back to top EASY HEALTHY RECIPES QUICK & EASY LAMB DINNERS Easiest Slow Cooker Chilli Lamb Shanks This is one of my two favourite winter lamb recipes and it's super easy to make. ​ The lamb literally falls off the bone. Ingredients 2 onions cut into wedges 6-8 lamb shanks 1 large tin Ardmona crushed tomatoes 1 heaped teaspoon minced garlic 1 heaped teaspoon minced chilli Method Cut onion into wedges and add to the slow cooker Add lamb shanks Sprinkle minced garlic and chilli over the top of lamb shanks Pour tin crushed tomatoes over the top Cook in slow cooker on high for four hours Stir through by rotating the shanks within the slow cooker and their position within the cooker Repeat the same process every two hours Remove from slow cooker when the lamb shanks begin to come off the bone Serve on top of mashed potato and pour tomato mixture from the pan over the top and fresh green beans, yellow squash and carrots HINT: You need to stir it through every few hours otherwise the shanks on the top tend to dry out a little and are not as nice My Favourite Recipes 6: Next Share this recipe with a friend For more Easy Healthy Recipes go to the following links: More Easy Healthy Lamb Recipes easy healthy lamb recipe lamb shoulder slow baked delicious Easy Healthy Chicken Recipes easy healthy chicken recipes Easy Healthy Rice Recipes Easy Healthy Breakfasts Best Ever Lunch Box Story best ever lunch box story Easy Healthy Soups Easy Healthy Fish Recipes Easy Healthy Beef Recipes Easy Pasta and Pizza 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 Things To Do With Kids At Home While Self-Isolating During a Pandemic: List 4 Repeating Pattern Artworks: Design Using Rectangles and Repetition designing an artwork from basic rectangle shape Children's Choice Learning Days Children decide the theme they want to learn about today Baking: Following Recipes Following recipes and baking with kids Creating a Combined Mural creating a combined mural Playing Hidies In The Dark: Fun Favourite games, hidies in the dark Imagining Future in 30 Years: Recording It Create what the world will be like in 30 years time Recording Grandma's Childhood When grandma was a kid record Learning To Play Chess: Strategy learning to play chess Easel Drawing on Whiteboard child drawing on a whiteboard Trialing Different Cuisines: Geography Cuisine Days help people understand different countries culture Making Beautiful Sandwiches Children create their own sandwiches and make them beautiful Creating Your Own Country Children Creating an imaginary country Writing a Play Performing A Play Making Your Own Movie Making Bread from Scratch Making bread Learning Editing Skills Learning editing Playing Charades Playing Charades Share this page with a friend Things To Do With Kids List 5 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 AND EASY DINNER RECIPES: VEGETABLES Deb’s Best Pumpkin Salad Ever Ingredients 1 butternut pumpkin diced into 2.5 cm cubes 1 red onion thinly sliced 1 packet feta cheese diced into small cubes 1 packet pine nuts (toasted under the grill) 100 grams semi-dried tomatoes 1 tin of chick peas rinsed and drained 1 packet baby spinach 1 packet mixed salad ​ Dressing 2 heaped tablespoons wholegrain mustard (medium heat as a minimum) 2 tablespoons honey Lemon juice from one lemon Olive oil 1 tablespoon Method Either roast pumpkin on a sheet of baking paper in the oven drizzled with olive oil until soft or to reduce time; boil pumpkin for 10 minutes in the microwave on high. Drain. Char in horizontal grill Add red onion to grill and char Combine feta cheese, pine nuts, pumpkin, semi-dried tomatoes and onion together before adding baby spinach and mixed salad. Toss ingredients together Put all dressing ingredients into a bottle and shake well. Pour over dressing just before serving ​ Serve with other salads or eat as a lunch. It's perfect for a BBQ through to being good enough for a Christmas lunch. HINT: Using the microwave or flat grill reduces the time by about an hour Share this recipe with a friend For more Easy Healthy Recipes go to the following links: Easy Healthy Breakfasts Easy Pasta and Pizza Recipes Easy Healthy Beef Recipes Best Ever Lunch Box Story best ever lunch box story Easy Healthy Soups Easy Healthy Fish Recipes Easy Healthy Chicken Recipes Easy Healthy Lamb 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 LAMB DINNERS Easy Healthy Lamb Stew & Dumplings Ingredients For Stew 4 large lamb forequarter chops 1 onion sliced into wedges Olive Oil for spraying 1 or 2 large potatoes peeled and diced ½ pumpkin peeled and diced Handful of string-less beans with ends removed 1 large carrot 2 tablespoons tomato sauce 1 tablespoon mixed herbs 1 bouquet