Kids & Company Blog: Hot Topics

Posted on: Wednesday March 13th, 2013

Posted by: Lisa Ruscica

This week I would like to highlight a wonderful family cookbook and a great recipe that may come in handy this March Break when the children are home from school. I love “Deceptively Delicious” by Jessica Seinfeld. This New York Times Best Seller gives you “simple secrets to get your kids eating good food.” Jessica… [read more]

Posted on: Friday September 14th, 2012

Posted by: Victoria Sopik

Once again, the summer has flown by, and as I enjoy the final few days of August, I am also gearing up for September, which is a busy month for most moms. Five of my eight children are going “back to school” next week, ranging from grade ten to law school. Given that I have gone through this process many times already, here are some of my tips for the transition back to school.

Posted on: Tuesday September 4th, 2012

Posted by: Victoria Sopik

One question I’m often asked is, “do you love playing with children?” Although this may come as a surprise to most, my answer to that question is “no.” I do have a special love for babies, nursing, cuddling and playing with them, but I have never had much of an interest in “getting down on the ground,” or playing house, cars, school, etc. I have always felt more of a pull in the direction of nurturing and loving them and I’ve left their playing and learning to be developed through each other and school.

Posted on: Tuesday August 28th, 2012

Posted by: Victoria Sopik

Spanking is such a tough topic and is one that I have strong personal feelings about.
Of course, in the child care world we have a very firm policy on “behaviour management” and a teacher would be immediately let go if they even suggested a spanking policy. We take this very seriously and provide positive reinforcement and redirect the child if they are having a difficult time.

Posted on: Wednesday August 22nd, 2012

Posted by: Victoria Sopik

Most of our parents have babies or small children, and sleep is a huge part of the entire family’s daily routine. If we haven’t slept well as a family then life is so much more difficult.
I have lots to share in future blogs about babies sleeping, toddlers and moving to “big beds”. I even have stories about baby number eight sleeping with us until he was close to five! This was not a good thing and is one of my parenting regrets.

Posted on: Friday August 3rd, 2012

Posted by: Victoria Sopik

Let’s talk about siblings. As mentioned in previous posts, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman’s Nurtureshock discusses several topics that are of interest to most parents. Chapter 6 of the book dispels the idea that being an only child has detrimental effects on the development of social skills.

Posted on: Tuesday April 10th, 2012

Posted by: Julie Cole

A while ago, my friend Louise relayed that she was horrified to learn that a woman she knows “unfriends” people on Facebook who brag about their kids a lot. Louise explained that she loves sharing news about her children and also hearing about other people’s kiddos. While I couldn’t agree more, I completely get where her friend is coming from.

Posted on: Saturday January 21st, 2012

Posted by: Kids & Company

We’ve determined that we want to drop the rope and stop power contests with our children. We’ve used the D in the DROP acronym to determine that we are in the midst of a power contest. Now it’s time to R – reassess the situation and hand back responsibility.

In power contests, we lose sight of the goal and engage in the struggle itself. We want to MAKE our kids do what we say. Our kids want to retain their power. Two simple ways they do that are to refuse or ignore our demands. Getting on a coat evolves into a lesson about respect and manners and sometimes includes stories about the kind of spankings handed out when we didn’t listen to Grandpa.

Posted on: Monday December 12th, 2011

Posted by: Linda Starr

Kids & Company’s Inaugural Parenting Conference on November 5 was a huge success!
Understanding that one of the biggest challenges of being a working parent is balancing professional responsibilities with the realities of raising a family, this conference addressed these challenges and offered advice on how to keep it all in balance.

The day began with a buffet breakfast at 8:30 a.m. at beautiful new hotel – Marriott Springhill Gardens in Vaughan.

Posted on: Monday August 29th, 2011

Posted by: Victoria Sopik

Bringing home a new baby can be quite an anxious time for many. You’re leaving the hospital where all the nurses helped you bathe feed and care for your new one, and going home to start a whole new routine. For many people, this new routine also includes an older child, who’s waiting patiently at that front door to see who (or what!) you might be bringing in the front door.