Getting children to eat their vegetables has been the bane of parents existence for eons.

But, with everything we have going on at the moment, it really is something children not only

a- need to be doing to keep their little growing bodies healthy and strong (especially as we head into winter with the dreaded colds, virus and flu and of course the Coronavirus

b- but need to understand why eating their veggies are so important.

Today we are thrilled to be joined by the lovely Clare Zivanovic, qualified Nutritionist, Naturopath and Medical Herbalist and Author of the children's book 'Superfood Attitude’.

In this chat, Clare shares tips on how we can best communicate to children that Food is Medicine and that we all need to be looking after our health and well being at this critical time.

For Clare’s full article please visit:

https://kiddipedia.com.au/do-your-kids-realise-food-is-medicine/

@superfoodattitude

https://www.superfoodattitude.com/ 

When trying to entertain Toddlers and preschoolers there’s no doubt they can be a tough crowd.

But during home isolation a lot of these challenges are only magnified as we are unable to take them outdoors to burn off their energy in their usual daily activities to daycare, kinder, preschool, play centres, the park, the playground, the library, play dates, the list could go on…

So, how can we keep our little ones entertained and engaged in and around the home?

Lucky for us we are joined by Bree from B Minor Music who is here to help. Bree is going to share some fresh ideas and strategies that you can try out at home that will help break up the monotony of life home in isolation.

We ask Bree questions including:

Parents all around Australia are just starting to appreciate the work of our early year's educators and all the incredible work they do. You worked in the early year's sector for many years, I’d love to know your thoughts on this new sense of appreciation?

Where primary and secondary school-aged children are currently being homeschooled it’s not much different for parents with preschoolers. If anything, parents with school-aged children may be receiving a little more support as classes are structured and supported by technology. What are your thoughts on this?

For any parent that is concerned about their child’s early education, this teaching technique is something all parents easily facilitate and manage from home. Can you explain a little more about this to put some parents at ease?

How can parents of preschool-aged children help encourage play-based activities at home to help with their children explore, experiment, discover and solve problems in imaginative and playful ways?

It has also been said that preschool students often stay more engaged and alert when you use a variety of materials and switch activities every 15 minutes or less. Do you think that parents should combine different activities throughout the day for the best results? and or is it beneficial to enable children to become bored and use their own imagination to help develop their own creativity?

What are some great experiences to do around the home for pre-primary children during isolation?

How can parents take advantage of technology during this time and what online experiences can you recommend?

What are your thoughts on encouraging physical activities during the day as a great way to mix things up and keep students motivated?

What is the best way for the family to stay physically and mentally healthy during isolation?

For more information visit: 

https://kiddipedia.com.au/author/b-minor/ 

@bminormusic

http://bminormusic.com 

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2020, what a year for all us Aussies so far. We’ve had drought, fire, floods and now the COVID-19 pandemic.

it’s really like something from a movie, isn’t it? A pretty crappy one if you ask me.

No doubt all the challenging things we’ve had to deal with this year,

and are still dealing with, has had some effect on our children’s conscious and subconscious minds and depending on what they have been exposed to

possibly their anxiety levels and mental health.

As we are aware, on any given day children’s anxiety can come out in all sorts of ways from tears and meltdowns for no obvious reason. With what we are living through at the moment, we need to be mindful of their resilience and the impact all these events is having on their emotions.

Lucky for us, we are joined today by our special guest, Sarah Cumming, Co-founder and CEO of Teach Ted who will talk through a range of fun activities to help children manage their emotions and reduce their anxiety.

Teach Ted is a health-tech startup, focused on changing the way kids interact with medical treatment and other challenging experiences.

Teach Ted is focused on reducing anxiety for children going to the hospital or undergoing medical treatment and their families.

We ask Sarah questions including:

What are some of the common areas that kids are getting concerned about right now

How can I tell if my child is feeling anxious about what’s happening and what can I do to help?

You talk about learning through play – what does this actually mean in practice?

For Sarah’s full article please go to:

https://kiddipedia.com.au/staying-cool-through-covid-19/ @teachted

https://www.teachted.com.au/ 

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There’s no shadow of a doubt that life, as we know it, has changed, and will continue to change for the unforeseeable future.

Covid-19 has put us into what feels like an alternate universe and so many of us just want to push the reset button on 2020. But we know we can’t. This is not a computer game that we can just turn off and start again.

It’s real life, just a surreal version of it.

Everyone is doing their best to deal with our new reality, especially when it comes to our kids.

As many parts of the world are moving to stage 3 & 4 lockdowns, where people are confined to their homes, many parents are asking what does this mean for my family?

Especially when it comes to keeping children mentally stimulated, socially connected, educated and entertained whilst indoors.