garni 1 bunch chopped parsley, half kept aside for dumplings 2 cups water 2 Massel beef stock cubes ​ For Dumplings 50 g butter 2 cups flour self-raising flour 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon salt ½ remaining bunch parsley chopped Method For Stew 1. Spray large frying pan with olive oil spray 2. Brown onion 3. Add lamb, brown and cook for 5 minutes on both sides 4. Add tomato sauce, mixed herbs, beef stock cubes and half of the water and simmer, covered for ten to fifteen minutes. Stir ensuring that the bottom doesn’t stick 5. Add potatoes and pumpkin the remainder of the water and simmer, covered for a further ten minutes. Stir again ensuring that the bottom doesn’t stick 6. Add beans and carrots and simmer, covered for a further ten minutes. Stir ensuring that the bottom doesn’t stick. ​ ​For Dumplings 1. Meanwhile heat butter in microwave then rub butter through flour 2. Add milk and stir through 3. Add ½ bunch chopped parsley and teaspoon salt 4. Stir the stew ensuring that the bottom doesn’t stick and that there is still plenty of liquid. Turn temperature to low. 5. Drop dessertspoon sized scoops of mixture onto the top of the stew and cook on low for a further twenty minutes. ​ Serve as is for a hearty winter meal ​ HINT: This is an ideal recipe to do double quantities and freeze. It tastes better the following day. Share this recipe with a friend For more Easy Healthy Recipes go to the following links: More Easy Healthy Lamb Recipes easy healthy lamb shanks delicious The Real Cost of Takeaways The real cost of takeaway Easy Healthy Chicken Recipes easy healthy chicken dinner recipe delicious family meal Easy Healthy Fish Recipes Easy Healthy Beef Recipes Easy Pasta and Pizza Recipes Easy Healthy Rice Recipes easy tasty healthy fried rice within minutes Easy Healthy Breakfasts Easy Healthy Soups 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 AND EASY DINNER RECIPES: VEGETABLES Easy Potato Bake by Deb Ingredients 3 cups mashed potato 8 rashers bacon diced 1 red onion thinly sliced 2 large tomatoes thinly sliced 2 cups cheese ​ Method 1. Grease an oven proof dish 2. Place the above ingredients in layers ending with the potato on the top. 3. Cook covered with foil in a hot oven for 30 minutes before removing foil and cooking for a further 15 minutes ​ Serve with baked meat and steamed vegetables Share this recipe with a friend For more Easy Healthy Recipes go to the following links: Easy Healthy Beef Recipes Easy Healthy Breakfasts Easy Healthy Chicken Recipes easy healthy chicken dinner recipes chicken paprika Best Ever Lunch Box Story best ever lunch box story Easy Healthy Soups Easy Healthy Fish Recipes Easy Healthy Lamb 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 FREE FUN LEARNING GAMES Fun Maths Games For 1st and 2nd Grade 5-7 Year Olds Children need to use concrete materials to develop a good understanding of mathematical concepts before they start substituting real things for visual representations or moving onto more abstract Maths. The following free fun learning maths games devised for 5-7 year olds can be played in isolation or revised as you see fit. There are also gradations of difficulty within each game. ​ Best Parenting Advice provides high quality information designed to develop high level skills in children. You can learn as little or as much as you wish. ​ The Fun Learning Maths Games Page helps parents identify the concepts and mathematical language they could be using while playing the games to make the learning experience as rich as possible. Scroll Down to see Fun Maths Games or if you know the game you want click on the links below More or Less First to 30 Largest Number Wins Add It Go Tables Beanbag Maths Addled Flash Lowest Wins Countdown Make 10 Between 1 and 100 ​ MORE OR LESS More less FIRST TO 30 First to 30 Choose a range of small coloured items from around the house. Guess which colour is the most common. Approximate the number of items. The winner is the player who either guesses the amount correctly or gets the closest. ​ ​ Roll one die. Count the number of dots. Put a counter on that number on your caterpillar. The next person rolls their die, counts the dots and puts a counter on the corresponding number on their caterpillar. ​ Player 1 rolls the die again and counts the number of dots. They add that number onto the number on their caterpillar. HINT: See if they can bank the number they already have and count on using their fingers to guess where they will be up to on the caterpillar. Check as they count along their caterpillar. ​ The process is repeated until someone gets to number 30. You can make this more difficult by making them roll the exact number to