Summer 2015

PENINSULA KIDS SUMMER 2015/16

ENINSULA KID P S LOVING FAMILY LIFE ON THE PENINSULA

SUMMER 2015/16

Summer Safety

Feature INFORMATION FOR SMOOTH SAILING THIS SUMMER!

PETER MITCHELL

www.facebook.com/morningtonpeninsulakids

Runs during school holidays

GIVEAWAYS THINGS TO DO ON

THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA

FREE



Located at the stunning Horseback headquarters on the Mornington Peninsula, Horseback Fun4Kids is a safety driven fun filled program for the beginner or the more experienced young rider.

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Full Day Package for 5 to 12year olds $150pp* includes:

Gift Bag to the value of $70 includes:

- Grooming, washing and tack lesson - Horse riding lesson - Theory notes - Fun games and activities - Gift bag - Lunch, morning and afternoon tea included

- Certificate of understanding basic horsemanship - Photo of child with their horse - Colouring-in and activity set - Horseback workbook - Horseback Fun4Kids wristband PLUS - $40 Horseback Gift Certificate

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*Sibling discounts apply

YouTube Video

Experience every aspect of horse care by booking your children in for a day at Horseback Fun4Kids.

SAFETY FIRST We do it right!

356 Shands Road Main Ridge Victoria 3928 2

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Contact us +61 (3) 5989 6119

Visit us www.horseback.com.au

E-mail us info@horseback.com.au

www.peninsulakids.com.au

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Cover Photo Hamish at Mornington Park Photography: Cameron McCullough Editor and Publisher Melissa McCullough melissa@mpnews.com.au Creative Director Maria Mirabella maria@mpnews.com.au

Editor

Melissa McCullough

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

Advertising Miriam Doe 0421 085 974 miriam@mpnews.com.au

—F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Distribution Marilyn Saville distribution@peninsulakids.com.au

It feels a bit that way, doesn’t it?

It feels like we get the chance to reset our clocks, our ideals, our dreams. Maybe it’s because the kids don’t have to be up and out for school. Or maybe we eat dinner later and stay up longer to live in the extended daylight before bed. Our usual routines have been upended. There’s a chance to start anew. Here’s my chance - I’m going to be the me I always wanted.

General Enquiries info@peninsulakids.com.au All material is copyright, and may not be reproduced without the express permission of Mornington Peninsula News Group, or the original copyright holder in the case of contributions. Copyright of contributed material rests with the contributor.

Creative Director

Maria Mirabella

Newme will do better than last year. She’ll spend more time with the munchkins doing good things together. More beach visits.

More cooking together. There will be new, clever, researched craft…(because if you ask my six-year-old – there is NEVER enough.) Newme will make homemade icy poles from freshly squeezed juice and obliterated mango. She will eat a leafy, green salad and a 150g piece of grilled protein each day for lunch.

Newme will be completely organised for the new school year since she has six weeks to plan.

Disclaimer: The authors and publisher do not assume any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

This publication is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. The reader should regularly consult a physician in matters relating to health and particularly with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention.

Peninsula Kids is produced quarterly.

15,000 copies distributed between Mordialloc and Portsea.

Registered address: 2/1 Tyabb Road, Mornington 3931

ed’s letter...

Distribution

Marilyn Saville

And then it will be the end of January. And everything will be the same. We’ll have eaten Paddle Pops while running through the backyard sprinkler. We’ll go to Bunnings for nothing but the play area and the sausage sizzle for lunch on the way out. We will have done PLENTY of silly craft.

But the kids will still be happy. They don’t need change. They don’t need much. They just need you being yourself and showing them that, that’s perfect. And it is.

So go on Newme…try and think of something else that needs changing.

www.facebook.com/MorningtonPeninsulaKids

Proudly published by

Not this summer. Better luck next year. Or not.

PS – May the force be with you this Christmas and New Year.

Advertising

Miriam Doe PEFC Certified

This product is from sustainably managed forests and controlled sources. www.pefc.org

www.peninsulakids.com.au

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Contributors

Special thanks go to the gorgeous and talented group of contributors who breathe life into every issue by sharing their best with us.

DAVID HAWKINS

REBECCA BOWYER

www.bigkidlittlekid.net

ERIKA ATWILL

seeingthelighterside.com

everchangingmum.com.au

JO FORD

www.bodybump.com.au

YVETTE O’DOWD

www.bellybelly.com.au/ author/yvette-odowd

LORRAINE AITKEN

Family-friendly adventurer

MICHELLE MCCULLOUGH

Chief family photographer

JANE FLYNN

almostjane.com.au

ENINSULA KID P S If You Would Like To Advertise In Our Next Edition Please Contact Miriam on 0421 085 974 or Email miriam@mpnews.com.au 6

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Contents 60

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117

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Spotlight

10 A The News on Raising Kids

48 Mum, I’m Bored!

Peter Mitchell discusses reading news in the city and raising kids on the peninsula.

Encouraging unstructured school holiday play.

50 How to Stop Yelling

12 How to Raise a Child to be a Giver

52 Focus on Summer Safety

Techniques from Parenting Ideas Club founder Michael Grose

Get your kids to cooperate without raising the volume.

18 You’re Not a Bad Mother, You’re Just Exhausted

74 Where Can the Children Play?

Time to cut yourself a break.

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28 Cleaning Up Bad Habits

88 Healthy Eating Over Summer

Working with your children to save your sanity.

It’s time to get back to our roots – and to the outdoors for play.

34 Summer Lovin’

118 Stranger Danger

Peninsula Kids fashion photo shoot.

42 Three Times the Fun

Surprise, there’s three in there!

Ten easy steps to get you started.

Inspector Dunstan from the Safer Communities Unit steers us in the right direction. www.peninsulakids.com.au

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Contents

16 18 24 32 84

Local

A Day Out With Thomas On The Bellarine Peninsula Summer On the Mornington Peninsula Great Days Out for Little Ones Frankston Waterfront Review – Family Retreat – Mini Play And Café

Celebrate

60 Art Party 64 Ideas For Your Own Art Party 65 How To Draw A Dog In Six Easy Steps

Pregnancy & Baby

Teething What Is Normal When It Comes To Breast Feeding?

Tips For Administering Medicine To Children The Little IVF Engine That Could Baby Sleep Myths Busted

70 72 78 80

Education

90 Is My Child Ready For School 96 Granny’s Guide To Baby-Led Weaning 128 Book Reviews

Recipes

Recipes With Jodie Blight

116 118

Health

Diabetes Denial Dad VS Sugar Five of the Most Common Emergency Situations And How To Respond

Creative 121 122 122 124

Toddler Art Cookie Jar Cardboard Castling Mason Jar Fairy Lights Six Pointed Snowflakes

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

In E

very I 67 ssue Party P lannin 82 g Things We Lo 114 v e A sk The

Exper

ts

Where futures begin Toorak College’s Junior School, Wardle House, is so much more than a kindergarten and primary school. The girls and boys find their place in a small nurturing environment and are able to make the most of all the facilities Toorak College offers.

Students begin their learning journey from three and four year old kindergarten transitioning to Prep. The learning program embraces the Reggio Emilia philosophy providing the foundation for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program (PYP).

Head of Wardle House, Mrs Mandy Whitworth explains, “We understand that children are active investigators seeking ways to make meaning of their world. Students can use the purpose built DIGI Zone as part of their exploration. It has the latest technological tools to inspire this generation of learners.”

Visit Toorak College to see what we offer:

2017 Scholarships for Years 3 to 12 now open Visit us at Open Day on Saturday, 20 February 2016 Go to www.toorakcollege.vic.edu.au or call Enrolments on 9788 7234 for more details.

• Small class sizes in a nurturing environment • High quality, innovative, research based programs • Opportunities to develop a love of reading in the Wardle House library • Specialist teachers and access to the school’s state-of-the-art music centre, art studio and science labs • A sense of belonging through the Buddy Program with older students.

Toorak College, where your child’s future begins.

Apply now for 2017 Scholarships.

TEAM HOLIDAY PROGRAMS NOW AVAILABLE FOR 3 AND 4 YEAR OLDS Offered to all kids aged between 3–12. Launching December 2015.

Old Mornington Road, Mount Eliza, Vic, 3930 Phone: 9788 7200 | www.toorakcollege.vic.edu.au

www.peninsulakids.com.au

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THE NEWS ON RAISING KIDS

FROM NEWS REPORTING TO RAISING KIDS, PETER MITCHELL NEVER TAKES ANYTHING FOR GRANTED, CONTINUALLY LEARNING LESSONS ALONG THE WAY BY: MELISSA WALSH Channel Seven’s top newsreader, Peter Mitchell is also the father of five children, and grandfather of three.

The 55-year-old, who was born and bred on the Mornington Peninsula, began his news career at the Nine Network in 1977 as a sports reporter and became a general news reporter five years later.

He made the move to Channel Seven in 1987, where he has been weeknight news presenter for the past 15 years.

Mitchell says balancing work and family life has been relatively smooth as his wife, Philippa, and children have always kept him grounded.

“It’s great to go home after you have had to deal with the TV news as it’s not always a pretty picture. Some of it is quite heavy and a lot of it involves children, which is close to my heart. Going home to my children when they were young was a great relief. They didn’t watch the news and to them I was just dad,” says Mitchell, whose children now range from 31 down to 12.

So far none of the kids have shown any interest in journalism, although his eldest daughter has her own blog.

