Children Articles

Family » Parenting » Children | By Sean Tan @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 12:44 PM

Cooking for the family can be a very difficult process and full of responsibility too, especially if you have a picky eater at home. It's not that just kids are picky eaters too; there are so many of us grownup people who like to pick out things from our plate and keep it on the side. This can be quite a depressing habit for the person who cooks the food, of course. It becomes difficult for them to decide a menu everyday that everyone would like, even the program secrets eating at home. All... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 12:28 PM

As any parent, teacher or other child care assistant will know, children love dressing up. Whether it be in fancy dress, or just in silly clothes, or even their parents' old clothes, putting on different outfits, accessories and garments is something that all children enjoy doing from a very early age, and for many years to come. But why is this so, and is there any real benefit to be had from it which might mean that we should all be encouraging this behaviour more? Children are bio... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 12:17 PM

It's always fascinating to watch small children pretend to be doing the same thing we adults do. A young child will happily pick up the television remote, hold it to their ear and hold a happy, but meaningless, conversation with some imaginary voice. Similarly, if given a cloth, most young children will happily start cleaning, as again, it - what they see us adults do. In fact, watching the way children mimic us can be quite revealing about our habits. Children are programmed to mim... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 11:58 AM

Here is a suggestion for you to consider: an old cardboard box is the best value for money when it comes to toys. You could be picky and point out that a cardboard box doesn't cost anything, and therefore can't provide any value for money since you haven't spent any on it, but I'm going to ignore that and continue with the hypothesis that you are better off buying your child a cardboard box than you are the thing which was inside it. Throw yourself backwards to your ch... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 11:48 AM

When I was young I had a tree house at the bottom of the garden. It had two small rooms, a little table and stool, and a window at both the front and the back. I used to love that tree house, and made it my den, eating meals there, playing games, and watching out of the back window at the road which ran along the back of the garden, watching people who didn't know I was there. To me, that tree house was my own little private world. Today there is a very wide range of playhouses and t... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Amy Nutt @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 10:53 AM

There is more and more talk amongst parents about spending quality time with their kids. However, some parents believe that an hour of quality time is sufficient and that nothing more needs to be done. If the hour was a productive one such as going out to eat, watching TV. together, or going to the movies, parents seem to be satisfied with that. However, quality time involves more than just an hour a day because an hour is a relatively short period of time and doesn't allow for in depth bon... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 10:11 AM

Many years ago it was considered quite usual for children, mainly older children, to keep diaries. Although the tradition of keeping regular diaries has dwindled amongst children in recent years, there has of late been an increase in the idea of similar ways of recording thoughts, feelings, friends' details and other pearls of wisdom. These can be called diaries, journals, secret books or other such tomes of secret wisdom, and these come in a variety of different types. The emphasis ... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 10:11 AM

Jigsaw puzzles have remained a popular pastime for many years, and traditionally these have always been simple a picture, either a photograph or a painting, that has been divided into any number of pieces. These have ranged from the very simple children's puzzles which can have just a half dozen pieces through to a couple of hundred, or the very complex ones designed for adults which may have several thousand pieces. Today the popularity of puzzles remains, and this is helped in part... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 9:41 AM

When you think of children's toys, what first comes to mind? The chances are that it will be the toys that are around in shops today. Bright, colourful plastic creations with lights and buttons; toys that talk, eat, wee or tell you stories. But if this isn't the picture that comes to mind, then the chances are that you'll be taken back to the older days when toys were much simpler, and the only lights were those in the eyes of eager children, their imaginations fired up with just ... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Sean Tan @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 8:53 AM

Many parents complain that their kids do not eat well and that they are gorging only on junk foods and chocolates and ice-creams. This does cause a lot of worry because such erratic food habits mean that the children will not grow with proper nourishment. Weary with worry, such parents will try to find more and more innovative ways to introduce healthy foods to their children's palate. They try everything from requesting to reprimanding their kids, but usually to no avail. Is this ha... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 8:53 AM

