Kids & Company Blog: Parenting

Posted on: Wednesday August 1st, 2012

Posted by: Victoria Sopik

I do consider myself somewhat of a “parenting expert” and this is not just because I have 8 children, but also because many years ago (26 to be exact), I attended a 2-year parenting course called “Children the Challenge”. Since then, I have continued with reading and taking courses every year. While I do not always agree with what I read, I feel that the answer for parents is to read/learn and decide what makes sense for you.

Posted on: Wednesday July 25th, 2012

Posted by: Victoria Sopik

Many people ask me if I know “where babies come from?” They ask me this because they are curious as to whether my husband and I actually planned to have 8 children.

The true answer is that I really wanted 10 children (and if you would like proof of this you can look at my West Hill Collegiate High School Yearbook, where it says that I want to have 10 children and become a lawyer). The lawyer part is another story…but for some amazing reason, I have always been baby crazy!

So my poor husband (we were very young and in love) married me anyway, knowing that I really did want to have 10 babies.

Posted on: Thursday May 10th, 2012

Posted by: Julie Cole

Mother’s Day is around the corner and everyone is asking the moms what we want. I’m a simple gal and not particularly high maintenance in the gifts department. I don’t want flowers or jewelry for Mother’s Day or any other occasion really.

In fact, my perfect Mother’s Day gift would be doing without some things. For example, there are certain comments made by the general public that we mamas could do without. Mamas of biggie-sized families prefer not to be asked if we own a TV or suggestions that we should take up a hobby. Contrary to popular belief, we are not actually spending the majority of our time participating in baby-making activities. Another classic one – when I go out alone in the evening, I’d like people to stop asking who is taking care of the kids. There is this guy in their lives called their “father”. And no, he’s not “babysitting”. I checked in with Daddy-o and he has never been asked this question when out for the evening, yet I hear it constantly.

Posted on: Wednesday May 2nd, 2012

Posted by: Julie Cole

My kids are far from spoiled, and I myself had a wonderful upbringing, but every once in a while I look at their lives and say to myself “In my next life, I want to come back as one of MY OWN kids”.
It happened last week. We had cousins visiting from overseas and it was all kinds of crazy fun. After several late nights, I allowed them to sleep in and be late for school one morning. This is something I’ve never done before and certainly something my mother never allowed. If we wanted to stay up and party like it’s 1999, I can assure you my mother had us up bright and early to greet that first sunrise of 2000. That makes sense to me – why protect them from natural consequences? But I let them sleep in last week. That one time.

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: Thursday March 29th, 2012

Posted by: Julie Cole

Parents often wonder what the appropriate age is to get a kid a cell phone. Some kids beg for one, claiming all their friends at school have them. Some parents feel it’s a safety thing – kids can get hold of them when necessary.
My three “biggies” are nine, eleven and twelve years old. While I can certainly think of times it would have been convenient for them to have cell phones, we haven’t gone there yet.

Posted on: Monday March 19th, 2012

Posted by: Kids & Company

One of the most upsetting social faux-pas your baby or toddler can commit in their early years is to bite another child (or adult). One baby is in tears, his or her parents are often upset that their child was used as a chew toy and the biter’s parents are embarrassed. No one wants their little one to be excluded from play-dates and birthday parties for using their teeth a bit too liberally but parents and caregivers are often unsure what to do.

Posted on: Wednesday March 7th, 2012

Posted by: Victoria Sopik

As every child and parent is different and this is true for my children, I decided it would be best to poll our highly trained, qualified and certified directors and ECE’s to see what they think about potty training. Included are tips and tricks from my 8 experiences of potty training as well as the hundreds of experiences our team has had.

Posted on: Tuesday February 21st, 2012

Posted by: Julie Cole

It’s quite common to hear someone say “I’m a single parent this week” when their husband/wife/partner is out of town due to work obligations. I certainly know that experience; Daddy-o is away on average four days a week. It’s no easy feat for a mama of six and it certainly takes its toll – but however tricky, you won’t catch me referring to myself as a single parent. Why not? Out of respect for all the real single parents out there. While I may be temporarily the only parent on location, I am not a single parent. Here’s the difference:

Posted on: Wednesday February 15th, 2012

Posted by: Julie Cole

So I managed to do my ankle in, which landed me in an Aircast and crutches. I know what you’re thinking and for the record, I was not walking and texting. In fact, I was attempting to walk and talk at the VERY same time and managed to go over on my ankle. It’s a good thing I wasn’t chewing gum or I may have ended up in a full body cast.

Clearly this cast/crutches thing is not an ideal situation for a multi-tasking mama. To further complicate the matter, Daddy-o was out of town for the week and the affected ankle was attached to my driving foot. The already difficult task of getting various children to various activities at the same time reached a whole new level of crazy.