“The younger three are still at a local school which is where I spent my last two years of high school. My wife and I love it down here and we have always lived on the peninsula. We decided it was a great place to raise children, so I have always just chosen to commute to work,” says Mitchell. “It’s the quality of living down here and my job allows me to leave home late in the morning on average days, so I avoid peak traffic most of the time.”

And just like a regular family, Peter says that they too face the everyday issues of raising children in a technology driven society.

“It’s a completely different situation from the way we were raised with getting outdoors. These days with the amount of gadgets the kids have we have to be hard on them. There’s so much peer pressure but we have a blanket rule that no gadgets are allowed in bedrooms when it’s time for bed. Everyone has to hand in their iPhones and iPads.

Philippa and I stress the importance of getting a good nights sleep,” he says. “As husband and wife, it’s a battle sometimes but we always try and tackle any situations with the kids together. We know that so many bad things can happen particularly with technology that we try and oversee everything. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t. It’s constantly a learning experience.”

After all these years of raising children, Peter says the best policy is to be open and honest.

“We try to always sit down and be honest with our kids, and teach them to treat people as they want to be treated. Communication is the key and to not be deceptive. If something’s on your mind you have to talk about it.”

With a house full of teenagers, he says that at times they have had to resort to padlocks on the panty so the food supply lasts.

“Teenage appetites are crazy. You can lose a loaf of bread in one sitting,” he says with a laugh.

Being young grandparents while still having school aged children has been an interesting experience for the couple but it has all fallen into place.

“Raising children and being a youngish grandfather meant my youngest son was an uncle at the age of eight, but all the relationships level out. Everyone gets on really well, and when the family all get together, Philippa and I sit back and are extremely proud of them,” he says.

In the Mitchell household, father’s day is always a big one.

“Not commercially, but it’s an opportunity for us all to be together.

Birthdays and Christmas are like that too, but not so much Easter as our focus is on the Good Friday Appeal,” he says.

A most memorable time when the family was all together was also one of the saddest occasions, when they travelled down to Warrnambool to scatter his father’s ashes.

“My father had requested his ashes be spread off the Warrnambool breakwater and so we all travelled down there. The day we took his ashes we stayed overnight and it was a wonderful time being together and bonding. It was all due to thinking about how life moves on so quickly,” he says.

As for being a grandfather, Mitchell says it is wonderful.

“The children are terrific and it’s amazing to see my eldest daughter doing what my wife did. She soaked up all of this experience from her mother and uses a lot of the same tactics as we used to,” he says. “It also makes you understand that these are generations and that this is why we are here. I thought immediately of my grandfather although I never met him, how he must have felt when I was born. It puts everything into perspective.”

Peter and his wife, Philippa, live with their three youngest children on the Mornington Peninsula.

www.peninsulakids.com.au

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How To Raise

A Child To Be A Giver YOUNG CHILDREN ARE EGO CENTRIC BY NATURE. AS ANY THREE-YEAR-OLD KNOWS ONLY TOO WELL THE WORLD REVOLVES AROUND THEM. “I WANT….” “GIVE ME……” “IT’S MINE!” AND OTHER VARIATIONS ARE THE MANTRAS FOR THIS AGE GROUP. THIS SELF-CENTREDNESS IS DEVELOPMENTAL, WHICH MEANS IT’S SOMETHING THEY GROW OUT OF……OR THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO. BY: MICHAEL GROSE But some kids never bridge the gap from self-centredness to generosity. They become takers with an inflated sense of entitlement rather than givers who do all they can to accommodate the needs of others. While it can be argued that some children maybe self-centred by temperament I’m not convinced that we can blame Mother Nature entirely. There is no doubt that parenting impacts enormously on a child’s propensity to give rather than take.

In the eagerness to get kids off to a good start in life, a spirit of generosity is one quality that parents can easily overlook.

Developing children’s personal competencies tend to be higher on most parents’ wish lists for their kids than developing a generous spirit.

But developing a sense of sharing in kids has plenty of positives.

Children who are able to share their time, their space and themselves generally have more friends and experience more success than those who are self-centred and mean spirited. Quite simply, they are leadership material!

Like most facets of child-rearing, developing a community ethos in kids can be a frustrating task. Perseverance, modelling and expectations are parents greatest allies when it comes to things that really matter.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

HERE ARE FIVE PRACTICAL WAYS TO DEVELOP A SENSE OF GENEROSITY IN KIDS: EXPECT KIDS TO HELP With families shrinking, kids get fewer opportunities to help at home than before. With this in mind expect your kids to help without being paid. Regular chores and activities that benefit others such as setting the mealtable or helping a younger sibling get dressed teaches them that their contribution is valuable and very much required.

THINK ‘GANG’ It’s a quirk of modern life that parenting is an individual endeavour. “What’s in the best interest of my child?” has replaced “What’s in the best interest of the family?” as a key parenting principle. Encourage children to make allowances for each other which may mean everyone watches a siblings’ special concert rather than some children missing because ‘it’s boring!’ ‘We put out for each other’ is a wonderful family strength that often needs to be reinforced by parents.

DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH MEANNESS Children wear L-Plates when it becomes to behaving generously. They don’t always get it right, which means that parents as the wise adults need to remind children when their words and actions are intolerant or meanspirited, or when they need to put their own needs behind the needs of others.

DEVELOP A SENSE OF OTHER Children and teenagers don’t live in a bubble. The socialisation process demands that kids be accountable for their poor behaviours.

“What does this social situation reasonably require of my child at his or her age and stage of development?” is a great question to ask yourself to develop a sense of other, rather than entitlement in kids.

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During the Victorian bushfires a few years ago I heard the story of nine year old whose mum went into his bedroom to growl at him for being up too late. She found him busy emptying his money box into little plastic bags, ready to donate at the school bushfire appeal next day. There were plenty of stories like this showing the generosity of Australian kids, we just need to encourage them in every day life rather than wait for a tragedy to give their genorisity a kick start. You can begin by encouraging them to give toys, books and clothes away when they have finished with them, or doing a good deed by a neighbor or friend.

 Educational Programmes  Educational Programmes  funded 4 year old kindergarten programs  funded 4 year old kindergarten programs

The skills that kids need for future success are changing as technology, greater flexibility and mobility, and new economic forces are transforming workplaces at an astonishingly rapid rate.

But the basic attitudes and character traits needed to succeed such as teamwork, initiative and generosity haven’t changed too much over time. Ask any employer and I’m sure they’d say they’d hire a giver over a taker any day as they are just so valuable to have on a team. Hopefully they are not becoming a rarity as well!

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S AGEE EN W  Purpose built architecturally designed centre T E B eeks & 6 w years  Qualified friendly & Experienced staff 6  Educational Programmes  funded 4 year old kindergarten programs Want more ideas to help you raise confident kids and resilient young people?

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239 High Street, Hastings Ph (03) 5979 2831 www.peninsulakids.com.au

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A GROWN UP’S ADVENT CALENDAR BY: GERARD THISTLETON Remember Christmas when you were a kid? You just could not get off to sleep the night before, right?

SAT 12th & SUN 13th MARCH 2016 11AM - 5PM

Remember how long, how unimaginably long, Christmas Eve was going to be?

Do you remember how long it took to grow up - how long “a whole hour” used to be? But at least the Christmas school holidays were always going to last forever.

Can those feelings ever come again?

Especially the feeling, as bright and thrilling as Christmas morning itself, a thrill repeated over and over in the growing up years – the special presents, the driver’s licence, the pop songs that spoke especially to you and that aching first crush.

But does it fade; go, to be gone forever?

You may not know Luka Bloom, an Irish folk singer. He released an album called “Innocence”, with a song of the same title. The song is about the innocence of childhood and making a choice as an adult to remain innocent.

Is it that easy, as easy as choosing the innocence of childhood?

Or is every little thrill dulled because you know it won’t last and that in between there will be the mundane ups and downs of life.

Last Father’s Day my seven year old made me some things in art class, bought some things for me at the school stall and went with his mum to choose some more presents from the shop. On Father’s Day eve he could barely sleep, such was his excitement and anticipation.

More than anything else he and my wife gave me (I did very well, by the way) the best gift of course was to see that wonderful thrill, to remember that time when you thought your heart would burst with the thrill of being alive.

Of course my memories of feeling that way myself are a little like the black and white photos of my childhood, the ones that came back from the developers. Waiting for the photos was another of those long waits with a thrill at the end as you opened the packet to look at those photos, some of which you had forgotten you had taken.

Even television was in black and white then, yet it was still exciting, very funny and thrillingly dramatic.

Do you know I watched something black and white on the big TV screen the other day? Something shot in monochrome, a little jerky and with no sound at all. The innocent thrill came back.

It was the ultrasound picture of my new daughter. She is due next February. I can’t wait. Let the countdown begin.

