HaltonParents

Conquering the most challenging time of day

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Andrea Scott RN

What’s the most challenging time of your day? A few months back our Facebook page put this question out there and many of you said you struggle most during that stretch between when you get home from work until the time dinner is on the table. I have to agree! In fact, just thinking about that time of day makes my body tense. My shoulders are raised and I can actually feel my fight or flight response kicking in.

It doesn’t take a parenting expert to figure out why this time is so challenging. My kids are hungry, tired and they miss me. I also put in a full day at work and still have a few more hours to go before a break is in sight. I hate sitting down for dinner feeling tense with my stomach in knots. Not exactly conducive to an enjoyable family meal, is it? Continue reading →

Posted in Babies, Babies with Special Needs, Children & Tweens, Parenting, Parenting Your Baby, Parenting Your Child/Tween, Parenting Your Toddler & Preschooler, Play, Growth & Development, Toddlers & Preschoolers | Tagged after work, after work and before dinner, before dinner, chaos, kids, Mental Health, preschoolers, strategies, stress | Leave a comment

Get outside, enjoy winter and walk every day!

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Halton Guest Blogger

Ok, so Winter Walk Day is Wednesday Feb 3rd, it’s an event aimed at parents and children to leave the car at home and trek to school! If you remember reading my past blogs, I’m the mom who lets her daughter and stepsons walk to school. Yes, by themselves, with friends or (like my daughter) as a ‘walking buddy’, chaperoning two younger girls to school in the morning (and getting paid for it)!

In an effort to have children enjoy these great Canadian winters, communities across Ontario are celebrating winter and active commuting. Walking to school is fun, healthy, environmentally friendly and decreases the number of cars around the school (because parents leave the car at home and walk instead). It’s also a great way for your kids to chat with each other, make new friends, be physically active and feel good about themselves. Continue reading →

Posted in Children & Tweens, Emotional Well-Being & Mental Health for Your Child/Tween, Emotional Well-Being & Mental Health for Your Teen, Parenting, Parenting Your Child/Tween, Parenting Your Teen, Parenting Your Toddler & Preschooler, Play, Growth & Development, Preparing for Kindergarten, Teens, Toddlers & Preschoolers, Transition to High School | Tagged activity, benefits of walking, obesity, physical activity, sedentary, walk, winter, winter walk day | 1 Comment

Scratching the surface: What you need to know about head lice

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Andrea Scott RN

We haven’t had to deal with head lice in our house… yet.

With my oldest now in JK, I feel like it’s inevitable. My friends with older children all have head lice horror stories, and when I ask them about it, their memories seem more disturbing than the lice itself: the long hair they had to nitpick, the tedious treatments, the realization it had spread to a sibling, and the fear the head lice would return. Continue reading →

Posted in Children & Tweens, Keeping Your Child/Tween Safe, Keeping Your Teen Safe, Keeping Your Toddler & Preschooler Safe, Parenting, Parenting Your Child/Tween, Parenting Your Teen, Parenting Your Toddler & Preschooler, Preparing for Kindergarten, Teens, Toddlers & Preschoolers | Tagged head lice, headlice, how to avoid, how to prevent, Physical Health, preschoolers, school health | Leave a comment

Considering the collapse of parenting

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Cynthia Lindsay RN

Let’s talk about the recent Maclean’s article “The collapse of parenting: Why it’s time for parents to grow up”. Written by Cathy Gulli, the article is based on expert opinion about the current demise of parenting. The article is spreading like wildfire. I just had to read it and it was interesting to say the least.

Many concepts in the article are from Dr. Leonard Sax’s new book of the same title. The title itself was enough to entice me; it has a certain shock value. It made me stop and think, “could it actually be true?” Could asking my child to try one bite of their green peas be partly to blame for kids becoming overweight, over medicated, anxious and disrespectful of themselves and those around them? Continue reading →

Posted in Children & Tweens, Emotional Well-Being & Mental Health for Your Child/Tween, Emotional Well-Being & Mental Health for Your Teen, Parenting, Parenting Your Child/Tween, Parenting Your Teen, Parenting Your Toddler & Preschooler, Play, Growth & Development, Teens, Toddlers & Preschoolers | Tagged collapse of parenting, demise of parenting, family, family assets, Mental Health, parent child relationships, parents, strong relationships, tweens | 2 Comments

Tether straps and forward-facing car seats: what you need to know!

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Karen Hay, RN

As a mom, a nurse and a certified car seat safety technician, I am super-aware of the importance of having a correctly installed car seat. Simply put, a correctly installed car seat prevents injuries and saves lives.

So imagine my dismay when at our most recent Spot Check Clinic in Milton, run by the Halton Partners for Car Seat Safety, we saw many forward-facing car seats that were not using the tether strap correctly and over 20 car seats that were not using the tether strap at all! Halton Partners for Car Seat Safety technicians are finding this happening more frequently with parents saying they “didn’t know” they needed to use it. Continue reading →