We encourage children to touch, taste, listen, look, and smell all of the things in our environment. These tactile senses are critical to our development allow us to explore and make sense of the world. But have you ever thought about your other senses?
The ones that help you move, keep you upright and let you know where your limbs are? In this blog we explore the proprioceptive system that makes it possible for us to be aware of our own movements and to perceive the location of our body parts in space without a visual reference to them.
Tear It. Paste It.
Tearing is a great workout for little fingers and one that is important for building fine motor skills in early childhood. Here are some awesome paper tearing activity ideas that are simple and require little or no preparation.
While it may start with your toddler gleefully ripping through your toilet rolls and tearing out pages of their books (much to your frustration), tearing paper should actually be encouraged.
When Things Go Bump In the Night
Night terrors can be scary but are rarely something of concern. Implementing better sleep routines and ensuring your child gets rest that is needed, which is a solid 11 to 12 hours of sleep, can improve their sleep quality and lesson the occurrence of night terrors.
Parties Are Simply the Best!
What’s not to love about getting to spend a large portion of the day with your friends, laughing and running around celebrating life! As a parent, however, planning and hosting your child’s birthday party can feel like an epic responsibility, even if you are as excited as they are.
Thinking Out Of The Box
As adults, we have learned through the years that the box is merely the packaging for something more exciting, something more than the box. To a child, that box is everything they have ever wanted. It is a blank canvas, limited only by their imagination and time.
A Child’s Cry for Help: Teaching Emotional Regulation
Self-regulation is the ability for us to manage our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Instead of becoming overwhelmed and reactive, we seat ourselves in awareness of our experiences and make choices around how we wish to respond. This is particularly important in early childhood as our infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers are largely dependent on caregivers to regulate.
How Do We Get Back To The Village?
But, the past century has drastically changed the concept of community, no matter if you live in a rural area, a suburban neighbourhood, or an urban metropolis. Families no longer co-habit as intergenerationally as they once did, especially as the appeal of the nuclear family began to increase.
Add to that the fact that extended families often fracture and live further and further apart. We are so caught up in the reality of constant “busy-ness” that we don’t even take time to get to know our neighbours.
Let Them Play. It’s Their Job!
Active play is such an important part of preschool children’s lives, as it builds up their self-confidence and increases their emotional well-being – physically, socially, emotionally, and developmentally. As we all know, active play is the work of a child and a major contributor to the holistic development in young children.
Crossing the Midline: Games for Kids
In this blog, we’ll get into some fun ways to develop midline crossing skills and specific games and exercises that kids can do to support development of this motor skills task. Try them with your...
x7 Secrets to Raise Happy Kids
I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside, give them a sense of pride… …inspired by these beautiful lyrics of...
Hang and Hit Games for Eye Hand Coordination
You may see this skill referred to as eye-hand coordination. It’s the control and movement of the eyes and hands that guide our reaching and grasping movements. It uses the proprioceptive system in the hand and/or legs and visual system to coordinate these movements. Read more in this blog for awesome activities that will help your children master this skill.
Life’s a Gift. Celebrate It!
Have you ever stopped to think about why we celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays? It’s not “just” a festive thing to do, it’s a way to stop, cherish and reaffirm the things we value in our lives.
Make Your Child Feel Loved
After I tuck my kids into bed every night, I collapse on the couch, close my eyes, and sigh. Unfortunately, with four kids, I get about 2.7 seconds of peace before one of them asks for another...