Gerard Thistleton loves his wife, sons and daughter, a lunatic dog and five horses variously lame. Now cats own him. He also likes good wine of any colour and loafing in his slippers. A mortgagee bank and a posse of creditors spoil the peace and quiet of an otherwise benign existence.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

FIRST STEPS

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www.peninsulakids.com.au

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A DAY OUT

a l u s n i n e P e n i r a l l Be WITH THOMAS ON THE

EXCITEMENT WAS BUILDING IN OUR HOUSEHOLD AS THE DATE FOR A DAY OUT WITH THOMAS WAS FAST APPROACHING. IN PREPARATION THERE WERE ENDLESS EPISODES OF THOMAS ON ABC 4 KIDS, WOODEN TRAIN TRACK CONSTRUCTIONS THAT OVERTOOK THE PLAY ROOM ALONG WITH THE BEDROOMS, ENDLESS QUIZZES TO SEE HOW WELL WE KNEW THE NAMES OF THE ENTIRE THOMAS AND FRIENDS COLLECTION AND DID I MENTION BOOKS, DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW MANY THOMAS BOOKS THERE ARE BECAUSE I’M SURE WE MUST BE CLOSE TO HAVING THE ENTIRE COLLECTION. BY: LORRAINE AITKEN

You see, our kinder boy is autistic and trains are his passion, or rather, obsession. We have driven all over Victoria to ride on steam, diesel, electric and miniature railways but until last weekend Thomas had eluded us and our little man and he was desperate to tick this one off his list.

Don’t get me wrong our two older kids were pretty excited too, and as for me I love a good excuse for a day trip especially to the stunning Bellarine Peninsula.

To add to the excitement of the day we chose to cross the bay on the Searoad Ferries, both for the convenience as it’s only a 40 minute trip across the bay from Sorrento to Queenscliff and because it’s just a nice way to travel, especially with children. Instead of the “plane train and automobiles” we swapped the plane for the ferry and the kids couldn’t have been happier. On board the recently renovated ferry we found a kid’s zone with a basic play gym, kid’s tables and chairs with colouring activities along with a kiosk that has plenty of snacks and drinks to choose from.

The crossing of the bay passed quickly with the kids keeping themselves amused on the play gym before rearranging some of the kid’s chairs to take advantage of the views on the bay, watching container ships pass and the odd small fishing vessel until the ferry terminal came into sight.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

From the Queenscliff Ferry terminal to the Bellarine Heritage Railway it’s only a short walk past some quaint fishing cottages that I could just imagine spending the summer holidays in. With the relaxed pace of the Bellarine Peninsula, cute cottages, perfect blend of beaches, green spaces and eateries it makes an enviable destination to visit for some rest and relaxation.

With the “Day out with Thomas” event on, the town was much busier than normal yet still retained a warm community feel. Big Thomas signs were visible from the main street and the sound of Henry’s steam whistle peep peeping every few minutes could be heard nearby. Our little man’s excitement was hard to contain as we came into view of the station. My enthusiasm momentarily wore off as soon as I saw the queue awaiting the 11:30am train but to the credit of the volunteers and Sir Topham Hat the queue moved quickly and we were taking our seats aboard “Oliver” within 10 minutes. With the sounds of ‘all aboard’ and a toot of the whistle we were off following the shoreline towards Lakers Siding, a twenty minute trip where we stopped and got out of the carriages to watch ‘Oliver’ get uncoupled, filled with water and connected to the other end of the carriages for the return journey. The young kids were so excited to be up close and watching the action from the platform while parents and grandparents were madly snapping pictures of loved ones near the engine. The return trip was just the perfect length for young children and with other activities included in the price of the ticket back at the station, kids were happy to head back and have unlimited rides on Thomas’s troublesome trucks, a carousel, jumping castle, a small Thomas maze, photo opportunities and a small showbag to take home.

Overall I think “A Day out with Thomas” is a great family event that is extremely popular with children aged between 1-6 years-old. Parents, grandparents and extended family certainly looked to be enjoying special time with adored children. I personally thought there could have been one or two extra rides but that’s just me being picky. The kids loved every minute of it and have already asked if we can attend the next “Day Out With Thomas” event.

The Bellarine Heritage Railway is entirely run by volunteers who spend countless hours to ensure events like this operate smoothly and the community benefits from having extra visitors to the town. Funds from ticket sales go back into improving the railway and the rolling stock so it’s a win-win situation for all.

The next “Day Out With Thomas” on the Bellarine Peninsula is on the 2nd 3rd of January and the 16th -17th of January with tickets available online now at bellarinerailway.com.au. I recommend pre booking tickets online to avoid disappointment.

Tickets cost $22 for adults and kids aged 3 -12years, $12 for 1-3years, free for under 1’s and $85 for a family ticket.

Tickets for the Searoad Ferries are available online at www. searoad.com.au or at the terminal. A family ticket (2 adults and up to 3 children) cost $66 for return foot passengers at the time of printing.

So if your young ones enjoy trains or love Thomas and Friends then I recommend booking your tickets and spending a relaxing day on the Bellarine Peninsula. www.peninsulakids.com.au

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SUMMER ON The Mornington Peninsula SO IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN WHEN THE PENINSULA BECOMES A HIVE OF ACTIVITY. VISITORS FLOCK TO ENJOY OUR BEAUTIFUL BEACHES, FORESHORE CAMPING, LONG SUNNY DAYS, BALMY NIGHTS, BBQ’S WITH FRIENDS, GREAT CAFES AND THE MANY WINERIES THAT ARE DOTTED THROUGHOUT THE PENINSULA. BY: LORRAINE AITKEN

As locals we are spoilt for choice and are lucky to call this great place home Yet in the summer we sometimes find ourselves so busy with children, family, visiting relatives, work and the imminent return to school/kinder that instead of making the most of living in a stunning seaside area we simply forget to be a tourist in our own town. Let’s face it. Why go elsewhere over summer when over 100,000 people descend on The Mornington Peninsula to enjoy our summer playground.

HERE ARE 10 IDEAS TO GET YOU OUT AND ABOUT ENJOYING THE PENINSULA LIKE A TOURIST IN YOUR HOME TOWN. 1. Camping on the foreshore is a tradition that has spanned generations with many campers securing camping spots within the same section year in year out. I remember families from school that lived in Rosebud and holidayed on the foreshore at Rye. They returned home to collect the mail, shower and do their washing before returning to the campsite to relax, meet up with friends and enjoy life at the beach. Such a simple concept by today’s standards but something kids never get bored of.

Have a look at Point Leo camp ground, Balnarring foreshore reserve, Shoreham Beach or anywhere along the foreshore between Dromana 18

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

and Sorrento. If you want some adventure then you can hike and camp at the Lightwood Camping Area in Greens Bush (no car access or toilets and a maximum of 6 people in total but it’s free).

2. Bush walks and coastal walks offer a chance to get away from the crowds over the busy periods and give you the opportunity to discover some of the peninsula’s hidden beauty. My favourite walks include Bushrangers Bay, Fingal Beach, Baldry’s Crossing, Red Hill Rail Trail, the Millionaires walk, Two Bays Trail, Cape Schanck Boardwalk, Mt Martha Cliff Top walk and Balcombe Estuary Boardwalk along with any part of the Mornington Peninsula Costal walking trail which covers 100km in total.

3. Piers are plentiful on the peninsula and apart from enjoying a stroll along them with the family and ice creams in hand they are also very popular with people trying their luck at fishing. Get the kids a cheap fishing rod or reel and teach them to how to fish. Popular fishing spots include Flinders, Mornington, Rye, Crib Point and Portsea piers. Another good fishing spot, although not a pier, is the well stocked Devil Bend Reservoir.

4. Picnics and BBQ’s are frequently overlooked for the ease and convenience of opting for a great café but with places like Seawinds

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www.broadwayacademy.com.au or call 0409 863 617 www.peninsulakids.com.au

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Gardens at Arthurs Seat, Coolart Homestead and Wetlands, The Briars, Devil Bend Reservoir and Sorrento Park it’s worth getting the picnic rug out to soak up the great outdoors and give the kids room to run and explore.

5. Markets on the peninsula are among the best you will find with the likes of the Red Hill and Mornington craft markets each having around 300 stalls, not forgetting the special Portsea Craft market held at Point Nepean on the 17th of January. There’s also the ever popular Wednesday Mornington Street Market that operates all year round, the Mornington and Mt Eliza Farmers markets, Rosebud, Tootgarook and Boneo Primary school markets and Emu Plains to name a few.

6. Cafes, restaurants and wineries are major drawcards on the Mornington Peninsula and we deliver some of the best regional food and wine you can find. Not to mention coffee that is equal to city counterparts. Higher Ground in Mt Martha, Commonfolk and Flock in Mornington, Dee’s Kitchen in Dromana, Peninsula Pantry in Rye and Two Sams in Balnarring are all well known for their coffee. For the kids, have a look at The Hungry Peacock in Tyabb, Angus and Rose at Mt Martha and Buckley’s Chance in Sorrento.

7. Natural attractions are everywhere on the peninsula but it’s hard to go past Point Nepean on a beautiful summers day. Take a walk, hire bicycles, explore the forts and tunnels at Fort Nepean, learn about the history of the Quarantine Station and enjoy the breathtaking scenery.

Entry to Point Nepean is free and well worth the visit.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

8. Playgrounds keep young kids happy, active and outdoors.

Mornington Park at the end of Main Street has recently been upgraded with a new Playground and is located just above Mother’s Beach. Rye community playground on the foreshore was built by the community and is extremely popular with its beach theme. My favourite park on the peninsula is Sorrento Park; it boasts glorious views, lush green grass, a good wooden playground and plenty of room to move. Flinders Park is another one that has been recently upgraded and is perfect when you want to escape the summer crowds and is especially good with the Flinders Bakehouse directly opposite.

Let’s face it. Why go elsewhere over summer when over 100,000 people descend on The Mornington Peninsula to enjoy our summer playground.

