Category: Kids

Animal Party ideas

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Have you ever wanted to pet a kangaroo, or get up close and personal to a monkey? One of the most fun birthday party themes is animals! We all love them, and whether your child is into snake or bunnies, you can add some live animal fun to create a party they’ll never forget!

1. Exotic Animal Petting Zoo

If you’re looking to spice up your party with something a little more exciting, try looking for Exotic Animal children’s parties! You and your guests could be face-to-face with a Sloth, kangaroo, or a giant rabbit before you know it. Learn about the animals in a way that a zoo could never do! To round out the jungle vibe, decorate the tables with bright green vines and bamboo and serve colourful fruit skewers.

2. Reptile Entertainment

Some of us get a little squeamish at the thought of reptiles, but you may have a child who loves snakes and lizards. They’re the next best thing to dinosaurs, so why not bring a live Reptile Show to their birthday? Trained professionals will give an educational demonstration on all kinds of reptiles like snakes, iguanas, turtles, insects, and sometimes even alligators or crocodiles!

3. Farm Animal Petting Zoo

Maybe fluffy bunnies, goats, and baby calves are more your child’s thing? Try a traditional Petting Zoo! Bring the farm to your backyard and let the children spend the day cuddling baby farm animals. Keep the refreshments simple with lemonade and a barbecue. Decorate with table cloths and red or white plates and cups, and buntings and you’ve got yourself an adorable animal farm themed party.

4. Pony Party

If you have a little cowboy or cowgirl on your hands, a Pony Party could be the perfect fit! Some pony parties are mobile and can bring them right to your home (of course that is if you have a huge back garden.) Let the little ones go on slow-paced rides with gentle, friendly ponies and it’ll be a party they’ll never forget. Hand out cowboy hats or handkerchiefs as souvenirs, and have a hot dog and marshmallow campfire!!

Party ideas for growing up kids

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So your kids are still young enough to have a children’s birthday party, but old enough to have a party that is not embarrassing for their age. The important thing is to get the balance right between planning a  children’s party and something a little more grown-up. Here are some tips to help you get it right.

Celebrity Party

A celebrity themed party is a great way to bridge the gap between child and teenager. Ask the kids to come dressed as their favourite diva or guitar hero, or alternatively, a glam rock theme can be a big hit.

Essential Activities

  • Air guitar competitions and karaoke, of course.

  • Party Bags

  • Any self-respecting rock star has an impressive array of tattoos.

  • Spa Party

For many (not all) girls, it’s their tweenage or early teenage years when they first develop an interest in fashion and beauty. If this is something your child is interested in, a spa party could be the ideal theme.

Create a calm, clean and relaxing environment, with plenty of towels, seating, easy access to a bathroom and different ‘stations’ for activities. You could also play relaxing music and provide healthy snacks, such as fruit smoothies.

Essential Activities

  • Facemasks with cucumber slices for the eyes, foot spas, manicures and makeovers.

  • Party Bags

  • Fill your spa party pack with lots of girly pampering products, face masks, lip balm or bath bombs.

  • Cinema Party

What could be better than a party including all of your favourite films? Get all of the children invited to suggest an age-appropriate film, and then vote on the ones they want to watch. All you need to do is provide a comfy seating area and plenty of cinema-themed snacks, such as popcorn, hot dogs, and pick n mix sweets.

Activities

  • Film watching! You could also play a movie trivia quiz and movie-themed Pictionary.

  • Pizza Party

The great thing about teenagers and tweens is that they’ve reached an age where they can do more complex activities – still under supervision, of course. Throwing a pizza party is great fun and it results in lots of yummy home-made snacks.

Get the guests to form teams and design their fantasy pizza, using any toppings they like. Once all the pizzas are cooked, get everyone to try each other’s – whichever team’s pizza is voted the most delicious, wins.

Activities

A pizza making competition! You could also put together a quiz on Italy – the homeland of the pizza, or try blindfold pizza tasting to see who can guess the toppings.

