Sugar Bay Holiday camp is in the business of entertaining kids, and they have shared some tips of how to entertain your kids during the lock-down. Redirect your kids from screens and create a fun, holiday environment at home.
When it comes to investing in items for your kids, it’s important to remember that all our needs are different. The items we choose are dependent on our lifestyle, our financial situations and what’s best for baby. When choosing an infant seat, find a reputable brand that you can trust, that has the highest level of safety… A seat that’s functional and comfortable for your child considering that they spend quite a chunk of their lives in various seats.
The national lockdown due to COVID-19 has not only seen many parents temporarily become teachers but it has also changed the way many teachers teach. While some struggled to make the transition to online teaching, others did not have quite such a hard time. We asked a local teacher to share his advice on how to teach during the national lockdown.
As moms, we’re determined to get it right… and, by ‘it’, we mean parenting.
The gift of time…something we all wish for and never seem to have enough of. Now that we have it, despite the circumstances we are experiencing, why does it seem that we can’t wait for it to end?
A car seat will no doubt be the most important purchase a parent will make when it comes to baby travel. A mandatory purchase, car seat purchases should be well-thought out to ensure the safest and longest use for the child.
We’ve been cooking up scrummy, nutritious baby and toddler meals and snacks since 1992. It may seem like common sense to us today, but making sure little ones ate a varied diet, full of texture and taste from real fruit and veggies, was a much less talked about idea back then, when our healthy-eating campaigner Lizzie Vann founded Organix. After searching in vain for healthy organic baby and toddler food she decided to make her own and this was how Organix was born.
For generations, we have grown up in classrooms where we learnt the same information at the same pace, regardless of our interests or needs – the ‘one size fits all’ approach. But the dawn of the 4th Industrial Revolution, and more recently the Coronavirus pandemic, has shone a light on the need to take a different approach to learning and teaching. For example, E-learning, which refers to the use of information and communication technologies to enable the access to online learning/teaching resources, has the benefit of flexibility; convenience; cost effectiveness and immediacy. In addition, a dynamic e-learning platform not only meets the needs of different students, but it also enriches learning in classroom settings. The Western Cape government, for example, has committed to spending R1.2-billion to implement e-learning in 1 250 local schools, which is a significant step toward bridging the education gap in South Africa.
If I tell you that things went horribly wrong when I gave birth to my daughter, I am not overreacting. I’m not talking about a poor maternal or foetal outcome here, since both Eryn and I were perfectly healthy throughout the labour process. I’m talking about my birth plan, and somehow I doubt I’m not the only one who had her entire birth plan turned upside down.
As the number of Covid-19 infections moves over 10 000, the health minister Zweli Mkhize has expressed concern about the huge risk group of South Africans suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. In other words Comorbidities.
We all hate putting our children through any pain, but when it comes to protecting them from some pretty scary diseases, it is the least we can do for them. Our children are constantly exposed to many different viruses, bacteria, and other microbes from the time they are born. Most are not harmful, some are beneficial, but a few can cause disease. The body’s immune system helps protect us against these harmful infections. When we are exposed to infection, the immune system triggers a series of responses to neutralise the microbes and limit their harmful effects.
With COVID-19 following us into winter we are going to have many more other viruses to worry about. Viruses that cause the common cold and Influenza are going to peak over the next few months. Since many of these respiratory illnesses share common symptoms it can become confusing trying to figure out which virus is responsible for your symptoms and even cause you to panic unnecessarily every time you get a tickle in your throat thinking it’s Corona.
Being stuck at home isn’t easy for everyone, especially those who miss the great outdoors, those who feel lonely living alone and parents who have suddenly been thrust into balancing homeschooling with working from home.
Car seats are expensive. Better car seats are more expensive. The cost of car seats is a common debate, even though in the end it isn’t really relevant. The safest car seat for you is the best one you can afford that installs safely in your car and matches the weight, height and age needs of your child.
The national lockdown due to COVID-19 has seen many learners who normally attend a traditional school temporarily become homeschoolers. Parents in turn now have to juggle working from home and educating their children. And, while it might seem like a daunting task at first, the flexible nature of home education means that you can work and homeschool your kids. With some planning, flexibility, teamwork, and creative scheduling, it can be done.
If there’s one person who knows just how to push your buttons, aside from your husband, it’s his mother!
A car seat will no doubt be the most important purchase a parent will make when it comes to baby travel. A mandatory purchase, car seats should be well-thought out to ensure the safest and longest use for the child.
