Noleen Miller August 10, 2017

Smartphone – why our daughter doesn’t have one

Smartphone usage for kids

My eldest daughter will be turning 11 next month and doesn’t have a smartphone.

We bought her a tablet for educational purposes only. It contains educational apps and a few games. This tablet has no social media apps on it.

She can use our laptops or her tablet to access the internet for information. We monitor her internet usage when sourcing information for projects or assignments. But having restricted use of a tablet or laptop is not the same as having your very own smartphone.

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Noleen Miller July 31, 2017

Little Helping Hands

Chores for those little helping hands

Feeding the dogs, making their beds, setting the table, unpacking the dishwasher, wash and dry the dishes if the dishwasher is not loaded, fold the washing, vacuum and dust the furniture, unpack the groceries and organise their cupboards. These are the chores that my kids do around the house and their little helping hands make a huge contribution. View Post

Noleen Miller July 21, 2017

Time to get PG Wise

Apologies for only posting a new blog post now. Not to worry I didn’t disappear off the radar. The thing is I’ve been so busy during the school holidays that I simply didn’t have time to write or post anything.

Are you PG wise when it comes to what your kids are watching?

So the deal is my kids don’t watch much television. In fact they don’t watch television at all during a school week. We limit screen time over weekends. This will include a rental movie. Although they limited to watch television, we very conscious of the PG ratings. View Post

Noleen Miller June 30, 2017

School’s Out and time for holiday – What Now!

What to do with the kids when school’s out and time for holiday?

school's out and time for holiday

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Noleen Miller June 11, 2017

Whose stress is it anyway when it comes to exams?

Exam time – whose stress it it anyway and is the stress getting to the parents

exam stress

It is that time of the year again when learners are sitting for their mid-year exams. This is a very stressful time. But whose stress is it anyway when it comes to exams.

Last year when my eldest daughter was in Grade 4 she wrote her first exam in June. What a stressful experience it was; I suppose more so for the parents than for her or so we think. And of course it doesn’t make it any easier when your child has this willy-nilly, “I will sit with my books in my own time” attitude. She received a study timetable from her teacher more than a month before the actual exam dates. There was enough time for her to revise and to be well prepared for the exam. However it was a constant check up on when she was going to sit and study and what she needs to study as she did not see the seriousness in the matter.

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