When dog ownership doesn’t add up
By Jane Muller If there isn’t a dog in your life, it’s likely that the possibility of having one has been discussed. A family pet completes the picture. In some families a furry child was the first. Couples may not realize
Discovering Vienna’s Love of Life with The Love of My Life
By Dee-Anne Wessel As we touch down at Vienna International Airport, my first thought is that we’ve come a long way and I’m not just talking distance. On this our 30th Anniversary, we aren’t as financially strapped as we were when
Don’t use the ‘D’ word
By Christine Davis When Weight Watchers announced plans to launch a teen program, offering free six-week memberships to teens from 13-18 with an adult membership, the backlash was fast. “I think their hearts are in the right place,” says registered dietician and
Travel games
By Tiffany Doerr Guerzon During school break, many families will be hitting the road! With kids strapped into car seats or seat belts they can quickly get bored. Avoid the “Are we there yet?” chorus by packing a few games
Hair Products
Goat’s Wool Wooden Baby Hairbrush Introduce even the youngest children to hair care with this super soft goat’s wool hair brush. It’s ideal for delicate infant hair and promotes such benefits as: stimulating the scalp, preventing cradle cap, generating blood flow
Baby’s first haircut
By Christine Davis There’s something about cutting your baby’s hair for the first time that’s rather emotional. Whether you’re worried about changing the way he or she looks, or don’t want to lose those beautiful baby curls forever, like I did
Top 5 Questions About Lice Answered
Hey Parents, school’s out and summer’s here - time to catch some rays, make a splash, and enjoy the great outdoors. But not so fast moms and dads…just because the kids are on vacation, doesn’t mean headlice is too! Many parents
Parental Paparazzi
The most popular people on Facebook and Instagram aren’t celebrities and athletes—they’re kids. Photos and videos of children dominate social media feeds as proud parents show the world their cute babies with just a few clicks. Mac & Mia surveyed 2,000 new
David Neinstein’s 3-2-1 BBQ rub method
Co-owner, executive chef and pit master of Barque restaurants in Toronto and Burlington David Neinstein knows his rubs and shares his signature method for creating your own. The 3-2-1 method, named such because it’s designed to be used as a ratio
Where Your Goat is Tied
When I was a kid, the eldest of five boys, one of my mother’s favourite sayings was, “Don’t let him know where your goat is tied.” Now, we reasoned from the context that she meant, “Don’t let your brother know what
Fun on the Cheap
I was away this past weekend on my annual writers’ retreat to Manitoulin Island, so my wife was solo parenting for a few days. She thought it might be a nice treat to go and do something with the boys
Fishing for fun in the summertime
The names written on the cedar rafters have created an informal record of the girls who have stayed in cabin number one. It’s the cabin that I stayed in decades ago, before campers were allowed to leave their mark and
Camp is bubble-wrap free
By Mary-Kay Amos Do you have bubble wrapped kids? The best way to answer this question is to define what that means. Lenore Skenazy who is a parenting expert, columnist, and author of “Free Range Kids” says that it is “overprotective
The California Desert with Family
By Diana Ballon The desert has that expansive barren quality that makes me feel small and insignificant, like how kids probably feel much of the time, except I’m all grown up. In California, it’s a place where flat beige land bumps
Cool Stuff June 2018
By Christine Davis Banana Boat Simply Protect Offering worry-free protection in six formulas, including kids, baby and sport, this new line from Banana Boat is made with 25 per cent fewer ingredients. There’s no added oils or fragrances and you’ll
Cook more, waste less
By Christine Davis Showing Canadians what’s been done in restaurants forever, Chef Chuck Hughes’ new web series in conjunction with LG Electronics Canada, aims to help families waste less food. “You really want to make every piece you buy extend as far
Go fish
Families have an opportunity to fish in Ontario waters without a fishing license (mandatory for anglers age 18 to 64 to legally fish at any other time of the year) during the annual Ontario Family Fishing event from June 30
The Long Road
We go up to my brother’s place on Manitoulin Island for an informal family reunion every Victoria Day weekend. He runs cottages at Dominion Bay, which is on the south shore of the island. On the Saturday, we generally help
Speaking for Themselves
I often see parents speak for their children. An Aunt asks, “So, Jane, what have you been doing at school?” but before Jane can say anything, Dad interjects, “Jane’s doing great at school. She’s getting almost straight A’s, and she’s joined
Between steep mountains and deep blue sea: Charlevoix is a place of beauty
Story and photos by Diana Ballon Ah Charlevoix. Here is a place you can go to be seduced by beauty, immersed in culture, inspired by the art, and sated by its bounty. If you live in central Canada, the seduction can occur
