At Twinkl we have such a wide range of resources for all. One thing we focus on is pregnancy and newborns, and in this blog we will be looking at some of Twinkl’s top breastfeeding resources. We’d love you to share these with friends, family and anyone who you think could need them.
Benefits of Breastfeeding Guide
Our benefits of breastfeeding guide takes a look at how breastfeeding can be positive for both the baby and the mother. It’s a resource to gain information for yourself or for services to use to share with growing families in their care. Using this guide allows the parent to make the informed choice on what they feel is best for themselves and their baby.
Breastfeeding Q&A
This useful guide,written by a qualified midwife, helps give you further education and knowledge surrounding breastfeeding. With information including; mixed feeding, mental health and breastfeeding, how often to breastfeed and help with using a breast pump, you will feel fully prepared and ready for your breastfeeding journey.
How Can I Support Someone Who Is Breastfeeding
This resource comes from a different perspective in that it helps you to learn more about supporting a breastfeeding person. It is, again, written by a qualified midwife with knowledge and information that will help you. It involves; becoming knowledgeable about breastfeeding, supporting with giving expressed milk, and helping with other breastfeeding related tasks.
Q&A with a Midwife
The final resource to share is another q&a with a qualified midwifebut is a little wider in the topics. It includes answers to the most asked questions by new parents. The topics include; breastfeeding, sleep deprivation, baby poo and low mood. Once you’ve finished the q&a, we hope you will have a deeper understanding of what to expect as a new parent and how to deal with some of the issues and challenges that may arise.
Thanks so much for reading our guest blog post here. If you’d like to learn more about Twinkl, please visit us here. We’d love to have you!
Enriching Playtime with Music. Image from momitforward.com
Whether singing songs with your toddler or playing classical music to the baby in your growing womb, most people already recognize the benefits of exposing young children to music. Here are some of the pretty amazing impacts which music can have on little ones.
Music and the Young Brain
Song and other music represent powerful tools for development because they simultaneously promote growth in a number of different areas. Simply singing a lullaby while nursing or rocking a baby to sleep can stimulate early language development, encourage attachment and increase a baby’s expanding spatial awareness.
Engaging with your child through music, whether it is sing-along time or dancing, is a social experience which helps little one’s learn valuable social and emotional skills. Lullabies may help with self regulation. Songs from your childhood support cultural awareness. Self-esteem and self-confidence come from enjoying sound and taking part in it.
As musical sound helps kids begin to comprehend emotions and build relationships, their fine and gross motor skills also begin to develop and improve. Learning to clap and use your fingers during interactive tunes like, “Wheels on the Bus” or “I’m a Little Teapot” can foster balance, coordination and motor control.
Music at Play
For children, play is an essential component of learning and growing. Playtime activities allow their imaginations to expand as they emulate the real world and practice interacting.
There are many different types of play. Some of the basics include:
Active, physical play
Dramatic, imaginative play
Creative, expressive play
Social play
Mental play
Music can combine with any of these play styles. During active play, children can dance to an upbeat song. In dramatic play, little ones can present a performance. As a part of creative play, they can invent new songs, practice beating a drum or create their own instrument out of craft supplies.
Social play refers to interaction between children. And music can be a part of this as well when kids sing songs together, etc. Finally, when exploring the world of mental play, children can learn about rhythm and beat and naming the notes in music.
Incorporating Music Every Day
Music is a powerful tool for simply lifting a family’s mood. “According to a recent Harris Interactive survey of parents and children ages 1—5 years,” writes blog.nj.com, “listening to music during playtime makes children happier, sillier, more excited and engages them in play for longer periods of time; music also makes parents feel more relaxed.”
Music and play fit together very naturally. And even without parents’ help, most kids will add music to their fun activities through singing and drumming on pots and pans. But the surprising benefits of music exposure should certainly motivate moms and dads to consciously introduce music into the home.
With Christmas coming up, there are some fantastic gifts that will encourage children to play with music. There are basic instruments that make great stocking stuffers and presents like:
Rhythm sticks
Penny whistle
Recorder
Harmonica
Beat drums
Tambourine
Keyboard
Melody harp
Ukulele
By singing in the car, playing with beginner instruments and dancing in the living room, kids and parents alike can enjoy the amazing effects of music and play.
