Top 10 Play Ideas
I often get asked for my favourite ‘play’ ideas for younger children. I think we are all great at entertaining our kids for certain amounts of time but during long periods of lockdown or having to quarantine we ran out of ideas! Here are my top 10 play ideas for the times where you have to stay at home. WATER Kids love water of any description and I often find it can change their mood in an instant. We all feel better after a bath/ shower or even just a splash of water on our faces and kids [...]
The Stabilizers
The story of the stabilizers. My little man had just turned 5 when Santa gave him a new big bike – without stabilisers on it! He had loved his little green bike (with stabilizers) but it was now way too small for him. He loved his new big shiny red bike ….but where were the stabilizers?? Oh it’s no problem – we will help you learn to ride your new bike just like all the other kids on the street. NO! Why don’t you try? No! It will be fun! No! And so my little man took to his scooter. [...]
Gift your kids activities this Christmas!
Have you ever considered gifting your kids activities for Christmas? It’s that time of the year where Grandparents and relatives are starting to ask “What gifts can we get the kids for Christmas?” and the emails are pinging in with the pressure of “Black Friday Deals before Black Friday”!! To be honest I’ve started to dread this. I look around the playroom sorry dump room and sigh….for a couple of reasons. With the best intentions in the world, we have a vast amount of brightly coloured plastic things (that were at one time much desired gifts). Realistically they were over [...]
Five Easy Ways to Calm Younger Children Down
Mindfulness or Calming exercises don't have to be complicated - particularly for younger children. Try one of these next time you need to help your little one out. Blowing bubbles not only distracts kids but blowing out slowly calms down the nervous system. A drop of washing up liquid in a glass of water or on a saucer and get them to blow through a straw. Listening to calming or classical music helps slow down the heartbeat and focus the mind. Pop some on in the car or kitchen and see what happens. Asking kids to hide their eyes and [...]
#letsbekinder
As a Mum muddling her way through this parenting lark, more and more I find myself asking the children to be kinder. Mainly kinder to each other to be honest, but also to their friends and neighbours. We live in a fairly rural community in Cork. Every day on the school run we pass a tiny cottage by the side of a busy road. I couldn’t work out if anyone lived there until in the Summer I saw washing hanging on the line outside. Then one Saturday I saw an old lady waiting for the bus outside her gate – [...]