Powering Smiles This Holiday Season #PowerImagination

powering smiles

Children love to smile and parents love to see their children smile. Unfortunately, at this time of year, for some families, smiles are difficult to find. Every year, thousands of children and their families spend time in Canadian hospitals over the holidays. And while they may have difficulty finding their smiles, I do believe that there is always a smile hiding in there, and we have to find creative ways to bring that out during particularly difficult times. Powering smiles is something that Duracell is passionate about… especially this time of year! For children who are sick, we have to … Continue reading

Holiday Gift Guide from Mattel

Holiday Gift Guide

Have your children written their Dear Santa Letter yet? What items are at the top of their list? Every year, my kids get so excited to write their letters and mail them to Santa in hopes that he will reply. We always chat about the items that are high up on their wish list, but ever since they were wee ones, we encouraged them to ask Santa for a surprise so that they truly could be surprised AND sometimes, it makes it easier for Santa to do his job! He does have a super hard job, don’t you know? Over … Continue reading

Back to School Nerves {Giveaway}

Ease Back to School Nerves

We had a lot of back to school nerves in our house this year! It wasn’t much different than last year, to be honest. The kids were worried about who their teacher would be, what friends would be in their class along with many other worries that are hard to handle when starting something new. Kids often have similar worries when they start up a new extracurricular activity. It is the fear of the unknown. Even though school is well under way this year, it takes some time to get settled and adjusted to the new surroundings, teacher, schedule etc. … Continue reading

Twitter Party ALERT: All About Car Seat Safety #CMRCarSeatSafety

Car Seat Safety

My husband and I always tell our children that it is our job as a parent to ensure first and foremost their SAFETY. The priority of their happiness and everything else comes AFTER their SAFETY. This is difficult sometimes for them to understand or accept, but that does not matter, because it is our job as their parent to ensure this. This may sound harsh, but it is a reality as a parent. In order for our children to be SAFE, it is important to do our research and to learn. One area that is very important is… Car Seat … Continue reading

16 EASY Valentine’s Day Activity Ideas for Kids

Valentines Day Activities

This year, Valentine’s Day is on a weekend. That means, likely many of you will have a bit of extra time on your hands to spend with your children and perhaps you are looking for something to do with them? Kristen from Country Fit Family and I have collected some craft and activity ideas for you to consider. Did you see last week’s post with some super fun Valentine’s Day Treat Ideas? Most of these Valentine’s Day Activity Ideas for Kids are easy and don’t take too much prep. Some of them require you to collect a few materials that … Continue reading

Kids Can Stay Connected to Loved Ones Through Reading

SparkUp Reader

I will never forget when my husband went on his first business trip since having kids. My daughter was about 10 months old and she was well aware of her Dad’s typical daily routine. After nap and towards dinner time, she would start to walk up to our front doors in anticipation of his arrival. Their typical routine would be that she would get Daddy cuddles as soon as he arrived home. At that young age, we couldn’t properly explain why Daddy wasn’t home and the Daddy guilt that my husband was experiencing while he was away was painful to … Continue reading

All Aboard with These Train Party Ideas

train-themed-birthday-party-ideas

Celebrate your birthday child by taking a ride back into the past—or zoom into the future—with a train themed birthday party. Whether you choose a vintage railway or a contemporary city subway, a train themed celebration can go places without leaving the station. A train-centric cake on a dessert table with boxcars full of treats, decorations and favors is a ticket to childhood fun! A charming train shaped invitation can include a boarding pass ticket with party particulars. It will ramp up excitement for your event, and if you encourage guests to bring their boarding pass with them, it can … Continue reading

Is Smartphone Etiquette a Life Skill? #FirstPhoneEtiquette

Lumia 830 Infographic

OK, perhaps I should start at the beginning…. At what age do you think a child should have a smartphone, if at all? AND If children do have a smartphone, where do you think they get their smartphone etiquette from? I’m not sure where I stand on this. With children aged 6 and 9, I still find it rather easy for me to say that my children are much too young and that they will not own a smartphone for a LONG time to come, but it seems like trends are changing! And with changing trends comes new challenges like … Continue reading

5 Tips for Baking with Kids During the Holidays #HallmarkPressPause {Giveaway}

Baking with Kids Giveaway

Many people enjoy baking during the holidays. In fact, holiday baking is often party of a family’s tradition. It is NO secret that children love to bake! However, many parents are often overwhelmed with the extra amount of work that comes along with baking with children. Here are some helpful tips when baking with kids: Get ingredients out and organized ahead of time. – It is amazing what kind of “trouble” children can get into when you are busy trying to locate ingredients and tools. Measure out the trickier ingredients. – Depending on the age of the children, you may … Continue reading

Tips for Supporting Your Children

Tips for Supporting your children

Growing up isn’t easy. Young people today face a number of pressures to succeed, compete, and conform. School, extra-curricular activities, and family can all impact a young person’s mental health and sense of well-being if goals, expectations, and problems start to seem too big. Every young person, regardless of the neighbourhood they live in, the friends they have, the family they come from, or the school they go to will experience challenges and uncertainties as they grow. We can all benefit from having supportive people in our lives, but asking for help isn’t always easy. There are a number of … Continue reading