Parents play a critical role in providing learning opportunities at home and in linking what children learn at school with what happens elsewhere. The term ‘academic socialisation’ refers to certain kinds of parental behaviours which have a positive impact on learning and academic outcomes. When parents reinforce learning at home by incorporating learned skills into everyday routines and activities, they become a critical factor in their child’s overall learning and education. Research has found that learning becomes more meaningful when the lessons are applied to real-life situations; it has been suggested that the influence of parents on learner achievement is 60-80%, while school accounts for 20-40% per cent.
There is no reason why mom shouldn’t be spoiled every day of the year, we all know she deserves it, but Mother’s Day is extra special and the perfect opportunity to celebrate the most important woman in our lives. Here are a few must-have spoils that can be enjoyed and delivered after the lockdown restrictions have been lifted…. What does a mom really want? To be organised, save time, get the balance right… and look fabulous doing it. As a mom herself, Lou Harvey knows what the perfect gift is and she has just unveiled her latest collection of designs. There’s also a good balance of work and play in all of Lou’s items – practical, yet pretty, making them a must-have for any mom. Think bags in every shape and size, cosmetic bags, coolers, stationary and so much more. Browse the range online www.louharvey.com in the comfort of your home and have items delivered straight to your door (after lockdown). The all-new sophisticated Thule Spira collection has just been unveiled for today’s modern woman and is the perfect companion for mom when she needs to start travelling again. Each piece has been uniquely designed as a daily, all-in one solution, with lots of space and smart storage compartments. The stylish 7-piece collection, available in elegant colours, includes a carry on pieces and checked luggage, as well as versatile totes and a backpack for convenient day-to-day use. www.thulestore.co.za * Synonymous with celebrations, what better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than with a a glass of delicious bubbly . Mionetto Prosecco is the world’s best-selling Prosecco and answers the call for a premium, exceptionally-made, genuine Italian Prosecco fit for any occasion. Its price tag makes it possible to enjoy an imported glass of bubbly as an everyday luxury. * Using grapes chosen for their balance of sweetness and acidity and harvested at night to maintain their freshness, Grace du Roi sparkling wines offer a lively bubble, and a refreshing green apple and pear character, while the Rose variants offer a hint of raspberry and cream. Choose from White Gold, Rose Gold and White Sapphire, or spoil mom with all three! * If you have a mom that likes gin as much as she loves you then a bottle of the locally distilled Bloedlemoen (pronounced ‘Blue’d Le Moon’) needs to be on her gift list. The world’s first Blood Orange Gin, all the fruit is locally sourced from growing partners in the Cape and is distilled using 10 botanicals. * And for ‘what to drink when you’re not drinking’, mom can indulge in Seedlip, the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic drink. Seedlip derives its three flavor profiles from historical accounts of non-alcoholic, plant-based remedies with spicy, citrusy, and herbaceous notes. A bottle of Seedlip is a great gift for the discerning and mindful mom. A unique piece of jewellery always makes the perfect gift! The Autumn 2020 Della Jewellery collection embraces the global trend of mindfulness and sustainability with a selection of limited edition pieces, that incorporates precious stones – think amazonite, labradorite, moonstones and dyed sapphires – all set in recycled brass. Order now online www.della.co.za and have mom’s jewels delivered in statement Della style after lockdown. * Available after alcohol restrictions have been lifted
Dairy is such an integral part of our family’s healthy eating that we don’t want lockdown to compromise our daily enjoyment of these nutritious and versatile products. At a time, when we want to look after our health and support our immune systems, dairy in our diets has so much to offer as a unique high-quality protein source with a wide profile of essential micro-nutrients. Luckily, there are a variety of product solutions and lots of fantastic new hacks, shared by Rediscover Dairy, to help you easily manage, buy, store and use dairy during lockdown.
