Our whole life revolves around relationships. In fact we were born to be in relationships and to have a connection with others – we are social animals by nature, we need to be social to survive and society determines our human personality.

Divorce is unpleasant, emotional and can be a downright hurtful experience. The problem is that we sometimes forget that we aren’t the only ones experiencing this pain. Often our children suffer an unnecessary degree of hurt as a result of our incompatibility with our chosen partner…

It is possible for children to reach adulthood without ever experiencing tooth decay. But to ensure this, good oral health should begin in infancy. Parents must provide this care in their child’s early years. Later, parents will need to instruct, monitor and motivate the children to maintain good oral health habits. Children learn healthy practices from their parents, so parents must be good role models.

Nelson Mandela once said: “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite”.

Having just had the wonderful opportunity to see Julia Donaldson live presenting her show “the Gruffalo”, again emphasised the importance of rhyming.

"BY ANN RICHARDSON It is important to note that everyone wakes up spontaneously many times during the night. So, even if  your toddler is ‘sleeping through’ the fact is that he is probably waking up at least 4 – 5 times a night.  Most of the time he will simply stir, turn over or call out, but will be able to go back to sleep.Â

"By Dr. Nicole Louw MTech Chiropractic (UJ) MCASA Is chiropractic safe for my children?Why should my child get checked, she feels fine? You have your children’s teeth checked, and most schools do an eye and hearing exam yearly, so why don’t you have regular health check ups? Children’s bodies are physically weaker than adults, so they have a better chance of experiencing spinal subluxations (a vertebrae out of place that is pinching a nerve and causing problems) while doing every…

Potty training isn’t the easiest thing to do, but for the most part it runs fairly smoothly – a couple of accidents here and there, a bit of frustration, many hours of potty entertainment, and eventual mastery. But what happens when you seem to have got it all down and suddenly your 3 year old is afraid to make a poo?

Sardines are so crucial to your child’s development, that little tins of the stuff should be included in the baby gift bags that the hospital sends you home with. There are some aspects of motherhood that truly embody the concept of self-sacrifice. Feeding your baby sardines is at the top of this list. And while sardines may be at the bottom of the aquatic food chain, they’re the ultimate brain food for your baby.

"Yesterday I started a baby massage class. I was disappointed to find out that it would be me massaging my baby, and not the other way round. Surely I deserve a little bit of deep tissue love? It should be payback for never having any time for myself. Carter’s going through a growth spurt (well, that’s what the books say, as apparently ‘possessed by demons’ isn’t appropriate).

"It takes perseverance to steer and guide the child throughout their childhood. Iron-clad skin is a must, along with the ability to exhibit extreme effort in most circumstances. Demonstrating an endless capacity to forgive, and to be dependable twenty-four seven are definite qualifications. We cannot omit a limitless time for talking and listening and patience when we have none left. It is necessary to show restraint especially when it is least deserved.

"Falling pregnant is (relatively) easy. Being pregnant, and then spawning a baby, is the hard part. It’s only until you have this tiny, helpless infant in your arms that you think to yourself ‘so, now what?”. I think I spent my entire pregnancy in denial - under a false illusion that once baby was here I would know exactly what to do, and that everything would magically fall into place. Except, it didn’t.

The days of housewives and lazy weekends in the garden are almost extinct. Most parents that I know these days need the double income and spend their weekends doing shopping and housework and catching up on other personal stuff that doesn’t fit in to their 8-5 working schedule. And then you have people like me telling you to spend quality time with your kids; that they need your presence and your full attention in order to blossom into the awesome human beings they were meant to…

One of the biggest challenges I see in my practice is picky eating, whether in healthy children or kiddies struggling with underlying medical issues. While it is generally “just a phase”, it’s a phase we would ideally like to avoid – it can be incredibly frustrating for mom and dad, and has repercussions for health– at this critical stage of development,

Your role as “Providing Parent” is a lot more work that you initially thought it would be and you just don’t get around to doing all the things you want to do. You feel best when all your chores are completed perfectly and your children have had your undivided attention…but that hasn’t happened in a very long while because maybe, just maybe, your expectations of what you are able to achieve as a non-superhuman is too HIGH!

"Have you ever wondered why your kids do exactly what you asked them not to? It’s a general complaint that parents have and yet the answer and the solution are not that complicated. The solution comes in understanding how our minds process information. Believe it or not, our minds process information in pictures, not words. And by pictures, I mean full representations including sights, sounds, smells and tastes. Words are abstractions of information and cannot replace experiences.