We're taking the kids on a mini-vacation to an indoor water park later this month, where we will either have an absolute blast bonding together on water slides or catch waterborne Hepatitis. I started to pack a few things we'll need on our trip and one look at my current stretched-out, chlorine-faded swimsuit had me panicking. Maybe there's a way out of this, I wondered. I can probably fake an illness or give myself nervous diarrhea, but the kids will be disappointed and frankly, we've …
Why You Need To Visit A Dude Ranch
Let’s face it: getting away from it all is on everyone’s mind almost all the time. Maybe this general malaise we feel is rooted in the noise of our lives: running from one activity to another, juggling work, another late night at the rink, pasta sauce that’s exploded on the stove again thanks to a grade 7 math emergency, the phone glued to our hips…it all equals get me out of here. But it’s not enough to check into a hotel, flop back on half a dozen pillows of different thicknesses and flip …
Helpful Tips for Minecraft Parents
Do you have a child between the ages of seven and “I-stopped-counting-after-the-third-candle”? Did you also make the huge mistake of giving them access to electricity? Do you provide opportunities for that child to have social contact with other human life forms? Do they shout random terms like “Butter!” and “Creeper Lava Diamond Pig!” even before you give him a dose of Benadryl on the drive to Gramma’s house? If you answered “yes,” to any of these questions then it is likely you know my pain. …
Top 10 Reasons Your Kids Need Arts-Based Extracurricular Activities
In the Top 10 Reasons Your Kids Need Sports-Based Extracurricular Activities post, I listed many reasons why physical activity is awesome for kids both in terms of their physical and mental well-being. While creativity-based activities don’t necessarily exercise the physical body (although some do), they benefit our kids in so many incredible ways. Creativity-based activities will allow them to develop skills that will help them in all other areas of their lives, and with cuts …
Ten Commandments For Hockey Parents
The back to school flurry and the reddening leaves mean one thing: hockey season is approaching. It actually means many things are approaching, like winter and clearing snowy driveways and nostrils that stick together and dammit where is that second mitten? For many Canadians and Americans whose second home is the rink, winter equals hockey. Every year the equipment is pulled out, tried on, exchanged, skates are laced up, old teammates renew friendships or become rivals, and excitement …
