Category: parenting

How does one raise a reader?

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In all honesty actual reading isn’t on top of my priority list at the moment, well not for Aidan at least.

He will be three soon and I don’t expect him to be reciting sonnets, but I do want him to love books and reading. There is something so special/magical/uplifting about being able to immerse yourself in the written word. Also you can then use sentences like “immerse yourself in the written word” quite successfully-hehe.

Right now I’m working on helping Aidan recognise letters of the alphabet, he is pretty much only interested in the letter A because A is for Aidan.

Here are 6 tips/games I’m using to get Aidan more interested in the other letters…

– I let him trace the letters using colourful stones or beads

– We play a treasure hunting game where we collect pictures (he loves taking pics) of objects that start with a specific letter… ants, apples, antelope (we don’t have antelope or artichokes) he suggested a picture of himself and of this blonde haired Aidan he met once.

– I let him go through my old magazines with a highlighter looking for specific letters

– I let him colour/paint/collage (you know this means tear off paper and  haphazardly glue onto letter right?) the letter of the week

– I use things like scabble or bananagram tiles and have him pick out the letter of the week

– At the end of the week I want to give him a felt letter signaling that he knows that letter now (just thought of that now-don’t you just hate me… we are heading to C now so I better get working on that)

We also read pretty regularly, very regularly. The Kid’sBookClub means we are building quite the collection. The service gives you the chance to build up a library that grows with your kid at the steal of R145 per month. That is two books and two magazines which is AWESOME.

Any more tips on raising a reader???? DO SHARE!

Does my baby need the doctor?

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It’s definitely sick baby season, Aidan is snotty and uncomfortable and some of my friend’s kids are really not dealing with the change of weather too well (feel better soon babas)

I got this very valuable advice from Sr Teresa Hayward a private Registered midwife, specialising in Neonatal Intensive Care  and had to share…

You can get hold of her FACEBOOK or WEBSITE

ADVICE: WHAT TO LOOK FOR AND DECIDE IF YOU NEED TO TAKE BABY TO THE DR:
I often hear from moms how they feel the Drs think they are paranoid. I also know as a mom myself how difficult it is to get an appointment with a Dr. Here are some things to look at and decide whether you can need to take them to a Dr

1. has baby got a temperature – anything above 37.8 is a fever. Babies under 6wks must be seen before giving anything, babies under 6months must be seen but you can give something 1st, if temp comes down, then you can wait till morning, if it doesn’t then go straight away. Remember any temp higher than 38.3 is not related to teething or vaccinations.
2. Feeding – if baby is not feeding or is taking in less than half the normal daily volume then they should be see. Please don’t go to Dr with breastfeeding problems, that is why there are lactation consultants. They will generally just say put on formula
3. Is your baby having wet nappies – how many, colour of urine, blood in nappy (girls under 6wks can have bloody discharge). Remember babies can also get urinary tract infections. Babies urine should not be orange and should not smell strongly.
4. Vomiting – if they are vomiting large amounts after consecutive feeds and if vomit green
5. Is your baby unusually drowsy
6. Does baby appear floppy and focusing visually
7. Is your baby having difficulty breathing – wheezing on out breathes, flaring nostrils, rattly cough, runny nose that is yellow or green
8. Circulation problems or blue nails
9. Diarrhoea
10. Dehydration – this usually goes with no drinking, lethargic, no wees, vomiting and diarrhoea
There are a number of things that a clinic nurse can assist you with and save you a lot of money:
– thrush
– nappy rash
– feeding problems – eg breastfeeding and formula and introduction to solids
– colic and reflux
– constipation
– teething
If you go to Dr:
– be able to tell him the symptoms you are concerned about and what you have seen
– what was last temp
– what meds have you given, when and how much
– how long has baby been sick
– normal meds eg teething, colic, reflux (these can influence what he prescribes)
– other medical conditions eg reflux, colic, asthma etc
– allergies
– when last did baby eat, wee and poo/vomit
Be careful of changing Dr too. Every time you go to a different dr it can affect babies treatment as they don’t know history.

How do you raise a gentleman

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How are jerks made? Everyone knows a guy who just radiates “I’m amazingness”  a guy who bullys,badmouths and generally just thinks the sun shines out of his behind…how are guys like that made? And how can you avoid your precious Lil angel basically turning into a douce?
How can you ensure your kid knows he is special and amazing and can do anything with his life while remembering that he is in fact not better than everyone else and the world doesn’t owe him anything?
I want Aidan to respect his elders, to take care of those less fortunate, to have a good heart and basically NOT be full of himself…
I don’t want him to be a racist,a bigot, and quite generally an idiot.
I know that as his mom I don’t have full control of his personality but I guess I will just try to do my part, like not laugh if he makes fun of anyone else, not encourage him putting anyone down, I’ll try to make sure he knows a diverse set of people and not be afraid to reprimand him if I see him acting the fool.
Mostly I will just pray for him and try my best… luckily he has some great men,like his dad and mine, to look up to and that is a good start.