finish. ​ To make it more difficult you can also subtract from thirty to zero. ​ LARGEST NUMBER WINS Largest GO TABLES my favourite game of all Go Tables This is a great game for travelling in the car. ​ Make the largest number from the group of numerals on a number plate of the vehicle ahead of you. e.g. above DAZ 69 becomes 96. ​ You will notice the skill you are trying to establish is greatest number first, smallest second. ​ This game can be adjusted to include older siblings. As your child gets better at this game you can make the smallest number instead or use more than two numbers. e.g 749 would become 974 ADD IT Add it 4 1 2 9 5 This is one of the best games I've known for revising tables. To begin you write down the numerals from one to twelve around a circle similar to the clock face below, in random order. Then write 2x or 5x in the middle depending on which table you are wanting to revise. This is a great game for travelling in the car. ​ Make the largest number from the group of numerals on a number plate of the vehicle ahead of you. e.g. above 1 + 8 + 8 = 17 ​ The winner is the one that ads the numerals together the quickest. First to five and then start another round. 6 12 2x 11 3 7 8 BEANBAG MATHS 10 Bean bag ​ You start the stopwatch. Beginning at the one position on the clock (where the star is) give just the answer to each number as quickly as possible going clockwise around the clock. For example 2x9 is 18 so you say 18. You continue around the clock until you reach the twelve o'clock position. You stop the stopwatch and see how long it takes you. The next player takes their turn and times themselves. The winner is the person who completes the circle in the least amount of time. If someone makes an error they need to repeat their answer correctly then continue. ​ I've recorded an example of the clock face below to help you. You will notice the speed with which you go round the clock face will improve rapidly. Get the whole family involved and see how much you all improve over a week just playing five minutes a day. Draw a series of six different sized circles on concrete. Put numeral 1 inside the largest circle, 2 in the second largest repeating the pattern until 6 is in the smallest circle. ​ Children take turns throwing a bean bag (or stone) one throw at a time. They have the option to throw lots of smaller amounts or go for the smaller circles containing higher numerals. ​ They add each of their scores together. The first to thirty is the winner. ADDLED Fold a piece of A4 paper from top to bottom (in half,) then half again, (into quarters.) ​ Open the page back out. Fold the page into thirds across the page. ​ You should end up with 12 squares on the paper. This is called the recording board. Get your child to record the numerals 1 through to 12 one in each box. ​ Repeat the process for your own scorecard. ​ Player 1: Throw two dice and add them together. Record the total by putting a coin or counter on the numeral representing that total on their numeral board. For example: 3+5 = 8. Put a counter on the 8. ​ Player 2: Throw two dice and add them together. Record the total by putting a coin or counter on the 2nd numeral board representing that total. ​ Repeat until the first player has five numerals covered. ​ N.B. If you already have that number covered you don't get to record a numeral that go and it reverts to the next players go. FLASH Put a group of dominoes face down on a table. ​ Player One picks one domino up and flashes the face to the other player for one second. ​ Player Two guesses how many dots there were altogether on the face of the domino. ​ Player One turns the face over and checks the number of dots. If Player Two was correct they get the domino. If not it's removed from the pile. ​ The process is repeated as Player 2 flashes their domino. ​ The winner is the first to five dominoes after both players have had equal turns. If there is a tie continue until one player misses. Addled Flash COUNTDOWN Countdown LOWEST WINS Lowest wins The best die to use are numeral die but as children become more proficient they will know five dots represents five instantly so you can use dots instead. ​ Player One rolls two die and makes the lowest numeral possible. e.g. 5 and 4 can be recorded as either 54 or 45 (45 being the lowest) ​ Player Two rolls two die and makes the lowest numeral possible. ​ The lowest number scores a counter. ​ The winner is the first to five counters. Begin with twenty counters each. ​ Roll a die. Remove that many counters from your pile. ​ Repeat the process for Player 2. ​ The object of the game is to have no counters left. ​ You can make the game longer by insisting the correct number has to