Embarking on the journey of adopting a child is a profound and transformative decision, one that necessitates careful preparation and unwavering commitment. Prospective adoptive parents should be ready for a multitude of emotional, legal, and logistical challenges. From navigating the complexities of the adoption process to providing a safe and nurturing environment for the child. If you are interested in learning a few tips for preparing to bring adopted child home, check out the resource below.

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Keeping the kids busy on the weekends, during the holidays, or even after school can be tricky. During their downtime, it’s important to keep children emotionally, mentally, and creatively stimulated, as this is crucial for their long-term childhood development. But this is much easier said than done. Curious little minds quickly become distracted if their tasks are too simple, and even more so if they’re too complicated.

But fear not! We’ve put together this list of simple ideas that will keep your little ones entertained and happy for hours on end.

Set A Lego Challenge

Lego is one of the most versatile toys, not just because it can be transformed into almost anything, but also because it’s the kind of toy that anyone of any age can play with. As a brand, Lego has long been considered one of the most reliable out there, because its products are well-made and easy to use.

So why not set a Lego challenge? This gives kids a chance to be both creative and innovative. Pick a theme (like ‘pirate ship’ or ‘skyscraper’) and then let their hands and minds get to work. If you have more than one child, and if you know they perform well in a more competitive environment, have them complete their project within a specific timeframe. On the other hand, if your kids work better as a team, have them build something together.

Get Them Cooking

The level of difficulty of this one will depend on the age of your child but getting them involved in your dinner preparation is the perfect way to save you some time and to keep them busy too. For younger kids, set tasks like breaking off asparagus stems or pulling the leaves off the stems of your Swiss chard.

Older kids could help to grate cheese or measure out the ingredients for your famous pasta sauce. Either way, they’ll love being able to help out with dinner, will learn some valuable kitchen skills, and will absolutely love being able to sit down for a meal and enjoy the fruits of their labour.

Give Them Screen Time

Now, this is one that you don’t often find in parenting blogs but giving your kids screen time as a treat is a great way to keep them busy. This is especially true if you choose to let them watch something that is covertly educational. Plus, it leaves you with time to enjoy your own on-screen pursuits, whether this means binge watching your favourite series or playing your favourite online casino South Africa games.

There are several videos and apps that are both entertaining and educational, and before long, they’ll have learned everything from the difference between stalactites and stalagmites to animal life cycles and how to determine a storm’s distance. Of course, there is a whole world of educational entertainment out there, and some things will be better suited than others depending on the age of your child.

Platforms like YouTube Kids, Disney+, and Netflix all have programming specific for the varying needs of young ones of every age, so do some digging and find shows that are both educational and engaging for your kids.

The greatest gift that nature gives is that of a child. The precious miracle of new life is the start of a journey which is partly one of love and pride in an offspring. It is also a journey of physical and mental learning and development.

Physically and mentally, no two children are the same. As such, they are individuals and should be treated as such, this includes the evaluation of their personal evolution from birth to adulthood. Throughout these formative years of development parents eagerly await the reaching of milestones.

A baby’s first tooth, their first words, crawling and walking are proclaimed and celebrated by parents. These are just a few of the physical manifestations of growth and development in a child. However, there is much more to a child’s development. Internally, and mostly unseen, a child’s body is undergoing constant change. Also, and very importantly, a child’s cognitive development is also developing at an amazing rate.

In the mid-18^th century Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the Genevan writer and philosopher, stated that a child’s development can be viewed in three stages. They being, from birth to age 12, from 12 to 16 and from 16 to full adulthood. However, it wasn’t until the early part of the 20^th century that the term ‘Cognitive Development’ was first coined.

It was Jean William Fritz Piaget, a Swiss psychologist famed for his work in the area of child development, who first coined the phrase and created the International Center for Genetic Epistemology in Geneva in 1955. Jean William Fritz Piaget is now viewed as being the father of juvenile cognitive development.

It is now accepted that a child’s development is governed and directed by genetics, biology and social influences. This interactive meld of complicated factors requires very deep and specialized understanding and to be fully understood and explained it requires professionals with very unique skills. It is also understood that up to 14% of children are subject to developmental delay and require developmental assistance.