9. Tourist attractions are popular and plentiful with the most renowned being the Peninsula Hot Springs followed by the Enchanted Adventure Garden, Boneo Maze, Moonlit Sanctuary, Dromana Drive In, Gunnamatta Trail Rides, Horseback Winery Tours, Ashcombe Maze, Main Ridge Dairy, Red Hill Brewery, Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm, Mornington Historic Railway, the newly opened adventure playground and farm called ‘The Big Goose’ and Dinosaur World to name a few.

10. Take time to enjoy being in the moment. Sit on the beach at Sorrento looking across the glassy blue water towards the city skyline while the sun is setting. Dive into the crystal clear waters. Feel the sun on your skin and the gentle see breeze as you listen to waves gently lapping on the shore. See the twinkling lights around the bay after the sun has gone down. Watch the brilliant sunrise atop Arthurs Seat while the rest of the peninsula is sleeping. Look across rolling vineyards towards WesternPort with eagles flying above. Be encompassed by the roar of the ocean and let your thoughts run free. Enjoy fish and chips on the beach on a balmy evening. Discover some of the hidden nature trails that lie between the bay and the ocean. Take the time to slow down and absorb the sights and sounds of this incredible part of the world that we are lucky enough to call home.

Activity Lockbox – Mamagenius $84.95 the toy work shop www.thetoyworkshop.com.au

3. Sunnylife Beach Sounds $49.95 Enchanted Child www.enchantedchild.com.au

Minti Tee Heroes $39.95 Treehouse Republic www.treehouserepublic.com.au

Lil Wendy toddler ballet flat (blue, green, pink, silver) $29.95 Wendy Holly Shoes www.wendyhollyshoes.com.au www.peninsulakids.com.au

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YOU’RE NOT A Bad Mother, YOU’RE JUST EXHAUSTED 22

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

THREE YEARS AGO, I WATCHED A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE PLAYING WITH A BUNCH OF PRESCHOOLERS AT A LOCAL PLAYGROUND. THE KIDS HUNG ON HER EVERY WORD AS SHE TOOK THEM ON AN AMAZING IMAGINARY ADVENTURE, USING A CLAPPED OUT WOODEN TOY BOAT AS THE BASE. BY: REBECCA BOWYER As I sat there with my brand new baby, watching my own two-year-old try to keep up with the bigger kids, I knew I should be smiling. I knew I should be enjoying the sight of an energetic, enthusiastic mum provoking the imaginations of our next generation. Instead I wanted to cry.

I wanted to be that mum. The mum I’d pictured that I would be. The one who made up cool stories and ran around playing with the kids.

Instead I looked forward to time at the playground because I could disengage from my toddler and let him be someone else’s responsibility for a few minutes. I could sit down and listen to adult conversation buzz around me, hopefully while the baby slept.

I felt like the worst mother in the whole world. I wasn’t. I was just exhausted.

As of today, I’ve had three consecutive uninterrupted nights of sleep. That’s more in a row than I’ve had in over five years.

I’ve been on annual leave for the past two weeks. There have been no daycare bags to pack, no work to rush off to, no pre-cooked dinners to prepare for the post-daycare feeding frenzy.

Yesterday I baked smartie cookies with my two gorgeous boys, now aged five and three. I then baked a banana loaf AND a cocoa and sultana slice. My mum, sister and niece came over and we all sat

outside in the sunshine, playing with the kids.

Today I took the boys to a local playground. I hid under the slide and growled, jumping out at them and announcing the monster had come to get them! They ran from me, laughing. When my throat got sore from growling I became the tickle monster, chasing them over the wobbly bridge and up the rope dome.

The side effects of chronic sleep deprivation are pervasive and serious. A recent study found that some of the more subtle symptoms include getting cranky, not being able to have a proper conversation without falling back on cliche’s, an inability to make decisions, eating too much junk food and getting sick all the time.

That pretty much sums up parenting small children, don’t you think?

It’s hard to be a peppy Pinterest mum, or even a halfway decent presentand-caring mum, when you’re sick and in a foul mood, can’t think of witty dialogue and are paralysed by indecision between eating the jam donut or the family block of caramello you just bought.

If you’re nodding along as you read this, fifth cup of coffee for the day in hand, rest assured – one day the kids will let you get some sleep and you’ll be able to be the exciting, imaginative mum running around the playground too. Until that day comes, cut yourself a break. You’re not a bad mother, you’re just exhausted.

Rebecca Bowyer lives in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne with her longsuffering husband and two young sons, who are both quite delightful, especially when they are smiling or sleeping. For more funny little stories about raising the little people in your life, visit: www.seeingthelighterside.com F: Seeing the Lighter Side

www.peninsulakids.com.au

23

GREAT DAYS OUT

for Little Ones!

WONDERING ABOUT SOME OF THE HIDDEN GEMS ON THE PENINSULA THAT ARE FAMILY FRIENDLY, FUN AND PACK IN A BIT OF ACTIVE LEARNING FOR ALL AGES? THE NATIONAL TRUST OWNS AND OPERATES THREE PROPERTIES ON THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA INCLUDING MULBERRY HILL IN LANGWARRIN SOUTH, MCRAE HOMESTEAD IN MCRAE, AND ENDEAVOUR FERN GULLY IN RED HILL. BY: NATIONAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA

MULBERRY HILL Former home of Joan Lindsay, author of Picnic at Hanging Rock, and her artist husband Sir Daryl, this American-colonial style home is set on 16 acres and was left with all of its contents including stunning artworks, antique furniture and even the original toilet paper to the National Trust in 1984! Bring a picnic to enjoy in the gardens, wander the gardens and bushland, or enjoy a game or croquet in the courtyard with a glass of wine for the adults.

The Mulberry Hill Christmas Twilight Festival is on 12 December, 2-7pm with an arts and crafts gift market, food, old fashioned games, children’s activities, and a concert by the winner of the 2015 Melbourne Guitar Foundation Scholarship.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

The festival will also open a preview of Return to Hanging Rock: an exhibition celebrating 40 years of Picnic at Hanging Rock which will run until 27 March 2016. Exhibition hours from 2 January – 27 March 2016: Wednesday to Sunday 11am to 3:30pm. Admission fees apply.

MCRAE HOMESTEAD Imagine a time when the town of Melbourne is only six years old and is in the state of New South Wales. It is partly a tent city and partly simple homes. A Scottish family, Georgiana and Andrew McCrae with their children, live in this young Melbourne before taking up a large tract of land, including Arthur’s Seat.

The adze axe (broad axe) that Andrew McCrae and Henry Tuck used to cut the stringybark and messmate timber up the mountain for the house is still at McCrae Homestead, along with many of Georgiana’s paintings and sketches and original pieces of furniture, objects and implements.

Experience life as a pioneer, bring a picnic to enjoy in the gardens, or wander through the visitor’s centre with educational interpretation, audio-visual material and original artefacts in the McCrae and BurrellTwycross Galleries.

Open Sundays 11am to 4pm, with guided tours at 11:30am, 1pm and 2:30pm. Admission fees apply.

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ENDEAVOUR FERN GULLY For adventurous families Endeavour Fern Gully has a 2km loop walking track with interpretive signage through bushland featuring a rare fern gully, meandering creek and a wonderful diversity of native flora and fauna. There is a fairly steep downhill approach track and the same ascent on the way back.

Endeavour Fern Gully is open daily (except on total fire ban days). Donations are appreciated.

The National Trust is a non-profit, non-government organisation that is passionate about conserving and celebrating our natural, cultural and Indigenous heritage through community engagement and encouraging volunteering across its sites.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

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27

Cleaning Up

Bad HABITS

DO YOU SPEND HALF OF YOUR DAYS CLEANING UP AFTER THE KIDS? JUGGLING THE DEMANDS OF PARENTING CAN BE HARD - BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A CIRCUS ACT. IF YOU WORK WITH YOUR CHILDREN, NOT FOR THEM, YOU’LL SAVE TIME, ENERGY AND YOUR SANITY. TEACH YOUR KIDS THESE FIVE HEALTHY HABITS TO STAY ON TRACK FOR A CLEAN AND HAPPY HOME. BY: AIRTASKER

GIVE THEM PINT-SIZED GADGETS Kids love to get their little hands on grown-up gadgets and electronics.

Have you ever met a child who didn’t want to press the elevator button or play with your phone?

That inquisitiveness is a healthy sign. Your children want to be part of the grown-up world around them. Don’t be annoyed when they try to get into your stuff.

Does your child interfere with the vacuum cleaner while you’re vacuuming? Don’t respond with a knee-jerk “No!” - instead, show them the ropes with a handheld dust buster. Let them participate in their own small way.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Invest in some miniature cleaning gadgets that your children can be in charge of. If you provide them with child-safe, kid-sized replicas, they can channel their curiousity into productive outcomes.

WRITE LISTS TOGETHER Does it sometimes feel like your pleas for help around the house fall on deaf ears? Barking out orders is not the best way to mobilise the kids to get things done.

Try sitting down with them and writing a to-do list together. This simple exercise is very effective - it benefits them in more ways than one.

Firstly, it gives them a clear sense of the scale of the chores that need to be done. When they see the list in its entirety, they develop a deeper appreciation of the work involved in keeping the house tidy.

The list-writing practice is also a great literacy exercise that expands their vocabulary and improves their spelling. And lastly, the collaborative nature of the exercise gives the children a sense of participation, which will motivate them to contribute as a member of a team.

PUT SOME FUN INTO PACKING UP Nothing beats those magic moments when the kids are engrossed in playtime. But when playtime is over, don’t get into the habit of automatically clearing away the toys.