A bit about Jessica Socheski:
Jessica is a freelance writer who is passionate about family life and college success. When not writing and researching, you can find Jessica swimming at the beach. You can connect with Jessica via Twitter @JessicaSocheski
Starting the day right with a healthy breakfast. Image courtesy of marin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
When you become a parent something happens. Your time that you previously invested in yourself now is invested in your children instead. While to a certain extent this is a good thing, it can also cause you to neglect your health and weight maintenance, causing you to gain weight and lose muscle. But how can you maintain a healthy weight when you are a parent? Here are some quick tips to help you out:
Move Deliberately – As a parent you are always moving, but try to make your movements deliberate. Make use of every opportunity to fit fitness into your life. A walk to the park with the kids can turn into a vigorous jog with them riding alongside on their bikes. A trip to the pool or beach can turn into racing laps and showing your kids how to do the backstroke. Even having races in the knee deep water along the sea shore can be a fun and active way for you and your kids to stay fit.
No Wasted Time – Even television or play time can become an excuse to work out. Help your kids to play active games like relay races, freeze tag, and soccer. They love to have their parents playing alongside! While watching a movie or show get up during the commercials and do activities like jumping jacks, sit-ups, or push-ups. See how many you can do before the show comes back on, or set up a competition to think of a new activity for every commercial. Not only does this help you stay fit but it helps the kids from becoming couch potatoes too!
Healthy on the Go Snacks – In the car and hustling from school to activity you tend to be harried and rushed. That does not mean you have to stop at a fast food place to pick up an unhealthy snack. Instead make up grab and go snacks for you and your kids. Homemade trail mixes, dry cereal, dried fruit and more can be great tasty snacks that keep you fuller longer than French fries. Plus you can tailor make the snack to you and your child’s tastes. Don’t like apples? Leave them out! Love almonds? Throw them in! Mix it up for tasty snacks that can go anywhere anytime you need them.
Balanced Mealtimes –Dinner time comes around again and you are stuck out. Do not order a pizza; instead whip up a tasty and healthy meal in moments. There are many ways to make meal time healthy without a lot of work. Plan your meals ahead of time so that you have the ingredients on hand. You can even chop or prepare them on the weekend and have them ready to go. Slow cookers are a great way to have a hot meal waiting for you when you get home. Or whip up a double batch one day and freeze half so that you have a meal you can pop in the oven at a moment’s notice. Be sure to be aware of portion sizes so that you and your child get the nutrition you need without any extra calories. For dessert trade cakes and cookies for fruit and berries and feel better!
Get Some Sleep – For both kids and adults, sleep is vital to a healthy lifestyle. People who do not get enough sleep eat more, are less active and gain more weight. Instead, set up a schedule where your family has plenty of time to get the recommended amount of sleep for their ages. Remember that children need even more sleep than adults. You can also stay healthy by maintain the same sleep schedule even over the weekend or on vacation. The human body likes to go to sleep and get up at the same time every day. Even during the summer you can still maintain your sleep schedule and feel more active and fit during your day.
These are just a few of the ways you and your kids can maintain a healthy weight together. As a parent you are responsible for the health of your children. Give them a good example to look up to and help them to grow up with healthy habits that will serve them for a lifetime. Remember they will do what you do, so stay active and fit for your kids’ sake!
Author Bio:
This post is contributed by Christine Maddox. Currently she is pursuing her Master’s degree from University of Texas as well as blogging for www.4nannies.com. She loves to write anything related to parenting, kids, nanny care etc. Send Christine an email
If your family is anything like mine, taking vacations with kids is always an adventure. While it can be lots of fun, there are always unexpected events and problems. One of the biggest challenges is to keep everyone healthy. I’ve found that there are certain practices that can keep the whole family healthier and happier when we’re traveling together.