If you have concerns about the effects gaming may have on your kids during this time of isolation you're in the right place.

Today we are thrilled to speak with Andrea Castello. otherwise known as ‘Dad The Gamer’

We ask Andrea questions including:

Is online gaming good for my kids if they are forced to stay home in isolation? If so why?

 Should I be playing games with my kids?

What would be 1 game from each platform that you would recommend for parents to play with their kids?

Video gaming provides an opportunity for us to bond with our kids, keep their young minds occupied and help them learn whilst also managing issues with social isolation, the next logical question is which games??

You’ll have the read the article to see:

https://kiddipedia.com.au/games-list-the-kids-will-enjoy-in-this-time-of-isolation/

@dadthegamer29

http://www.dadthegamer.com/ 

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Let's face it, life is a little stressful at the moment.

There are a lot of outside forces that we can’t control at the moment, COVID-19 being one of them. But one thing for sure is, we can control the internal ones.

Today we will be sharing Mediation and Breathing Tips to help ease some of the anxiety you may be feeling due to COVID-19.

Our aim is to to help enhance your everyday life whilst in isolation.

Today we are joined by our special guest Kim Norton, founder of Rainbow Light Therapies. Kim is a Holistic Counsellor specialising in stress and anxiety management for children, teens and adults, she also works with children who have special needs and their families as an NDIS registered provider.

Kim will be sharing top mediation and breathing tips to help reduce anxiety.

We will be asking Kim 4 key questions

What are the benefits of meditation?

What are the different types of meditation?

How can breathing exercises (breath work) affect our stress levels?

What are some examples of different breathing exercises?

We hope this information can help make a positive change in your daily life and bring much happiness, peace and tranquillity.

For Kims, articles go to:

https://kiddipedia.com.au/om-meditation-for-stress-management/ 

https://kiddipedia.com.au/just-breathe/

 

For more information please visit: 

@RainbowLightTherapiesbyKim Norton

https://rainbowlighttherapies.com.au/ 

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Having a baby is one of the happiest moments anyone of us can experience in life. What could be more priceless and beautiful than bringing a new life into the world?

But when the world as we know it is not in the middle of a global pandemic it undoubtedly is making the prenatal journey a little more difficult for our parents to be then it should be.

Understandably this is causing expecting mothers to feel a lot more anxious than normal.

Due to the Government jurisdiction with social distancing and isolation, many prenatal classes are now cancelled, and there are limits on the number of support people allowed in birthing suites.

We all want the COVID-19 era to stop.

But one thing for sure that is not going to stop are babies being born!

So, in saying this what advice can we offer mums to be to help manage their pre-birth anxiety during the COVID19 era of self-isolation?

Well, today we are joined with Lael Stone for some simple things that will help.

Lael is a Childbirth Educator and Co-Creator of About Birth, One of Australia’s leading online birth education programs, ‘About Birth’.

We ask Lael questions including:

With pre-natal classes now cancelled across Australia, how are pregnant women feeling in general and if they can’t attend hospital or birthing classes – what are the alternatives?

What would be some simple advice that you could offer for a mum to be to manage her anxiety during this stressful period

How important are partners during this time, and how can they be a part of the process?

For Lael’s full article please go to:

https://kiddipedia.com.au/managing-pre-birth-anxiety-during-covid-19/

For more information please visit

@AboutBirthOnline

https://www.aboutbirth.com.au/ 

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Life in isolation has taken us out of our usual day to day routines and set us with the challenge of setting new ones, especially around the duties of homeschooling, keeping kids entertained and running a household.

Now, more than ever, during these days of COVID-19, we see the importance of being healthy and having a strong immune system.

What better way to keep the kids engaged, entertained and to build our immune system than exercise!

So, how does exercise help?

For one, physical activity helps to flush bacteria out of the lungs, decreasing your chances of getting a cold, flu or other illness.

For these reasons and many more we need to ensure we are including exercise in our new daily routines and to discuss this today we are joined by our special guest, Jane Kilkenny.

Jane is a health and fitness expert with over 25 years of experience. She is a pioneer in kids fitness, specialising in this field since 2003.

We ask Jane questions including:

What are the implications if we don’t exercise enough during isolation?

Why is it so important to keep up our fitness during this time?

Why is it important to include family fun? What tips do you have to keep families active at this time?

How do you define mindset and how do we learn to manage it?

What tips do you have for an at-home cardio workout?

Stores have currently sold out of a lot of Fitness equipment including dumbbells, weights etc.

What are resistance bands and what can they be used for?

