back to top EASY TASTY RECIPES Quick & Easy Cakes & Desserts Caramel Date & Almond Slice by Lorraine While this recipe initially appears as if it might take a little longer it's really quick and easy and it's one of the best slices I've ever made. It freezes really well too so can be kept as a standby for if you need a slice in a hurry. ​ I've never taken it anywhere and not been asked for the recipe... It's that good. Ingredients For Base 1 cup self-raising flour 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup coconut 125 grams butter, melted 1/3 cup flaked almonds ​ For Topping 1 x 395 ml can condensed milk 30 g butter 3/4 cup chopped dates 2 tablespoons golden syrup​​ Method Base 1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees 2. Line slice dish with baking paper 3. Combine flour, sugar, coconut and melted butter in mixing bowl. Mix well 4. Press mixture over base of pan 5. Cook in moderate oven until lightly browned... around 15 minutes Topping 1. Combine condensed milk, butter, dates, and golden syrup in saucepan. 2. Cook on low heat stirring fairly continuously for 5 minutes or until mixture turns golden brown 3. Spread topping over base and sprinkle with almonds 4. Cook a further 10 minutes or until almonds are lightly browned 5. Cool slice in pan before cutting. ​ HINT: This slice freezes really well. Cut up, place baking paper between layers and store in an airtight container in the freezer. ​​ Share this recipe with a friend My Favourite Recipes 14: Next For more Easy Healthy Recipes go to the following links: More Easy Tasty Cakes and Desserts easy tasty cakes and desserts lemon slice delicious Easy Healthy Soups East Healthy Fish Recipes easy healthy fish dinner recipe salmon mornay Easy Healthy Chicken Recipes yummy drummy easy healthy chicken dinner recipe Easy Healthy Beef Recipes Easy Pasta and Pizza Recipes Easy Healthy Rice Recipes Easy Healthy Breakfasts Easy Healthy Lamb Recipes Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want best practical advice on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. One of the best pieces of parenting advice to help support healthy cooperative families, is to provide regular nutritious meals, eaten together as a family as often as possible. Best parenting advice provides a range of quick and easy family dinner recipes supplied by busy working parents. These are the recipes asked for: because they taste great, they're quick and easy they're family friendly and they're foolproof. ​ This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

Back to Top EASY TASTY RECIPES Best Ever Gherkin Cheese Ball by Kay Do you want a recipe for something to take to a party that's homemade, quick and easy to make and that everyone will love? If so, this recipe is for you. I've never taken this gherkin cheese ball anywhere and not been asked for the recipe. It's that good... Seriously! This gherkin cheese ball stores well in the freezer, so you've always got something homemade to take to a party in an instant. Take it out of the freezer an hour before you need it. ​ By the time I travel to a party, the frozen gherkin cheese ball is usually thawed and ready. And every time I've taken this cheese ball to any party it's been devoured. (This is the most popular recipe on the website. E.g: Just this week over 280 users accessed Kay's Best Ever Cheese Ball in one day. Enjoy!) Ingredients 250 g. Philadelphia Cream Cheese 250 g. grated Kraft cheddar cheese or equivalent. (You usually find it near spreads in supermarket) 250 g. grated tasty cheese 4 tablespoon Gherkin relish Approximately 2 cups of finely diced capsicum (red and green mixed looks best) 1 tablespoon Curry Powder 1 tablespoon Sweet Paprika ​ Share this recipe with a friend ​ Method Mix all of above ingredients together except for paprika and curry powder Make this mixture into three ball shapes, or 4 if you want smaller ones (I generally use gloves for hygiene) Sprinkle curry powder and paprika onto a clean plate in a couple of layers so that the two mix a little and stir around the plate with a spoon to combine Roll the ball shapes onto the powder mixture so that the entire surface is covered Serve with cracker biscuits. Chicken Crimpy or Chicken in a Biscuit complement the flavour well. You will need to supply a knife for spreading as the mixture can cause biscuits to break. HINT: I usually make a double quantity of these gherkin cheeseballs as these can be used immediately, or stored wrapped in plastic wrap in the freezer, for later use. This means that if you're going to a party you have something homemade and yummy to take in an instant. And because they're frozen they take about half an hour to an hour to thaw out completely. Often that's the amount of time it takes to get ready and arrive at your destination. ​ All of the recipes on this site have been made by good everyday cooks who have needed recipes to be foolproof, quick, easy and yummy. Check out "My Faves" for the best of the best family friendly recipes. Do you love corn fritters? Over years, whenever I dined out for breakfast I ordered corn fritters. So I became aware of what fantastic fritters taste like. These corn fritters, are the best I've ever tasted. It took me a couple of years to refine this recipe and I think it's the best you'll ever taste. So I hope you enjoy it. ​ And even if you don't have time to make them today, book mark this recipe for later. You won't regret it. It's super easy and delicious! ​ Learn: T he Secret to Making Fluffy Corn Fritters as opposed to 'Frisbees.' ​ P.S. These corn fritters freeze well and can be made ahead of time for super-easy entertaining. I put a slice of baking paper between each fritter and wrap them in stacks of six. Then I unwrap them, pop them on a flat tray in the oven if I need a tasty meal in a hurry. ​ My Faves: Best Corn Fritters Ever For other Easy Tasty Recipes go to the following links: Easy Tasty Pumpkin Quiche Quick Stuffed Potatoes Best Ever Baked Cheesecake Best Ever Baked Cheesecake Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want best practical advice on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. One of the best pieces of parenting advice to help support healthy cooperative families, is to provide regular nutritious meals, eaten together as a family as often as possible. Best parenting advice provides a range of quick and easy family dinner recipes supplied by busy working parents. These are the recipes asked for: because they taste great, they're quick and easy they're family friendly and they're foolproof. ​ This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

