Is it a Guy? Is it a Dad? No it’s Super Dad!! How do us Dads hold the duel role of both being a normal mortal man and,…
I was teaching a parenting seminar a few weeks ago and showing parents how to insist that their children do as they are told. A parent asked, “But isn’t…
Is that green as in ‘green around the gills,’ feeling ill, sick? Or green as in immature, naïve? Perhaps green with envy or jealousy? Or even, gone green,…
I started my cake decorating career back with Bananas in Pyjamas for a little guy called Tom for his first birthday. Tom has now just celebrated his 15th…
Potty training can be a straightforward affair, or a tricky and complicated part of your child’s life – filling you with fear and dread.
‘Living Green’ means looking after ourselves as well as our planet, and this means taking care of our bodies and our minds. Most of us experience being ‘down’…
Do you know that many confectionery items include wheat glucose syrup? If you’re intolerant to wheat, eating these items can cause problems for you. I’m intolerant to wheat…
The importance of family traditions. Family rituals and traditions bring us together; they connect us and become part of each family’s identity. Birthday celebrations are amongst the most…
Lots of us parents get to a stage where we’re not coping well, struggling to stay afloat, physically and emotionally. You may even feel at breaking point some days. It used…
Kid’s birthdays are wonderful; endless parties, family events, over tired toddlers, a house that looks like a bomb’s hit it… While we love celebrating our wee one’s milestones,…
If colouring books and pencils aren’t enough to keep the kids busy during the holidays, then these website ideas might do the trick. We’ve pulled together the top 10 educational…
Newborns come in all shapes and sizes… and they all have the same basic needs. Milk, burps, nappy changes, and sleep are the common ones. They also need…
Just why are whole grains so beneficial to growing teens? Well, breads and cereals provide teens with carbohydrates, the body’s preferred energy source, as well as fibre and…
Grandpa’s slippers are getting old so Grandma buys him some new ones. But Grandpa doesn’t like the new slippers. By the weekend, however, Grandpa’s old slippers have fallen…
I’m liking… The cushioned nature of it seemed as though it would be more comfortable than some of the hard plastic boosters, especially for long trips.
Parent often ask me what they can do at home to help their children with learning difficulties. Because we are engaged in a process of remediating the underlying…
Whether you are the lucky person hosting Christmas dinner this year or not, chances are your fridge will be filled to almost overflowing over Christmas and New Year.…
Have you ever sat down to eat something in front of the TV and then wondered what happened to it? Have you suddenly realised you didn’t even taste…
Osteoporosis is a silent disease affecting more than half of women and nearly a third of men over the age of 60 in New Zealand. World Osteoporosis day…
Arthritis week this year starts on the 21st September. According to the Arthritis New Zealand website more than half a million New Zealanders will have arthritis in their…
A vegetarian diet can be very healthy, but care needs to be taken to achieve a well balanced diet to ensure an adequate intake of nutrients. In a…
Many studies have supported the evidence that vegetarians have a lower risk for developing health issues such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and diet related cancers. Overall vegetarians…
In a recent workshop for RTLBs I discussed all of the different diagnosis which are given to children today with learning or behaviours difficulties. We now have ADHD,…
We have all heard the message that we need to reduce our fat intake. Fat is the most calorie dense nutrient we can eat with each gram providing…
BALANCE is a Key to Successful Learning Vision and hearing, good fuel and hydration are obvious to most of us. However, many parents and teachers do not realise…
How many times have you blamed your weight on your metabolic rate? A sentence that I hear quite frequently is “I think I have a slow metabolism”. But…
Getting ready to go back to school holds excitement and anticipation for some students and pure dread for others. Those children who have all of their “learning equipment”…
Worried about your tummy and the funny things it does? You are not alone. While there can be many causes for different gut symptoms one of the conditions…
As a parent your first steps are to ensure that your child’s most obvious learning equipment is in good order and functioning well. Parents should submit their children…
Do you need a cup of coffee to get going in the morning, or as a “pick me up” in the afternoon? You will not be alone. Caffeine may be…
Every parent who has ever delivered their child to school on their very first day at the tender age of 5 years will recall the myriad of emotions…
For some people the thought of dried beans and legumes is not appealing or perhaps the challenge of getting other family members to try something so different just…
Let’s be honest, no one copes with lack of sleep. Children have tantrums and so do parents and, of course, sleep deprivation makes everyone feel out of control,…
How bad has this winter been for colds and flus? I have seen countless cases of families suffering with the nasty viruses that have been circulating around the…
As a naturopath and herbalist I often get pregnant Mums asking me desperately what homeopathic remedies are safe to take. Especially now that some big-pharma brands have moved into the…
Most people make a decision, or not as the case may be, to become pregnant and begin the process of attempting conception. At this stage people often get…
As a new mum everything can seem overwhelming and strange. Your life pattern changes and you may adapt very quickly to these new and exciting challenges or for…
As with every change of season, our family’s health needs to be maintained to ward off those nasty bugs.