General Tips

– Give them some space – early teens and tweens are at an age where they’re going to want some privacy when they spend time with their friends. Make sure you’re nearby and available if there’s a problem, and pop in every now and again to make sure things are OK.

– Don’t treat them like children – OK, so they’re not grown-ups and still require a certain level of supervision, but suggesting children’s games such as musical statues probably isn’t going to go down well.

– Get an extra pair of eyes – monitoring a teen/tween party without making them feel babied is a balancing act. Make sure you have someone to help you – if you know a trustworthy older teen, they could be a great asset.

With the right theme and some tactful supervision, you can get the balance right at your teen/tween party.

Hold a Minions party

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Despicable Me is a great film for any age, and the Minions were cute little helpers with a limited vocabulary, but they are ever so cute, that’s why kids love them (and adults)

However, if you’ve never heard of these ‘Minions’, the only thing that you really need to know is that kids love them. And if you’re planning kids a party, ‘Minions’ is guaranteed to be a popular theme. Here are some great ideas.

You’ll sure to find Minion merchandise in all the shops at the moment for you to copy:

Minion Food

When it comes to party food, you can really get creative with a Minions theme. Some great ideas include:

Minion Birthday Cake

Simply cover a sponge cake in white icing and then mould the Minion figures and shapes from coloured fondant.

If you’re not a confident baker, this single Minion birthday cake is the perfect choice. Simply coat the cake base in coloured frosting before decorating with black piped icing and fondant.

Minion Decorations

Minion decorations are all about the colour scheme. A great example is:

Blue, White and Yellow Table Decorations.  A blue table covering and yellow, white and blue tableware is the easiest way to get the look. On a side note, we also love this blue and yellow popcorn idea!

Minion Games

No party is complete without some fun games and activities – don’t forget to hand out prizes.

Stick the Goggles on the Minion;

A twist on the classic ‘stick the tail on the donkey’, ‘stick the goggles on the Minion’ is guaranteed to be lots of fun. First, draw a Minion on a large piece of paper (minus the goggles, of course!) and then draw some goggles on a piece of card and cut them out. Place some double sided tape on the back of the goggles, blindfold each child in turn and see if they can guess where to stick the goggles on the Minion!

Minion Fancy Dress

Fancy dress is always a popular party activity and Minion fancy dress is a great opportunity to get creative. The simplest outfits only require a long sleeved yellow top and dungarees. However, if you want to go all out, making goggles and decorating yellow hats will be lots of fun.

A Minion party theme is guaranteed to be popular with the kids – plus you can have lots of fun creating the food décor and activities.

How to nurture good manners

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Baby (0-1 Years):

What Manners to Teach Them:

Politeness in speech: Modulate your tone when you speak to your baby and use social niceties such as “please” and “thank you” when speaking directly to them or in conversations in their presence. Your example will guide them as they learn to speak.

Nice Touch: Gently direct your baby on how to treat parents, siblings and pets. Teach babies from 0-1 years not to pull or grab somebody’s hair by physically moving their hand and demonstrating a soft stroke on a dog’s back or by rubbing their fingers across your hair. This will teach them limits and introduce the concept of cause and effect in relation to their actions. Gentleness will translate as they get older into politeness,

Respect for Others:

Practice well-mannered activities in front of your baby, such as holding the door for someone, saying “excuse me” when you bump into them, or picking something up after you drop it. Give commentary to your baby on what you just did and why. They register this in their minds. Babies can learn what is appropriate. When the doorbell rings, it is time to go to the door. The subtle cues of listening, watching and acting are being put together piece by piece by young children and babies.

Toddlers.

As toddlers’ grasp on language develops and they begin to move around more, you can begin to practice good manners with them. But during these years, parents must realise that manners are taught, not inherent, and it will take time for the lessons to become ingrained. So repeat, repeat, repeat!

At this age, play is still not always interactive play, but parents can start to remind children to respect others’ space, not grab, not hit. Essentially, this is the time of ‘play nice’. Parents need to be hands-on during this time, as these concepts are still difficult to understand.

What Manners to Teach Them:

Sharing: “Be gentle” and “we have to share” while taking away the fought-over toy.