Bak to Top SELF CARE FOR PARENTS Establishing Healthy Habits Making Family Life Easy 7 I found there are some really simple things that I did that helped make my life healthier: 1. Only buy healthy foods... because if it's not in the house, it's much harder to eat. ​​ Buy from a shopping list that ensures you have healthy snacks available Avoid going shopping when you're hungry Avoid going down problem isles in the supermarket (lollies, chocolate, cakes, potato chips, etc) Don't buy reduced price snacks for buying larger quantities (e.g. Two for one, or larger size for equal price, etc). They're designed to send a mixed message. You feel good for getting a bargain while you're actually hijacking your health goals. 3. Set up an exercise routine that's easy to maintain I exercise first thing in the morning if at all possible, while I'm freshest, that way I do it. I leave my exercise gear out somewhere near our bed so I can get up quietly without waking anyone I wish I had ensured I had quality shoes to prevent damage occurring to my feet that was not apparent until I was older. I suggest getting the best quality shoes you can afford. I always had a back up plan for variations in the weather. e.g. I use a treadmill on rainy days or go to the gym. If you can't exercise first thing in the morning, exercising at the same time of the day on working days could help get you into a regular routine, or having exercise days every week. If child care is an issue that prevents exercising, setting up a basic home gym might overcome it. All you need is an exercise bike and/or a treadmill. My exercise bike for example was purchased second hand for $40. 5. Find an exercise buddy or two to exercise with To begin with I looked at the time I had available for exercise to see if any of my friends were available then. In summer I used after work for a kayak or a bike ride one afternoon a week in addition to walking most mornings. Then I discussed with specific friends about beginning a regular exercise routine maybe once or twice a week. That way on the days either of us didn't feel like going, letting a friend down helped make both of us keep our commitment. I was careful with the friends I approached though, so I didn't end up sitting down for early morning coffees and a chat instead of exercising, especially on weekends when I had time to be hijacked. One mug of latte would have undone all the exercise I'd done that day. With some friends we took turns coming up with interesting variations to our normal routines to keep our walks interesting however with other friends we kept the same routine in place over years because walking on the beach watching the sunrise was just about perfect. And I eventually eased into joining a gym. I began by attending an easy exercise class twice a week and there I met more like-minded people to do exercise with. And that helped making exercise an integral part of my life. 8. Get some form of pedometer and keep track of daily steps The advantage of recording my steps raised the importance of walking and it kept me accountable on wet rainy days when I could easily have been lazy. There are some excellent watch/ pedometer combinations and I don't want to recommend any over another. But what I found was some of the accompanying software can be excellent at helping keep track of what you're doing which can negate the need for recording charts, if it includes other forms of exercise as well as walking. (The reason I like the extra layer of a chart is I can see at a glance how I've gone over the past two months across all areas. And I can identify difficulties that are limiting my progress. 10. Reward achieving goals Acknowledging small successes is a really great way to build momentum. For example: When I kept to my goal for the number of steps I planned I recorded it with a star. At the end of the week I looked at the number of stars I had across each priority section of my life. For example: Reading with my children, Exercising, Eating well, etc ​ Initially if I achieved more stars that week, than the week before, I put twenty dollars into a jar towards a privilege for myself. (If you want to adopt this you can adjust your amount of money according to your pay packet.) That way I could buy myself something as a treat that I normally wouldn't buy. (E.g. Buying a more expensive pair of shoes than the practical, less-expensive ones I would usually buy.) "My swimsuit told me to go to the gym today, but my sweat pants were like... "Nah girl, you're good!" Share this page with a friend 2. Link new healthier routines to existing routines I looked at what I currently do and added a healthy layer to it. For example: I always clean my teeth of an evening. But if I clean my teeth five minutes after finishing eating my evening meal I'm less inclined to eat snacks. I walk where ever possible. E.g.: If I'm already catching the train, at the station I take the steps rather than the lift. Or I use ramps rather than the escalator at the shopping centre. When I'm ironing I put items away individually or in small groups rather than at the end. On rainy days if I watch T.V. I crotchet rather than eat snacks. I watch a streamed show while I'm cycling on my exercise bike so there's an inbuilt reward. I read a motivational or feel-good book while I'm walking on the walking machine. 