Having a child who is gifted is often praised, however for those who are interacting and living with these children everyday, this may not be the case. With its stat-uric title also comes a lot of patience, understanding and strength. Parents of gifted children can sometimes be stressed because of the amount of involvement these children often place on the family. 

On a plus, gifted children are often super affectionate, understanding and in tune with the world around them. They are creative, energetic and funny beyond their years. These traits all make them incredibly appealing to both adults and children alike. For me, this is what I love about my gifted child. His ability to live in a constant fairy-tale, mastering every challenge put forth in front of him and learning from everything he encounters. I have made it my mission to teach him from experience, provide him with answers and give him my strength for as long as I can. I am a parent who has a gifted child, that is often tired and stressed but I wouldn't change a second of my life for the world.

Children are most-often always trying to some degree, but for gifted children, this level just gets higher by the day. It is interesting to me to read about the traits that are involved with these individuals because from the outside looking in, they sound so great, and they are....if you know how to go about looking at it objectively. 

I am a proud mom who has a son that possesses all these traits....and until recently, I often felt sorry for myself. Now, looking at the list, I am proud to say that I have a tiny individual who is living his life to the fullest degree. A life, I can only imagine will get better over the years....with a mothers help of-course ;)


According to Mensa a gifted child may display some or many of these behaviours

• An unusual memory
• Passing intellectual milestones early
• Reading early
• Unusual hobbies or interests or an in-depth knowledge of certain subjects
• Intolerance of other children
• An awareness of world events
• Set themselves impossibly high standards
• May be a high achiever
• Prefers to spend time with adults or in solitary pursuits
• Loves to talk
• Asks questions all the time
• Learns easily
• Developed sense of humour
• Musical
• Likes to be in control
• Makes up additional rules for games
• Extrovert/introvert

Joanna Ferensowicz, EcoSavvy Mama 


We're in the kitchen more than any other room in the house. This gives us the chance to use food to help our babies to develop their skills. Here are some tips:

Finger foods are important for speech development

The introduction of solids is a big milestone and for good reason. Oral motor skills required for speech development are developed through the sucking, chewing, licking and biting. Different textures help strengthen the tongue while biting and chewing strengthen the jaw and lips.

There is more than one way to use spaghetti

Babies love to touch and feel (and eat) anything that has an interesting texture. Cooked spaghetti at room temperature helps with the development of fine motor skills and grasp, self-help skills, and development of touch, texture and temperature senses. So drop a handful of cooked spaghetti on your little one's highchair tray and watch her play while she's getting some nutrition too!

It's OK to play messy!

Stimulate you child's senses by giving them some edible finger paint (just in case they decide to taste-test it!) or some edible play dough.

To make edible finger paint, simply make some instant vanilla pudding (according to the instructions) and add some food colouring. Even though this activity will get quite messy, the best way to control the mess is to do it at the high-chair. Take some digital pictures of your little artist at work for some great memories! (No need to keep the actual art!)

To make edible play dough, use 2 parts oatmeal, 1 part water and 1 part flour. Mix these ingredients together until they have a consistency of dough and then watch your little one squish the playdough with so much amazement! (For safety reasons, playdough is usually suggested for older babies and toddlers).

By Joanna Ferensowicz, EcoSavvy Mama
http://ecosavvymama.ca/blog
Follow me on Twitter: @ecosavvy_mama

Me and Meg
www.meandmeg.com

With the new year under way, I decided to launch a new version of Freya (if you recall she is my “horrible” daughter that Meg has mentioned previously). Think of it like you would a grand re-opening of your favorite store or restaurant.   It's akin to Mattel releasing the same Barbie again, advertising it as "all new". I am doing that with Freya.  All that has changed is my mind set. She hasn't changed, but that is irrelevant now, because with my new attitude, she is different.

I will even go so far as to say she is "new and improved". She sleeps longer and even says Mama when she is screaming in her crib. The all-new Freya throws food, has tantrums and cries once she is buckled into her car seat-for the duration of the car trip (how neat!).  Also, the new Freya can not be fooled by baby toys, she only wants real cell phones, or sunglasses.  Even better, Freya loves to pull other children's hair.  Freya enjoys pointing and screaming; nothing is more entertaining than watching my husband and I run around as we try to figure out what she wants.

Freya is a seasoned wrestler too. She loves nothing more than sitting on her whiny two-and-a-half-year old sister, pulling her beloved blanket from her hands. Her best feature by far- she doesn't nap! She is always awake, there to entertain and annoy. She never runs out of batteries.

What's not to love? She sounds like a money maker to me.

Rapper and actor, Ludacris' daughter Karma Bridges is the coolest tot in hollywood right now!

Karma (10) has been gifted with her very own educational website — Karma’s World.
The cool new site is loaded with age-appropriate games and stories in various subjects including geography, math, science and social studies. Not to mention, the characters are cool and funky too!

Parents and teachers can download lesson plans for school-aged children and interact with the site as well.

Little Karma even wrote and recorded all the songs on the site--talented just like daddy!

What a great gift! Just in time for the Holidays!!

This Fall H&M will introduce a collection of kids of clothes that will benefit UNICEF's All For Children project. This collection is modeled from classic children's styles, that include boys and girls pieces in Fall's muted nude, mole, and coral tones. 

Mamma's and tots alike will definitely love this collection!

Twenty-five percent of the sale of each garment will go directly to the program that benefits families in the world's poorest communities. Check out their site for more information. 

www.hm.com