I’ve written before about Jay’s weight, and how he’s been required to go for regular checks with a nutritionist here. If you haven’t checked it out yet, I’ll give you a minute to go and read it.

Okay, finished with that? Cool.

Anyway, he had another appointment last week, and as a responsible parent I felt it was my duty to take him. Well, that’s my story. My wife, SO, seems to think I only took him because she was busy and told me to take him. You can make up your own mind, and decide I’m right. read more

So, it was Easter this last weekend, and we celebrated in our typical fashion by not doing anything special. Well, okay, we spent the time together as a family doing our own family type things.

Mostly it was just another long weekend, with Good Friday being a holiday, but unlike in Australia, Monday is back to work/school.

Sunday was the only time we did anything specifically Eastery, with the eggs coming out to be dyed. Since I never did this as a child, unless I blocked it out and I’m going to get a call from my mother to remind me, this was all SO’s department. We ended up doing about 8 eggs, with SO making a smurf egg, and Jay wanting to do his as Pokemon. I’m not sure how well they turned out, we’re not gong to get any rewards for artistic perfection here, but it was fun and something we did as a family. read more

Last week I wrote about how electronics are effecting our kids and in some cases are causing them to actually become psychotic. If you haven’t read it yet, you can do so here.

As a result my wife, SO, and I sat down and discussed our options. We decided that the best way to help Jay, and ourselves, was to reduce all of our electronics usage. What this means, is that when Jay is around we also stop playing games on our phones and iPads, and any other electronic devices. We haven’t even turned on the TV once since we made the decision. The only time we pick up and use our phones is for calls and messages. read more

I’ve always been into electronics. From an Atari system when I was young, to a PC, and through the PS1, PS2, PS3, and PS4. We also have a Wii and of course got the iPad 1, and now an iPad Air 2. Not to mention our smart phones, android for me and iPhone for my wife.

With all these electronics around, it was only natural that Jay, our son, was exposed at an early age. It seemed like such a great idea, and there are plenty of educational apps for him to use and get a head start on his education. And he did. He’s always kept a bit ahead of his peers because of that early learning, whether it was learning his numbers and alphabet, or math and english. read more

It happens all the time. You drop your son or daughter off to school, and as you hop back in the car, you realise that they’ve forgotten something. Maybe it’s a book, or their lunch/water bottle, or something else they’ll probably need that day. So, off we go, back into the school to drop off the item at the school office so that it can be delivered to out child’s classroom. But is this the best idea to help our children become more independent?

Would it be better to just leave and let them deal without having that thing for one day? Which choice would be best in helping them to become more independent? And make them not rely on their parents fixing every little problem for them. read more

Recently, my wife, SO, sent me a newspaper article about a toy poodle by the name Anzu in Japan that is a police dog. It’s a strange thing and the idea of a tiny toy poodle being used in this role is something that I, and I suspect most people, would never have considered. But apparently, not only is she a police dog, she’s also a good and useful one.

But how, I hear you ask, does this relate to our children? Well, they have the answer, and you can read about it here.

If you didn’t read that, or haven’t done so yet, what they talk about in the article is how we as parents can use the example of that tiny canine in how we think about and treat our kids. By seeing the hidden abilities of Anzu she has become an invaluable part of his police team. And we can, and should do that with our children. read more

Is it just me, or do kids seem to have more Holidays now? Okay, thinking back to my own school days, I guess we had just as many. But they just seem to come so often now, it feels as if they’ve just gone back to school and then their off again.

Jay went back to school on the 2nd of January, and it’s now the 13th of March and he’s got a week holiday. To make it worse, he was sick for a total of 7 school days, meaning he was home for 11 days in a row. I guess that made it seem like he had an extra week of holidays in the middle of term. read more

It’s happened to most parents at one time or another. You’re in the middle of a crowded mall when suddenly the world shatters. Lying in front of you, trying to smash the floor to pieces, is your little one. Frustrated at not getting what they want, they lash out with no concern or acknowledgement that anything in the world exists, except for them and what they want. And you, dear parent, and I am with you in this, are the cause of this monstrous disaster.

So, what do we do? For those of us who have read the parenting books, and we even discussed this in class at university when I studied psychology, we try to ignore it and let our precious angel wear themselves out. You may have even seen that photo of Drew Barrymore that’s going around now, standing there ignoring her daughter as she throws a tantrum. It seemed so easy for her, and she even gets to go on talk shows to explain it. read more

One of my favourite memories growing up, is when I would help my Mum cook. Mostly it would just be things like cakes or pancakes. The pancakes were probably my favourite to cook because I got to use the frying pan and would pretend I was a famous chef. Although as far as eating goes, cakes win hands down.

Carrying on this tradition, my wife, SO, and I have made it a regular activity that we cook with our son, Jay. Unlike cooking with my Mum, we tend to cook meals together as a family. We have done desserts or cookies a couple of times, but we don’t really make cakes and things like that very often. Largely because I’m the only one who really eats cake. Yes, I have eaten a whole cake by myself on occasion (over several days that is). And cookies aren’t something we like to have too many of around the house because Jay and I do tend to pig out on them, and we have become much more conscious of our health and weight. I talk about Jay’s weight issues here. read more

Jay’s been sick this last week, and still is. He had last Thursday and Friday off, and it’s now Monday, and he’s off from school again. It’s not anything that out of the ordinary, just a regular cold, but it’s a difficult time for him, and as a result, for the rest of us.

Wednesday night when we got home from work, he was complaining about a fever and he didn’t feel well. It quickly became apparent that he wasn’t going to school the next day, when his fever was going up and he started throwing up. Fortunately we still had some medicine he could take. Unfortunately, when he gets this bad, he doesn’t want to take it and will fight not to have any. read more