4. Keep a record of progress and record minutes exercised I made up a chart to record what I'd done to remind me I kept my promise to myself . And recorded it daily. I kept a copy of my progress over time. I found it worked best when I didn't spend too much time on the recording. When I kept it simple, I was more likely to keep doing it when things got tough. Otherwise it was easy to spend too much time recording when I could have been exercising, which defeated the purpose. Below is a copy of the blank chart my husband and I use which I prepared in Excel. It may give you some ideas for yours. I've found the recorded emphasis varies according to the weather and the seasons. 6. Share goals and progress with others who care I've had issues on and off with my weight during my adult life, largely due to emotional eating. If I'm sad or angry I eat. Like many of you I've had my share of hard times; and when I had to keep going I'd eat... just so there was something in the day for me. I've had times when it's been impossible for me to exercise in the morning due to other's illnesses, and that's when I've been most vulnerable to weight gain. To get past these times I found getting my family on board was when I achieved my greatest success. Sharing my goals with a like-minded individual and mentoring each other as we improved worked wonders for me. One of the best mentors I've had is my youngest son who has heaps of ideas that I wouldn't have thought of. e.g. Putting the Ipad on a slanted desk next to the exercise bike so I can watch it while riding, using protein powder if your muscles are too sore days after exercise, making large amounts of calorie controlled meals then portion sizing it for lunches and freezing them (which was great for winter,) Finding apps for my phone to help keep with recording of calories, etc 7. Increase awareness of calorie trackers There are some excellent apps that you can get for your phone that allow you to keep track of your calorie intake or at the very least increase your awareness of how many calories are in the foods you eat. Again my son and daughter-in-law helped me out here. The one I use is My Food Diary and its been relatively easy to use and is much quicker than counting calories and manually working it all out Increasing calorie awareness really helped me because although I knew ice cream wasn't great, I hadn't realised that by eating a bowl full with a fudge caramel sauce I'd eaten the equivalent amount of a man's entire calorie allowance for a day in one dessert. And because I wasn't counting calories it wasn't until I noticed how tight my clothes had gotten over a two week period that I checked out the calorie content. Yikes! 9. Make a decision to take one bad food out of your life for good I love honey soy potato crisps. And if I have one I can eat half a packet. So I made the decision not to eat potato crisps anymore for the rest of my life. And it made such a difference. I noticed only last weekend when I was away with friends while they ate chips I did not. And I didn't miss it... because I didn't have the one that trips me up. I've recently decided to take ice cream out of my life, except for if I'm entertaining at home. And that's the only time I'll eat it. I think the power of visualisation can help control what you eat. For example: When I visualise cold frothy fat, ice cream becomes much less appealing. 11. Giving myself permission to have the best quality life I could Instead of being overawed by the achievements of others I thought why not me too. And then I went about finding ways to live the quality life I wanted, making my health a priority rather than an add-on behind everything else in my life. And even if the wheels fell off from time to time and I didn't get to exercise or eat well for a while, I viewed it as a lapse rather than getting back into an old mindset and changing the perception of myself. I gave myself a healthy new script and stuck to it concentrating on focusing on improvements, rather than concentrating on all the things that were wrong about me and my life. I saw myself as a healthy person and a work in progress and although improving I didn't need to be perfect. And over time this was sustainable. Making Family Life Easy 8: Next For more Parent Self-Care Ideas go to the following links: What is Most Important Menus & Linked Shopping Lists Giving up Smoking Developing Appropriate Behaviour Diffusing difficult situations Fostering Gratitude Not Entitlement Fostering Gratitude Not Entitlement 4 Ways to Develop Cooperative Kids 4 ways to develop cooperative children Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. It highlights what successful parents do differently to those who struggle. Best Parenting advice.com provides free online resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice on: how to give kids a best start in life, better tips for parenting toddlers, effective child rearing strategies, behaviour management tips, successful goal setting and organizational strategies for successful families, easy family dinner recipes, self-care tips for time-poor parents and free kids learning games. The aim of Best Parenting Advice.com is to provide quality practical parenting tips and advice to best help children and families succeed, using the convenience of a website. ​ This website provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. Best Parenting Advice.com does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or with every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this website to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Similarly users of this website are advised to follow any recommendations for seeking professional advice as all information on this site is generic. Best Parenting Advice.com is an independent website and is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