Tip 1: If you are going to a theme park, it’s very important that the kids are well rested. That’s why I am rather fussy about where we stay. It’s not always a good idea to choose the cheapest motel or hotel in the area. Some of these places are not really family friendly. They may be noisy at night, for example. So when you are searching through a prime location amongst many Orlando and Walt Disney World hotels, I always look for places that have quiet hours policy so I know that the kids will be able to get a good night’s sleep. This make them much better company as we take on the theme parks and other adventures.
Tip 2: Many restaurants in America tend to serve very large portions. This is not the healthiest way to eat, and it can make everyone feel tired and sluggish. Additionally, it’s not very good if you’re trying to stick to a diet! That’s why I always ask to take home leftovers at the end of dinner! That way I don’t overeat and I can always refrigerate the meal back at the hotel and have a nice lunch for the next day and save a littlemoney also!
Tip 3: Always prepare a hygiene kit before you leave for your trip. This should include hand sanitizers, sanitary wipes and face masks. You can use these items when soap and water is not available for washing. Face-masks are useful if the air is polluted or there are sick people nearby. This isn’t hard to put together, and it can help to keep the whole family healthier.
Tip 4: When traveling with a baby or very young child, it’s best to give yourself enough room. If possible, find a hotel room that has an extra room for the baby. This will make it easier for the baby to sleep and will give the rest of the family some freedom to make a little noise without waking the little one.
Tip 5:Young children are especially prone to ear pain when flying. The tubes in their ears are more sensitive to changes in air pressure. That’s why you should bring along some items to prevent or treat ear problems. Gum or hard candy are useful for preventing ear discomfort. This works for adults as well, but it’s even more important for kids. You should also bring ear-drops and children’s aspirin in case they do experience any pain.
These are some of the hints and tricks that I use when traveling with kids. I have found that making such preparations makes a big difference. By keeping everyone healthy, safe and well rested we all have a better time on our vacation.
Kendra Thornton – Guest Blogger
Kendra is a Travel advocate, TV spokesperson, PR businesswoman, proud wife and mama of 3 wonderful kids.
While it may be cute to dress twins up in identical clothing and provide identical bedding and toys, there will come a time when they want to be viewed as individuals. Although choices and likes may remain the same as his or her twin, they could just as easily begin to differentiate themselves from the other. In order for your child to grow as an individual, you need to give them those choices and let them develop their own personalities.
1. Comparisons and Labels – Sometimes it may be hard on a parent, but you need to stay away from comparing one child to the other. Saying things like, “your brother likes it” and “why can’t you be more like your sister” can be some of the utmost disparaging remarks you can make to someone who is trying to solidify himself or herself from the other. Sayings such as these can also make it seem you are putting emphasis on the allure of the other twin. You don’t want to split your affections and you need to realize that each child is going to look at the world differently.
2. Food Choices – Allowing them to choose their own meals can be beneficial to each child securing their individuality. His or her tastes are going to change over time and there is nothing to say that each child will prefer the same dish that his or her twin enjoys. Something as simple as food can make a difference in how children feel about themselves and empower them to make future decisions.
3. Clothes – Avoid forcing them to dress alike. If they wish to wear the same clothes, then that is their decision to make. However, too many parents force wearing alike onto their children in order to promote that they are indeed twins. Allow them to choose their own wardrobe and encourage the individuality.
4. One-on-One – In order to help promote individuality, spend one-on-one time with each child separately, but equally. Try to avoid spending more time with one over the other. This could seem like favoritism. Let the child specify which activity he or she would like to do with you. This helps him or her develop decisions on the child’s own without being influenced by the twin. Passive and submissive behaviors in one child could make it seem like they’re alike when they’re truly not.
5. Birthdays – When it comes to the birthday cake, let each sibling decide which one he or she would rather have. Instead of one large cake for both of them to share, why not use two smaller cakes each with their own candles for the children to blow out individually? This could help the child signify that although the date on the calendar is shared with their sibling, it is still a special day for him or her as an individual.
Although the above helps develop individuality, don’t try to discourage a bond that twins have the ability to form. They may simply enjoy being the same as their twin and prefer to remain that way. Allow them the chance to discover themselves without driving a wedge in between them. You can promote individuality without forcing it on them. Allow each to make their own decisions and let situations develop from there.