Politeness: Practice saying “please” and “thank you” often — but expect to say it a lot before they get it.

What makes our children happy?

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We all want the same things for our kids. We want them to grow up to love and be loved, to follow their dreams, to find success. Mostly, though, we want them to be happy. But just how much control do we have over our children’s happiness? Research clearly shows that happy, optimistic children are the product of happy, optimistic homes, regardless of genetic makeup.” What can you do to create a home where your child’s happiness will flourish?

The easiest way to promote your child’s lifelong emotional well-being is to help him feel connected — to you, other family members, friends, neighbours, teachers, even to pets. “A connected childhood is the key to happiness,” a feeling of being loved, understood, wanted, acknowledged. If a child has just one person who loves him unconditionally, that’s the closest thing he’ll ever get to an inoculation against misery. It’s not enough, however, simply to possess that deep love; your child must feel it, too. Hold your baby as much as possible; respond with empathy to his cries; read aloud to him; eat, snuggle, and laugh together.

It’s not just the quality, but also the quantity of the bonds: the more connections your child makes, the better.

How to raise a helpful child

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Lead by Example

If you want a child to do something, it helps to have them witness you doing it as well as the result that came from it. Whenever you’re finished with a project, clean up your mess.

When finished eating, take your plate, utensils, and glass to the sink. Organize your things so that you know where they are when you need them.

Children see this and are more likely to also clean up after themselves.  If you’re leaving a mess everywhere then they will have a harder time understanding why cleaning up is important.

Label the Positive

Notice the times that they do something helpful and praise them, telling them they’re a good helper.

When we use character traits like “good helper” or “very helpful”, over time children begin to make that part of their personality.  The more you label them as being a helper, the more they will believe it to be true.

Delegate and Praise

Give them tasks throughout the day to practice their helpful skills. The more they practice, the better they’ll learn.  And every time they do something helpful, praise them.

Make it Fun

For younger kids, singing the clean-up song is a huge help in picking up toys, but even as they get older it’s fun to add any songs and even a little dance to the process of cleaning up. Counting helps too. Count toys picked up, cutlery put away, and the number of pens and crayons you find.

Fit for all Ages

It’s easier to raise a helpful child earlier in development than later, but it is possible to teach older children to be helpful. All of the same tips apply with a slightly different approach.

As they get older you can explain things more. Explain why you need help, why it’s important for them to take more responsibility, how important it is to work together, and that every person finds their own rhythm when it comes to cleaning, organizing, and helping others, but the end result is the same. Taking care of your things, taking care of shared items, and treating others the way you want to be treated.

Raising a helpful child can be a truly daunting challenge at times. Especially if it seems like one more item to add to the never-ending to-do list. But it doesn’t have to be a frustrating endeavour.

By leading by example, staying positive, and having fun, it is possible to turn the most stubborn mess maker into a happy, helpful partner. One step at a time. One day at a time.

Why children get grumpy after school

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When things get hard, we fall apart on the people we feel safest with. Think about it.  After a hearing terrible news or during a hard day at work you’re able to keep it all together and not cry. But as soon as you see your safe person (husband, Mum, best friend) you end up a blubbering mess.

Kids do the same thing.

It takes a great deal of emotional and mental work to follow the rules throughout the day, especially for little kids.

Each time your child refrains from hitting that boy who took his toy, holds up her hand and covers her mouth so she doesn’t speak out of turn, or stops himself from running down the hall to break time, they have to restrain themselves.  This restraint builds and builds, almost like a bubble.

Then they walk into their safe place, and POP!  They can finally let loose and stop having to restrain themselves. They get to let it all go.

Honestly, it’s a good thing that your child feels safe enough to fall apart at home.

But, as a parent, that’s hard to deal with.  It’s frustrating when you have a child who hasn’t had a tantrum in months come home from school and cry and whine about every single thing.

How can you help your child with the transition from home to school so they don’t have to struggle, and you don’t get so frustrated?