back to top BEST IDEAS AND BETTER TIPS Best Tips on Explaining COVID 19 to Kids Young kids don't necessarily know what germs are. Here's an idea to help. ​ 1. Sprinkle some dessicated coconut on a small plate. Ask your child to press their hand onto the plate. They will notice some of the pieces of coconut will stick. Explain that is what germs do. They stick to the fingers ​ You can dispute alarming information they may have come across. For example: On Friday 20th March 2020 there were 700 confirmed cases out of over 24000000 people in Australia. If you can show with real items what that looks like all the better. As at Friday 20th March it is around .00003% of our population. You could illustrate this by comparing something tiny (like the size of a tennis ball) to something large (like a swimming pool) ​ Helping your kids feel more in control is likely to help. Give them strategies they can use to keep themselves and others safe E.g. hand washing, social distancing, coughing into elbows, adult and teen vaccination, etc. These strategies are very important for slowing the spread of COVID 19 so please refer to previous page for a more extensive list ​ To illustrate how coughing or sneezing spreads germs 1. Sprinkle some cornflour on a small plate. 2. Go outside onto your driveway, where it's not going to matter if you make a mess 3. Have your child pretend to cough (uncovered) or sneeze (uncovered) just above the plate 4. Look at how far the cornflour goes. Discuss You can help your kids feel less anxious about COVID 19 ​ Kids look at you to see how you are reacting. If you're calm and reassuring they're more likely to feel less fearful. It's likely your children will have some knowledge of COVID 19 so openly discussing the strategies you're using to help stay safe may help them feel less vulnerable. ​ Filter what your kids are hearing. e.g. There's no need to listen to the news where they can hear it. Repeated negative news can make kids feel anxious. ​ Respond to your children's questions in age appropriate ways. Children need to know how to protect themselves. 2. Take children to the bathroom and get them to wash coconut off using the correct hand washing technique, to the tune of Happy Birthday x 2. Or count slowly to 20 ​ 3. Discuss that's how we get rid of germs that can make us sick CHILDREN CAN SEE FOR THEMSELVES THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL DISTANCING 5. Discuss that's how germs spread. 6. Now repeat the process by coughing into your elbow and discuss the difference it makes to how far the germs go Can your child tell you why they shouldn't cough into their hands ​ Maintain an ongoing conversation with your children and respond to their questions as they come up. Ask them what they think is happening. And should the conversation make them feel distressed teach them ways to dispute their worrying thoughts. Try to end conversations about COVID 19 on a positive note ​ Explain that we always have the power to change how we react to things. If they're becoming anxious you could try a simple distraction technique that can hijack negative thinking. E.g. What three things can you see? What two sounds can you hear? What can you smell? ​ For more information on practical information and the hand washing techniques doctors use check out the following link: Kids are often egocentric so may benefit from the knowledge COVID 19 usually doesn't affect kids very badly, and not as badly as adults ​ Inspire hope that this time shall pass. Discuss there is a vaccine that can prevent people getting very sick with COVID ​ Maintain contact with grandparents and extended family via Skype, or similar, rather than see them in person. And depending upon the age of the children involved similarly encourage catching up with friends online. For young children you could supervise them while they chat to friends. ​ ​ Where ever possible maintain routines as they help kids feel safe . And if there have been major disruptions to their lives such as the cancelling of school, soccer, birthday parties, etc you may like to introduce some new fun family routines such as playing games, painting or drawing together or playing some outside games in your back yard together ​ Let your kids think up an idea on how they can create a positive out of social isolation. It could be singing and posting it to friends online, sharing art works or heart felt messages to loved ones. It could even be giving a roll of toilet paper to an elderly neighbour who may have run out For strategies to help overcome hardships check out the following link: Best Advice: Kids and COVID 19 When Bad Stuff Happens: Next Share this page with a friend Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. It highlights what successful parents do differently to those who struggle. Best Parenting advice.com provides free online resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice on: how to give kids a best start in life, better tips for parenting toddlers, effective child rearing strategies, behaviour management tips, successful goal setting and organizational strategies for successful families, easy family dinner recipes, self-care tips for time-poor parents and free kids learning games. The aim of Best Parenting Advice.com is to provide quality practical parenting tips and advice to best help children and families succeed, using the convenience of a website. ​ This website provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. Best Parenting Advice.com does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or with every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this website to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Similarly users of this website are advised to follow any recommendations for seeking professional advice as all information on this site is generic. Best Parenting Advice.com is an independent website and is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