be rolled to go out. E.g. If a player has five to go until they're out they would need to roll a five on their die to finish the game. ​ MAKE TEN Make Ten Roll a dice. How many more do you need to make ten. Take that many counters from a pile. ​ Repeat the process for Player 2. ​ The object of the game is to be the first to thirty counters. You can use the caterpillar scorecard to keep score or alternatively get your child to put their counters into equal length rows of ten. Then it's obvious when they have three equal rows totaling thirty. ​ ​ ​ BETWEEN ONE AND A HUNDRED This is a really easy game to play in the car and it's highly effective for children revising learning the numbers through to 100 Player 1: Picks a number between one and a hundred. Player 2: Tries to guess the number they feel could be the correct one. Player 1: Says 'higher' or 'lower' depending on if the correct number is higher or lower than their guess. Player 3: Using the additional information they try to guess the number they feel could be the correct one. Player 1: Again says 'higher' or 'lower' depending on if the correct number is higher or lower than their guess. ​ All players continue to repeat the process until the correct number is found. ​ Between 1 and 100 For More Fun Games go to the links below: Fun Maths Games 7-8 Years Fun Phonics Fun Reading Games 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 BEST STARTS FOR KIDS Why Use Natural Consequences? This page contains the following information: Strategies to deal with not valuing things Strategies to deal with lying Strategies to deal with deliberate rule breaking Suggested phone usage and kids Step By Step Parenting Tips 8 ​ Sometimes as parents, we try to shield our children from the harsh realities of life. For example: A child might over feed their fish (despite being told not to) and the fish dies. Their parent, concerned by the child's sadness rushes out and buys a replacement fish. And two weeks later the next fish dies... ​ Failure to let your child experience the natural consequences of their actions can result in them becoming less responsible than they otherwise might be. ​ By letting your child experience natural consequences, they learn the way the world really works. Natural consequences are a part of every day adult life and can be used if children are: Not valuing things Lying Deliberately rule breaking ​ Shielding children from natural consequences can limit their understanding of the way the world works ​ Linking increased privileges with increased responsibility, encourages maturity rather than entitlement ​ Set phone rules prior to giving a child a phone, and expect them to be maintained Children's rights are mandated by law but privileges are a bonus and can be used as a reward for responsible behaviour ​ Anchor 1 ​You could Let Your Child Experience the Natural Consequences of What They've Done if they're: ​ Not valuing things: If your child isn't taking care of something and they break it, (if it's a privilege ) they go without it for a time. Phones are currently a big issue for parents because they're so expensive to replace. It's important for children to realize their possessions need to be taken care of, rather than just be replaced, by you. ​ As an example of not valuing things: Your child leaves their guitar laying near an open window and it rains, (despite the fact you've asked them not to do this many times.) The neck of the guitar warps making it difficult to play. The natural consequence is, they don't have a guitar until they can afford to replace it. ​ ​ Children often don't learn the real value of things until either they go without them or they start earning money themselves. ​ N.B. If your teenage child is developing a sense of entitlement and expects a lot, encourage your child to get part-time work, (when they're old enough, ) for up to 10 hours a week, so they learn to value both their money and their time. ​ ​Learning the Value of Money ​My teenage son said not long after he got a part-time job: 'I'm not buying that... That costs three hours of my life.' What a great lesson to learn. Because every purchase, is costing part of someone's life. ​ Lying: Give your child the benefit of the doubt where possible, but not when you know they're lying. For example: Your child is sent from an exam room for, in their words, 'doing nothing.' And was told by the principal to tell you about it. Is it likely they really were doing nothing? Something you could say might be: 'You were sent out of an exam for doing nothing. Does that make sense to you? (Because it doesn't to me .) They may try to retell the same story but instead of buying it, re ask the same question. 