Never assume that children don’t have the will or skill to tidy up after themselves. If you inject some fun into the process, they will embrace it as a regular part of play.

A colour-coded storage system is a great way to make tidying up more fun. Fill a low shelf on your bookcase with bright coloured boxes.

When it’s time to pack up, choose a colour, say red, and have them return all the red toys to the red box. Or assign each child a different colour and give a prize to whoever finishes first.

If you prefer to arrange toys by category, label the boxes with words or pictures, and teach the children where each toy ‘lives’. Packing up should be just as much fun as completing a jigsaw puzzle.

SET DEADLINES There’s nothing like the pressure of a deadline to ensure that things get done.

This principle is not just reserved for adults; the same applies to children.

When assigning chores for your children, be realistic in your expectations and give them a specific timeframe to get the job done.

If they meet their targets, you can reward them with treats. Often, the simple satisfaction of ‘winning’ tends to be the best incentive.

Set the oven timer so that they feel a sense of urgency to finish before the buzzer sounds. Or one child can act as a human stopwatch, counting down the seconds while the other does their chores.

continued....

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29

DISCOVER THEIR SUPERPOWERS Whether dressing up as superheroes, or having imaginary conversations with dolls, most children love to get in character and role-play. By performing different identities, they learn who they are and who they want to be.

That enthusiasm for role-play doesn’t need to be just a playful thing - it can be redirected into something productive. To convince the kids to help with the housework, entice them to do their chores ‘in character’.

Encourage them to use their character’s skills or superpowers to do chores like a true household hero. Each of them should have a signature task that somehow reflects their character. If your daughter wants to be Dora, perhaps she can explore the floor and make dust bunnies disappear with her magic pan and brush.

Katie is a blogger, digital marketing specialist and community manager for Airtasker, a community based marketplace. Katie is a great cook and also enjoys interior design, especially DIY. Living next to the beach, she’s always there (on weekends) swimming, catching up with friends or volunteering as a lifesaver. www.airtasker.com

A colour-coded storage system is a great way to make tidying up more fun.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

WToys that bring back happy childhood memories. Toys like, e want you and your children to enjoy good quality toys.

Spinning Tops, Jack in The Boxes, Kaleidoscopes, Pop Guns, or Just a Bag of Wooden Blocks.

We want your toys to last and to give you smiles and happiness every time you play with them. We hope that some of our toys will encourage Mum and Dad and Nan and Pop to play and laugh together and most of all we hope that you remember where you got your toys and keep coming back for more.

Toys are more than simple amusement, they and the ways that they are used, profoundly influence many aspects of life. Like play itself, toys serve multiple purposes in humans. They provide entertainment while fulfilling an educational role.

Toys enhance cognitive behavior and stimulate creativity. They aid in the development of physical and mental skills which are necessary in later life. Toys positively impact the physical development, cognitive development, emotional development, and social development of children.

Come and visit us at the Toy Workshop in Sorrento and see our wonderful toys. Be greeted by friendly knowledgeable staff, who more than anything want to help you and see you leave with a big smile‌.

The Toy Workshop is now located in Hawthorn and Berwick.

Come and visit us there and enjoy a truly wonderful shopping experience.

3 great locations or online www.thetoyworkshop.com.au 66 High St, BERWICK ph 9796 1281

747 Glenferrie Rd, HAWTHORN ph: 9973 2146

1 George St, SORRENTO ph 5984 4227 www.peninsulakids.com.au

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FRANKSTON Waterfront

FRANKSTON IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE GATEWAY OF THE PENINSULA DUE TO ITS GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND HAS BEEN A POPULAR SEASIDE DESTINATION FOR MELBOURNIANS SINCE AS FAR BACK AS THE MID 1880’S. SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY FRANKSTON GAINED AN UNDESIRABLE REPUTATION, BUT PEOPLE’S PERCEPTIONS ARE CHANGING AND VISITORS ARE FLOCKING TO THE WATERFRONT THANKS IN PART TO EASTLINK AND PENINSULA LINK IMPROVING THE ACCESSIBILITY FROM THE CITY AND SURROUNDING SUBURBS AND BECAUSE OF THE WORK THE FRANKSTON COUNCIL HAVE DONE TO PROMOTE, ENHANCE AND IMPROVE THE AREA. BY: LORRAINE AITKEN

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Frankston beach has previously been claimed as being Victoria’s most frequented beach by the Herald Sun and along with that impressive title has also won two awards for Victoria’s cleanest beach. So with that in mind I thought it was time to head out to the Frankston Foreshore and see what has happened since I was last there and what’s on offer to draw families to the waterfront.

For anyone with children it’s difficult to go past the playground for obvious reasons. It’s large, has interesting shapes that are designed to look like sandcastles emerging from the beach and washing away into the waves, plenty of colours and the fact it’s visible from the road makes it impossible to secretly pass when attempting to opt for a leisurely stroll along the foreshore. But why would you want to pass the playground when there is so much fun to be had? The playground boasts six swings, a net swing, a large sand pit, three play zones, a wooden boat, a tunnel slide, two wave slides, monkey bars with lots of climbing, ramps, chain bridges, flying foxes and a liberty swing.

Some of the play equipment is located under shade sails as are the BBQ’s and picnic tables. There is plenty of lush grass perfect to lay a picnic rug out on and importantly there is a fence separating the Nepean Hwy and the playground. An automated toilet is located adjacent to the play equipment.

The playground is a good size with plenty of seating. The equipment is all in reasonably good condition, the BBQ area is excellent but one drawback for me personally is the ticketed parking at $3 per hour. I just find it difficult with four children to keep them calm long enough to give me time to scrounge up the change, take them all to find a ticket machine, return to the car with ticket before diligently watching them all on the play equipment while keeping an eye on the time. At least Frankston council residents could receive a complimentary parking pass. Finding a car park can be difficult on a sunny weekend but mid-week is much easier.

While you’re there take the kids for a stroll along the waterfront and the 500m Frankston Pier which was originally built in 1857 for the small fishing village which at the time only had around 30 residents. Since that time the pier has undergone many extensions and repairs and remains a local landmark. In mid-2000 the Frankston council built a 30m pedestrian bridge over the Kananook Creek and upgraded walking trails which has not only made it more visibly appealing but many people can be seen out running, walking and enjoying the foreshore which is great to see. Currently a $7.5 million dollar yacht club is being built on the right hand side of the pedestrian bridge that will look fantastic once completed. Next to the pier you will find Sophia’s restaurant which has a large menu that includes pizzas, pasta, seafood,

steak and all the usual offerings as well as a kids menu in a relaxed setting. Behind the restaurant is the award winning Frankston visitor information centre which was inducted into the hall of fame in 2014 after winning Victorian and Australian tourism awards from 2012-2014.

The standout of course is the natural attraction; the beach, which has long stretches of clear, shallow water and soft sand that provides a safe swimming area for young and old and is often where you will find local triathletes training in the mornings and evenings.

For four months of the year from Dec 26th 2015 to April 25th 2016 you will find Sand Sculpting Australia at Frankston waterfront with this year’s theme being ‘A Day at the Zoo’. This is an annual event that sees 20 of the world’s finest sculptors create life-size sand sculptures from 3,500 tonnes of sand. A family ticket is $42. For more information google visitfrankston.com/sand-sculpting. Another popular event is the Frankston Waterfront Festival which will be held on the 16th and 17th of January 2016 from 11am both days with live music, market stalls, beach activities, water sports, food, wine and more. Admission to the festival is free but rides and food cost extra.

So why not head down to Frankston Waterfront this summer to see why so many visitors are enjoying the foreshore. www.peninsulakids.com.au

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Capezio Kalina Tank Top $36.95 Boycut Lowrise Short $19.95 www.capezio.com.au

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Model Hamish Sudo His Majesty Tee $39.95 Sudo Fracture Denim Short $64.95 Model Kennedy Sudo Tambourine Playsuit $69.95 www.treehouserepublic.com.au

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Model Tyler Huxbaby Drop Back Singlet Cross $40.00 Huxbaby High Cuff Pants $44.00 Vans 2 Tone $59.95 www.treehouserepublic.com.au

Model Evie Littlehorn Triangles Pocket Dress $49.95 www.treehouserepublic.com.au

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Billabong Logo L/S Suntop $29.99 FWidX Boardshort $59.99 Spinner Reversible Hat $25.99 www.swimweargalore.com.au

Model Evie Seafolly Chaser Tank $59.95 Toshi Spot Cynthia Sunhat $34.99 www.swimweargalore.com.au

Model Hamish Tiger Joe Cosmic Jungle S/S Suntop $49.95 Mash Up Euroleg Trunk $29.95 Squids Sunnies $39.95 www.swimweargalore.com.au

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Credits Capezio Dancewear

12-14 Milgate Drive, Mornington Ph: 5975 0266 www.capezio.com

meohmii

Location

Mornington Park

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Cameron McCullough

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Melissa McCullough

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Treehouse Republic

Bentons Square Shopping Centre 21/210 Dunns Rd, Mornington Ph: 5975 4350 www.treehouserepublic.com.au

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Model Chase Scream singlet $34.95 Summer Safari shorts $44.95 Model Kennedy I Heart Summer dress $39.95 Model Axel Lolly Pop! singlet $34.95 Surfs Up shorts $49.95 Model Evie Summer Storm dress $39.95 www.meohmii.com

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

The Christmas Tree Farm is a family owned and operated business located in Moorooduc on the Mornington Peninsula.

