Author: Jacqueline Bodnar

These days, families are often separatedwhen grandparents retire to warmer climates or, as with many in Doha, families move for career options.Grandparents are an important part of a child’s life and there are many great ways to grow a close relationship despite the miles between. Why are grandparents important? “Support and unconditional love without day-to-day responsibility,” says Dr. Lawrence Weiss, Director and Associate Professor at the Sanford Center for Aging at the University of Nevada in the U.S. Also, grandparents model appropriate behaviour, give time and attention and can help instill family values.There are many ways to stay close to…

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If you have an infant you may not be looking forward to the temper tantrums that will soon come along. To help circumvent the communication barrier that often comes with the toddler tantrum stage, many parents have turned to sign language. Teaching sign language to babies not only has lasting benefits but has become an innovative way that parents are working to help their child get ahead.  Most programmes that teach sign language use everyday practical terms that relate to a baby’s life. The most common first terms usually include “milk”, ;”more”, “eat” and other words related to meals, bedtime…

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Playgroups are a great way to get children of all ages together for some fun playtime. With a little bit of planning, it’s easy to set the right mood and help everyone have a great time. Children and parents alike benefit from getting involved in playgroups. Toddler PlaygroupsWhether your children are older or you have young toddlers, there are ways that they can all benefit from play dates with other children. Once children are a year old, it helps to start getting them around other people for playgroups. While children under the age of three generally engage in parallel play,…

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