The time has finally come for this family to worry about what our kids can find while doing their own searches online.

While we know the Internet is an absolutely wonderful source for children to get valuable information and entertainment, we can’t overlook that it is also a volatile and infinite space with a growing amount of nasty content. That´s why we recognized the immediate necessity for a plan that goes from prevention to contention of possible scenarios and hopefully keeps our kids on the bright side of the net.

The first thing that we realized is that it’s not just a matter of sexual or violent content, the internet is filled with garbage that no child -or maybe anyone at all- should see, just consider the amount of misogyny, discrimination, indoctrination, extremism, bullying, conspiracy theories and just plain old lies that we experience in any browsing session.

The second factor is […]

We talk a lot about creativity in this house and we believe that it is one of the key elements for success at any level. While it is true that the word creativity has been generally associated with artistic activities and revered as a gift that only a few can covet, the truth is that every child is a natural born creative.

Sadly, that is not enough, even when creativity is present in every human, it still needs a safe space to grow and develop. And that’s where we, the parents, play a huge role.

And, yes. We all want the best for our kids. Sometimes, however, we fail to acknowledge some creativity-killing behaviors that are very common while parenting, and in this post, we will go through the ones that we could recognize from our own experience.

1. Letting go of our own creative adventures.

Our lives can get very complicated and time […]

Halloween is that magical time of the year where most families find an opportunity to use their imagination collectively and let go of reality for a little bit.

Fortunately, there are also quite a lot of fun family activities to invest your quality time. From house decorations to a pumpkin-picking visit to a local farm, from a corn maze trek to maybe a haunted house tour for the brave ones.

And there is no better way to prepare than grabbing a big bowl of popcorn and enjoying these fantastic, family-friendly movies that will get your imagination pumping without giving you nightmares.

1. Coraline

Curious young Coraline unlocks a door in her family’s home and is transported to a universe that strangely resembles her own — only better.

2. Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart

A new school year has begun, after being at home enjoying the summer and pampering our little ones, it is time once again for the daily struggle of deciding what goes into the lunchbox. It sounds so simple, so easy. But I’m sure you know, as well as I do, that it gets harder every time.

It is also a very important issue because when the kids are in school we lose a little bit of control on their diets. At home, we can manage the balance between healthy meals and guilt-inducing treats, but the school is no man´s land. It doesn’t help the case that our daughter is a somewhat picky-eater that looks at veggies with disdain and doesn´t even fall for the much-acclaimed PB& J sandwich.

Last year, we did a little digging around and asked what the other kids were taking, what she thought of their lunches, which were […]

As the end of summer vacation approaches, a lot of us parents find ourselves in the need to re-establish a healthy sleep routine for our kids. Mostly, because we also decided to let it ‘slip’ during summer vacation, so no complaining!. Now let’s get rid of the fun-packed late nights and try to make those first weeks of school a little easier for your kids.

Why is healthy sleep important?

It improves general health, energy, wellness, learning/Cognitive ability and immune system performance. It also allows kids to wake up rested and ready to function well, in body and mind, every day. And that is a fantastic gift to give to our kids. If we could only follow along…

How much sleep does your kid need?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has these guidelines, “Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations“, which are pretty clear on the subject. In our case, and […]

Hurricane season has arrived and this year’s is expected to be an above-average one. So, aside from all the ways this may affect our general lives, we also want to consider this time as an opportunity to start building a foundation for our kids to understand how this is a natural event and learn valuable lessons and skills in the process.

When you’re a kid, your job is to learn about the world and weather provides a great amount of interesting and fun topics, and while children are often scared of the powerful display of nature’s force involved in a storm, it is also undeniable that knowledge and preparedness is a wonderful antagonist to fear.

There are some general concepts that we think are important to communicate to our children:

• Weather and climate are closely related and affect all of our lives every day.
• There are some things in life that you can’t control, […]
  

Cooking is one of the most inescapable activities of life as a family, sometimes a joy and sometimes a burden, most of us parents spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

But, ¿what about kids?. ¿Should they be automatically removed from the danger-filled spaces of the kitchen to the more tranquil lands of the leaving room?.

We have been thinking about this, and have found a lot of information that suggests that involving the kids in the food preparation process might have quite a big positive impact in their life and well-being.

This is a list of some of the benefits that we could find and that, frankly, make good reasons to encourage kids in the kitchen at any age:

• Children like to eat food they make. This is a good way to get them to try new healthy foods.
• The earlier kids become accustomed to home-cooked nutritious foods, the less likely they will […]
  

Mother’s Day is coming again and I want to share with all our readers some ideas that would make this a enjoyable celebration.

But, before getting into the matter, I would like you to take some time and consider how important and special our job as a mom is. Even if it is highly frustrating venture at times, we happily give ourselves away and are always there for our children.

Which is why, even when marketing has turned the date into a feast of consumerism, all of us should take mother´s day as an opportunity to reinforce thoughtfulness and teach ourselves and our kids the importance of expressing our feelings and taking the time to show appreciation. Yes, kids know and perceive the impact of their moms’ presence and how much they depend on her every day, but it is important that parents create opportunities for them to tell mom how loved […]

It´s National Park Week! (April 15 to 23, 2017)

Discover all there is to see and do in your national parks. With many exciting opportunities to enjoy nature and our nation’s unique cultural heritage, what will your adventure be?

https://www.nps.gov/findapark/national-park-week.htm

Cubetto: Coding without the screen

An early start for girls and boys aged 3 and up.

https://www.primotoys.com/

GoldieBlox

Disrupting the pink aisle in toy stores globally and challenging gender stereotypes with the world’s first girl engineer character.

https://www.goldieblox.com/

Good Puppy

CHILDREN BEHAVIORAL & EMOTIONAL SYSTEM

https://goodpuppy.com/

The Max Motor Dreams Crib by Ford

A smart crib that replicates car rides

http://www.fordmaxmotordreams.com/

Sketchbox subscription

Seems grown-up oriented but we could probably do awesome things every month.

– https://getsketchbox.com/shop/all/

You won’t believe these epic playhouses

– http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/105841/epic-playhouses

We want this! The Anki OVERDRIVE

Toy car racing for the digital age

– https://anki.com/en-us/overdrive

Lego Boost

The next step in Lego building is launching this year

– https://www.lego.com/en-us/boost/

Video: How the food you eat affects your gut – Shilpa Ravella

A short and colorful animated video that explains key aspects of nutrition and the best foods for a healthy gut.

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sISguPDlhY