Dealing with separation anxiety when kids return to school can be heartbreaking. Whether kindergarten or university, many parents struggle with tears and phone calls during this time of change. It takes strength and trust in the teachers to leave your child in a state of duress. Here are a few ideas of what may help to mitigate the anxiety for both of you.
What’s more stressful than trying to get the kids off to school in the morning? (Besides a pandemic). It has to be that moment when we walk in the door after school. Everyone is tired and grumpy. After sitting in the long, slow carpool lines and battling traffic on the drive home, I am irritated and impatient. My kids have a million stories about their day, competing with each other to get a word in, while getting louder and louder. When we get home I feel rushed to unpack the lunch bags and backpacks. There are homework planners to sign, papers to file away, dirty lunch containers to clean, and school flyers to read. And then the homework hoopla begins.
Summer fun happens in the pool. For all the fun that happens there, pool safety for kids is really important. Keeping safety in mind is the best way to avoid joining the scary statistics around drowning. The dangers of pools and swimming shouldn’t be overlooked. We’ve compiled some handy tips so you can enjoy the summer fun.
As a daughter with only a basic understanding of the XY set, trying to find the perfect gift for the Dad who has, literally, everything can be a challenge. We scoured the malls, boutiques and the internet to come up with the top 5 items that ANY Urban Daddy would be proud to call his very own.
When you are cooking with kids, there is such a huge feeling of accomplishment when they learn how to do things from scratch. Even better? When they can get super-dirty doing it! Rolling meatballs by hand is one of life’s greatest thrills. There is so much control over what happens too – tiny, huge. Bake them. Fry them in a pan. A touch of Worcestershire, a dash of spice. Teaching kids to cook creatively are lessons that will last them a lifetime. Meatballs and the creation of a homemade ruby red sauce are great places to begin.
This is the perfect intro to making pasta with your kids. Known as ‘little ear’ pasta, orecchiette looks like cute little cups. Or pig’s ears. It’s mind-boggling to watch children’s faces as you turn a heap of flour on the counter into handmade pasta without the use of a machine! It’s also such a rush to make a water-filled well out of the flour and carefully incorporate the sides without letting the water escape. Making orecchiette and Alfredo sauce with kids is both satisfying and delicious.
I had the honour of accompanying my father-in-law on the first day vaccinations opened at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. We booked him in the day the system went live, and I couldn’t find anything anywhere on the internet about what to expect at Toronto’s mass-vaccination spots so decided to write some tips so you can plan the visit. Where to park? Should I bring a book? Can he walk the distance? Before I go through it, I must say that the experience was sterile, super-friendly, and very efficient. There were far fewer people being vaccinated than I expected, but on the first day I suspect they were testing the systems and protocols.
One of our most popular posts is about how to connect more with kids. I came up with 36 topics to chat about around the dinner table, and this seems to have filled a big need with readers. Our family could certainly use a few more – especially during a pandemic when we’ve been together for a BILLION YEARS. Ok, 12 months. But that is an awfully long time, even if you all love each other a bunch. Here are 50 family dinner discussion topics (pandemic version), which happen to be a bit deeper than the first batch. Covid. World ending. People dying. Go figure!
There’s no denying the importance of “couple time.” Date night gives you the chance to reconnect with the person you knew before they became the person with whom you co-parent. Time alone together lets you strengthen your commitment, rekindle a romantic spark, and relieve stress. These days, going ‘out’ during lockdowns isn’t really an option for most people. Here are some movie ideas – classics, romances, and comedies – along with specialty cinema-inspired cocktails to enjoy while you snuggle.