Back to Top BEST HEALTHY RECIPES EASY FAMILY DINNER RECIPES: BEEF Home Style Corned Meat Ingredients 1 piece corned silverside approximately 1 kg in size 1 kettle boiling water ½ cup white vinegar ½ cup brown sugar Method Place corned silverside in a large boiler or extra large saucepan with lid Pour over boiling water Add white vinegar Pour brown sugar over the top Cook for 1 hour, turn meat over Cook for additional ½ hour Serve with mashed potato, carrots, peas and chilli relish or for lunch with freshly sliced home cooked bread with chilli tomato relish HINT: The corned meat can be used as an ingredient for corn fritter recipe or as a substitution for the ham hocks in the egg and bean recipe ​ ​ RECIPE FOR MY BEST WHOLEMEAL HOME COOKED BREAD is currently being put on the website and it's delicious. Share this recipe with a friend For more Easy Tasty Recipes go to the following links: Easy Healthy Soups Easy Healthy Breakfasts easy healthy breakfast baked eggs and beans delicious Easy Healthy Fish Recipes salmon easy healthy fish recipe Easy Tasty Cakes and Desserts peanut butter fudge Easy Healthy Chicken Recipes chicken, pea and rice casserole delicious and easy to make Easy Healthy Lamb Recipes More Easy Healthy Beef Recipes best ever corn and corned meat fritters Easy Pasta and Pizza Recipes Easy Healthy Rice Recipes Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want best practical advice on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. One of the best pieces of parenting advice to help support healthy cooperative families, is to provide regular nutritious meals, eaten together as a family as often as possible. Best parenting advice provides a range of quick and easy family dinner recipes supplied by busy working parents. These are the recipes asked for: because they taste great, they're quick and easy they're family friendly and they're foolproof. ​ This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

Back to Top FUN LEARNING GAMES FUN READING GAMES The following games are designed to introduce your child to some of the 100 high frequency words. ​ They are the words that we use each and every day in our speech, our reading and our writing. They're often the words that go around nouns and verbs in a sentence. For example: I went to the shop and I bought an apple. The bold letters make up some of the words I am talk ing about. We use them every day and if your child know s them it is a great way of kick starting their read ing. Click on any of the animals below to take you to that game. ​ Although the games are different and can be used for revision purposes at any level, you will need to work through them each in order to access the words used, as the learning is sequential and cumulative. GAMES Level 7 Squirrel School Squirrel School Game Icon Level 8 Shark Park Shark Park Game Icon Level 9 Choo Choo Zoo Choo Choo Zoo Game Icon Level 1: Snapping Turtles Game Snapping Turtle Game Icon Level 2: Crunch Crocodile Game Crunch Crocodile Game Icon Level 3: Micey Dicey Game Micey Dicey Game Icon Level 4: Lion Dancing Game Lion Dancing Game Icon Level 5: Iranaconda Game I Ran a Conda Game Icon Level 6: I Can Toucan Game You Can Toucan Game Icon Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice possible on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. The best parenting advice regarding creating engaged learners is to make learning as much fun as possible. That's why games work best to revise new information. Children practise skills over and over in play situations, yet aren't even aware they're doing it. Best parenting advice.com provides many examples of quick and easy games to help develop both early reading and maths skills. ​ This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

back to top EASY HEALTHY RECIPES QUICK & EASY DINNER RECIPES: WHEAT Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi Best Parenting Advice includes only great home cooks' BEST recipes. ​ It's one of the best because the recipe: is super quick & easy, works every time, is family friendly, is inexpensive uses common ingredients or ingredients grown easily from the garden is absolutely delicious. For heaps of new quick & easy family favourites, check out the rest of the recipes on Best Parenting Advice.com. Or go straight to 'My Favourite Recipes' for the best of the best. Ingredients 12 spinach leaves stem removed, finely sliced (should make about 4 cups) 1 500gram tub Ricotta Cheese 2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 1/2 cups grated parmesan, mozzarella and cheddar cheese mixed 1 egg 2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil or 1 tablespoon dried 1 tablespoon fresh oregano 2 tins cherry tomatoes blitzed in food processor or the equivalent in fresh tomatoes basil to garnish ​ Method Preheat oven to 180 degrees Spray olive oil over the bottom of a medium sized casserole dish Lay gnocchi (uncooked) over the bottom of the dish) In a very large mixing bowl mix ricotta with cheese and garlic Lightly beat egg Add to ricotta mixture Add spinach and mix again Place ricotta mixture over the top of gnocchi Blitz cherry tomatoes in a blender along with basil and oregano Pour over the top of the ricotta-spinach mixture Cover with foil Cook for approximately 30-40 minutes Remove from oven Garnish with basil Serve immediately with fresh garden salad My Favourite Recipes include some of the best, quick & easy recipes on Best Parenting Advice.com. Over decades they're the best ones I've collected from friends, or devised myself. People ask for them again and again. I hope you enjoy them. If you're already checking them out, just continue. Otherwise