children
Children: Our most valuable natural resource.
Teaching Children Resilience: 4 Strategies to Develop a Growth Mindset
"I'm rubbish at spellings... I never get them right." These words have been bouncing around in my head today after my six-year-old blurted it out during her morning practice. I know she can do it, and she does very often do well in her tests. But all too often I see her becoming frustrated and angry at herself for not being able to get them right as quickly as she would like.
By Daisy Willand8 years ago in Families
How Does Child Abuse Happen?
Child abuse, how it happens, how to recognize it, and how to stop it, has always been an area of interest for me. I was abused mentally, physically, and sexually as a small child. I was saved from the horrors in my life, but not before I was old enough for it to permanently scar me. My abuse has effected my entire life; it has affected how I am with people, my ability to have long term relationships, and worse than that, I have had nightmares since I was a kid.
By Merilynn Bezzic8 years ago in Families
The Pied Pippa
I am cursed with the knowledge that I have a friendship limit. By this I don’t mean that I can only have so many friends, but rather I acknowledge that there is a side to me that only true friends will put up with. This side of my personality inevitably rears its ugly head when people have known me for a certain length of time. It’s when the crazy comes out, it can take years, it could be hours of time spent together. It merely lies in wait, waiting for some flash of recognition, a hint of zane in the other person and then BAM, she’s here. The real me. The girl who doesn’t censor her speech, swears too much, unloads geekery, sends too many Buzzfeed links, reads YA fiction, and puts on the delightful voice of Sally Sourbottom. I have seriously been punched for putting on that voice.
By Philippa Robinson8 years ago in Families
Why Kids Need to Play Dirty
Can you remember the magic of picking up wet, cold mud and letting it ooze through your fingers? Mud play was a magic part of childhood. Did you ever used to grab handfuls of dry soil and scoop water to mix with the mud? Next the stones, flowers, and grass would be thrown into the pot and you'd mix the entire concoction with a stick until it looked just right. Mud pies were my speciality. Painting with mud was always fun too, especially on a hot day. I’d use my hands to rub wet mud onto the walls in the garden, making patterns and pictures. In time, it would start to dry, crack, and change colour. There was a great sense of satisfaction I would get from peeling the mud off the walls as it dried. Once I even ate a handful of soil, just to see how it tasted. Earthy.
By Daisy Willand8 years ago in Families
The Blackout and the Baby Centaur
I used to live in a village that, though lovely, liked to remind me that it wasn't perfect. It did this through the aggressive old ladies who ruled it, through the pub I didn’t enter because I was from "the other end of the village," and from the occasional flickering light.
By Philippa Robinson8 years ago in Families
The Voice of a Child. Top Story - January 2018.
I am a firm believer in not bubble wrapping my future children. This includes teaching them how to deal with a scraped knee following a natural consequence, to dealing with rude kids at the park, and even the concept of losing at a family or school activity. Now, notice as I said the word “future” children, making it pretty clear that I am not a parent yet. I am six weeks away from being one, and parenting is all I think about. Though no one has yet to call me “mum,” I have worked with children for close to a decade. Yes, I am aware that working with children is not the same as having my own, a fact that many parents have informed me of. However, I do believe that, through the school system, or child minding, or educational therapy, I have picked up a thing or two. I will never compare myself to a seasoned parent, one who juggles one, two, three, four or more children all the while running a house, working, being self-employed, starting up a business, going back to school, renovating a house, being a single parent, having a child with special needs, or any of the other countless things those superhero parents manage to do.
By Adrienne Amy8 years ago in Families
The Outings
Everyone remembers leaving the hospital with their sweet new baby and getting in the car and starting to drive away and then thinking, “OH CRAP I have to protect this little baby. All of these cars are driving SO fast. Why does my husband think it’s okay to drive like he’s a race car driver?! Why is that car so close to us?! Why am I so sweaty?” Or was that just me? I’m already a handful in the car, yelling “Be careful!”because the car three lanes over and six cars ahead of us was breaking because of some trash in the road. Now imagine throwing a baby into the mix. A tiny, sweet, innocent baby who is too small to defend herself against the world. I freaked out on our first drive with our girl. Once we got home, I decided I was never leaving bed again. No exceptions. Well, two days later, we went to dinner with some family and there I was again, freaking out and holding on to Ashtyn as if that would do anything, while she just snored the whole car ride, and my poor husband was getting honked at because I was making him go 25mph on the freeway and still felt like we were going 100mph.
