We're excited to be interviewing a BC dad this week. James Smith is a busy Dad in North Vancouver, BC. On top of his day job as a Social Media Strategist, he's a Dad Blogger at SocialDad.ca, photographer, and lover of the outdoors. Originally from England, he moved to Canada in 2013 and adores his…
Let’s face it: our children have a way of bringing out emotions in us that we may not have known we had before becoming parents! We may find ourselves having a temper tantrum or digging in our heels with a big “No!”, or trying to retreat away from handling the situation. It is in these moments that…
We had the pleasure of asking some questions to Holly Conway, a local radio personality. If you want to hear Holly in action, she can be heard on weekday mornings from 5:30am-9am on 94.5 Virgin Radio with her comrades Jonny and Nira.
An interview with Carlie Parkinson - editor of BC Parent magazine
Spring cleaning is an annual ritual that many perform—some more enthusiastically than others—to clear out the winter debris and achieve a more comfortable environment for everyone in our households. But performing spring cleaning and annual home maintenance tasks isn’t only good for our homes. According to medical science, it’s actually good for our mental and…
Kool to Be Kind - a picture book written to shine a powerful light as to why some children become bullies. By encouraging a shift from reacting negatively towards bullies to pro-acting with kindness, understanding, and empathy, this book was written with hopes of causing a ripple effect of kindness and decreasing the incidence of…
As any parent can tell you, kids are the first to embrace bright colours and creative spaces. Their joie de vivre can help lead the way in imaginative bedroom design. All it takes are a few new upgrades, accents, or accessories for the ultimate kid’s room refresh.
Financial psychologist Bradley Klontz and his partner Sonya Britt believe the answer to that question is as complicated as we are. They say that the way we respond to money and the world around us is shaped by the generational forces of our family, culture, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Smartphones are causing negative health effects. We even have a medical diagnosis for smartphone addiction (it’s Nomophobia, by the way). Look for yourself-you don’t have to dig very deep to find it. We have developed difficulties with sleeping, anxiety, compulsive web surfing, loneliness, depression, even vision and balance disturbances.
When we first began hearing about Covid in early 2020, it barely registered. Like many parents, having my kids at home, working full time and trying to keep sane has been a lot to handle. But I’m proud of how we’ve managed and, when I reflect on these past months, I realize we’ve found the…
Excerpt from: "What Young Children Need You to Know: How to see them so you know what to do for them" (May 4, 2020) - Please Don’t Worry So Much About Me
Summer has almost officially started in BC and working from home has become the new norm. Balancing work with kids can be tricky, but you can always fit parenting and online work from your home together. With only a handful of in-person summer camps available, how do you manage your day to actually be able…
Join a free, introductory Digital Parenting webinar Thursday, June 25, at 1:30pm ET! It will focus on parents of children between 5 and 11 years old and will discuss questions such as how closely should we watch our kids when they are online, how can we help them stay safe when using the internet, and…
As we have been spending more time cooped up inside lately, many of us are finding ourselves in front of screens to pass the time. Whether it’s the computer, smart-phone or television, this increase in screen time means an increase in our exposure to advertisements.
As our children’s school shut down due to the Covid-19, and our work schedule changed to zoom meetings, we’re left with the reality of working from home while balancing homeschooling our three children for the remainder of the school year. As the world, and our family’s world, turned upside down, I knew I had to…
Let’s begin with an acknowledgment - these are strange times. Schools have been closed since mid-March, and it seems ever more likely that they won’t fully open again until fall. What form school will take in the Autumn remains to be seen. Having your kids at home for such a long time comes with its…
The Socratic method is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions. It is employed to bring out definitions implicit in the interlocutors' beliefs or to help them further their understanding. Laura Sandefer, co-founder of Acton Academy, has…
When talking online with a 5th-grade boy recently, he said: “My friends and I thought that being off school would be really fun. Actually, it’s not.” I validated his reality and then mentioned that a lot of parents were feeling the same way. While we know that a sick member of the family needs to be…
Last week, I wrote a six-step script for How to Handle the Big “What If’s?”, to address the Coronavirus anxiety in kids which is quickly increasing as Canada becomes more impacted, and there are more visible signs, such as people on the streets and in shops wearing masks. Here are some additional tips to help…
Do you have a child with a learning disability or ADD/ADHD? Is it putting an enormous financial burden on you? If yes, then this article is a must-read, because there is hope and relief for you in the form of the Disability Tax Credit! For over 30 years, the Disability Tax Credit has helped disabled…
The thought of post-secondary education can be terrifying for parents. The idea of their children leaving the nest and becoming adults, coupled with the fear of the, potentially, enormous education bill makes any parent concerned. As we all know, the cost of post-secondary education increases annually. If your child is currently five, the cost of…
I love that my children are so creative and enjoy drawing and painting and crafting. What I don't love so much is the clutter that comes from those amazing pieces after the children have lost interest! We aren't one of those households that has a wall dedicated to our children's art. We have a few…
Most parents have, on occasion, wondered why their kids act like jerks. Whether they slap a friend for seemingly no reason, yell an angry retort at a teacher in response to a request, or lie about pulling the cat’s tail, this rude behavior often shocks unsuspecting parents who make every attempt to raise considerate kids.…
One of the biggest challenges for parents is deciding when (not if just when) a child or teenager will have access to technology such as a laptop, tablet, or mobile phone. And there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Famously, industry leaders from the computer and technology industry are reported to prevent their kids from…