go to My Favourite Recipes 1 to see them all. My Favourite Recipes 1: Next Share For more tried and true Easy Family Recipes check out the following links: Easy Family Beef Recipes Easy Healthy Chicken Recipes Easy Healthy Chicken Recipes 10 Tips to Make Dinners Kid Friendly 10 tips to make dinners kid friendly The Best Lunchbox Story Ever The Best Lunchbox Story Ever Easy Healthy Soups Easy Family Lamb Recipes Easy Pizza and Pasta Easy Healthy Rice Recipes Easy Healthy Breakfasts Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want best practical advice on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. One of the best pieces of parenting advice to help support healthy cooperative families, is to provide regular nutritious meals, eaten together as a family as often as possible. Best parenting advice provides a range of quick and easy family dinner recipes supplied by busy working parents. These are the recipes asked for: because they taste great, they're quick and easy they're family friendly and they're foolproof. ​ This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

back to top EASY HEALTHY RECIPES EASY FAMILY DINNER RECIPES: BEEF Easy Chorizo Sausage Pasta Ingredients ​ 2-3 chorizo sausages 1 large onion diced 1 400 gram tin crushed tomatoes 1 garlic glove 30 grams butter ​ Optional: 1/2 sleeve finely chopped fresh basil and 1/2 sleeve chopped fresh oregano ​ Option 2: 1 cup grated cheese ​ ​ Method Put pot of water onto boil. Add a kettle of boiling water to make it boil more quickly. When boiling add pasta. Cook for 10 minutes or alternatively follow manufacturers instructions Melt butter in saucepan Add onion and fry until transparent (4-5 minutes.) Add garlic and cook for one additional minute Add chorizo sausage to onion and garlic and cook until browned. (Alternatively I often place a sheet of foil on the griller and cook until chorizo until brown as it reduces the fat content. (I would normally add basil and oregano here and cook for one minute) Add crushed tomatoes and stir through Cook until basil and oregano are soft. At least for another minute or two. Drain pasta and put into large casserole dish. Serve immediately as is or for Option 2 add grated cheese Heat in oven for five to ten minutes until cheese melts Share this recipe with a friend For more Easy Tasty Recipes go to the following links: Easy Healthy Breakfasts easy healthy breakfast baked eggs and beans delicious Easy Tasty Cakes and Desserts peanut butter fudge Easy Healthy Soups Easy Healthy Fish Recipes salmon easy healthy fish recipe Easy Healthy Chicken Recipes chicken, pea and rice casserole delicious and easy to make Easy Healthy Lamb Recipes More Easy Healthy Beef Recipes best ever corn and corned meat fritters Easy Pasta and Pizza Recipes Easy Healthy Rice Recipes Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want best practical advice on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. One of the best pieces of parenting advice to help support healthy cooperative families, is to provide regular nutritious meals, eaten together as a family as often as possible. Best parenting advice provides a range of quick and easy family dinner recipes supplied by busy working parents. These are the recipes asked for: because they taste great, they're quick and easy they're family friendly and they're foolproof. ​ This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

back to top EASY HEALTHY RECIPES QUICK & EASY CHICKEN DINNERS Easy Chicken Pie by Marj Ingredients 8 chicken thigh fillets 1 large onion diced Oil spray 2 potatoes ½ butternut pumpkin 2 sticks celery 1 handful of beans 2 Massel chicken stock cubes 3 cups water ​ ​ ​Method 1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) 2. Spray a large saucepan with olive oil spray and add onion. Cook until onion is transparent 3. Dice chicken into small pieces and add to saucepan. Brown chicken and cook for five minutes 4. Add stock cubes and 3 cups water and simmer 5. Dice potatoes, pumpkin, celery and beans and add to chicken. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until potatoes are quite soft. Allow mixture to cool 6. Line baking dish with puff pastry and add chicken mixture 7. Cover top of pie with pastry and cook in oven until pastry is golden brown 8. Serve with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and rosemary potatoes ​ NB: It is important that you allow the mixture to cool so that it doesn’t ruin the pastry ​ HINT: Keep chicken fillets cooked with onion and two chicken stock cubes in the freezer. This reduces the cooking time considerably Share this recipe with a friend For more Easy Healthy Recipes go to the following links: Easy Healthy Fish Recipes 10 Tips for Making Meals Kid Friendl Easy Pasta and Pizza Recipes Easy Healthy Breakfasts Best Ever Lunch Box Story Best Ever Lunch Box Easy Healthy Soups Easy Healthy Lamb Recipes Easy Healthy Beef Recipes Easy Healthy Rice Recipes Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want best practical advice on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. One of the best pieces of parenting advice to help support healthy cooperative families, is to provide regular nutritious meals, eaten together as a family as often as possible. Best parenting advice provides a range of quick and easy family dinner recipes supplied by busy working parents. These are the recipes asked for: because they taste great, they're quick and easy they're family friendly and they're foolproof. ​ This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