Greet Without the Questions

When you see your child after a long day of school, you want to know about their day.  So you ask questions like “How was your day?”, “Do you have homework?”, “Did you get into trouble?”, “What did you do?”, “Did you make friends?”

No one likes to be bombarded with questions or grilled about their day as soon as they walk in the door.

By asking lots of questions, you could stress out your child, especially if they had a hard day.

Instead of asking them a million and a half questions as soon as you see them, greet them with statements like: “It’s good to see you again.” and “Welcome home”.  Then ask, “Do you want to tell me about your day now or at dinner?”  This gives him the power to decide when to talk.

When you ask about their day, keep the questions open-ended:

  • “What was your favourite part of the day?”
  • “What kinds of things did you do at school today?”
  • “Who did you play with today?”
  • “What new thing did you learn today?”

Ask questions that can’t be answered with yes or no.

These prevent one worded answers like “fine” and open up a conversation about school.

Please connect and ask, but do it at a time when your child is ready to talk.

Feed Them. When our blood sugar gets low and our tummies grumble it’s understandable that we get snippy and short tempered.

  • When your child’s stomach is full, they are less likely to be frustrated and angry.
  • Allow for Downtime
  • Give kids time to be kids.  Allow them to have time to play and let loose.

Children need to play, it’s how they process their world and handle their stress.  So, on particularly stressful days, it’s important that they get time for kids entertainment and play.

How to get a routine going with homework

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Getting organized, doing homework, and having gun can be difficult. With a prepared itinerary, you can manage your time well, have fun and get everything you need to done. Time management is also a useful life skill. The more you manage, the more you get done. By practicing at an early age, you are preparing for your future.

Keep track of all your homework in a day planner. Write down the homework and assignments you get from each class, including tests or exams you may have to study for. If you keep track of your homework by writing it down in one place, this will help you organize it later on. 

Begin to design a homework schedule that will generally work for you every day. Take a blank notebook and use it for homework. Each day, make a chart for homework. The chart should have 3 columns-the type of homework (maths homework, English essay, etc.), the due date, and the priority. For example, if you have a science project due tomorrow and a math test the day after, the science project would be number one in the priority column and the math test number two. 

Work your schedule around your homework. For example, every Monday you come home, eat a snack and start your homework right away, so you’ll be ready for your piano lesson later on in the evening. Every Tuesday, you might meet your friend for coffee right after school, then come home and begin your homework. Make your schedule personalized to your life and the homework you get. 

Consider making an official schedule in Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers. This will help you better keep track of your time and your homework

Get in the habit of starting your homework the day you get it, even if it’s not due for a long while. 

Make sure you choose a quiet and practical spot to complete your homework, where you’ll have everything you need and be without distractions.

Do your best work, don’t go quickly just to finish your homework.

Don’t worry if you have to try a few schedules before you find one you like.

Try to stick to the schedule once you’ve found one that works for you. You will become more consistent.

Campervan holidays with the Kids

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At one time, the campervan was seen as a hippie thing, an old VW campervan travelling around the outdoor concerts and the occupants sleeping in fields.  But today, the campervan comes in a range of different styles and features, though the VW campervan is still a good starting point!

Other big name manufacturers are now producing their own versions, with both the Sharan and the Harry being Peugeot’s offerings.  Recently, a New Zealand company has begun to convert Toyota people carriers into campervans and these are now available in the UK.  There are also specific motorhome companies that make spacious and luxurious mobile homes that you won’t want to leave behind at the end of the holiday.

Routes

The variation and type of route you can plan is only limited by how long you have.  You can cover all the main sites within a single county over a few days or take a week or longer to cover a larger area and see the most important sites.

One example is the 7-day English Heritage route from Spaceship Rentals.  Their route starts in London then heads south to Hastings to see the abbey and the battlefield then along to Dover Castle.  On the 2nd day, travel to Portsmouth and hop on the ferry to the Isle of Wight or enjoy the sites around the city.  The third day recommends visiting Osbourne House and Carisbrooke Castle while on the 4th, take in Salisbury and Stonehenge, adding in Woodhenge if you have the time.  On day five, visit Oxford and the sights of the city then do the same the next day in the other big university city, Cambridge.  Finally, on the 7th day, head back to London and visit sites such as Kenwood House and Parliament Hill.  All of these come under a special pass from English Heritage.

