Living in lockdown
The kids are at home, and the family is following government advice: staying indoors and only venture outside when necessary.
How to pack a hospital bag
Welcoming a baby is a life-changing experience, bringing major changes to every aspect of your life. As a new parent, you can never predict exactly what is to come, but there are a few things you can do to make sure you are as stress-free and organised as possible in the hours before and after your newborn enters the world.
2020 MATRICS: PROCRASTINATION IS THE ENEMY OF PERFORMANCE
“Looking at the year from the vantage point of January, Matric finals seem a long way down the road, and eight months feels like ample time to get to grips with your work before you have to sit for your finals,” says Natasha Madhav, Senior Head of Programme: Faculty of ICT at The Independent Institute of Education, SA’s largest private higher education provider.
Things to do with kids during Lockdown
Here are 21 activities that you can plan with your children and the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time together.
Preparing for a baby? Have you considered this?
When you’re preparing for the arrival of a newborn to the family, the amount of things to consider is innumerable. You thought moving house was a big deal until you’re confronted with preparing for the birth of your first child and a whole new level of responsibility dawns on you.
Thule launches new Spring city stroller for Easy Strolling and Easy Living
Every day with your child is an adventure, and now simplifying your routine just got easier. Enjoy each moment with Thule Spring, a lightweight, compact stroller that lets you and your family discover the world with ease.
Help at hand for moms-to-be with chronic conditions
For parents-to-be and their loved ones, pregnancy is a wonderful, almost magical time, filled with joy and anticipation. For expecting women with chronic conditions though, it can also bring anxiety and discomfort.
LOVE LANGUAGE BETWEEN CHILDREN AND PARENTS
Having been a pre-school teacher for twenty-five years and a mother for eleven, I am convinced that in the end, communication and God’s love are the keys to a successful relationship with your children. The catch is – how do we successfully communicate this love to our children?
ESSENTIAL STUDY HACKS FOR DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENTS
With all eyes directed at 2020’s first-year students as they start their journeys at various tertiary and higher education institutions across South Africa, it is also important to remember those tens of thousands of students who are starting out on a learning journey of another kind — studying from home via distance learning, an education expert says.
How to boost baby’s development with appropriate toys
As parents we always want the best for our children and so we strive to do the right thing to ensure our children grow and develop into well rounded little humans. Experts say toys are one thing parents could use to improve brain development, but do we really know what kind toys to use for this purpose?
April Holiday Camps For Your Kids and Teens
Sugar Bay is a luxury holiday camp in Kwa-Zulu Natal, for children between the ages of 7 and 17 years old. We offer over 100 activities, including surfing, skate boarding and ropes courses. Our newest activities are airsoft (which is similar to paintball) and tie dye. None of our activities are compulsory and children are given the freedom to choose what they would like to do. We have qualified staff known as camp counselors, who look after the children 24/7. No child is ever left alone and we have a strict supervision ratio of one counselor to every three children.
The Women’s Coalition International heads to South Africa to fight against Gender-Based Violence in SA Courts
“You strike the women, you strike the rock” – inspiring words from the famous resistance song have come to symbolise
LOAD SHEDDING AND YOUR FAMILY – life lessons to be gained
Instead of going into a decline about load shedding and feeling unable to cope, show your teenager how to manage load shedding to her advantage. Our load shedding can be used as a practical and hands-on way to teach our kids to plan ahead and be prepared for any eventuality. Instead of moaning about it and considering emigrating, embrace load shedding to demonstrate valuable life lessons.
Music can help premature babies feed
An amazing study done by Loewy J et al. [1] in 2013 showed that soothing music may encourage premature babies to feed better, as well as improve their vital signs (like their O2 saturation levels as well as heart rate). It is speculated that this is one of the reasons why singing lullabies to babies comes so naturally to parents and carers.
PUTTING THE COMFORT BACK IN FAMILY LIFE AFTER A DIVORCE
It’s no exposé that the breakup of your marriage is tough on your kids. It can be stressful, sad, and confusing. At any age, kids may feel uncertain or angry at the prospect of mom and dad splitting up. Yet as a parent, you can make the process and its effects less painful for your children. Helping your kids cope with divorce means providing stability in your home and attending to your children’s needs with a reassuring, positive attitude. It won’t be a seamless process, but let us show you how to lend comfort — not confusion — to an already difficult situation.
Raising financially responsible children
Most parents will agree that teaching children about money is important, but there’s more to it than telling them that saving is good or to be careful of debt.