Parents Know Best

No one knows a child better than its parents. Children don’t develop in the same way or at the same time. There is a wide scale of timelines into which a child will fall, they may be early or late developers in varying areas of growth. Routine child development assessment is a reassuring tool for parents and, should a parent have any concerns as to the child’s development progress they should seek out a professional assessment.

Recognizing this need for specialist assessment and care Samitivej Hospital has created their Child Development and Learning Center. This modern, ground breaking center is dedicated to the evaluation and treatment of young people’s physical and cognitive development. With state of the art facilities and innovative treatment techniques the Child Development and Learning Center assesses, evaluates, explains and, where necessary, treats any deficiencies in a child’s development.

Developmental Monitoring and Screening

Developmental monitoring assesses a child’s physical and cognitive growth against deemed typical time scales. Key milestones, such as speaking, play, learning, physical movement and behavioral attributes are monitored. This is done with the help of other family members, parents and grandparents or any other caregiver in particular, and is aided by using a simple checklist.

Developmental screening is a more detailed look at a child’s development. Typically, a questionnaire may be completed by a parent or caregiver. The child will also undergo brief testing with a child development specialist who will evaluate the child in numerous areas, including physical movement, language, thought processing and behavioral and emotional responses.

Developmental Evaluation

Should screening identify an area of concern then a more formal, in-depth evaluation of the child’s development will be undertaken. The Child Development and Learning Center can call upon its specialist team of highly trained specialists, which includes occupational therapists, developmental pediatricians, speech-language pathologists and child psychologists, all of which are supported by a team of fully trained support staff.

Following this more detailed evaluation it can be determined whether or not a child requires early developmental intervention or specialist therapy and treatment. It may be that a child requires a hybrid plan that integrates early developmental intervention, therapy and treatment. It is to this end that the Child Development and Learning Center insists upon individualized assessment and personalized treatment plans.

Developmental Therapy and Treatment

Following assessment and evaluation, physical therapy may be required for a late developer of physical movement. A physical therapist is trained to give guidance on building a child’s motor skills. This is done by establishing goals, training to and achieving those goals by teaching a child how to move in a way that uses the required muscles effectively.

For example, a child may be having problems in learning how to pull themselves up to a perpendicular stance. The therapist will show the child the correct way to do this and encourage the child to copy their actions. They may also encourage the child to utilize objects that can give support and aid balance once they are in the standing position.

Occupational therapy addresses fine and gross motor skills issues. Children with these problems will be guided in all areas of using the muscles through a sequenced movement plan. This may be done by watching, and copying specific tasks, such as picking up small articles from a table to putting clothes on. This teaches the child coordination, balance, and self-regulation skills.

Speech and language therapy is designed to aid a child’s communication skills. Play and talk are key factors in speech and language therapy. Pictures, books and events are used to stimulate the child’s communication skills. Age appropriate, the therapist will stress pronunciation vocabulary and grammar as part of building a child’s language skills. Individual sounds are often difficult for some children, articulation therapy helps the child to learn how to use the jaw muscles and tongue to create the correct sounds.

Many conditions can result in developmental issue in children, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Additionally, other factors such as anxiety or depression can be a cause of development issues. Bipolar children, although rarer, will also show development issues which will benefit from developmental therapy.

With up to 14 % of minors experiencing developmental issues, to some degree, it is vital that parents have their children’s development assessed periodically. Early recognition of a problem will, in all likelihood, lead to successful intervention and bring a child’s development into line with the accepted parameters of physical and cognitive development. Nowhere is this done better than at Samitivej Hospital’s Child Development and Learning Center.

 

 

Disney is one of the pillars of children’s entertainment. With an absolutely massive library of movies and television shows from the last 100+ years to choose from, they have something that everyone in your family will enjoy.

They have princesses and queens for mommies and daughters, they have superheroes and villains for fathers and sons, and they have a nearly endless selection of everything in-between.

Disney Plus is a wealth of new movies and familiar classics you may not have seen for years. It has an equally impressive library of television programs. It has familiar favorites and exciting new content.

Thanks in part to the people over at Slickdeals, we have a great list of Disney Plus discounts for you. Check out some of these, and see how you can watch and save!

Save 15% On An Annual Disney Plus Membership

If you haven’t subscribed to Disney Plus yet, there’s never been a better time to get your foot in the door! You can save 15% on your annual yearly subscription with one of the great Disney Plus discounts they have listed over at Slickdeals.