'Sorry, I don't think you heard my question. 'Does that make sense to you? The principal told you that you were sent from an exam room for doing nothing. Does that make sense? How about you tell me the whole story... For example: What happened just before you were sent out of the room...' ​ And it's logical to link increased privileges for your children with increasing responsibility, remembering the goal is to raise independent capable adults. ​ Deliberately Rule Breaking: If your child is flouting the rules and being disrespectful, they may need to be made more aware of the difference between rights and privileges. C onsidering your teenagers often rely upon you for many of their privileges, this gives you some bargaining power. Fashion clothing, going to movies or concerts, access to streaming channels are privileges, not rights. Does your child expect you to supply a phone, pay for calls and internet and then treat you with disrespect if you ask them to put their phone away for meal times. ​ Would a sensible person continue to let them have this privilege? ​ ​ Dig down to find the truth. Ring the principal to thank them for caring enough to make your child tell you there had been an issue. Find out more. And then follow it up with your child. The natural consequence of lying could be: loss of independent privileges such as going to a friend's place, (where your child would need to be trusted.) Explain that lying creates holes in family relationships because it creates distrust and families members need to be able to trust one another. If for example your teenager isn't where they said they would be, the consequence of lying could be they'll be checked up on until they earn your trust back. ​ *** ​ Phone Rules Perhaps instead of just giving your child a phone in the first place, explain that it's a privilege and it will be treated as a privilege. The phone remains your property and there will be rules and expectations governing its use by your teenager. ​ ​Some suggested phone rules could be, for example: ​ The phone can only be used after kids are ready for school in the morning, until school commences. And then after school until 8:30 at night. (This ensures quality sleep.) Homework must be kept completed and if phone usage intrudes, the hours of available phone time will be reduced. Phones passwords are to be made available to parents (for young teenagers) and parents need to be able to check phones periodically to ensure they're happy with the way they're being used. ​ Phones need to be turned off during meal times. Parents need to model this behavior too as teenagers are quick to spot hypocrisy. Usage costs are expected to be kept below what you agree. If it's good enough for the parents to budget phone use, so can teenagers. Discuss there are codes of behaviour for phone usage before there is an issue. For example: swearing, online bullying or sexting are things that will not be tolerated and will result in immediate loss of phone privileges. This could be for a minimum of one week but for online bullying or sexting it could be much longer. The reinstatement of privileges would also require parent monitoring. (For example: I was talking to a parent whose 14 year old son was found to be sexting. After removing phone privileges for a time, he now has to voluntarily turn over his phone to his parents, whenever they ask, to check it out. Either that or not use it at all.) ​ Remember, by law you have to maintain your teenagers rights, but privileges are a bonus. ​ Step 9: Clear Boundaries Help Raise Good Kids ​ Step by Step 9: Next Anchor 2 Anchor 3 Anchor 4 Share this page with a friend ​For more Best Parenting Advice on behaviour strategies go to the following links: ​ Managing Behaviour Well Managing Behaviour Well Boundaries Help Raise Good Kids Setting Boundaries Why Be Consistent? Consistency, Consistency, Consistency Why Spend Postive Time Together? A father playing chess with his son can help create a positive relationship Choosing Gratitude Not Entitlement Girl kissing her dad. The True Value of Routines The True Value Routines 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 AND EASY FAMILY DINNERS: VEGETABLES Pumpkin and Chorizo Couscous ​Method Put butter into large microwave dish and heat for 40 seconds or until melted Add diced onion and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until onion is transparent Tip into large baking dish. Using same microwave dish place pumpkin in and cover with water. Microwave on high for 8-10 minutes or until pumpkin is slightly tender. Drain Put a layer of foil onto your griller tray and add Chorizo slices, ensuring they remain flat Grill Chorizo on both sides until it browns a little (This helps remove some of the fat rather than frying it) Put two cups of Pearl couscous into the bottom of the baking dish with onion and stir ensuring that the bottom of the pan is covered HINT : If you stay away from the corners couscous is less likely to stick there Pour pumpkin and zucchini pieces over the top so that they evenly cover the tray Add grilled Chorizo sausage Sprinkle coriander over the top Pour hot chicken stock over the lot ensuring that all of couscous is covered by liquid IMPORTANT: Cover completely in foil and seal edges. Cook for 50 minutes at 180 degrees. Remove foil. Stir couscous mixture Sprinkle additional coriander over as a garnish Serve immediately Pumpkin and Chorizo Couscous is one of the yummiest recipes on this website and it's super easy to make. You might even see the steam coming off it... It was that hot when I photographed it. I could hardly wait to eat it, and every time I eat it, it's even better than I remember it being. ​ Ingredients I butternut pumpkin chopped into small (1 1/2 cm pieces ) Or you can buy it pre-chopped at the supermarket 3 chorizo sausages cut into slices 2 zucchini sliced into 2 cm x 1 cm strips 1 large onion diced 100 grams butter 2 1/2 cups hot chicken stock (I boil kettle and add two Massel stock cubes) 2 cups Pearl couscous 1/2 cup coriander ​​ Cover couscous with vegetables and then pour liquid over the top ensuring all of the couscous is covered with liquid stock. Share this recipe with a friend If you love this recipe as much as I do, your friends might too. Are you after a recipe to wow your guests? This stunning Slow Cooker Lamb Shank recipe will do it. Click on My Favourite Recipes 5 link to learn how: My Favourite Recipes 5: Next Are you after more Easy Healthy Recipes? Check out the following links. Easy Chicken Recipes easy healthy chicken dinner recipes chicken and green olives Easy Pasta and Pizza Recipes easy pasta and pizza dinner recipes delicious tuna pesto pasta Easy Healthy Fish Recipes easy healthy fish dinner recipe salmon mornay Easy Healthy Soups Easy Healthy Lamb Recipes Easy Healthy Beef Recipes Easy Tasty Cakes and Desserts easy tasty cakes and desserts banana muffins Easy Healthy Breakfasts 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 Best Free Links For Self-Isolating With Kids If you're looking for great free websites that provide passive learning activities for your child you may like to check out the following links: ​ 3-6 Year Olds Sesame Street ABC Kids https://www.abc.net.au/abckids/shows/sesame-street/ This provides a range of engaging games that will keep your kids entertained while teaching them language and maths concepts. ​ 4-12 Year Olds ABCya https://www.abcya.com/ This is likely one of the largest range of free games you can access and kids love it. ​ 4-10 Year Olds The Fact Detectives https://www.kinderling.com.au/music/programs/the-fact-detectives/ants I love this as an input to encourage kids to want to learn more about science subjects. If your kids are interested in science it's really worth checking out. 5 Years + Highlights Kids https://www.highlightskids.com/ I really like this website as it caters to older kids too and it's not gimmicky. I think it would be best if you go through and highlight the areas of the site you think are particularly useful and then are available or nearby to assist your child the first times they use it. ​3-12 Years Learning Games for Kids https://www.learninggamesforkids.com/ This has some great games although it may need you to walk them through it. I was impressed with the quality of the games and the range of topics covered. ​ 3-8 Years PBS KIDS https://pbskids.org/games/ You will need to check this out first and find the games that suit your kids interests as there's a lot on this site. ​ 3-8 Years Starfall https://www.starfall.com/h/index.php There are a range of games you can access without logging in to the site although much more is available if you do log in. ​ 3-12 Years Learning Games for Kids https://www.learninggamesforkids.com/ This has some great games although it may need you to walk them through it the first time or so they play it. I was impressed with the quality of the games and the range of topics covered. Thanks Mrs M, Mrs I, Mrs B & Mrs B for your wonderful input. N.B. After consulting with a number of colleagues these are some of the best free websites we've found. But this doesn't imply that they're the full list of best sites available, or that you may agree that every game on every site is consistently the best. If children are online there are inherent risks. It is important that you supervise them to maintain control over what they have access to and who has access