Places to stay

There are plenty of caravan and camping sites around the country that will happily accommodate campervans.  Some can be closed at certain times of the year so if you are planning to travel in autumn and winter, this may limit your options a little more.  Sites can range in price from £15-20 a night for those with an electricity connection and organised sites will often offer features such as coin operated laundry and free showers as well.  

In theory, you aren’t allowed to simply park in a layby or on public land to camp but many people do this and it is known as wild camping.  Make sure if you consider this that you aren’t trespassing on anyone’s land, you aren’t disturbing anyone and there are no signs specifically prohibiting camping overnight on the spot.  

Equipment needed

When going on holiday in a campervan, remember that you only have a limited space so prioritising what you need for the break is important.  Take essentials in the way of food and drink with you but remember most of it can be bought while on the road, as there will only be a limited space to store stuff.  If you are using a gas burner, don’t forget to have space fuel for it and the same if you are taking a barbeque.  Dishes can be cleaned as used but don’t forget to take items such as cloths.

Tips

Most campervan holiday fans will advise you to plan ahead for your trip – being spontaneous can be fun but can also be disappointing if things don’t pan out as expected.  Include things in your planning such as toll roads and ferries so you have change for them and watch out for closures on roads and in venues.

If you are travelling with young kids, don’t forget to take along the car seats they will need and plenty of children’s entertainment for the travelling part of the holiday – avoiding bored kids is every parent’s ultimate aim in life!

Children and the safety of the Internet

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Today kids start using mobile enables devices from a young age, usually to play games aimed at kids or to visit websites designed for their age group.  Usually this will be done with parental assistance and supervision but it doesn’t take long for them to outgrow the need for someone to type in addresses or find a particular app.  In no time at all, they will be brushing off assistance and with it, the supervision that most parents feel they need to have.

Dangers at different ages

When kids are learning how to use the internet, they are naturally trusting.  If someone tells them they are a friend, they will accept this.  As they get older, they become a little more ‘streetwise’ and will be a little more cautious about people.  They are also wiser about their own age group so someone posing to be a kid can often trip themselves up with teens who realise they aren’t what they say.  Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case though.

Finally, identity thieves will sometimes target kids to get information or access due to their inherently trusting nature.  This can be as simple as asking for a password to give them a special game upgrade or voucher that will appeal to them.

A similar problem comes when they reach 13 and can embark onto social media sites such as Facebook.  It is important to set their accounts so that only their friends can see their updates and monitor who these friends are.  Talking to them about matters such as posting photos of themselves or giving out information about where they live or go to school is also important.

Solutions

As with many things with kids, start as you mean to go on.  From an early age, begin to talk a little about being safe online at the same time as you discuss things like being on the internet for too long.  This will mean they grow up with limits and restrictions being a natural thing but also being cautious when on the internet will be too.

Setting parental controls is important and many of the big internet providers incorporate this facility automatically when you set up with them.  They can also be added or amended at any stage, so as your kids get older, you can change them accordingly.  If you let them use a smartphone or tablet when out and accessing a public Wi-Fi that won’t have these controls, make sure you set them for the device instead.  You can set most devices to forget the Wi-Fi password to stop the kids picking it up and going online when you aren’t around.

As kids get a little older and start school, their knowledge will advance both through use and through what they learn from others.  At this stage, make sure there are controls in place that prevents them from downloading content or apps without your approval and set up a list of websites that your kids are allowed to visit.

Kids will often be able to outsmart their parents once they are in their early teens and will know more about the internet than you will.  Keeping up to date with the latest tech, trends and problems will help you keep up to date with what your kids are doing.  Update your parental settings and be frank with your kids about the really bad stuff out there on the internet.  You don’t want to scare them off (at this age, you probably wouldn’t be able to anyway) but they are old enough to fully understand how important their online safety really is.