Returning to the 9-5 or typical school and work routine after break or holidays can cause allot of confusion, frustration and feelings of being overwhelm.
To our youngest members of the family it can be like we just changed the rules without warning and suddenly raised our expectations beyond what they feel they can achieve.
Surviving Car journeys with babies and toddlers; its important to prepare for success. So often we have such high expectations for the smallest members of our family whilst giving them minimal resources. A ten minute car journey can feel like a week to a young child. An actual long journey like an hour plus needs to be prepared for if you want it to be a peaceful and successful journey. A successful journey will be a great representation to the child of how to behave in the car in future and that car journeys can be tolerated and even enjoyed. Continuous unsuccessful car journeys can begin to create an association and then you’ll be tackling a whole bigger issue. Preparing an achieving successful journeys is akin to a good investment, it will pay off for you in the long run. You’ll have kids that don’t find the car aversive and are very tolerant of journeys long our short.
One of the most frequent conversations I have with parents goes a little like this………………………..
Parent: My toddler has started to ——————- towards my baby.
Insert type of aggression: push, pull, throw, hit, slap, bite, pinch.
Me: When did this begin?
Parent: I think it started a few weeks ago when they baby started —————-.
Insert Milestone: sitting, crawling, weaning, talking, standing, walking
Me: When does it happen?
Parent: Normally, when I’m there, it definitely feels like its for my attentionf ollowed by; But I make sure they don’t feel displaced by baby and/or, But I give them loads of one to one and/or, But they love their brother/sister so much.
Toilet Training is one of those milestones that causes stress for most parents, especially with more and more pre school services expecting them to be independent regardless of age. A lot of parents are feeling the pressure to train and not sure whether their child is actually ready.
If you are not feeling this pressure then my personal attitude is wait, wait and wait some more. You can only start potty training too early there’s no such thing as too late. Don’t be pushed by Granny or by neighbour Janet most importantly even after reading my advice go with your gut. You know your child best.
Why make a sensory bin…. sure they’ve load of toys? Well because sensory play supports so many elements of development; language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction. Not to mention the obvious bonus of supporting you getting something done round the house (without a child hanging off you 🙈)
Fota Wildlife is one of Irelands gems. Its an annual must do for our family and it will always be part of the boys childhood. We’re only an hour from Cork city so I have an eternal soft spot for the city and count, it being the centre point for so many of my own childhood memories and family days out.
I love a recipe that covers a multitude of meal time woes and the croquette really does that. They cover a side dish, a main, a lunch or even a breakfast. What ever meal or dish in your life needs a little inspiration or even just a little variety these may be just what you’re looking for!
The Toddlers in our lives are a far more complicated bunch than they would appear. They often talk and act a lot older than their age and sometimes even lull us into a false sense of not only maturity but of emotional understanding and even have us believing their comprehension is more developed than it is. This is totally normal and all part of that Toddler rollercoaster. When expectations are raised above their abilities, you can expect tantrums, meltdowns, aggression, screaming and no doubt tears! We’ve set our little toddlers up for failure. Toddlers can feel like a mystery from one day to the next fighting over which colour plate and tantrumming over what seems like the silliest of things. Today I’ll take one area of communication we as parents can nurture, in an attempt at reducing some of these toddler frustrations and in turn hopefully nurturing some positive behaviors.
Flying with toddlers is not for the faint hearted, the disorganised or those who care too much about what the people around them think.
Deirdre Holland Hannon 