By Jess Davis8 years ago in Families
True Heartbreak
Everyone believes that they know what true love is, and that they've been through heartbreak before. I myself thought that before I had my first child. I'll start my story from the beginning and leave out no details. January 21, 2016 was beyond the best day of my life, I got to meet my son Kolton that morning. He was perfect weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces, was 19.5 inches long. He was beautiful; the moment they laid him on my chest was the moment I realized that true love does exist. That was the moment I realized life was no longer about me, and that it was all about this little human being I was holding in my arms. I knew then I had someone that would unconditionally love me, and I had someone that I could unconditionally love for the rest of my life. Those moments were perfect, he was perfect, and I was perfectly happy. I decided to go back to work the month of February 2017 when he was a month old. Everyone in the house either worked or was in school, his father was in prison at the time so I was trying my best to do what I needed to.
By Nikki Booth8 years ago in Families
Family Importance
Someone once told me, that life gets harder as you get older. That someone was my dad. This April will be nine years since my dad passed away. I am not going to lie, I miss my dad everyday. Some days, I miss him more than ever. I do wish during some of my hard times that he was still here. I know that he could and would give me some advice, that would only drive me to where I know that I should be at in life. My oldest sister moved from Indiana to Kansas last summer, with her son. I miss them so much that it hurts and I wish that they were still here. I know that they are doing well there, so I am happy for them. I just wish that missing them didn't hurt so bad. My niece, who turned 21 in December, I miss her terribly. I was a big part of her and her brother's life for almost six years, while their mom was driving a semi over the road. I know that they are only going to get older and fend for themselves, but sometimes I wish that they were those little kids again. At times I wish that I too was still a little girl on that farm working on cars and tractors with my dad. How did things go from good to worse in only a matter of minutes, or a matter of seconds? I never had said that I ever hated my dad. I did my mom, but that one day changed after my dad passed away. I realized how wrong I was to feel that way about my mom, and I wished that I could have taken it all back on everything bad that I had ever said to her and about her while I was growing up. One doesn't realize the damage to the other person, even if it is a parent, that it can cause. If I knew then what I know now, I would have never ever said anything so degrading towards my mom. I know how bad my mom is now next to when I was a kid, and I wish that I could have treated her better and even talk to her better than I had. I do love my mom. She has alcoholic dementia. I don't like to watch her go through the things she had and will be in the future. I knew while growing up how important family was, but I know it so much more now. If I hear one child say that they hate their mom or dad, I do say something, "One day they aren't going to be here and you will regret that one day." I just hope that a teenager will read something like this one day, and realize the importance of family. I know that some people haven't had to go through what I have in my life, but I know some people have it worse off than I do. My life has always been complicated. Three years ago I got married, so I ended up with a step-son. I feel like he was my actual son. To me, he may as well be my son. Especially as much as I do to care for this child. I know that he may never call me mom, but to know what I do for him, is good enough for me. I would love to have a baby before my biological time clock decides to fully quit on me. I have a feeling that I am going to need a doctor's help on this, on why I have never ended up pregnant. Even if I am not ever able to carry a baby of my own, at least I do know that I have my step-son. I love that boy, but there are times that I want to pull my hair out or go crazy, but that's what goes along with parenthood. I know the craziness my parents went through with my two older sisters and I. I don't want to know who will pass away next, but the one thing I do know, that I will not be ready for it. I have never dealt with death very well, not even now. I know how important my family is, and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world!! I would love to extend my family, but sometimes it's a easier said than done, kind of thing.
By Susan Whallon Meeks8 years ago in Families
Going to Baby School
Being a first-time mom is a scary thing. You are faced with this great responsibility of keeping a growing person alive for nine months in your body, and then you have to keep them alive when they come out of you as well. It can be a little daunting.
By Samantha Reid8 years ago in Families
