Online security is usually one of those things we all take for granted until the day comes that our accounts have been hacked and used to spam our unsuspecting friends. It doesn’t stop there. Passwords are changed, and your friends contact information is taken in an effort to spread the mayhem. Other than signing in [...]
I know many of my fellow Canadians are still battling cold weather and snow storms, but here in Edmonton, it feels like spring. At the first hint of change between the seasons, many begin to transition to their ‘other’ wardrobe. T-shirts and shorts gladly replace sweaters and jeans as we look toward the next 6 [...]
When our first daughter was a toddler, we had no idea what she should take on around the house and at what age. Now that she is five, she does quite a bit. Her younger sister works hard to keep up and, in doing so, has shown us all of the possibilities that we missed [...]
My husband and I recently took our 3-year-old daughter on a trip to Brisbane, Australia. Traveling from Edmonton meant it would be a very long way to go. We had a series of 3 flights (with the longest being 13 hours), as well as layovers at airports in between. I took note of the things that [...]
Most parents focus on helping their child(ren) learn to read and write the alphabet, but first you need to think about the foundation for printing skills, which is pre-printing skills! Do you remember spending hours as a child colouring and drawing pictures? We had lots of time to learn and practice these skills. Now, these [...]
It’s easy to get comfortable with your current rewards card to the point where it just doesn’t occur to you to look around for something else. I’ve had the same rewards card for 15 years and, only recently, realized that I wasn’t getting everything I wanted back for it. Our family loves to travel so [...]
Core strength and fine motor skills are both critical for a child’s development and learning. One specific fine motor skill that deserves special attention is scissors skills. Using scissors is not the be-all-end-all of a child’s success in school! However, it is important that children master the ability to use scissors not only so they [...]
Fine motor skill development is the ‘meat and potatoes’ of Occupational Therapy and the number one reason for referral. Generally, “fine motor” refers to the refined skills of the hands and fingers. It encompasses the use of different tools in daily life (eating utensils, writing utensils, keyboard, etc.) and basically anything that you do with [...]
Before I became a parent, I was an Occupational Therapist, working with children and people of all ages with special needs since 1993, and as a pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT) since 2002. For children, their “occupations” are play and school. This is how they learn, grow, and develop. Once I had my own children, my [...]
Ever since our family came home from our vacation in Cuba last January, we have wanted to go back. Nothing beats our quality time spent together as a family and it is amplified even more when you throw in beautiful, blue water and sunny beaches, especially in the middle of winter. Saving for a winter [...]
Teaching your kids about credit at an early age can help them understand more about money matters down the road. Children are curious creatures and they understand more at their young age than we tend to give them ‘credit‘ for. So just like good values and moral behaviour, why not start talking about how to [...]