Back to Top BEST STARTS FOR KIDS The True Value of Routines Step By Step Parenting Tips 7 Children flourish in safe, predictable environments that cater to their well being. This is evidenced by ensuring: Your child has a healthy breakfast before they leave the house, Access to water and a healthy lunch, And then a healthy evening meal at a reasonable hour ​ A visual routine scaffolds children, so they can follow it independently ​ A routine helps a child feel safe because it's predictable This page contains the following information: Kids feel safe when there are routines Routines help children develop responsibility How to set up visual lists to scaffold children's independence ​ Have you ever wondered what it might be like, to be your children, from their perspective? Just imagine for a moment you're completely beholden to the care and whims of another human being. In your child's case, that would be you... as their caregiver. ​ Imagine, that while one day, you were woken to eat breakfast at 5:30 am, on yet another day, you weren't fed until 11:00. ​ Or maybe weren't fed breakfast at all. Imagine alternatively you were fed breakfast at a reasonably reliable time say around 7:00 am. ​ Now would you feel more settled, if things were predictable, or if they were random? ​ Anchor 1 ​ Children are generally happier and more settled if they're fed good foods at similar times each day. For example: breakfast before they left the house, a healthy lunch with access to water, followed up by a healthy kid-friendly dinner at a reasonable hour. Anchor 2 Helping to Develop Personal Responsibility ​ Routines ensured I didn’t waste time coercing or bribing my children to do what was required on a regular basis. ​ Everyone knew what was expected and with rewards for co-operative behaviour, over time, routines became independent and cumulative. ​ Over years, 'Get dressed' progressed from put the clothes on that are laid out on your bed; to locate your clothes from the ironing pile, iron them if necessary and ensure any dirty clothes are in the washing basket. ​Our children learnt it was in their interest to co-operate because they they got more of what they wanted by being cooperative. They could have positive attention for getting on board or gain less attention for being difficult. ​ Surprisingly most children will usually choose doing something positive with their parents over most other things. And even the mundane can be fun. The Value of Setting Up a Visual Routine List for Young Children ​ Visuals on the fridge helped my children to get ready independently in the morning. And instead of harping, I became a coach saying things like "How are you going with your list? Wow you're up to putting your socks on already... fantastic. You're even beating me." The visual routine list changed what had been a twenty minute shoe and sock drama every morning with one son, to him putting his socks on independently. And all it took was a clear explanation of what was expected, with visuals so he stayed focused. After holidays even my older son referred to the visual routine chart to keep himself on track. ​ I've included a copy of my hand drawn visual routine list. I kept it simple because it worked best that way. You'll need to introduce what the symbols mean on your visual routine list. Anchor 3 Make Your Bed Dress Yourself Eat Your Breakfast Clean Your Teeth and Brush Your Hair Put On Your Shoes and Socks Tidy Your Room ​​​​​​​​​You can also prepare similar routine lists for afternoon routines with visuals if possible to include the following . For example: Put your shoes away Take your lunch box out of your school bag Put your lunch box on the sink and have a drink of water Get your home reader out ready. Read for 10 minutes Get any homework out and start it. Get it checked. ​ REWARD: A privilege after homework is completed (like an additional story, playing a game with them or a favourite TV program.) After teaching thousands of children I believe that most children would much prefer your positive attention rather than your negative attention. But if they're getting no attention for doing the right thing, do you think they're going to continue doing it? Perhaps ask yourself, if the things you do, aren't appreciated, if you're going to be happy about continuing to do them? Do you think your children would be any different? ​ Children quickly work out what's in it for them. ​​ Share this page with a friend Or another way could be using the computer to create a list with your child of showing images of similar items to what I included. Or even better, (if you wanted to be even more innovative,) you could include photos of the actual items involved. Get your child to help you photograph the items and then include them as the visuals for your routine list. While this may take longer it gives your child greater ownership and therefore is more likely to increase their cooperation. It might even show them brushing their teeth, eating their breakfast, etc. Whatever works best for you, is the better way to go. If you laminate it you can add a star chart to the side if you wish. I didn't because adding stars can take too much time and can produce another process in time starved mornings, but it can be useful at the beginning to reinforce improvement. I wanted my children to have ownership of their own progress as I think it has greater long term success that way. If you do use stars take a photo of the weeks result, wipe the start chart off ready for the next week and start again. ​ You can also purchase routine charts on the internet as well for around $20. Just type weekly routine charts into google search. ​ If you go this way, remember the simpler at the beginning, the more likelihood there will be of success. If you have more than one child, you can also have a weekly overview routine so children know what activities they have on given days. The advantage of preparing a weekly overview list is, as children grow older, they can accept greater responsibility for ensuring they have the gear ready for said activities. ​ If kids cooperate and there's acknowledgement or reward, they learn cooperating works for them. ​ Step 8: Natural Consequences teaches children