'Camping' for some rest

As kids grow older, they need less sleep in a day. Hence, they tend to not need their afternoon naps. Although they do not require afternoon naps, it's good to have them wind down a little during mid-day, to rest and have some quiet time.

Set aside a rest period if you can for them so that you too can stop awhile for a breather. Most times, I allow some TV time for Caitlin during this rest period, afterwhich I try to get her to do some simple activities like colouring, fun math or writing in workbooks. These activities are easy enough for her to manage on her own without full-time supervision as she can read the simple instructions herself.

Most times, however, she prefers to play with her toys. Yesterday, she got a bit more creative and asked to play camping, so I helped her built a tent using our dining chairs and a blanket. We pretended to be out in the forest and had 'dinner' (afternoon snack) in the 'tent'. Then after 'dinner', we went to 'sleep' with a 'fire' to keep out the nocturnal animals. She had earlier laid some throw pillows inside the tent and even brought her favourite security bolster along. We both laid down and said 'night-time' prayers and rested for a short while. Although the rest was just a few minutes long, I felt it helped slow down the adrenaline for her (and me!).

She continued playing camping on her own when it was 'morning' while I started preparing dinner. In between, I was called to join her at the river to fish for breakfast. I told her we had to be quiet while fishing so as not to scare the fish away. So we sat quietly until we 'hooked' some fish!

Sweet mamas

I joined a blogging networking site this year called Social Spark and have since made quite a number of friends, especially those who are also blogging mums like me. Blogging mums always tend to talk about life as mums, life at home with kids, what their kids do or don't want to do.

Over the weekend, two blogging mums shared their blogs with me and I'd like to highlight them here. Coincidentally they both have the word 'sweet' in their blogs! It just goes to tell you that all mums are actually really sweet (ahem!). Despite the times when we bare our 'fangs' when things get out of hand and the kids start climbing over our heads, we still move on, laugh about it and live to write about it in our blogs!

The first mum is Summer from the United States with a creative streak and is into wedding planning. Her blog, Sweetlittlemama shares about her life as a mum to 11 1/2-year-old Jaszmien and one-year-old Nicholas.

The second mum is from the Philippines, has two sons and shares about her life in her blog called The Sweet Life. In one of her posts, she compared photographs of her two cute sons when they were six months old and amazingly, they look very much alike.

Check out Sweetlittlemama and The Sweet Life for a glimpse of the life of a mummy in other parts of the world.

Watching TV

Image from hyatt.com

Like other parents, I have been guilty of using the tele as a babysitter sometimes, especially when I'm sick and tired of trying to get Caitlin to do what I want her to be doing, like taking a nap for instance. I'd just walk away in a huff and leave her to do as she pleases and if the TV happens to be on, she'll automatically be glued to it, only taking her eyes off it at intervals to play with some toy or read a book momentarily.

Letting kids watch TV is not all bad but when it is not controlled or supervised, that's when its effects could be harmful. While working on an article on this subject for my fortnightly contribution to a local daily, I learnt a few things about this issue.

In moderation, TV can be a good thing. According to KidsHealth, a leading website providing doctor-approved health information about children, preschoolers can get help learning the alphabet, while “grade schoolers can learn about wildlife on nature shows, and parents can keep up with current events on the evening news.” No doubt about it - TV can be an excellent educator and entertainer, it says.

According to guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), children under age two should have no "screen time" (TV, DVDs or videotapes, computers, or video games) at all. A child’s first two years is a critical time for brain development and TV can hinder learning, exploration, interaction and playing with parents and others. These are important for their cognitive, physical, social and emotional development. This actually sounds restricting to me (I have to admit my daughter learnt her alphabet before age two through VCDs) but the no-screen-time is indeed good advice.

Some ideas I have read about include keeping the TV out of your child's bedroom and making a house rule that the TV must be turned off during meals (this is my constant battle with Caitlin during mealtimes). Don't allow your child to watch TV while doing homework and set a good example by limiting your own television viewing.

These may be easier said than done but we should work on them. Watch TV with your child and talk to him about what he sees, share your own opinions and values about it. Encourage your child to think and discuss what you have watched together. Make watching TV a fun, educational and meaningful family activity.

So this means watching TV is an 'okay' activitiy if our kids refuse to nap but it's best that we watch it with them. We can learn new things too. I did when I watched Animal Planet with Caitlin!