When summer approaches it’s time to get into the garden, drag out those tools, get on the gumboots and do something productive. Kids absolutely love planting their own…
Summer is a wonderful time of year — lots of sun, fun, sand and barbeques. But we can definitely enjoy fun in the sun the natural way. There…
You will hear the term “detox” frequently and what does this actually mean? Well in simple terms it a process in which you promote your body’s tissues to…
Are there more children today with Learning Difficulties? If you ask any senior teacher they will invariably tell you that there are more children today with learning and…
School lunches may be something that we all hate having to prepare each morning. However school holidays can often bring different challenges.
It’s now recommended to start babies on solids between 4 and 6 months. However, in conflict to our supermarket shelves adorned with baby-rice, baby-porridge and baby-muesli, science warns against…
Christmas comes at the time of year when we are moving into lovely warm weather which tends to mean most of us will get into shorts, tee shirts…
Often, the first sign that you have osteoporosis is that you break a bone. Osteoporosis has no symptoms and the disease offers its victims no warning until it is…
Did you know some babies are born with teeth? My great-uncle was born with two! On the other hand, some infants don’t get their first teeth until after…
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” — Paleontologist, philosopher and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955)…
Kiwi women are commencing menstruation earlier and developing larger breasts. Kiwi men sperm-counts have halved. We have to ask ourselves why?! Of course, nutrition is a huge part…
Recently the Cancer Society held its annual ‘Daffodil Day’. Cancer affects 1 in 3 New Zealanders. While we can never guarantee that a certain lifestyle will prevent cancer…
When heavily pregnant with your first baby, you can often begin to feel rather swamped with peoples’ remarks regarding the pending sleep deprivation which is going to beset…
Do you often think that others can manage their weight without having to put in half the effort that you do? Sometimes it seems like some people never…
One essential aspect of lovingly nurturing and respecting yourself, is the intrinsic need to pay significant caring attention to your own intuition. As author Jeanne Elizabeth Blum writes…
It seems that one minute none of us had heard of swine flu and the next minute it was a significant world wide issue. As I write this…
There is usually an exhausting, painful grief a new mother goes through – no matter how good her pregnancy turned out to be, or how thrilling the birth…
The Christchurch mosque shootings have shaken most of us to the core. There is just a general disbelief that anything like this could have happened in New Zealand……
If you are a mother with young children at home then chances are you will feel that often your day revolves around meal times and food. No sooner…
Many occupations require people to carry out shift work. You may work in a hospital, police or ambulance service, transport industry or a factory.
Thank you to all the lovely people who have sent me “real” questions about their daily lives as parents. I will answer them in the order they arrived.
