As September looms upon us (sorry to bring that up), it is time to begin thinking about getting children ready to go to, or go back to, school. For some that means they will be falling back into fairly regular routines, while for others it means an entirely new and exciting experience! The best thing […]

Once children are off to preschool, or school, many parents tend to leave it to the teacher to work on pre-reading skills, and trust that their young child is learning what they need to in school.   The truth is, that learning is a triad of student, family, and school. All three must be invested […]

Whether it’s only been a few months, or it has been a couple of years, going back to work after being at home with your little one is never easy. This is a reality that almost all families deal with at some point, unless one of the parents is able to be the daytime caregiver […]

Yes, it’s THAT time of year again. Oh joy! For children who are quite structured with going to bed at the same time every night and waking up at the same time every morning, the time change can cause a ‘sleep debt’ for a little while which is why it is most noticeable in babies […]

“How Much Sleep is Optimal?” For new (and repeat!) parents or clients, this is a very common question! There is no firm answer; the younger the child, the more likely the amount will vary a little. However, there are general guidelines that you can use to see if your little one falls near the mark […]

As mentioned in last week’s blog – making time for yourself and partner is as important as anything you can do for yourself and your family!   “Date night” doesn’t mean you need to leave the house or spend money on a sitter either.   Sometimes, we feed the kids and put them to bed, […]

When to keep your sick baby/child at home I read an article recently which stated that “The common cold is not enough reason to keep a child at home.”. In which universe? I agree that the occasional runny nose or very mild cough is not enough reason to have to take a few days off […]

While the rest of the country heads into Spring, us Albertans are familiar with that last big bunch of snow that hits in mid to late March, every year. And, today is the day apparently. Thank goodness it’s not accompanied by horribly cold temperatures, so it’s actually the perfect weather to enjoy some outdoor snowy […]

I read this the other day: “Welcome to Parenthood, where everyone is always right. Except you.” I get a kick out of that statement, because it can often ring true! There is SO much information (and misinformation) floating around these days, that it can be hard to read between the lines, and weed through the […]

Being a former teacher of children in the pre-reading and early reading stages, letter recognition and early literacy skills are pretty important in my family and professional life. Here are a couple really simple ideas to introduce letters and letter sounds to young children (and remember, there is no such thing as too young!) Labeling: […]

Well, THAT is a very good question indeed. The term ‘sleep training’ (as most families have become familiar with it, anyway) seems to mean to use a program or a plan where you follow steps with your child to get them sleeping through the night. Period. It also now carries a rather negative connotation, and […]

While socializing with you is important for your only child, it is also important to learn social skills by interacting with other children. Children learn a great deal from each other, so it is important to introduce your only child to other children, at a young age and throughout childhood until they make their own […]

I wanted to share this article with my readers: http://psychcentral.com/lib/teaching-your-baby-sign-language-can-benefit-both-of-you/0002423 I knew the potential benefits for using it with my own child, because I had researched it, worked with it and seen it benefit MANY other families. However, I had NO idea just how beneficial it would be. My two year old has been learning […]