10 Ways to Raise Happy Kids

If you want to know how to raise happier children, there is an excellent overview article on Time: How to Raise Happy Kids: 10 Steps Backed by Science. Get Happy Yourself – because happy parent = happy kids Proven ways to being happy 10 Mindful Minutes – Giving Our Children–and Ourselves–the Social and Emotional Skills to Reduce Stress

First World Problems with the iPad Generation

Firstly, I would like to state that I am not anti-iPad. Far from it. I love it. I think it is one of the most wondrous devices ever conceived. The kids have learned so much from it and they have a lot of fun in the process, too! Best of all, it shuts them up

Who Do You Think I Am? The Maid?

Evidently, that’s what my kids must think I am and it’s prompted me to ask the question: “Are we doing too much for our children?” I know I’ve been guilty of this. Some days, we’re rushing so much that it just seems easier to do things for them instead of nagging and nagging and nagging

Help Me Be Good – Lying, Being Destructive and Other Undesirable Behaviours

This happened recently… If you can’t figure out what you’re looking at,  it is our dining chair with four pencil holes. After some investigation, we figured out that the culprit was G2 except that he refused to admit to it and he even lied to us saying that it was his brother who did it.

A Powerful Message for Our Children – “How to Succeed When You Have No Special Skills”

I have always loved these inspirational stories about parents who stumble on an activity that becomes their child’s passion… Like the 4 year old who makes paper dresses… That kid who reviews books on his own blog… The amazing kid who shoots “impossible” hoops… And then that kid goes on to become something amazing… Akiane

Character Development: What are We Subconsciously Teaching Our Children Through Movies?

What is the Bechdel Test? There is something I learned about recently called “The Bechdel Test”. Alright, we’re late on the bandwagon since this rule has been around since 1985 when it was first introduced by Alison Bechdel in her comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For“. The rule is basically about the unequal representation of

Parenting: Adversity Breeds Success

I love movies about sports. They’re always really uplifting and there is so much to be learned from the experiences of the players. These are the kind of movies that provide plenty of talking points you can raise with your children… We watched another movie about baseball recently – MoneyBall. It is the story of Billy

Parenting and Disciplining the Spontaneous Child

Being a parent will teach you this powerful message: Never say “never”. I broke my cardinal rule of discipline – I smacked Hercules. I felt sick to my gut when I did it but I am at a loss as to how to deal with this boy… You would think he would have learned after

Why Precocious Kids are in Trouble

pre·co·cious adjective 1. (of a child) having developed certain abilities or proclivities at an earlier age than usual. Aristotle is a precocious child and he knows it. It bothers me because of the way he behaves knowing this. I worry about what may happen to him in future if this behaviour remains unchecked – not that

Learning from Our Mistakes

Some time back I lost the iPad. Yes. Me. Not the boys. Every time I think about it, I run over the events in my head wondering how I should have done things differently. Now that I have completed the 5 stages of grief and accepted that the iPad is gone, I have been reviewing the