Wander into the great outdoors and visit your nearest park to explore its sights and sounds.
Are you ready to hunt for these items below? Let your kids point out, touch or hold some of these items for a multi-sensorial learning adventure! Put a ✓ inside the circle when they are spotted!
Get closer to nature and discover both living creatures and non-living elements found in the park with your children. This scavenger hunt activity hopes to encourage families to spend time playing in the outdoors, while discovering more about the natural environment.
Introduce each picture and word to your child, and explain that he or she would have to look out for them in the park. The search encourages your child to observe and pay attention to his or her surroundings. As you “hunt” for each item, let your child explore the park through his eyes – pick up a stone, or, watch a trail of busy ants. This lets him absorb new information in a different setting, as he watches what others are doing, and the little details that he or she do not usually see. Start a conversation with your tot when you see him or her excited about his new discovery – a caterpillar, perhaps? Communication is always a great way to pick up new vocabulary, share stories and learn new connections. This hands-on learning and sensorial experience promotes the development of mental and visual connection between the brain and eyes. Have fun exercising both body and minds together!
Life with children may fall into a monotonous routine easily, and couples often lament the lack of time together.
Besides playing the role of parents in a family, couples should also find time for themselves and nourish their relationship as a couple. Exercise is a positive way of spending quality time together while keeping to a healthy lifestyle. Here are some happy reasons to release those endorphins together with your spouse, and at the same time, add some spice into your marriage too.
Exercising together as a couple lets you learn more about each other, as you spend quality time bonding over a common activity.
#1: Share common interest
Remember the times when both of you enjoyed an activity together? We don’t mean grocery shopping or diaper-changing, but time spent on a shared interest. How about picking up a new sports or fitness regime together? Exercise helps to burn off the work stresses and calories after a busy day. Sharing the same interest also opens more conversation topics between the both of you, and communication is certainly key to any marriage. So, would it be piloxing, yoga or badminton for daddy and mummy?
#2: Enjoy more quality time together
Couples who spend quality time together enjoy more bonding time too. It’s always a mood lifter to see your spouse after a particularly trying day. Exercising together means allocating specific time from your schedules by making the effort to pursue the shared interest. There’s never enough time with your partner!
#3: Be there to motivate each other
Both of you will be encouraging each other to push further, do more, and a little goes a long way for both the exercise you embark on, as well as your marriage. Sharing a common goal helps both of you to drive each other, grow together, show empathy during the challenging times and fuel each other as a team to move closer to what you have set out for. Those words of encouragement help push you in achieving your fitness goals too!
Your partner is also your greatest supporter, most honest critic and ardent fan who motivates you to become a better person.
#4: Discover new things about each other
Starting out on a new exercise together might also let you learn something new about your partner! Is your husband the extra determined man who challenges himself with additional exercise frequency? Or, did you know about your wife’s ability to do 60 sit-ups in a minute? You may have been married for some time now, but these little fun facts about each other are only uncovered when you exercise together. Hidden talents, anyone?
#5: See each other in a different light
As you observe each other in a different setting, both of you will also start seeing each other in new light. When was the last time you saw your partner focusing on a game which awakened his winner’s mentality? Perhaps, you might notice your husband’s desire to regain his 6-pack abs, and come to appreciate that our health and bodies are very much like marriage. They need to be nurtured and nourished to stay in the pink of health.
#6: Live healthy together for the future
As parents juggle the multiple roles in life, taking care of your health should be a priority. Encourage each other to eat balanced meals, kickstart an exercise regime with your spouse for a healthier body and most definitely a happier well-being!
Don’t forget to take care of yourselves so you are physical well and mentally fit to care for your children too. Raising happy and healthy world-ready children requires a happy mind, body and soul. Start by caring for yourselves, mums and dads!
Do you exercise with your spouse too? Let us know what your favourite couple fitness regime is!
Constipation in children may occur from time to time, and it can be a nerve-wrecking experience.
Just like adults, bowel movements in children may change due to several reasons. But if you see that your toddler is straining or crying whenever he or she is passing motion, it would help to address that soon to alleviate the discomfort.