Here are a few ideas to help save your sanity during the COVID-19 lockdown… The thought of being stuck at home, unable to even walk around the block, adds a whole new level of anxiety surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic for many people. For parents, it also means trying to homeschool and work – which seems impossible. It’s not going to be a walk in the park (that’s forbidden anyway), but here are some tips to help you navigate the lockdown period while maintaining some level of sanity: Set meal times and pack snacks The walk to the fridge is a short one, making it all the easier to snack. And if you have kids, their boredom-induced constant demand for snacks could drive you nuts. An easy way to avoid this is to stick to set meal and snack times. You could also pack lunch boxes – as you would do for a school day. If your kids are old enough to help, do this together while tidying up after breakfast. Packing lunch and snacks once a day should help keep calories in check and reduce the amount of time you have to spend in the kitchen – which is all the more helpful when you have to work from home. Start your day with movement We could all use the stress-busting and immune-boosting benefits of exercise right now and starting the day with exercise is a great idea. In an interview on The Happier Podcast with Gretchen Rubin, Kelly McGonigal, author of The Joy of Movement, says that there is a morning effect or first part of the day effect. She says that research shows that when you exercise, basically, it changes the way you experience stress and improves your interactions with people that you experience. “So if you exercise first thing in the morning, you tend to show up to your next encounter, or whatever that role is as parenting or work, as a different version of yourself – one that is going to be less flustered when something goes wrong, one that’s better going to enjoy connecting with people,” says McGonigal. Since you can’t go to the gym or for a run in your neighbourhood, try following YouTube workouts, dust off those old workout DVDs, have a family dance party, go for a run in your garden or climb the stairs in your home a few times. Monique Warner Monique is All4Women’s Health Editor. When she’s not editing health articles, Monique compiles our gardening and home décor …
As parents we worry a lot about our children’s health and most especially now, with this new coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2). With so much information currently available online about COVID-19 it can become difficult for us to sift through the real from the fake news. I hope to simplify things a little in this post and share some of the more convincing theories we have on COVID-19 in children.
The health of the gut is tied to our children’s overall health and wellness, their immune function, their brain function and even their temperament. (1) (2) (3)
Giving gifts during social isolation can assist in alleviating the boredom and loneliness that many people may be feeling. It could also be a birthday or some special occasion and you don’t want your loved ones to feel like they are forgotten.
Since children who spend time in nature are healthy and happier, here are some tips for creating a natural outdoor play area in your garden…
Knowing what your little explorer should be having in their diet, from good nutrients to the perfect portion size can be confusing. GOOD NUTRIENTS As your baby grows into a toddler, it’s a time of rapid change and development. Everything is a big new adventure which can make things tricky when it comes to food and mealtimes. Organix (a brand dedicated to making tasty and nutritious organic baby and toddler food) has put together a guide to find out what nutrients your toddler needs… Vitamin D: Needed for healthy bones. Under 5s will need to take a supplement as what they need can’t be found in food alone. Vitamin A: Helps keep little one’s immune system tip top along with their vision. Find it in liver, sweet potato and leafy greens. Zinc: Great for healing scratches and grazes and an energy boost. Lots of dairy foods, meat, fish and eggs contain it. Vitamin C: Helps with growth and repair of skin and other tissues. Oranges, mango, cauliflower, broccoli and berries all contain it. Iron: Essential for making healthy blood cells & carrying oxygen. It’s in red meat, fish, poultry, eggs & beans, lentils & dried fruits. PORTION SIZES There is no ‘ideal’ portion size for toddlers, they should be eating a balanced and healthy diet along with these portions of the four main food groups a day. 5-a-day fruit and veggies: Offer at each meal & as some snacks. Go for a rainbow of colours! 2-a-day protein foods: Meat, fish, eggs, crushed nuts, nut butters & pulses. 5-a-day starchy foods: Such as bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and cereals. 3-a-day dairy foods: Milk, cheese & yogurt (or calcium enriched plant-based alternatives).
Parents play a big part in shaping children’s eating habits. In a fast paced world where most parents have to juggle their time between work, play and home and are faced with all the latest food fads, it is no surprise that some parents may need some help understanding what healthy food for their little ones is. Getting children to eat what’s best for them can be a challenge, and giving in to their pestering for less-than-nutritious food can make it awfully confusing. Remember you are the parent and you do the shopping.
Let’s face it, saving money today is not easy and I am the first person to admit it! I am a wife and a mom of 2 young boys, and it is very difficult. Society is not helping things in this department at all. It is getting more and more difficult to save money because everywhere you look there are big billboard signs, adverts on TV and social media, we are being bombarded all our waking hours with wonderful looking products, getaways, houses, cars etc they want YOU to buy.
The incentive for learning any additional language is distinctive to every household. However, in the South African context, given the vast social, cultural, historical and practical benefits, isiZulu is a great language to choose and learning it has many advantages and benefits.
As lock down enters its second month most Moms and Dads are staring blankly in a daze thinking of another idea to entertain the busy toddler.