Established over 34 years ago it is the original Christmas Tree Farm in the area and has an unrivalled reputation for superb quality trees.

A visit to the farm offers a truly unique family experience including choosing your special Christmas tree from the great range of trees and browsing through the decoration shop. On weekends customers can visit Santa, take a ride on the tractor or enjoy a sausage and a refreshment from the community barbecue.

1680 Stumpy Gully Road Moorooduc, VIC, 3933 www.thechristmastreefarm.com.au Ph: 03 5977 5822 Open 23 November Monday - Friday 9:00am - 7:00pm Saturday - Sunday 9:00am - 5:00pm

Mention this ad to receive complimentary baling of you christmas tre r e!

“It’s not Christmas without a real tree”

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• 3

• TIMES THE FUN 42

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

BY: MELISSA WALSH A year ago Mt Martha couple Leah and Ben had no idea that their world would soon be turned upside down. The 23 year olds were living at Ben’s parents and saving madly for an overseas trip. But, as John Lennon said ‘life’s what happens while you’re busy making other plans’ and before they knew it they found out Leah was expecting a baby. Well that’s what they thought at first but at Leah’s six-week check-up the obstetrician said she was actually pregnant with twins. Two weeks later, they found out it was triplets. Now the family of two is a family of five, with their six-month-old triplets, Byron, Chevy and Reef born on April 28.

“The whole thing has been a whirlwind from start to finish,” said bubbly blonde Leah, of the crazy ride she and Ben have found themselves on. “The pregnancy was a complete surprise but one that we were so happy about. We were ready to be parents but having three at once has been full on.”

Carrying three babies meant that Leah would start showing very quickly.

By the time she was 10 weeks she had a definite belly, and at 15 weeks, looked very pregnant.

“At 19 weeks, the weight of the pregnancy and carrying three babies started to take its toll. I was having strong Braxton hicks contractions and other issues. My body had already started to break down,” said Leah, explaining that they were always aware that although she had conceived three babies, it was highly possible not all of them would survive.

“I was hospitalised around that time for a few days because I was having small contractions. As soon as I got out I finished up at work.

I spent time resting around the house in between lots of doctors and hospital visits. When you have multiple births like this, you have to be monitored regularly so I was often at the Bays Hospital seeing my obstetrician, although I was always going to deliver at Monash Medical Centre,” she said.

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At 28 weeks, Leah woke up and had lost a lot of fluid. Her membrane had ruptured and it was highly likely labour would not be far behind.

“I was at the Bays Hospital in Mornington and quickly transferred to Monash Medical Centre where I was given steroids for the boys’ lungs.

I was three centimetres dilated, and Byron had already started to descend the birth canal so we knew that he had to be born naturally.

I lasted for two weeks and five days longer and then woke up one morning at 9am and had gone into labour,” she said. “It all happened so quickly. They took me into the delivery suite and at 10.40am Byron was born, weighing 1300 grams. There were surgeons on standby for a caesarean section for the other two but my obstetrician, Kelly Griffin, was there and was able to deliver them naturally,” said Leah.

Twelve minutes later, Chevy was born, weighing 1720 grams, and getting stuck on the way, which fractured his humerus. Within three more minutes, the youngest, Reef was born at 1543 grams.

After seven weeks, the babies were home from hospital and soon days and nights became a blur of nappies, feeds, sleeps and cuddles.

“We go through about 20 nappies a day, and about 18 bottles although they have started on solids now and that’s an interesting time trying to spoon feed three babies,” she says with a laugh.

When the couple first got the babies home, they were so used to the sound of monitors in the hospital they needed noise to settle.

“Ben and I decided to set their cot up in the lounge room with a light on and music on the tv,” said Leah. “The three of them slept in the one cot and they loved it.”

While the dream of London and travel is a far way off at the moment, Leah says they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We are so happy with our babies, watching them grow and seeing their different personalities. Byron and Chevy smile and laugh all the time, while Reef is a lot more serious. I know this is not what we had planned but I wouldn’t change a thing.

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WHY STILL I PRINTLOVE PHOT ING OS

THE AGE OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY HAS MADE IT SO EASY FOR US TO CAPTURE MOMENTS IN PHOTOS AND VIDEOS. I LOVE WHAT I CAN DO TO CREATE VIDEO STORIES BUT…......

BY: ALISON LAVERTY I love printing photos to place in a frame or canvas and give it a special place in my home.

I personally love to hold a printed photo in my hand because not only is it proof of my captured moment but also the colour prints are fabulous.

Hanging a photo in my home gives it a warm emotional glow, a sense of belonging to a wonderful family.

There are so many ways I can think of to mark my home with the many dynamic characters that have passed through my life.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Do you still print photos?

3

WAYS TO MAKE YOUR HOUSE A HOME FILL IT WITH WARMTH

PHOTO FRAMES

I love them on my desk, on my walls because I can choose my favourite photos that not only capture the memories but also binds my emotional experience attached to them. Tip: Choose only the best photos for this.

BLACK AND WHITE CANVASES I am hoping to capture a moment on photo of my young children and get them on canvas because it seals my memory of their innocence before they are all grown up. Tip: Choose a photo from a time that you want to always remember.

PHOTO BOARDS What is a photo board? For me, it is just a board or a frame where I can just add any photo I want of my past or a current photo of my children, or of my friends anytime. As all my photos have been digitized onto my computer for backup, I have no worries that I can search them and print them should they fade or get damaged. These old photographs reflect a moment that I want to remember so I paste it on my photo board. Tip: You can mix old photographs to have before and after shots or add torn and worn out photos to give the board a nostalgic feel to it. I also suggest you consider scanning all your old photos into a digital file for backup.

Photos are captured moments that tell our story and reminds us of what it felt like as to when and why we took them. Do not let them be kept away in a box or lose them because you lose a part of your identity and the story of how you have grown to become the person you are now. Your photos tell a story about YOU! www.peninsulakids.com.au

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PREVENTING

Brain Atrophy

e v a le y it n r e t a while on m BY: REBECCA BOWYER When I was four months pregnant with Son #1 I had a minor meltdown. What was going to happen to my career? I would probably work part time for up to ten years, how could I possibly progress up the corporate ladder? I was going to be stuck at home changing nappies and watching Play School, cleaning up spew, oh god, what had I done? Was it too late to arrange adoption?

Then baby kicked for the first time and I relaxed. Career? What career? Who cared? I was creating a new life. I was going to be a MUM. But the fear of my brain turning to mush endured so I arranged a subscription to The Economist for the duration of my maternity leave.

When pregnant with Son #2 I had learned my lesson (seriously, who can form an opinion about whether digital currency will replace the dollar in global trade on two hours sleep?). I dialled down my expectations: I subscribed to Time magazine instead. It was read with unbridled enthusiasm for my first six weeks of maternity leave – you know, the bit where you leave your first child in daycare three days a week and lie around and do absolutely nothing because (you think) you know what’s coming.

By the time Son #2 was six weeks old, Son #1 was practising his scissor skills on the US Presidential candidate’s heads. I cancelled the subscription.

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When Son #2 was five months old he self-weaned and I was free to re-join the adult evening social world. I went out to dinner with friends who also had small children. We would start out with lofty ambitions of “not talking about the kids”. Somehow a discussion of Japanese whaling and the Australian government’s treatment of the latest Sea Shepherd incident morphed into “and I was cleaning vomit off the highchair and my two year old said to me ‘and then it go in sink and down drain and out to ocean and dolphin eat it’”. Which was hilarious. But slightly off-topic.

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. I consider Son #1 to be highly intelligent (after all, I did read the Economist to him for the first eight months of his life, until he figured out how to crawl away from me) so I tried exercising my grey matter on him. I picked a topic close to his heart as, after all, he won’t be three for another month or so.

Me: So, honey, do you think 24-hour government funded childcare is a waste of taxpayers money, or an important policy to provide equal access to flexible work options for all Australians?

Son #1 (head cocked to one side, intense concentration screwing up his little face): Silly Mummy!

Yes, silly Mummy indeed.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

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“Mum, I’m bored”

ENCOURAGING UNSTRUCTURED

SCHOOL HOLIDAY

ANOTHER ROUND OF SCHOOL HOLIDAYS IS ALMOST UPON US. I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW FAST THE YEAR IS FLYING BY!

PLAY

BY: ERIKA ATWILL While some parents dread the weeks that lie ahead, I absolutely love the break to the routine of school drop off, pick up and weekly after school activities.

Many studies and parenting professionals remind us of the importance of not over-scheduling our children’s lives.

The school holidays provide my children, and myself, with some much needed time just to breathe and refuel from the busyness of the term behind us.

One of the greatest ways to do this – and keep boredom at bay – is through unstructured, imaginative play.

A fond memory I have is of my six-year-old daughter collecting flowers, leaves, sticks and small rocks while we headed out for a walk after school the other day. But she didn’t just leave it there. When she got home she created a beautiful artwork using the items she had collected that day.

It is this type of activity that needs to be incorporated more into our children’s lives.

So if your kids are crying out “Mum, I’m bored” these school holidays, here are some ideas for unstructured play and activities that you could suggest, then let them take over and use their own imagination!

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

NATURE’S PLAYGROUND encourage your children to wander around the backyard collecting flowers, leaves and other items. Take the time to stop and really watch insects and wildlife at work in the environment. Maybe your children will be inspired to use the special items they have collected in their play later in the day or the week.

