Kids & Company Blog: Parenting

Give Your Kids a ‘70s or ‘80s Summer (like we all had)

Posted on: Tuesday June 17th, 2014

Posted by: Kids & Company

As we head into summer, I have noticed that in the last few weeks alone I have, on a number of occasions, discussed/reminisced with various people about how we used to spend our summers as kids and wonder how my kids will be spending their summers in the years ahead.  I remember literally getting on… [read more]

Scraped Knees and Watermelon Seeds

Posted on: Tuesday June 3rd, 2014

Posted by: Jackie Kardesh

I remember growing up and looking forward to the coveted summer vacation from school. It held the potential for endless adventures and fun in the sun. Every day I’d come home covered in sand, dirt and sweat from the day. Bliss. That was a long time ago…Parents, myself included, are now terrified at the idea… [read more]

Communicating with your Little One: Sign Language

Posted on: Friday May 30th, 2014

Posted by: Kids & Company

I was never very into the idea of baby sign language. My son, Mac, has always been very vocal and through his sounds, few words, and cries I felt like we communicated quite well. Having worked in the Kids & Company centres for years, I am relatively familiar with basic signs such as “milk”, “more”, “water”, and… [read more]

Reading Food Labels

Posted on: Wednesday May 28th, 2014

Posted by: Lisa Ruscica

As more and more food items become available in stores understanding what’s written on the label is becoming more and more challenging. With the addition of media input it can make it near impossible to know what’s actually in the food you and your family are eating. Don’t fret! I’m here to give you some… [read more]

Car Seat Safety: Boosters

Posted on: Tuesday May 27th, 2014

Posted by: Kids & Company

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: don’t rush your child into the next car seat stage. 40 lbs is the minimum (minimum) for a child to ride in a booster seat. They are not required to transition into a booster seat when they reach 40lbs. Keep them in their 5-pt… [read more]

Car Seat Safety: Forward Facing

Posted on: Thursday May 22nd, 2014

Posted by: Kids & Company

Best practices with forward facing and Canadian law are in direct conflict here. Best practices say to keep your child rear-facing as long as possible and to wait until they are at least two years of age to turn them forward facing. Canadian law, on the other hand, (different in every province) states that children… [read more]

The Importance of Play

Posted on: Tuesday May 13th, 2014

Posted by: Kids & Company

Having had the opportunity to create and build the National Day of Play initiative for Kids & Company (check out the event here), I have been learning more and more about the importance of play not only for our children but for us parents as well! Reading the most recent 2013 Report Card from Active Healthy… [read more]

Infant Car Seat Safety: Rear-Facing

Posted on: Thursday May 8th, 2014

Posted by: Kids & Company

Infant Car Seats  If you’re like many first-time parents, you don’t quite realize the seriousness of deciding on your child’s first car seat. But if you try to do your research, you’re buried in piles of blog posts, marketing materials and friendly recommendations – much of it contradictory. Cue breakdown.   Let me make this… [read more]

When, oh when, will my child be dry at night?

Posted on: Wednesday April 30th, 2014

Posted by: Kids & Company

My twin boys were potty trained shortly before their 3rd birthday.  Luck was with me and I was able to accomplish this in a few days going pants-free in our backyard in the spring.  Friends (who mainly had daughters, I realized after the fact) noted that a couple of weeks later, I might find that… [read more]

Toilet Training Steps for Success!

Posted on: Friday April 25th, 2014

Posted by: Victoria Sopik

After training 8 children, the most important message that I can share, is to be sure that each child feels “ready” and personally interested in the idea of shedding their diapers. As a mother of six boys, there were a number of futile efforts on my part with boys that would prefer to be kicking,… [read more]