Toddler constipation symptoms
How can you tell if your child is suffering from constipation?
Toddlers may exhibit the following symptoms, and parents can look out for these signs if you suspect your child might be constipated:
Screaming or crying during bowel movements
Bloated stomach
Loss of appetite
Sudden crankiness or avoiding the potty or toilet
Slight soiling on diaper or underwear (liquid traces of poop)
Slight traces of blood
Is your toddler having a tough time during bowel movements? Help relieve your child’s constipation issue, so he feels better soon.
What causes constipation in young children?
There are several common causes to constipation, and one (or more) of them may be taking place and hence resulting in constipation.
– Diet: insufficient intake of fibre and fluids, your child’s digestive reaction to certain foods, excess intake of processed food and sweets. Changes in diet such as the transition from breastmilk to formula milk, or switching from one brand of formula milk to another, may also result in constipation depending on the child’s body reaction
– Fear: If your toddler had a fearful bowel movement experience, there’s a chance he or she would be afraid to go to the potty due to the pain and discomfort.
– Medication and illness: If your child has started on a course of medicines and is experiencing constipation, you may wish to check with his doctor.
– Changes in toddler’s routine: some toddlers take time to adapt to changes, and that can include the transition from diaper to potty, or traveling to a new country. These new happenings are different from the usual routine so your toddler may need some time to adapt to the new changes.
Ensure your toddler gets sufficient fluids to keep constipation at bay. Water, juices, soups and milk are different fluids for your child’s diet.
Toddler constipation remedies
If your toddler is experiencing constipation, here are some treatments to help your relieve your child:
Diet: Monitor your child’s diet in the recent days leading up to the first sign of constipation. Some home remedies for constipation include eliminating Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast (BRAT), white bread and pasta in their diets. Instead, offer prunes, papayas, plums, peaches and pears, as well as plenty of vegetables such as broccoli and dark green leafy vegetables. Ensure that your child has sufficient intake of fluids throughout the day, especially when fibre-rich food is offered as insufficient intake of fluids coupled with a boost of fibre increases the likelihood of constipation too.
Medication: Laxatives and stool softeners for children may be recommended by the doctor, depending on the severity of the child’s condition. Probiotics can be helpful in regulating your child’s gut health too – offer yogurt or probiotic supplements to help.
Encourage potty time: If your child is afraid of going to the potty or toilet, he or she may need more positive reinforcement to allay those fears. Gently ask if your child needs the potty after meals, and consider using stickers as rewards for being a little champion. Elevate his or her legs by popping them on a stool when your child is seated on the toilet bowl or potty – this position creates a 35◦ angle at your child’s knees which is recommended as an ideal position for bowel movements.
Get moving: If your toddler is not getting his or her dose of exercise, it helps to get that body (and bowels) moving!
Battling those hard stools can be a painful sight for parents. If your little one is tackling constipation, give those healthy fruits a try by adjusting your child’s diet. A healthy diet plays a part in raising happy, world-ready children. If you are unsure about starting a treatment for constipation, always seek medical advice.
Does your toddler experience constipation too? Do share some of the treatments that worked for your child!
Are you discarding those empty Einmilk formula tins?
Hang on – they can be converted into a fun and educational learning tool for your kids!
This tutorial will take you through some simple steps on how to make an easy toy clock using formula tin covers. With materials that are easily available at home or from your local stationery store, parents and children can create your unique toy clock to teach the concept of time to your little ones.
Invite your child to decorate the various parts of his or her new toy clock too. Feel free to use other craft materials for little fingers to explore, including paint and stickers. This engaging activity which encourage parent-and-child bonding also allows your children to experience and observe the crafting process from start to end; and discover the opportunity of giving a nondescript item such as a plain cover a new lease of life! Upcycling ideas offer children a new perspective on creating their very own masterpieces, and they are definitely limited edition pieces too!
We hope you enjoy this meaningful and educational activity with your kids. Cultivating positive values goes towards raising world-ready children for the future! Click here for more family-friendly activities and free printables.