GET BAKING Let the kids choose a recipe to bake then enjoy a lovely afternoon tea together or even head out on a picnic.

HEAD TO YOUR LOCAL PARK Many playgrounds these days are so much more than just a swing, slide and see-saw. They really encourage your children to use their imagination while also keeping active.

HIDE AND SEEK Played inside or out, this is simple but great fun! You never know, your children might discover an old, forgotten toy in a hiding place along the way to keep their playtime going.

CREATE A PERFORMANCE Let the kids dress up and put on a dance, singing or magic show. There’s bound to be plenty of laughter and memorymaking moments.

We are all about keeping kids entertained and sneakily educated!

We design and sell themed kits that educate, entertain and keep kids busy for hours Our boxes make a great gift for kids anywhere in Australia. Have a box delivered to your niece, nephew, grandchildren living far away without leaving the computer.

Kids Activities Delivered is exactly what it promises – great themed activities delivered right to your door!

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PLAY BOARD, CARD OR PAPER GAMES Turn off the screens and pull out a game of snap, Uno, Scrabble, Monopoly or whatever else you have at home. They could even use some paper or a chalkboard to play a game of Tic Tac Toe or Hangman.

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GO FOR A WALK OR A BIKE RIDE The warmer weather is the perfect opportunity to discover your local bike or walking trail, get some fresh air and enjoy nearby park or bushland.

BUILD A CUBBY HOUSE Pull out the spare blankets, grab some chairs or use the table to create a cosy place to read, play or draw.

BACKYARD OBSTACLE COURSE Use items from around the home to create a series of challenges to get the kids moving. Older children could even use a stopwatch to time themselves if they want to speed things up a little.

Ultimately, this list is only limited by your children’s imagination … but hopefully it has provided some inspiration to help you guide them in the right direction and towards hours of school holiday entertainment.

Erika is a Melbourne-based freelance writer, editor, blogger and communications specialist. She is a mum to three beautiful children and recently made a major decision to leave full time work to spend more time with her family. She shares this personal and parenting journey through her blog Everchanging Life of a Mum at www.everchangingmum.com.au www.peninsulakids.com.au

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HOW TO

STOP Yelling TO GET YOUR KIDS TO CO-OPERATE

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

IF YOU ARE A YELLER YOU MIGHT ALREADY HAVE DISCOVERED THAT IT REALLY DOESN’T GETS YOUR KIDS CO-OPERATION. HERE ARE SOME WAYS YOU CAN BEGIN TO STOP YELLING SO YOU AND YOUR KIDS CAN LIVE TOGETHER WITHOUT DRIVING EACH OTHER CRAZY.

BY ROSIE BELL •Educate yourself. By discovering more about yourself so you build your resources, strengthen your capacity and excavate alternate ways of managing children’s behaviour. This includes using a parent coach and getting support for yourself.

•Delete drama from your life. It only robes your time and emotional stability. Learn how to live above the line, with new positive strategies.

Begin to check yourself with “Think - Stop - do” to redirect and contain your feelings so you respond differently.

•Get help to help yourself let go of past fears, hurts and negative brain pathways. Nuero Linguistic Programming can be very helpful for repatterning sadness, hurt, fear or anger.

•Find practical ways of self-soothing including breathing, visualisation and meditation you can do quickly anywhere. Regularly take stock of your stress level and create awareness of how this impacts on your family wellbeing.

•Discover what your body is telling you. Keep a chart of your emotions for 21 days and discover what it tells you. You can do this for your child too. Then decide what you need to do to either maintain positive emotions or reduce negative ones. Recognise the warning signs. Emotions cause tightness in your chest, heaviness and slow movements, you could get shaky or experience negative gut feelings. Listen to the words coming out of your mouth, your tone and the volume of your voice.

Notice what you see when you loose it – what do you observe in your child, what emotion is mirrored back to you. How does yelling expand tension or allow anger in. Get help from a coach to see hear and feel what is going on within you and your child. Talk to a professional or doctor about your mental health if you need to because you deserve to make life easier.

•Confront your ghost from the past. Look rationally with adult eyes at your fears and left over emotional baggage from how you were parented. If that was not an issue for you ignore this. If it is an issue then decide to move forward. This is not an attack on your parents but things have changed. The world raises children differently now.

•Begin to see the situation from the bigger picture – take yourself out of the particular tense situation that causes yelling and ask what can be done prior to avoid the rush, the disorganisation the squeeze on everyone that leads to melt down. A coach can help you gain clarity here.

•Avoid power struggles or power over a child because no one wins with this. Instead of getting the result you want you will be building deep and destructive behaviours that could lead to abuse of either yourself or your child.

•Build up your relationship to help increase your child’s security and your family level of comfort. This almost always results in everyone wanting to work together and please each other.

•Let go of stress learn to live with deliberate intention. Stick with what is real rather than imagined. Discover how to use visualisation, affirmations and forward planning. Decide on a mantra to use when you feel under pressure that will return you to your plan when you find yourself beginning a meltdown. For example you could say:

I have everything within me to cope calmly with the situation Build your strengths using NLP. For example discover how to step into a circle of power, set positive anchors or break negative anchors from the past that will change how you think, feel and act.

Rosie’s passion is to support families to be the best they can be. She helps overstretched parents who are wearing themselves thin caught between the demands of raising a family, building a career and maintaining a long lasting adult relationship. Find out more or book a skype coaching session at www.seethelighttransformation.com

www.peninsulakids.com.au

51

focus on

summer Safety Shallow Water BLACKOUT JACK DROWNED, THEN WE LEARNT THAT BREATHHOLDING CAN KILL SWIMMERS BY: WWW.SHALLOWWATERBLACKOUT.ORG The fateful that is forever replayed in my mind. It’s lunchtime, Tuesday 29th January 2013, when I receive a call at work regarding my nephew. “Jack’s been pulled from the bottom of the pool, he’s not breathing” my husband cries down the phone. I fall to the floor in shock. How does a 12-year-old-boy who can swim, drown in a metre of water? “Two more laps” Jack said to his mum as she got his sisters out the pool. The next moment in the silence, she noticed he was in the shallow end appearing to be breath-holding. An overwhelming sensation told her ‘somethings not right’. She jumped in and pulled him from the pool unresponsive and commenced CPR. Paramedics were flown in, sadly after over an hour, Jack was pronounced dead.

Unfortunately like most swimmers, Jack wasn’t aware of the dangers of holding his breath and repeatedly swimming laps under water. Like most families, we had never heard of Shallow Water Blackout so we didn’t know how to guard against it.

Shallow Water Blackout, SWB, occurs when a person faints while swimming underwater due to prolonged breath-holding. Oxygen levels in the body drop faster than carbon dioxide levels can rise, this suppresses the brain’s automatic breathing reflex, so the swimmer doesn’t realise they need to surface for air. As a result, the un-warned swimmer loses consciousness, and if not rescued immediately, death can occur quickly and silently. It is more common than reported, many fatal and non-fatal drownings are inaccurately recorded as ‘general drowning’. Lack of awareness in turn, leads to people dismissing important safety warnings.

Sadly, drowning’s will increase over the summer due to many not having rules and safety measures in place. 22nd to 28th November was National Energy Australia SwimSAFER week. The objective is to highlight water safety messages. We hope you take the opportunity to continue the conversation about the dangers of long breath holding in the hope that this important message is shared throughout the community. We want to protect other families from experiencing our tragedy, because SWB is preventable.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

SWB OCCURS FROM UNDERWATER BREATH-HOLDING, GAMES TO HYPOXIC TRAINING • IN ANY BODY OF WATER UP TO FIVE METRES DEEP EVEN UNDER SUPERVISION • WITHOUT WARNING, FROM HYPERVENTILATING OR EXERTION • FIT, ELITE SWIMMERS MOST LIKELY AT RISK • DURING CONTINUOUS, REPETITIVE OR COMPETITIVE BREATH-HOLDING

HOW TO PREVENT SWB • NEVER SWIM ALONE OR HYPERVENTILATE BEFORE A BREATH HOLD • AVOID CONTINUOUS, REPETITIVE AND COMPETITIVE PROLONGED BREATH-HOLDING • MINIMISE EXERTION AND PUSHING YOUR LIMITS • ENSURE YOU ARE AWARE OF SWB AND THE DANGERS IT POSES • DISCOURAGE HYPOXIC TRAINING • ACTIVELY SUPERVISE AND KEEP WATCH - ALL AGES • PURCHASE A YELLOW WARNING SIGN SAFER RULE OF THUMB: • ONE BREATH HOLD, ONE SHORT LAP, ONE TIME ONLY, REST This information is not intended to cause panic among parents or swimmers. We encourage you to enjoy the water over summer, but remember to be safe and sensible. Parents, no matter what age or how well they swim, supervision should be a priority when your kids are in the pool.

For more information, go to: www.shallowwaterblackout.org or Facebook: ‘Shallow Water Blackout SWB’

www.peninsulakids.com.au

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A good ‘summer uniform’ also needs a hat. After all, ‘no hat, play in the shade’ isn’t just a rule that should be enforced at school. Find a broadbrimmed or bucket hat that shades the face, neck, ears and eyes.

Finish the look with sunglasses. They don’t need to be expensive, just make sure the they meet the Australian Standard (1067:2003) for sunglasses by checking the swing tag states either category 2,3 or 4.