Save 35% With A Bundle Subscription

If you’re one of the millions of homes that have “cut the cord,” then this is a fantastic deal that will surely interest you! Right now, over at Slickdeals, you can take advantage of a Disney Plus discount that will also grant you access to Hulu, ESPN Plus, and Disney Plus, all for one great low price.

Is There Content That Is Exclusive To Disney Plus?

Yes! Disney Plus features a wide variety of original content exclusive to the platform! The following are just some of the television shows and movies that are exclusive to the service:

• Black Widow
• The Book Of Boba Fett
• Cruella
• Hawkeye
• High School Musical
• Hocus Pocus
• Loki
• Luca
• The Mandalorian
• The Mighty Ducks
• Monsters Inc
• Mulan
• Raya and The Last Dragon
• The Rocketeer
• She-Hulk
• Star Wars

How Many Devices Can I Stream On?

You can stream your Disney Plus service on up to 4 devices without extra cost. If you try to stream on more than 4 devices at once, you will need to upgrade your plan to the tier that will allow that.

Educational Content

Disney Plus is also the official online streaming outlet for the award-winning National Geographic magazine, and many of its television and video specials are available through the platform. With the great Disney Plus discounts available at Slickdeals, you’ll be able to learn more about the world around you and save money while you do!

Does Disney Plus Feature Commercials

No. Disney plus is a commercial-free streaming service, so your television and movies will never be interrupted by annoying commercials.

We haven’t even begun to scrape the iceberg when it comes to everything that Disney plus has to offer on the industry-leading streaming service. It’s a full-time job just to try and catalog it all. With these great Disney Plus discount codes from Slickdeals, you’ll be sure to provide yourself with endless hours of entertainment on a budget!

 

Winter doesn’t have to mean the end of sports clubs for your children. In fact, it is much better for them to remain active during the winter months. Winter can bring the onset of the dreaded cold and flu virus. Keeping healthy and active can mean the difference between being really poorly or just having a simple sniffle.

A lot of parents stop their children from doing sports during winter as they think it is too cold. This just invites a lower immunity and more risk of catching things from school or out and about. If you think about it, when your children are busy running around doing sports, they are the ones staying warm. It is the poor parents on the sidelines that feel the effects of the weather.

Occasionally if the venue allows, your child’s sport may be moved indoors. Many sports can be transferred indoors if the weather gets too harsh. Hockey, for example, can be played both indoors and outdoors.

So what sports can your child do during winter?

Football

You may think that football clubs end when the season ends and winter sets in. This is not the case. Children’s clubs will only usually take small breaks over Christmas and the new year. Other than that, they continue all year round. The benefit of a football kit is your child can wear thermals underneath it. A long-sleeved t-shirt and long trousers will fit perfectly under their kit and keep them warm in the colder winter months when they are training. Gloves can also be worn, assuming your child isn’t the goalkeeper when they will be wearing gloves anyway.

Tag rugby

If you don’t think your child is quite ready to play the brutal contact sport that is rugby, why not think about tag rugby instead. Tag rugby involves all the same principles as normal rugby, except children wear long plastic tags that they have to pull off each other. This can again be played all year round, and like football, your child can wear warmer clothes under their kit.

Wrap up warm and enjoy watching your child burn their energy running around the pitch.

Of course, during the winter months, why not take advantage of teaching your children to winter sports. There are many out there, such as snowboarding, for example. There are lots of venues that offer the chance to learn a new winter sport.

Skiing

Children quite often get the hang of skiing rather quickly as they have the core stability and strength needed to do it. Find a place for them to have tuition, and they will be zooming down the slopes in no time at all. The venues contain makeshift snow or fake snow, so they will always be able to do this, even in the summer months, if they want to continue doing so.

Skating

One thing that everyone enjoys during winter, especially around Christmas, is ice skating. All the rinks start advertising, and the pop-up ice rinks start appearing for a short while. If your child enjoys this time of year and has fun skating, why not see if they want to start it as a sport. Ice skating takes a lot of skill and precision and can give them health and fitness skills for life.

We hope you found this article helpful in giving you sport ideas and ways on how you and your children can cope with the cold weather.