Children Meaningful Interactions

The Magic of having a baby! (Photo: my personal archival, please do not duplicate it. Thank you!) I realized I had said a lot about being tired and how tough it is to having a baby without having your family around to give you a hand. This is all true. But I haven't said about the magic! Yes, having a baby is magical! It is powerful and empowering! Every morning I look at my boy and see a beautiful smile face saying to me how happy he is ... The fact is, he may know how happy he makes me...  I kiss his little fat hands and feet and love to make noises kissing his belly! He thinks it is hilarious! He absolutely loves to play hide and seek. Yes, he laughs loudly!   I love to see different steps and new discovering every week! In fact, each day is a little box of surprises.  Since he has learnt to hug, cuddling has become even more special. When he lays his head on my shoulders I know he is calling for some prime/cosy time. He is only 9 months and 2 ...

Again, RTE undercover (Photo: google images)  6 years later and we are again presented with very distressful images of young children mistreatment, child abuse (yes; some situations are child abuse), violations of children's right, very poor practice in the Early Years and a show case of bad management of creches in Dublin. First of all; let me express my sincere feelings to the parents of those children who have to sit in the sofa and watch this. Those who will never go to work with a complete peace of mind again. So  sorry I am for those children who were prevented opportunities to learn and explore; being treated negatively with no responsive and positive interactions. To all of them, my heart goes to them.  But our sympathy is not enough. It cannot be good enough if we want this to change. Secondly, let's acknowledge that there a large number and solid great practices in this country. That Anne type of manager is not the rule; I want to believe she is...

10 Tips to choose your child creche!  What a mission! Finding the most appropriate childcare option to suit our family needs is definitely not easy. If you have decided for putting your child in a creche; this can be a very hard job. Having worked for more than 10 years in the early years sector didn't make my job easier to choose a setting. I was probably looking for a perfect place - what is impossible to have even if you have a very good one.  It was my partner's words that brought me to reality: any childcare arrangement will have challenges; so you must weight it all at the end.  Now, having experienced both sides: being an early years teacher staff and a mother; I finally feel ready to share a few tips I consider very important when it comes to choose a creche.  1) Friendly and interacting early childhood teacher; who is usually well qualified: interactions play a massive role in children's development. Child/child inter...

10 Tips to use cloth nappies I had in mind I wanted to use cloth nappies for my baby, but I knew very little about the new designs. They are literally cloth nappies but different types from the times our mothers used to put on us. So, as a first-time mother, I went through a journey of researching about the whole universe of cloth nappies. I found a few things that work well and others that don’t, and I am going to share with you in case if you are considering using cloth nappies (read the previous post about considering using cloth nappies). 1)       Research about it extensively: there are many different types of cloth nappies. They vary on material, colour, sizes and styles. I had to spend some time looking at different companies’ websites and chat groups (especially Facebook ones, there are many groups that support the cause) to try to understand what style/maker/price I would choose. There are a lot of choices in relation to boosters, wrap, lin...

Why do we use cloth nappy?  Yes, I know! At the moment cloth nappy is mentioned, you turn around, make a disgusting face and automatically think of the work it can cause. But, please, let me tell you a few things and then we can talk again!  As any first-time mother, I had a whole universe of things to learn. It is unbelievable the number of things you must learn in order to taking care of a new born! So basically, since the moment you know that you are pregnant, you don’t stop researching reading and seeking information about baby’s stuff.  In the middle of all of that, you are also very sensitive to the life you wish to give to your son/daughter and to the world he/she will grow up.  It is impossible not to think about Mother Earth and the way we “human beings” have been treating her.  Cloth nappy advocators say that a disposable nappy can take centuries to decompose. The amount of rubbish a house with a new baby can produce is huge....

Can I breastfeed my baby in public?  Photo: Rosalia Passos  Science tells us "breastfeeding is the best start in life for a new born".  Adding to all the scientific great reasons,  I strongly encourage first time mothers to breastfed their babies: it is one of the most bounding and loving feelings you can develop with your little baby.  Breastfeeding does not happen "all naturally and easy" as we seen advertised. It takes time, it is a learning process between the mother and the new born ... It takes practice! It can require hard work and definitely requires persistence and determination. Ireland breastfeeding rates are very low. There is a long way to go to build a breastfeeding culture. And, unfortunately, we still seen stories like the one bellow.  Very recently, a paper in Co. Mayo published an article commenting on a situation which a reader was asked to breastfeed her baby in the toilets by the GAA steward before the   ma...

Valuing culture and traditions is part of an inclusive curriculum. It also can create a range of learning opportunities and great fun for the kids. As part of a globalized society we are all facing multi-cultural classrooms and offering spaces to appreciate the difference and promote inclusion is a daily compromise of preschool teachers. I grew up in Brazil and have a strong passion for my country heritage. When I was working in a preschool in Dublin, we had one of my biggest memorable days in childcare celebrating the carnival festival with the kids. It was such a great party atmosphere among those children, they learnt and enjoyed it so much! That is all what we want, isn’t it? Children learning while they are having fun! Carnival is an annual festival celebrated in Roman Catholic countries typically during the week before Lent. It involves street parade, music, dancing, and the use of masks and/or dressing up. Brazil holds the biggest celebration of carnival in the worl...