Question of the Month: Celebrating the Holidays

Kids in the Capital is all about parents in Ottawa helping each other out by sharing tips and advice. Each month we will ask a parenting question and we want to hear all the gems of advice you have to share. Just leave your answers in the comments! And if you have a question you’d like to see be a future question, leave it in the comments too! It's December 1st and the holidays are right around the corner. Many people have to split time between different families and deal with the different dynamics and gift-buying tendencies that happen with a diverse group of people.

How does your family celebrate the holidays? Do you visit extended family members or stick close to home and create traditions within your immediate family? What challenges have you experienced in making these decisions?

Question of the month

It's back to school time! Or for some little ones, it's about to be their first time at school. What are your best back to school tips?

Do you have any tips for the nervous parents out there sending their kids for the first time?

My biggest tip is "know your kid".  My son does well in new situations but he'll lean on me and my husband if we're there.  On his first day of school last year we got him on the bus no problem... then we rushed to school to make sure he would do well in his new classroom.  When it was time for me to leave he lost it, sobbed and had to be physically removed from me.  I am positive that had I never gone to the school he would have been fine.

We repeated this scene several times over the year - when I went to his Christmas concert and it was time for me to leave and when I went in to volunteer for one morning.  He is fine without me but can't handle me leaving him if I'm there. So this year I put him on the bus and let that be that, and he had a great time at school. I won't be volunteering this year, or going in to check on him because for MY son that makes things worse.

What about you? What are your tips for parents based on your experiences?

Question of the month : Father's Day

Father's Day is this Sunday - do you have any special plans? Special gifts ready? Tell us what you'll be doing - whether it's breakfast in bed, a special craft from the  kids, or going out and letting dad have the house to himself!

And it's not too late to join the Kids in the Capital team to Walk, Run or Roll for Rogers House - we'd love to see you there!

Question of the month : Sleep

Kids in the Capital is all about parents in Ottawa helping each other out by sharing tips and advice. Each month we ask a parenting question and we want to hear all the gems of advice you have to share. Just leave your answers in the comments! And if you have a question you’d like to see be a future question, leave it in the comments too! Sleep, or really, the lack thereof, is one of the biggest hurdles in parenting.  Being tired can make everything else so much harder.

My four year old is no longer going to sleep until after 9 just about every night.  This seems too late to me but despite all our efforts (waking him up earlier in the morning, running him like crazy after dinner) he just isn't tired.

Is 9 too late for a 4 year old? How late do your kids go to bed? Have you found strategies that have helped a kid who "isn't tired" relax, wind down and go to sleep more easily?  Please share!

Also, we're starting to use our Facebook Page more actively.  I posted this question there yesterday and got a lot of great feedback.  Please use this space if you have any questions for other parents (there are hundreds of them who could offer great advice!) - we're here to build community and help each other!

Question of the Month: Easter traditions

Kids in the Capital is all about parents in Ottawa helping each other out by sharing tips and advice. Each month we ask a parenting question and we want to hear all the gems of advice you have to share. Just leave your answers in the comments! And if you have a question you’d like to see be a future question, leave it in the comments too! Happy Easter from Kids in the Capital!

Question of the month# 6: Easter traditions

The Easter Bunny, like Santa, tends to have different plans of action for different families.  We want to know what happens at your house at Easter!

Are there Easter egg hunts (indoors? outdoors)? Special gifts left on the kitchen table? Does he bring toys or food treats? Do you decorate for him?

Do you have other Easter traditions not related to the famous bunny?

How do you celebrate Easter?