You’ve taught your child the basic safety rules. Don’t talk to strangers. Wear a helmet when riding your bike. Look both ways before you cross the road. But what about situations that aren’t so easy for a child to read? That’s when their judgment kicks in – so you had better be sure you are helping them to develop a sixth sense when it comes to safety.
Before I became a parent I was always fairly money-savvy, but knew nothing about children’s savings and what you need to save for their future. To be honest it’s hard enough nowadays to live month to month for a lot of people, so things like savings and pensions get put on the back burner.
You do need to stop and think about the future now, are you saving enough for your child? Kids get more expensive as they grow older. Mine is only a 1-year-old but she grows so fast and always needing new clothes. I dread to think what it’s going to cost through the coming years and decades!
When we become a parent, we want to spend as much time with our children as possible. We want their younger years to be filled with joy, happiness and fun, and as a result of this we try our best to keep them entertained and content through a range of different activities. As they get older, their needs will change which will mean we will not necessarily have to take as much time to think about what we should do with them, and where we should take them for fun days out. When a child is young, they can be content by simply playing with their toys, reading books, colouring or painting. But, as their age progresses they will be happy in their room, playing games, using the internet or catching up with school work.
Being active and playing sports is a crucial part of your child’s progress. It’s good to install exercise as part of a daily routine from a very young age. Children should be physically active every single day. This may seem obvious, but it’s easier as they get older to leave them to their own devices. Unfortunately, in the digital world that we live in this, could mean the spend a lot of their time in the front of a screen. A cell phone is never far from a teenagers hand, so it’s only fair that you set the right example. Team sports and fitness will encourage good habits and help keep them healthy. It’s an integral part of their growing up and can be an excellent way to get them socializing and making friends. There are so many different aspects to playing sports. Even when they’re feeling dubious about joining in, you need to encourage them.
You and your child might end up trying ten different extracurricular activities before they fall on something that they like to do. It’s important that you don’t enforce your views on what they should be doing too forcefully. Just because you dreamed of being a ballerina doesn’t mean that they should be one! Try to let everything happen as naturally and don’t discard something because it’s not your choice. Let them be creative and encourage them. Learning to play a new sport is a good way for a child to find out a little more about themselves. It’s also an excellent way for you to get to know them too!
Here is part 2 of our Christmas Gift Guide for 2016. This guide features gifts for kids. From stocking presents to teething toys and books. Happy Shopping!
A couple of months back we reviewed the full size Gotrovo treasure hunt game. It was fantastic and great for parties. If you are looking for a stocking filler, the Gotrovo mini is great. It comes in a fab little case and so great for carrying around. It’s perfect for holidays and visiting friends.
£9.50 (ages 3-8 for 1 or more players)
Since becoming a parent I have often thought about baby girl’s future. How can we create a Bright Future for our children? We have been set a challenge by Unilever called #brightFuture to discover little things as a family we can do to change the future for the better.
At the heart of the Unilever brightFuture initiative is the goal to unite communities and encourage small changes in everyday life that have a positive impact on the world.
Here are some of our little things we have changed to help make our world a better place and to shape a bright future:
