Proudly South African children’s clothing boutique, Keedo, part of the Cape Union Mart Group, operates with a passion for children, and a love for creating items that are best suited to their growth, development and comfort. With decades of experience in designing items exclusively for kids, “Keedo” has become a trusted name when it comes to child health, safety and care.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, South Africans enter Week 2 of the national lockdown. Ford South Africa, like all other major players in the local auto industry, has temporarily suspended production at its vehicle assembly plant in Pretoria, and its engine assembly plant in Port Elizabeth.
Are you worried that your house needs a thorough disinfecting, but you don’t want to overdo it on harsh chemical-filled cleaning products especially with the kids around?
Bonitas Medical Fund announced that it has extended its free virtual medical consultations to all South Africans. This facility includes medical advice about COVID-19, other medical problems, the writing of prescription, where necessary and free delivery of chronic medication.
They say it takes 21 days to form a new habit – the exact time we have been told to stay at home in order to flatten the curve. Memes all over social media have suggested that most of us have one fear being at home – the refrigerator! And, our fears are not unfounded according to Catherine Clark, Owner and Founder of the Harvest Table. She says that a study conducted by Dr Sandi Mann from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) showed that people who are bored crave fatty and sugary foods.
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.
With every new generation of school going kids, comes the important topic of healthy school lunch boxes. What are some of the healthy things to include in the lunchbox? Why is it important for kids to eat healthy foods while they are at school? What are the best drinks for lunchboxes?
Allergic reactions are becoming more prevalent around the world, especially in more developed countries. This heightened sensitivity may be due to increased exposure to harmful environmental factors, such as air pollution and cigarette smoke, as well as cleaner living environments with fewer micro-organisms and bacterial exposure
As sleep consultants we rarely advise on nutritional problems and always refer our clients to registered dieticians when we do pick up on problems as we are sleep experts after all and NOT feeding experts. However, when we’re working together with parents who have smaller babies, we always address the feeding issue before addressing the sleep.
Yes! Both parents of a child have an obligation to pay for pregnancy related expenses, which are called lying-in expenses, pro-rata according to their means.
Prepare in advance for the financial changes a baby will bring. Start saving as soon as you know you are pregnant, so you get used to living on a reduced income
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.
We ensure all our products are age and stage appropriate for your little ones.
Starting solid foods is an exciting time for you and your baby. Research shows that it is most beneficial to introduce solid foods around 6 months of age (but never before 4 months!).
Fiber helps keep your tot’s digestion regular. Protein is a key building block of little growing bodies and is essential for muscle development.
Parenting is not easy. But, parenting a child on the spectrum is even harder. This is because there are numerous challenges that come with it. One of the challenges is explaining to your neurotypical child about their ASD sibling.
South Africa has seen a significant increase in teen deaths and the reality is that 9% of all teen deaths are due to suicide – and this figure is on the increase. Suicide is the fastest growing cause of death amongst teenagers and young adults between the ages of 15 – 24. But children as young as 7 years are now committing suicide in South Africa the question is why?
Dietary fiber comes from plants: think fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, beans, nuts and seeds. Diets higher in fiber can help lower cholesterol, control blood sugar, maintain bowel health, manage constipation and help promote a healthy weight. In fact, in epidemiological studies, populations with higher dietary fiber intakes tend to have lower chronic disease rates overall. A higher fiber intake provided by foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole- and high-fiber grain products is likely to be lower in calories, fat and added sugar.
As December rolls around, many parents get to breathe a momentary sigh of relief that a monthly school fee payment won’t be going off this month. That is until you remember that you’ll be expected to re-start payments again in January and this time it will come with new text books, school stationery, uniforms and for the bigger “kids”, you might even be paying boarding school or accommodation fees.
It’s Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week and I have decided to talk a little about the car seat harness. The car seat harness holds a child down in the car seat so they cannot slide up, forward and out the car seat in the event of a crash.
Most of us are scared of the dentist which means dental care can easily be overlooked but, taking good care of your teeth will not only leave you with a brilliant smile, it will also keep your mouth healthy. By following a good at-home care regime and regular dental visits, you can decrease the likelihood of health problems in the future.