Why Banning Kids From TikTok Isn’t The Solution…
TikTok is taking over the world, or so it seems! It’s an app that allows users to share short videos. It enables the user to be incredibly creative with the use of stickers, music tracks, filters and augmented reality. As a result, so people find the creative side really enjoyable and because videos are only 15 – 60 seconds long, they’re incredibly consumable from a viewers perspective. This is why it rocketed to being the most downloaded app worldwide at the end of 2019.
Teach your child to learn independently with these useful tips
The human baby is born with an innate curiosity and a seemingly insatiable need to learn. Toddlers and young children seem to find anything and everything interesting and they never run out of questions! Why is that…? How does…? Where is the…? What is…..? They are also determined to ‘do- it-by-myself!’ In fact, they insist on it!
Review: Philips Avent Reusable Breast Pads & Shells
When my beautiful baby girl arrived, I was determined to breast feed, but, as many new moms will agree, it was far more complicated than I expected.
8 Signs of Great Parenting
Even if your child sometimes tests your patience, the point of being their parent is to help them grow. Everything that you teach your child should come from a place of love. Children need affection. Show your kids that you love them with smiles and hugs. While love is not enough to be a good parent, it is a vital part of raising happy and emotionally healthy children.
From the Classroom to the Boardroom
According to Cindy Glass, Co-Founder and Owner of Step Up Education Centres, “Teaching is one of the most under-rated and under-appreciated professions in our country! Most teachers do not recognise the value of their skills and even less so, the possibility of becoming financially well-off business owners! Teachers have been scraping the bottom of the barrel for so long that the idea of using their skills to achieve business success may seem quite impossible!” Why is this? Cindy offers the following reasons:
Is comfortable sleep while pregnant possible?
Most pregnant moms find it hard to get comfortable in bed. Contrary to popular belief it is possible to get a comfortable night’s sleep when you’re pregnant.
GREAT MATRIC RESULTS? ENSURE YOU FIND A GREAT HIGHER ED INSTITUTION TO MATCH
With South Africa’s Matric pass rate at an historical high, many thousands of learners are in the unexpectedly happy position of having received a Bachelor’s pass, and therefore qualifying for further study. Those who didn’t make provision for this eventuality, may now find themselves in a situation where they no longer need to settle for their Plan B, but can in fact go for Plan A – realising their dreams of pursuing a degree – but with no place at university yet.
A review of Kodak Cherish C525 Smart Baby Monitor
Kodak recently launched the CHERISH C525 Baby Monitor in South Africa and as I was looking for a video monitor for my new little baby, so I decided to give it a go. Although the Kodak brand is new to the baby monitor market in South Africa, Kodak has a proven record when producing quality cameras for many years. This gave me a sense of reassurance when purchasing a new product on the market.
Of life and lice
Preschool and prep-school teachers are modern day superheroes. They gently introduce our little ones to a love of learning and creativity, yet they are also tough enough to manage anything that could affect their little charges. Even the horror of head lice in the classroom.
Review: Happy Family Organics Products
Finding Natural and Organic snacks for our precious toddlers can be a hard task. With so many options available for
Munchkin Expands Its Commitment To Animal Conservation Causes With New “Wild Love” Line Of Miracle® 360° Cups
Munchkin, the award-winning global baby lifestyle company expands its commitment to animal conservation organisations through a new line of its #1 selling Miracle® 360° cup, called “Wild Love,” designed to feature at-risk animals. The cups, now available at Baby City, help families teach children empathy and respect for animals at a time when more than one million species are threatened with extinction. Inspired by the important work these organizations are doing, Munchkin is making a substantial donation to both the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and The Whale Sanctuary Project.
Help your child discover their passion!
Navigating life without following our passions can be like pushing a cart with square wheels uphill says Cindy Glass, Owner and Co-Founder of Step Up Education Centres, “With so many learners getting ready to leave school and make their way in the world, it is essential to consider the role that passion has in guaranteeing success in their lives!”
Back-to-school blues? Here’s what you can do…
Holidays are like cats! They creep into your lap for a cuddle and just when you start feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, they jet off to some unknown place, leaving you feeling disappointed and perhaps a little cold! Is this not true of these school holidays? They crept in, had a cuddle and left – just like that!
How Sugar Bay Camp is Completely Different
The word “camp” may conjure up memories of slurry porridge and compulsory exercise, but fortunately there is one camp in South Africa that will have your kids remembering the complete opposite.