Author Bio:
This post is contributed by Christine Maddox. Currently she is pursuing her Master’s degree from University of Texas as well as blogging for www.4nannies.com. She loves to write anything related to parenting, kids, nanny care etc. Send Christine an email
What you do in the morning can set the tone for how successful the rest of your day is. This fact is emphasised by a number of axioms like ‘the early bird catches the worm’, ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ and ‘early to bed, early to rise, makes a (wo)man healthy wealthy and wise’. Phrases like these and others underscore the importance of having a good morning. By following just a few of these guidelines, you will be able to inspire your kids and loved ones as well as yourself, and start the day off right.
Creating a Successful Morning
A recent study by Fastcompany.com looked at what successful people do in the mornings to ensure that their days were productive and successful. The answers submitted included not wasting time by checking emails right away, avoiding procrastination by checking the worst things off the to-do list first, and taking advantage of commute time.
Workers can waste up to an hour or more when they check their email right away. By saving this task until later in the day, workers can be more focused and effective in the morning. Dreading a task takes more time than actually completing it, and to avoid this eventuality, many workers tackle their worst tasks first. Finally, when workers take the train or bus to work, they give themselves a few extra minutes of time to themselves. This time can be used for mediation, goal setting, or even phone calls. As a bonus, workers who commute may be eligible for lower insurance rates with Budget Direct comprehensive car insurance.
That Mommy Stuff— Don’t Rush It!
It can be extremely tempting to admit defeat to the pressures of daily requirements — and feel like a slave to family and work tasks. However, when you rush to “get things out of the way,” you zoom through important needs and cannot invest the proper time into your own needs and expectations of your loved ones. For example, as a mom, of course you can expect to get your kids neat and tidy for school, feed them, make your coffee, give advice on your husband’s tie and scramble to staple together those last minute reports you prepared the night before. Make time for these things — don’t wing them! Start the day extra early, so that you can put quality time and thought into each of your morning tasks, and accomplish them with focus and grace. It will put a smile on your face and will save you so much time in the long run.
Doing the Worst First and Creating Momentum
Workplace expert Michael Kerr, quoted in Forbes magazine, claims that people create good habits by integrating cues into their day. When done consistently, these cues can help set the scene for a positive day. He advises people who want to be successful to set themselves up for success before they go to bed each night. By making a list of their goals for the following day, workers will be able to clear their heads and sleep better. When they wake up in the morning, they can immediately get to work on their list. Ideally, they should tackle the hardest points first, and this will give them the momentum they need for the rest of their day.
When workers start their day by checking their email or doing other tasks that waste time, they set the scene for a day that will feel slow or sluggish. Instead, workers should arrive on time, take a deep breath, and devote five minutes to reflecting on their to-do list. By starting the day like this, Kerr explains, workers set themselves up for success.
Re-evaluating Your Morning Commute
One of four Sydney commuters, according to NRMA as referenced in a News.com.au article, spend up to an hour and a half driving to and from work each day. When compiled, this driving time equates to twenty two days per year which is far greater than the time that most of these commuters spend on holiday each year. Sitting in gridlock can be disastrous when it comes to stress reduction, and if you are one of the thousands of Sydney residents who are in this situation, you should re-evaluate how you travel to work.
Trading in your car keys for a bus or train pass can do wonders for your mental health. The time on the train can be invaluable for relaxation or organisation. While sitting on a train, commuters give themselves the opportunity to relax in ways that they simply cannot while behind the wheel of a car. In addition to these benefits, a commute also reduces the total number of kilometres that you drive your car each day, and reducing your time driving can have a positive impact on car insurance rates when you contact an insurance provider like Budget Direct.
By integrating just a few of these ideas into your morning routine, you can make your day (and ultimately your life) more successful.
This is a guest post By Daniel Brown. Danny comes from a family of educators: Mom was an English teacher, and Dad sits on the school board in his hometown. While he finishes up his master’s in education, Danny writes for several education blogs.