If you are a mother with young children at home then chances are you will feel that often your day revolves around meal times and food. No sooner…
These days, when we take on the role of motherhood, the majority of us sacrifice ‘fulfilling our own full potential’ in almost every other avenue of our lives.…
Unpaid word, or paid work: that is the motherhood question … but if you psychoanalysed the ‘answer’, its personality could be described as a deranged, confused, bewildered lost…
As parents, we often find ourselves with two competing parenting “ethics” and these are the source of a parenting dilemma that means we are uncertain of “which way to…
Last month I talked about the idea that, to quote Margaret Nelson-Agee, “Until you have two competing ethics, you don’t have an ethical dilemma.” As parents, we often…
Many of us set New Year resolutions. You will not be alone if one of your resolutions focuses on weight loss. A search on Google confirms that weight…
Happy New Year! Once again the media abounds with articles about sun and safety. A recent one began: “Parents warned about sun’s danger.” It began with a reminder…
Recently I attended yet another parenting seminar, in the ongoing quest, I suppose, for anything that may assist with the challenging role we face as parents. This seminar…
Fathers… It is fifteen years since my father passed away, just six weeks after our first son was born. My husband John’s father passed way before he was…
Vernon and I have had a special privilege these holidays. It is to spend a length of time in our one-roomed beach-house in sometimes less-than-summer weather with our…
Today I am going to sound like a “Grumpy Grandma.” I am going to tell you all about 4 common labels that disempower parents. These really annoy me because…
Are you seeking effective parenting methods for raising your kids? Family therapist and renowned author Diane Levy provides 5 key strategies to improve child attitude and behaviour —…
It never ceases to amaze me how often a certain wisdom has been known for a long time and then, Hey Presto!, along comes a scientific discovery that…
With our growing obesity problem in New Zealand we have seen the introduction of a number of food guidelines being issued to schools. This has included advising parents…
Much has been said lately about wrapping your kids up in cotton wool. I have been as guilty as most about being over protective, however the more kids…
I spoke at a function the other night to raise money for a wonderful woman who has Her2 breast cancer. I don’t know the woman or her friends…
We are all becoming more aware of where our money goes. Trying to reduce food costs is a goal for everyone. Although everyone is trying to shop smarter and…
People often ask can toddlers help in the kitchen and the answer is a resounding Yes! As we know toddlers and preschoolers often want to be with you…
Midwife Kathy Fray overviews the Breastfeeding vs. Infant Formula debate, including the costs & benefits of each for NZ Mums.
With rising food costs many people are looking at what and how they eat. Even popping into the supermarket for a small shop seems to hit the wallet…
This month our eldest son turned 15. Everyone I know has an opinion on whether he should or shouldn’t get his learners drivers license; everyone that is apart…
Press Release Business is blooming for two Tauranga women who developed the idea of saucy lingerie for pregnant women. Lisa Ebbing and Ange Crosbie and their maternity lingerie…
Until recently I had thought that a “day of rest” was only for families who followed a particular faith, and who therefore took a complete day off from…
We don’t need the media to alert us to the fact that the cost of living is going up, we can all see that our money does not…
It appears that the topic of the moment is the ever increasing “cost of living “ particularly the basic necessities such as food. You can imagine that with…
With all of the activity surrounding Real Nappy Week, it has caused me to think back to our “nappy days”, and all of the trauma and expense they…
I think my 14 year old son is very lucky. Lucky because he has just spent the first week of his school holidays with his Grandparents. Now, I…
For the second time in recent years my children have unwittingly lead me on a journey back in time. And what a very pleasant and fun filled journey…
We’ve been a lucky family when it comes to grief and dealing with death in the family. My children have both sets of grandparents to provide all the…
Over the school holidays our girls spent a lovely week in Dunedin with Donal’s sister and her family. While they did many fun things (such as visiting the…
Only 3 more weeks left of Term 1. I seem to have just recovered from the last holidays. As much as I enjoy the break from routine, the…
On Easter Monday at 1 p.m., I went to one of the hardest funerals I have ever been to. It was to celebrate the life of Alison (Aly)…
Our 9 year old daughter had a sobering message on the drive home from school the other day. It went something like this, “we have to start doing…
The school term is about to get under way, and we are about to get back into the school lunch box routine. It is a well known fact that what…
Every so often the age range of our children creates little dilemmas – and Christmas is one of those times! Remember we’re the ones with a teenager, a…
So what does a Super Dad write about for his first parenting article? Having just assumed this mantle I find that the pressure is now on. Out of…
If you worry about whether your child is eating enough and whether the amount they eat is normal, you are not alone. Many parents feel uncertain about what…
Life with children is always busy and planning meals, preparing food, and then getting the little darlings to eat it can take up big chunks of your precious…
Christmas has always been a family time for me and it certainly holds many special memories. As a child it never seemed to come around quickly enough, now…
The issues of chores and pocket money and whether there should be linkage between the two have always vexed parents. Vernon and I tried many and varied ways…
I am interested in your knowing that, if the law continues to inform you that you may not smack your child (or, at the very least, ought not to…