With so many physical games, sports activities, computer games and interactive toys, it might be considered something of a surprise that traditional board games have remained so popular, and yet there is a greater variety of board games available today than ever before, and these cater for a much wider age group as well. The definition of board games is quite difficult, since there are the traditional examples that really are played upon a board, such as Ludo, Chess, Monopoly and Scrabble... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Amy Nutt @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 6:42 AM

When searching for a new toy for your child, you may experience a bit of sensory overload when walking through the toy department. There are all kinds of colors screaming at you with huge numbers and letters to accompany them. However, there are more than just colors and numbers getting your attention. There are also lights, sounds, and talking toys. If the kids are with you, they are really excited and decide it is time to turn on every single toy that makes noise so that they can hear them chi... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Sean Tan @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 2:17 AM

Taking care of toddlers is a huge task, especially if they are fussy eating. You will spend a lot of time literally running behind them and cajoling them into eating food that they do not like. There are even children who do not like to eat anything that is healthy and gorge only on the so-called junk foods. Vegetables and certain kinds of fruits will definitely be on their hate lists. Hence handling strategies child eating can be tiring and even quite annoying. It is very easy for you to do thi... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 1:30 AM

If you are planning on taking your child to the beach, then almost certainly one of the first things you'll have chedk that you had, or bought, will be the traditional bucket and spade. There can be no more classic idea than a small child crawling about on the beach making sand castles, digging holes and forts, burying dad and collecting interesting stones, shells, bits of seaweed and small things that skuttle around at the bottom of their bucket. If you managed to get all the way to the be... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 1:08 AM

There is no doubt whatsoever that children love having toys which allow them to be in serious danger of breaking the odd limb, losing a few teeth and ending up finding out what it would be like to work in a hospital. To this end, roller skates have remained very popular for many decades, and today children are provided with a massive range, so that when the ambulance comes to collect them, they look fashionable and aware of the latest trends and brands. Should you, as a parent, be keen to... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 1:03 AM

Maybe it is because we are descended from apes, but certainly it is noticeable that, from a very early age, children love to climb. Climbing up on top of things, holding on from railings, swinging and sliding all come very naturally to children, much to the consternation of the worried parents looking on of course. Some parents have taken the decision to satisfy this primeval demand from their children and have purchased climbing frames for their children to explore and play on in the gar... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 12:37 AM

One of the older, more traditional games that children play is the wide variety of card games that are available. Children used to be able to access card games simply because adults had playing cards, and some simple version so adult games were devised to allow younger children to join in. Those families that didn't see cards as being ruinous to one's fortunes saw them as being a cheap way of gathering the whole family around and having a good game. Some games relied entirely on luck, ... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 12:30 AM

There is no denying that computers have definitely become an established part of our society, and children will continue to be surrounded by computer technology. It is no surprise then, that manufacturers and toy developers have identified this changing culture and designed miniature toy computers for children of all ages to become familiar with the idea of using their own computer. The purpose of these toy computers varies depending upon the age of the child. Of course, most children lov... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 12:27 AM

There is hardly a boy in the world who isn't fascinated with creepy crawlies. Although many girls are also fascinated, generally this seems to appeal more to small boys. They will gather admiringly around a beetle that is haplessly crawling across the playground, or pick up rocks at the back of the garden in the dark and shady places and admire the range if black and slithery beings as they writhe and scuttle their way from the blaze of daylight to burrow back within the safety of another d... more...

Family » Parenting » Children | By Victor Epand @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 12:26 AM

I remember fondly as a child receiving my first box of 'fuzzy felt'. I had no idea what it was to begin with - just a plain green board with some material glued on to it, and then all these odd shapes. Squares, triangles, circles, lines - and all in a variety of colours - green, blue, yellow, peach. It looked interesting- but exactly what was I supposed to do with it? Then I was shown something truly astonishing. Whichever doting adult it was giving me this gift, took a couple of shape... more...