the way the world really works Step By Step 8: Next ​​ ​ ​For more Best Parenting Advice on behaviour go to the following links below: Tool Kit 2: How to Set Boundaries How to set boundaries for behaviour Establishing Sleep Routines Establishing Sleep Routines 4 Ways to Develop Cooperative Kids 4 ways to develop cooperative kids. Child helping her mother do the shopping. Tool Kit 1: Curbing Disrespect Curbing Disrespect Sibling Rivalry Solutions Overcoming sibling rivalry Why Natural Consequences? The Value of Natural Consequences Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. It highlights what successful parents do differently to those who struggle. Best Parenting advice.com provides free online resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice on: how to give kids a best start in life, better tips for parenting toddlers, effective child rearing strategies, behaviour management tips, successful goal setting and organizational strategies for successful families, easy family dinner recipes, self-care tips for time-poor parents and free kids learning games. The aim of Best Parenting Advice.com is to provide quality practical parenting tips and advice to best help children and families succeed, using the convenience of a website. ​ This website provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. Best Parenting Advice.com does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or with every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this website to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Similarly users of this website are advised to follow any recommendations for seeking professional advice as all information on this site is generic. Best Parenting Advice.com is an independent website and is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

back to top EASY HEALTHY RECIPES QUICK & EASY CHICKEN DINNERS Chicken and Green Olives by Crellyn Ingredients 12- 20 chat potatoes (depending on size) 1 bag baby spinach 4 chicken breasts (or 8 thigh pieces) 1 red onion Oil for frying For butter 100 grams butter ¾ cup olives stuffed with anchovies 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon chopped basil ​ Method Boil chat potatoes in a large boiler for approximately 8-10 minutes or until tender Cook chicken breast fillets in a frying pan on both sides until cooked Remove chicken and add red onion Wrap chicken in foil to keep warm Combine 100 gram butter with olives, grated lemon rind, minced garlic and chopped basil Pour over hot chicken and allow to simmer for five minutes Serve immediately on top of baby spinach with chat potatoes HINT: You can also substitute salmon for chicken as well Share this recipe with a friend For more Easy Healthy Recipes go to the following links: Easy Healthy Breakfasts Best Ever Lunch Box Story Best Ever Lunchbox story Easy Healthy Soups Easy Healthy Fish Recipes More Easy Healthy Chicken Recipes Easy chicken recipes Easy Healthy Lamb Recipes Easy Healthy Beef Recipes Easy Pasta and Pizza Recipes Easy Healthy Rice Recipes Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want best practical advice on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. One of the best pieces of parenting advice to help support healthy cooperative families, is to provide regular nutritious meals, eaten together as a family as often as possible. Best parenting advice provides a range of quick and easy family dinner recipes supplied by busy working parents. These are the recipes asked for: because they taste great, they're quick and easy they're family friendly and they're foolproof. ​ This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

Back to Top EASY HEALTHY RECIPES QUICK & EASY BREAKFASTS Easy Feta Eggs by Anya (from her Grandma Maria's Original Recipe) ​ Ingredients 1 slab Australian feta cheese 1 cup self-raising flour (reserve 1 tablespoon for dusting feta) 4 tablespoons milk 4 large eggs 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons diced coriander ​ Method 1. Cut feta into approximately 1 cm squares 2. Put flour into a plastic bag, place feta cubes into bag and shake until feta is covered with flour 3. Put 4 eggs in a large bowl and combine with covered feta 4. Add milk and stir all ingredients 5. Heat olive oil in frypan. When oil is hot add mixture 6. Cook over low heat for approximately four minutes (or until the sides begin to go crusty) 7. Add coriander 8. Cut it into four pieces and then flip each individual piece, cooking for a further two minutes Serve immediately with hot buttered toast HINT: You must use a low heat to cook it or the bottom will burn and the middle will remain uncooked Share this recipe with a friend For more Easy Healthy Breakfast Recipes go to the following links: Home style Corned Meat Home style Corned Meat Best Ever Corn & Corned Meat Fritter Best Ever Corn and Corned Meat Fritters Easy Baked Eggs and Beans Baked Eggs and Beans For more Easy Healthy Recipes go to the following links: Easy Healthy Breakfasts 10 Tips to Make Meals Kid Friendly 10 Tips to Make Meals Kid Friendly Easy Healthy Soups Easy Healthy Fish Recipes Easy Healthy Chicken Recipes Yummy Drummies done the healthy way Easy Healthy Lamb Recipes Easy Healthy Beef Recipes Easy Pasta and Pizza Recipes Easy Healthy Rice Recipes Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want best practical advice on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. One of the best pieces of parenting advice to help support healthy cooperative families, is to provide regular nutritious meals, eaten together as a family as often as possible. Best parenting advice provides a range of quick and easy family dinner recipes supplied by busy working parents. These are the recipes asked for: because they taste great, they're quick and easy they're family friendly and they're foolproof. ​ This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.