Too often we read about emergency services and the police force spending hundreds of thousands of Rands on wasted resources due to prank or non-emergency calls. Some emergency services report receiving up to 50 abusive or hoax calls every day. Not only does this waste valuable time for the highly trained personnel but it also causes disruptions to responses to real emergencies and puts people’s lives in danger.
Early introduction of technology in schools is important to close the gap between our current situation and where we need our future graduates to be. It is predicted that by 2031 all repetitive tasks will be replaced by robots, so it is no longer enough to merely teach a child how to use a computer. Children need to be taught those skills that robots cannot do. According to Michelle Lissoos, Managing Director of Think Ahead, these skills include empathy, creativity, and higher cognitive thinking. Using technology to teach these human characteristics might seem contradictory, but technology can open doors for children which would otherwise be impossible in certain home situations.
The social influence of robots on people and the insecurities this can bring should not be underestimated. Research conducted by Kaspersky and Ghent University has found that robots can effectively extract sensitive information from people who trust them, by persuading them to take unsafe actions. For example, in certain scenarios, the presence of a robot can have a big impact on people’s willingness to give out access to secure buildings.
Music is a good therapeutic tool for people with different abilities and ages. This is mostly so for children with autism. Medical experts have shown its calming effects and how it’s helped autistic kids integrate into society.
Back pain is a common problem – 80% of us will experience an episode at some point in our lives. It is associated with many factors that vary from person to person but can be caused by an injury, a disc or joint problem, an irritated nerve root or poor posture. The pain might be acute or chronic but living with either can be debilitating.
Having a baby can be wonderful. It can change your life in so many positive ways. You will love more deeply than you thought possible and moments like your child’s first words will become treasured memories.
South Africans are fortunate enough to live in a country where the people are blessed with wide-open spaces and an abundance of wildlife. Many children in foreign countries are limited in the amount of time they spend outdoors.
We’ve all heard the saying, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. But recent research shows that that is not the case. In their book Words Can Change Your Brain, Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman write: “A single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress.” The saying would perhaps then be more accurate if changed to sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can change my brain.
It is all over the news! How much screen time is too much for young children? What is it about this age of technology and the need to understand the dynamics of our changing world? Are we bringing up a generation of children who are comfortably able to live in a world of humans and computers? Are we allowing little bodies to develop fine and gross motor skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, imagination and creativity? Or are we choosing to remain blind to the negative effects that screen time is having on the physical and cognitive development of our children? Or is it just easier to give in and ignore the very real possibility that too much time on electronic devices is stifling our children’s ability to learn effectively?” According to Cindy Glass, Founder and Owner of Step Up Education Centres these are critical questions and, unfortunately, the answers are not particularly favourable. She offers the following important points for consideration: Children learn by doing, not by having things done for them. Building puzzles, creating imaginative games, playing in the sand or climbing a tree require active involvement from children. They need to think, solve problems and use their innate creativity to enjoy these activities. Furthermore, they develop important motor skills. In a nutshell, children learn how to use their bodies and minds effectively. Sitting for hours in front of a screen involves mindless pressing of ‘buttons’ and instant gratification. This is clearly not ideal for growing and developing children. We live in a world of other human beings. Playing games with other children, be it siblings or friends, involves learning essential emotional intelligence skills. Self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills are learned to a great extent, through interactive play. Parents who spend time playing games or making things with their children enjoy positive relationships and wonderful connections that cannot ever be experienced on a computer. Children who spend time outdoors enjoy the benefits of natural light, the warmth of the sun, exercise and heartfelt laughter. Their developing bodies can enjoy the freedom of running, climbing, riding bikes or sitting in the shade of a tree observing the little creatures that make up their world. There is no computer- generated game or activity that can mimic these essential, healthy lifestyle activities. We live in a world of increasingly demanding technology – that is a fact that we cannot ignore. But Cindy argues that it does not mean that we should deprive young children of essential life and developmental skills by allowing technology to override their natural and innate need to learn through active engagement with their world and all that it offers. “In short, little children do not need devices; they need trees and building blocks, puzzles and crayons,” Cindy concludes.
