Who Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?
Adults are constantly asking kids what they want to be when they grow up. It’s the default conversation when an adult doesn’t know what else to say, just like talking about the weather with the person beside us at the
Dating Drama
I always knew that the day would come when I’d need to help my kids negotiate the emotions and drama of romantic relationships. I just didn’t think it would come so soon. Over the past few days, we’ve had one ex-girlfriend
TV host and mother does double duty
By Christine Davis Top Chef Canada host and co-founder and executive chef of DEX restaurant in New York City, Eden Grinshpan, is a native Torontonian who’s come home to shoot three separate seasons of what she describes as the most “prestigious
Chocolate Raspberry Bread Pudding
Get a taste of chocolate for breakfast, brunch or desert with this set-it-and-forget-it slow cooker bread pudding recipe courtesy of the Egg Farmers of Ontario at getcracking.ca Total: 135 min. Prep: 15 min. Cook: 20 min. Ingredients 4 eggs 2 cups milk
In search of Ontario’s Monarchs
By Carol Patterson Sweat trickled down my back as I got off the Parks Canada shuttle and started the short walk to the tip of Point Pelee National Park, the most southerly point of mainland Canada. The forest hummed with the
On the Bookshelf
By Jane Muller Let’s Play Hockey By Ginger Swift, illustrator Kathryn Selbert Board books and especially lift-a-flap board books are indispensable additions to the diaper bag where they are on hand to amuse a toddler when the need arises. This sweet little book
A No-Pet Policy
I’ve always had a firm “no-pets” policy in our house. My feeling is that three children and various longterm housemates constitute a sufficient menagerie for any one household. I don’t need additional dependents that will never go to the bathroom
Turning the corner
By Tiffany Doerr Guerzon My daughter and I have turned a corner in our relationship. Mia has come to the point in her life where her friends and social circle outrank her family — including me. The clues that she is
Something Real
By Luke Hill Our family often hosts homestay students from other countries. The most recent has been participating in a local high school program called Beyond Borders that specializes in teaching ethical business leadership by combining traditional classroom work with hands-on
Barbie can be anything and so can you
By Christine Davis For 60 years, Barbie has been breaking barriers, taking on more than 200 different careers since her inception in 1959. The latest addition to that vast collection is Canadian figure skating sweetheart Tessa Virtue. “It’s crazy!” Virtue says of seeing
Teach kids to become money masters
By Sandra Gordon Lee’s passion for teaching her boys about money through a system of reminders, routines and rewards grew from her own experience with poverty. Growing up in Suncheon, a scenic agricultural and industrial city in South Korea, Lee saw
Get It All Off Your Chest
I met an old friend in the grocery store today. We don’t see each other that often, and when we do it’s mostly about getting our kids together, but we have lots in common as parents. We both have three
Getting creative
I think everyone needs to be creative. Now, I can almost hear a whole portion of readers collectively shaking their heads, eyebrows raised, muttering to themselves, “Well, he’s certainly never seen me with a paint brush,” but that isn’t really what
Don’t miss Thomas & Friends at the Toronto Zoo
There’s two, there’s four, there’s six, there’s eight and tomorrow is your last day to meet Thomas and Friends, including Sir Tophamm Hatt at the Toronto Zoo. Head to the Tidmouth Shed, AKA the Special Events Centre where plenty of Thomas
To be what they want to be
You know how often kids change their minds about what profession they might want to pursue as adults. In fact there are plenty of people who are still changing their minds as adults. So I don’t read anything too specific
Passing the torch: Olympians’ stories aim to inspire kids
By sharing stories of Canadian athletes, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) hopes its new multimedia series “Pursue” provides inspiration and, most importantly, life lessons that kids Grade 2- 12 can connect with and apply in their own lives. Since the 1988
Childhood food allergies linked to skin
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says four out of every 100 children has a food allergy, and such numbers are on the rise. While the mechanisms by which a person develops an allergy to specific foods
Confident thinking
I’m not exactly an advocate of what people call “positive thinking” philosophies. I think they mostly encourage people to adopt wishful or imaginary thinking that prevents them from dealing practically with the very real problems of their lives. I am, however,
Giving Them Something to Run With
I wrote a few weeks back about how kids will often surprise us with their initiative, dedication, and passion if we actually give them opportunities to take leadership and ownership of what they do. I’ve since had that conversation with
Plan for some Family Day fun
Whether you prefer to stay indoors or get outside, Family Day, and the weekend leading up to Monday, Feb. 18, offers us the opportunity to spend some extra time together. It’s also a great time to explore Toronto and the