to your kids. Share this page with friends If you're looking for great free websites that provide either active activities your child can do or ideas you can use, go to the following links: ​ 2-12 Year Olds (although many activities could be fun for the whole family) 87 Energy-Busting Games & Activities For Kids (Because Cabin Fever Is No Joke) https://whatmomslove.com/kids/active-indoor-games-activities-for-kids-to-burn-energy/ I LOVE these activities and I think the adults will likely enjoy many of them as much as the kids. They are really worth checking out. ​ 2-6 Year Olds Cosmic Kids Yoga https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga This link provides a great range of activities to keep young kids entertained and moving. And best of all you don't need to be involved so can work while your kids are being both entertained and exercised. ​ 4-6 Year Olds https://busytoddler.com/2018/09/post-it-math/ A simple way of practising maths skills in a novel way. Just for Parents ​ Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/ I have LOVED Khan Academy for around ten years now. It allows kids to learn at their own pace and caters well for those who require remediation and extension. It now requires a parent sign up. I have supplied the following link for parents to access information for Children Of All Ages Across all KLAs https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/learning-from-home/teaching-and-learning-resources This website can give you much greater insight into what your children are learning. If you're self isolating with kids the following tips will help: 1. Set up a predictable routine... The key to success is providing a variety of activities: Some active, some passive. Some challenging, some relaxing or easy. Some creative, some chores. ​ 2. Maintain clear boundaries for behaviour and explain what is expected ahead of time. If you're working you will need quiet time to be able to work. Set aside quiet time ​ 3. Notice the positive where ever possible and reward positive behaviour. What you notice you'll get more of. ​ 4. Be consistent. What you let your kids get away with shouldn't be determined by your mood. ​ 5. Be a leader for your family. Provide a good example. Kids are quick to spot hypocrisy. For hundreds of great ideas on keeping kids happy and occupied while self-isolating go to the following link Things To Do: Self-Isolating With Kids 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.

FUN READING GAMES Reading Game 2 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. Reading Game Cards Assessment Sheet To continue with Fun Reading Games click on the next level link below. For other fun games click on one of the other links below. Level 3 Micey Dicey Game Fun Phonics Fun Maths Games 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 SELF CARE FOR PARENTS Stage 3 Time Saving by Planning Meals Ahead Making Family Life Easy 3 ​ The time and money used for ongoing planning of meals and small shopping trips can be instead used for something more worthwhile: e.g. Home renovations/ housework Education/ self development Fitness Assisting child success Socialising and relaxation: engaging in fun activities that help build relationships Paying off a mortgage much earlier Having savings that would otherwise not exist The creation of choice ​ Online shopping can be a great advantage if you're organized. ​ You may really benefit from using my menu planning system to outsource your biggest monthly shop. I realized if I used the almost three months I saved by not dropping in to the shops and used the saved time for something for myself e.g. exercising or reading, my quality of life was better. Also if it cost me only $5 in fuel to get there that can be an additional cost of $10400 over my working life. And that's a really good holiday. ​ Now while this may sound really pedantic I've used simple data to illustrate that it's the cumulative effects of what I did, on a regular basis, that made a huge difference to our health, finances and quality of life. ​ I can't tell you how many friends and family I've shared my organizational strategies with over the years because they saw how well they worked and asked me for them. Share this page with a friend ​ For those who need meals on the table within minutes of walking in the door click below: ​​ You may be able to congratulate yourself because you know that you don’t waste food; however you may have to drop into the supermarket more often because you run out of something. This usually means a detour of around twenty minutes (at least) by the time you park the car, walk in, locate the items, get through the checkout walk back out, drive home, unpack