For Jane’s articles please go to:

https://kiddipedia.com.au/stay-active-to-boost-immunity/ 

https://kiddipedia.com.au/calm-in-a-crisis/ 

 

For more information please go go:

@JaneKilkenny111

http://janekilkenny.com/ 

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There is no doubt the world is going through a challenging time at the moment.

Whether we like it or not, it is during the most difficult times in our lives that we experience growth. The reason for this is that we have to adapt to new situations and scenarios that we previously haven't needed to before.

When the world as know it has “changed around us”, we invariably have to change something “within us”. And although we try to protect our children from these changes, we can also use them as a great opportunity to teach them value life lessons.

Our current situation is a perfect example of this and lucky for us today we are joined by Zanni Louise who is going to talk through a few of these valuable life lessons we can use this time to teach our kids.

Zanni Louise author of 12 children's books and author of the Human Kind series of books.

Zanni’s books are sold internationally and have been long-listed in the CBCA Awards. She tours Australia, visiting schools, festivals, and running workshops for adults.

We ask Zanni questions including:

Is now the right time to teach kids lifelong lessons?

The Human Kind series teaches a really important message, what are they?

In developing the stories for the series you spoke to children directly, what did you discover?

How do we talk to our kids about values?

Why do you think connectedness is more important than ever at the moment?

W: http://zannilouise.com/

Insta: http://instagram.com/zannilouise

Connection challenge: https://www.facebook.com/groups/humankind30days

Purchase HONESTY: https://www.booktopia.com.au/human-kind-zanni-louise/book/9781925970791.html

Purchase PERSISTENCE: https://www.booktopia.com.au/human-kind-zanni-louise/book/9781925970807.html

 

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Now more than ever, our children need us to be their place of calm, confidence and safe place.

It is our responsibility as parents, grandparents and carers is to be that person that makes them emotionally feel this and also to provide a space that children feel safe and secure to be and live within.

To help talk us through how we can do this is our special guest Chrissie Davies, otherwise known as The Child Charmer.

Chrissie brings 15+ years of experience in Special Education supporting children with wide-ranging social and emotional challenges, including on the spectrum.

Hailed as ‘The Child Charmer’ Chrissie Davies brings a heart centred approach to all her services and believes that understanding the causes of challenging behaviour is the first step to making lasting change.

Chrissie understands the power of connection and communication and knows that with the right support families can confidently calm the chaos.

We ask Chrissie questions including:

In your article you talk about a honeymoon period for our children – can you explain this further?

What advice do you have for families who are now trying to work from home for the very first time?

You have titled the article “Within these walls” – what are some of the common challenges you see when working with families that occur within the family home, and what advice can you give to families to support them during this time when we are all stuck in isolation with no end in sight?

Can you talk us through your list of things to help create a safe environment for our kids?

What should parents do if their kids go from being calm and stable then start to unravel?

I’ve taken this phrase out of the article “Understand that big changes for kids often bring big feelings and emotions and this can sometimes look and sound like challenging behaviour.”

Which leads to my question: How can parents understand why their children display challenging behaviours at this time?

What changes can they make that will last?

What is the most important thing parents should be providing for their kids at the moment?

What final advice do you have for parents and carers?

For Chrissie’s full article go to:

https://kiddipedia.com.au/within-these-four-walls/ 

@chaostocalmconsultancy 

https://chaostocalmconsultancy.com/ 

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With the many changes COVID-19 has brought into our lives, have you thought to yourself if there is something you can do to help your boost your children’s physical and mental health?

We all know that stress reduces our immunity, which means we need to be supplementing our diets with even more nutrient-dense foods to help keep us all ensure we are healthy and our immune systems strong.

When life gets busy and stressful, it may be easy to turn to less healthy eating options as a painless option for dinner to be ready in an instant.

Understanding that we have additional pressures on us at the moment it may seem difficult to make positive changes to our lifestyle and diet.

However, there is an easy way you can make positive changes without excessive time, cost and disruption to the family unit.

Lucky for us, our special guest Jacinta Callaghan is going to share these expert tips with us today. Tips that are quick, easy and cost-effective for us to implement into our lives.

Jacinta is a lecturer of Nutritional Medicine, speaker and clinical nutritionist of over 10 years, specialising in children’s’ health,

We ask Jacinta questions including: 

How can we help our kids achieve healthy brain function and gut health simultaneously

What about vegetables which we know a lot of kids don’t like. What is your advice about parents stressing on the amounts of veggies kids are eating, are few is better than none?

Why is it important not to have excess Carbs?

What food are most important if any in our diet at the moment and which should be avoided?

Is there any other key factors other than diet that will boost their immunity and health in general

For Jacinta’s full article please go to

https://kiddipedia.com.au/healthy-happy-smart-kids/ 

https://www.jacintacallaghan.com/

 

 

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