Articles and Reviews

After much research and a thought out decision to co-sleep with our baby we decided on the Bednest. It seems to be the best option currently available on the market, which will provide baby with his own space, but attached to our bed so that he will be right there beside us. The Bednest is also endorsed by the NCT as a safe way of co-sleeping with your baby.

There are many, and varied symptoms of teething. Your child may show only one or two symptoms, or the whole range. The milk teeth sometimes move up and down under the gum, so teething symptoms can present themselves for a couple of months before any teeth actually emerge. Once the tooth has emerged through the gum the pain and discomfort should normally stop.

Many of the cleaning products available to the consumer from your local supermarket shelf contain toxic chemicals which are a cocktail of VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds), known respiratory irritants, hormone disruptors, neurotoxins and known Carcinogenics. As parents we are warned of the dangers of these cleaners and told by the manufacturers to keep them in locked cupboards away from small children, but what happens when we use these chemicals to clean our houses?

In Heuristic play Part I we looked at the Treasure Basket and how babies interacted and explored objects, we learned that for babies the question involved in their play was 'What is it?' In Heuristic play part II we will look at how toddlers interact with and explore objects during heuristic play, and ways in which we can enrich these play opportunities for them, engaging their curiosity to enhance their cognitive development.

Heuristic play was a term coined by a child psychologist Elinor Goldschmeid in the early 1980's. Heuristic play describes the activity of babies and children as they play with and explore the properties of 'objects'. These 'objects' are things from the real world. For babies and toddlers heuristic play is very different, In this article we will focus on heuristic play with babies which revolves around the treasure basket, and later in 'part II' we will revisit heuristic play in regards to toddlers.

The majority of popular brands of mainstream toiletries and personal care products that we use on ourselves and our families are full of toxic chemicals, even products which claim to be 'natural' and 'pure' contain many of these toxic ingredients. The biggest organ on our bodies is our skin, anything which comes into contact with it is rapidly absorbed into our bloodstream - with babies skin being three times thinner than a grow adults and the vulnerable state of babies and young children to toxic exposure due to their developing organs and reproductive system, it is even more important to avoid these chemicals. By reading labels and seeking fragrance free products derived from natural sources you can help protect your family from these toxic chemicals.

By maintaining a relaxed and calm atmosphere during meal times, you will make eating, and trying new foods a rewarding and positive experience for your child, and create a stress free environment for the whole family. Another wonderful thing to do with children is to have them eat with their little friends, as they will often pick up the 'good' table manners that they observe in their friends, and try foods they see their little friends eating. It also makes for a lovely social experience for them.

The good news for us living in the European Union, is that some specific phthalates are prohibited in the use of certain PVC products. However many household products still contain dangerous phthalates. It is difficult to identify vinyl (PVC) because there are no labeling requirements on most products.

Making your own natural food dyes to use in messy play is not only safe for little ones who like to explore the world by putting everything in their mouth, but is also lots of fun! With older children, it can be a great activity to do together - experimenting with different spices, fruits and vegetables to see what colours you can create.

So you have probably heard in the media about BPA and its presence in # 7 plastic - a plastic frequently used to make baby bottles and sippy cups, the thing is, BPA is only the most recent toxic chemical to be found in plastic, and sadly will probably not be the last. Because of this many families are choosing to avoid plastics altogether, which unfortunately in todays society is near impossible. This article will cover information on the toxic chemicals that have been found in plastics - which plastics they are in and the long term effects they can have on our bodies. It will also cover why it is so important to avoid these toxins during pregnancy and childhood, and useful ideas on the ways that the most harmful plastics can be avoided and substituted with safe alternative materials.

It is a scary thing when you start to read about toxins, you read names of toxic chemicals left right and center, but never really know exactly what they are or what products they are in. This glossary will empower you with the information you need to know about which toxic chemicals to protect your family from. It is by no means a complete list of every toxin known to man, but it is a list of the 12 toxins which we are most likely to be exposed to on a daily basis, and which we can have the greatest amount of control over in limiting our exposure.