Blog - Growing Nimble Families

TV and Your Toddler

in Education, Play activities on 11/07/08

TV and Your Toddler Author: Maeve Rich Children love television. Bright colors and constant action draw them in and can keep them occupied for hours. But is it good for your toddler to be watching [tag]television[/tag]? And if so, how much is acceptable? The Professional Opinion The [tag]American Academy of Pediatrics[/tag]’ position is that children under two shouldn’t watch any… View Post

Play, Rhymes with baby

in Education, Play activities on 11/04/08

Do you sing or clap with your baby? My three month all has two avid singers as company…well three if you count me. My MO sings a version of “Twinkle Twinkle” on a loop that you recognize the tune but not the words. Whereas my BG likes to change [tag]songs[/tag] he knows to include the name of his little brother… View Post

Time for baby play

in Play activities on 10/31/08

“[tag]Babies[/tag] [tag]brains[/tag], it seems, are working overtime, processing information and building neural connections that will serve as foundations to their emotional, social, and intellectual development throughout life.” Baby Minds: Brain-Building Games Your Baby Will Love [tag]Linda Acredolo[/tag], Ph.D., and [tag]Susan Goodwyn[/tag], Ph.D Experiences… with a [tag]newborn[/tag] you forget that lots of things are just…well….new to them. Sensations, sounds, colour. They… View Post

Carnival of Parenting Podcasts No.18

in Play activities, Podcast on 10/28/08

Welcome to the 18th edition of [tag]Carnival of Parenting Podcasts[/tag] It’s a place to share and find some new parenting [tag]podcasts[/tag] from the podcaster and recommendations from those who listen to podcasts. ..Not sure about Podcasts? Try this ecourse. Top 10 Send in your favourite podcasts of the fortnight. Positive Parenting radio: When grandparents become babysitters + Raising well-adjusted kids… View Post

What type of play do you encourage?

in Uncategorized on 10/24/08

Convergent or divergent toys? Which do you regularly choose for your tot? And what are all those expensive educational toys like on the market today? Most are convergent in nature; they usually look for a single, correct answer to a problem because they are busy teaching skills. Yet the research…suggests that [one] group was not only more creative in their… View Post

Fall Fun with leaves

in Education, Play activities, Seasonal play on 10/21/08

In our neighbourhood, while we were out someone came around and heaped the leaves into big piles on our lawn. Seeing all those little hills looked like we’d had an evasion of giant moles. Something drew us to the pile. The kids were soon jumping, throwing and rolling in them. Looking down the street, kids were emerging and doing the… View Post

Playing with keys

in Play activities on 10/17/08

We’ve moved a few times and seem to keep collecting [tag]keys[/tag]. Well I keep collecting keys. I always think it might be important so best to keep it, just in case. So I have a bit of a collection. But if you don’t try asking around. You’d be surprised at how many lonely, lost keys are floating in draws and… View Post

Carnival of Parenting Podcasts No. 17

in Podcast on 10/15/08

Welcome to the 17th edition of Carnival of [tag]Parenting[/tag] Podcasts It’s a place to share and find some new parenting [tag]podcasts[/tag] from the podcaster and recommendations from those who listen to podcasts. Top 10 Send in your favourite podcasts of the fortnight. Yoga Mama Satsangha: Infertility podcast & Blog: episode 51 All about about.com Activated stories: The legend of the… View Post

5 things to take to the playground

in Play activities, Seasonal play on 10/10/08

[tag]Bubbles[/tag] Alternate who has them. When you have them you’ll find other children gravitate towards you and it helps to facilitate [tag]friendships[/tag]. At our local [tag]park[/tag] it’s always a little windy soÂ we get so many more bubbles for little effort- a big bonus for the Middle guy who’s learning to blow. Â Snack + drink Bring something nutritious to keep… View Post

Riveting Reads for boys

in Education, Play activities on 10/07/08

** Don’t forget the celebration contest open until Wednesday 29 Oct 2008. ** Getting [tag]boys[/tag] to stay interested in [tag]reading[/tag] is a common problem as they get older. As a mum , I choose books I think they’ll like. But boys books are just different. I look at my husbands bookshelf and don’t see anything I like so I know… View Post