the car and then unpack the items. And realistically it's likely to take you much longer than that. ​ ​ TIME SAVER: Just for interest sake (one day when I was feeling a little bit too pedantic) I worked out if I didn't stop off at the supermarket, (just once a week,) over my working life, I would spend a minimum of 84 working days less grocery shopping (based on just a 20 minute diversion on the way home.) ​ That's nearly three months of my life. ​ But how often can shopping take much longer? I know this 3 month estimate is really conservative And this 84 days is in excess of the times that I already did the grocery shopping. Now you might be feeling that you don't have the energy to put this meal organization in place to eat healthy and I get it. I felt exactly the same way. But for me the long term benefits far outweighed any short-term inconvenience. ​I also found on days when I was working late, and needing dinner prepared 'super fast,' it posed yet another huge set of challenges for me. If that's how it is for you, I'd suggest looking at 'Healthy Meals on the Table in Minutes.' You may find ideas there before continuing with planning your menu. They address organizational aspects specific to overcoming planning healthy meals when you're arriving home late. The Real Cost of Takeaways And I encourage you to consider the Real Cost of Takeaways. ​ Some of the other links below give insight into what worked well for me. You can use them as is, or as a springboard for your own ideas. ​ Making Family Life Easy 4: Next Meals on the Table in Minutes More Meals on the Table in Minutes More Meals on the Table in Minutes Corned Beef and Corn Fritters Easy Healthy Recipes 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 STARTS FOR KIDS Things To Do With Kids At Home Self Isolating During a Pandemic: List 2 If you could make a wish, how would you like self-isolation to be remembered by your kids. During self-isolation your kids need you, as parents, to be the leader of the house... and they need you to lead by calm example. ​ If you aim to make 'Iso' as positive an experience as possible, you're more likely to achieve it than if you expect it to occur all by itself. ​ To avoid kids getting white wall fever providing a variety of activities will help : Some active, some passive. Some challenging, some relaxing (or easy.) Some creative, some chores. Set up some common sense rules for 'Iso' To Make Your Home a More Pleasant Place To Be 1. Explain the importance of cooperation and everyone needs to do their part. Use the analogy about how everyone is staying home for the greater good. Well cooperation is for your family's greater good and explain why it is important. ​ 2. Maintain clear boundaries for behaviour and explain what is expected ahead of time. Manners are free and help oil the machinery of happily interacting families. This is an opportunity to follow up on some behaviours that may have slipped due to busy lifestyles. And model manners yourself. 3. M aintain some normality getting dressed, teeth cleaning, hair brushing, regular showering, etc. Kids will live up to or down to your expectations. Make a Pyjama Day the exception, not the rule. ​ 4. Consistently acknowledging cooperative behaviour, where ever possible, and rewarding it is likely to increase it. What you notice you'll get more of. ​ 5. Relax and have a bit of fun with your kids. There are heaps of activities you could do. Check out the galleries and links. *Threading or Sewing Threading an assortment of beads, pasta, leaves, etc Making Numerical Amounts Making numerical amounts using an abacus *Playing Fun Maths Games Lots of free fun maths games Making Your Own Story Book Making Your Own Story Book Playing Family Board Games *Playing Fun Reading Games Fun Reading Games designed for practicing high frequency words Constructing Using Recyclables Using recycled materials for construction Creating a Puppet Show You can create your own puppet show from scratch Gardening Together Growing your own food with your kids help during a pandemic is an excellent way to show your kids how food goes from plant to plate Painting Concrete With Water Children love to paint concrete with water and it can keep them occupied for a long time Making Animals From Cardboard You can create a variety of animals from paper plates or egg cartons Simply Playing Chasies Playing Chasies is a great way for kids cooped up inside to let off steam Matching Games: Bingo or Memory Playing Hospitals Creating Roads To Follow Locating Hidden Treasure Using Maps Building With Electronics Reading Challenges Share This Page With a Friend Things To Do With Kids List 3 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.