Stock up on sunscreen If you haven’t already dug your sunscreen out of the bathroom cabinet, now is the time. Check the expiry date to make sure it’s still ok to use and make sure the label states the protection as SPF30 or higher, broadspectrum and water-resistant.

DON’T LET SUN

PROTECTION SLIP OFF THE AGENDA THIS

summer

BY: CANCER COUNCIL VINCOTIA

IT’S ALMOST TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE TO THE ROUTINE OF PICK-UPS AND DROP-OFFS AND PACK THE SCHOOL BAGS AND KINDER CLOTHES AWAY. TIME TO FOCUS ON GETTING OUT AND ABOUT WITH THE FAMILY TO ENJOY THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS. But there’s one habit from schools and pre-schools to keep on the routine – being SunSmart.

You’ll need to slop this on each family member at least 20 minutes before going outdoors and re-apply it every two hours, so make sure you’re not relying on one tube to cover everybody!

Many children don’t like the ‘sticky feel’ of sunscreen. Encourage them to choose one they do like by testing a few at your pharmacy.

Choosing a sunscreen that’s easy to apply – a roll-on or pump pack, for example – will also make sunscreen application less of a chore.

Why not make sunscreen application fun by using the calculator on the free SunSmart app to help children work out how much sunscreen they need to apply?

Set the standard for your children Did you know Australian children are 16 times more likely to apply sunscreen if their parents do? If you get slipping, slopping and slapping, you’ll be helping to ingrain those SunSmart habits in your children.

Shady play When you’re out and about look for shady places to play or take shade with you such as a beach umbrella or canopy. Although you’re in the shade, you’ll still need hats, covering clothing and sunscreen.

Check the sun protection times

You can’t see or feel UV so don’t rely on your senses for sun protection.

Even if the weather is cool or cloudy, UV levels can still be high. Check The summer holidays are always guaranteed to include barbecues, swims, the daily sun protection times for your area by downloading the free flies, hot sunny days and high UV. UV, or ultraviolet radiation, is that part SunSmart app so you know when you need to be safe in the sun. of the sun that can damage the skin and eyes and cause skin cancer – something we definitely don’t want to include in the holiday program.

The good news is skin cancer is one of the most preventable cancers.

The steps you take today can help protect from future skin cancer risk.

Get your summer uniform ready No, we’re not talking about putting the family in matching t-shirts!

Think about your children’s summer wardrobe. Do they have tops with elbow-length sleeves or collars? Have you thought about layers? A cute t-shirt under a strappy dress or singlet? By covering skin with clothing, half the work is done.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

To find out more about preventing skin cancer and helping your family to be SunSmart, visit sunsmart.com.au

WE HAVE Summer SORTED!

Get social with us!

Water Bomb Kit! Huge Range of Peppa Pig Swim available!

Baby Inflatable Flamingo Under Water Camera

Kids Beach Chair

Show this ad in store to receive a 10% discount or use the code KIDSSUMMER15 online at the checkout. Valid until 01/03/16.

Your local stores: Mornington 901 Nepean Hwy | Sorrento 131 Ocean Beach Rd Victoria store locations: Fitzroy | Malvern | Cheltenham | Geelong or shop online at www.swimweargalore.com.au www.peninsulakids.com.au

55

SAFER, SMARTER, STRONGER SWIMMING SEASON!

Swimming, splashing, wading, bathing – it’s part of nearly every Aussie childhood, whether in the backyard pool, at the beach or in our abundant aquatic offerings.

But there is a serious side to this popular pastime … drowning.

Sadly, accidental childhood drowning claims more young Australian lives, than any other trauma; in 2013/2014, 26 children under the age of five, drowned in Australian waterways – six more than the previous year. Nine additional children aged five to 14, also tragically drowned.

“Swimming is more than just a hobby, it’s a national treasure, and it’s a rite of passage for every Aussie, especially in a country like ours, where water is everywhere,” said Swim Australia CEO, Ross Gage.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Swim Australia are the learn-to-swim experts and national swim school authority. They say although accidents can and do happen, even to those who know how to swim, the risk of drowning can be drastically reduced, through early introduction to the water, year-round lessons and on-going swim education.

Such education includes ensuring the whole family understands and constantly applies the FOUR “Layers of Protection” together, whenever in or around water.

continued....

“DROWNING NEVER TAKES A BREAK, EVEN DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON” 1. BE AWARE: Don’t let the kids out of your sight. 3. BE CONFIDENT: Learn to swim and how to All non-swimmers and children under five, must be supervised and within arm’s reach of an active adult.

2. BE SECURE: Keep fences and gates locked

up tight. Barriers must be maintained and meet regulations. Climbing aides must be removed from around barriers.

FOUR LAYERS OF PROTECTION

get to safety. Swimming lessons are advised, year round. However, water confidence should never be substituted for proper supervision and barriers.

4. BE PREPARED: Always have a plan in case

of emergency. Have an emergency action plan in place in the event of an accident. Check the pool, other waterways and aquatic hazards first - including neighbouring properties - if a child is missing, then inspect bedrooms, cupboards and other hiding places etc.

4 and 5 month olds

We invite you to join us at Kingswim Mornington on Wednesday from 12:00 midday - 12:30pm and Saturday from 11:45am - 12:15pm for Baby Play (experienced infant aquatic instructor available both days).

These water play session times are set aside specifically for mums, dads and babies aged from 3-6 months old. You might even like to bring grandma, or meet up with your mothers group!

Use this special time to connect with other parents and babies in your local community who also share your passion for water play. Please feel free to use our kitchen facilities and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee on us after your session!

The Swordy Tots program provides children aged 4 months to 3 years and their parents with an introduction to the aquatic environment through fun activities that focus on water awareness, mobility and safety.

Book before the end of February to take advantage of this free swim opportunity.

9782 9444 | 149 Hall Road | Carrum Downs

Kingswim Mornington 2 St Catherines Court Mornington 3931 www.kingswim.com.au www.peninsulakids.com.au

57

“Applying these four simple Layers together, and at all times, can help make you, your kids and Australian families, SAFER, when in and around any body of water,” Mr Gage said.

“Drowning NEVER takes a break, even during the holiday season.

It’s absolutely vital to ensure adults remember to apply every safety measure, not just by the pool, but when the kids are playing in and around creeks, streams, paddles pools and of course, the beach,” Mr Gage added.

Swim Australia says, a good way to swim safer at the beach, is to remember the acronym:-

F.L.A.G.S:

F – Find the red and yellow flags and swim between them; L – Look at, understand and obey the safety signs; A – Ask a lifeguard or lifesaver for advice before you enter the water; G – Get a friend to swim with you; S – Stick your hand up, stay calm, and call for help if you get into trouble.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

“WHILE WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE LIFEGUARDS AND LIFESAVERS HELPING PATROL MANY OF OUR SANDY STRETCHES, IT’S ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO REMEMBER SOME SIMPLE SAFETY STEPS TO HELP THE FAMILY SWIM SAFER!” For more information visit www.swimaustralia.org.au. To locate your closest Swim Australia Registered Swim School, jump on the Swim Australia website and look for the ‘Find Your Local Swim School’ tab on the homepage.

ADVERTISEMENT

PELICAN PARK BACKS THE STATE GOVERNMENT PUSH TO MAKE SWIMMING LESSONS COMPULSORY Sports Minister John Eren MP and Opposition Leader Matthew Guy have backed the call for compulsory swimming lessons as part of state schools curriculum. “We are very conscious of the fact there’s always more to do but we’ve invested heavily (in water safety),” he said.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy said compulsory lessons would be “a good step forward”. Pelican Parks CEO has also backed this push to introduce mandatory swimming lessons in all primary schools after the drowning deaths of 79 kids in Victoria in the last decade. With reports of the amount of drownings in Victoria and statistics showing the level of swim and water safety ability of our young people is too low, Pelican Park Recreation Centre is campaigning to support Life Saving Victoria campaign to reduce drownings and increase the level of children’s swimming ability within our community.

Last year Pelican Park Recreation Centre reviewed the swim lessons criteria and launched “WET skills 4 life’. Water safety skills were formalised in each level of the ‘WET Skills for Life’ program. The water safety skills expectations are part of the swim school’s curriculum. The ‘WET Skills for Life’ program will focus more on water safety and survival skills and continue to teach technique of swimming strokes and endurance, while still incorporating competiveness in the Swim Club training.

Pelican Park currently has 950 students in 219 classes. The classes range from 6 month to performance squad. Up to 10 local schools, with a visitation of 4,000, participate in swimming programs over each year at both Pelican Park and Crib Point Pool. “The number of schools participating has not decreased over the past five years however the number of students partaking in the program has dropped, predominantly due to financial hardship of parents” said Centre Manager of Pelican Park Miranda Markovic. “We have a discounted fee for the school programs and the lessons are less than half the cost of the after school program to ensure kids aren’t denied access”. Due to the decline of students partaking in school swimming programs the benchmark swim level at the end of primary school age will continue to decline.

To help increase water safety awareness Pelican Park will be partaking in the water safety week which will run for a full week at the beginning of December and all swim lesson members and parents will be involved. “This is an important week on the calendar which gives us the time to concentrate on teaching and educating swimmers and parents all aspects of water safety and awareness around water”.

For more information please visit mornpen.vic.gov.au/pelicanpark. www.peninsulakids.com.au

59

Celebrate

Art PARTY

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

CREDIT Michele Cleaver M: 0417 425 116 www.colouryourworldart.com

Ideas for A ART Party Grab some inexpensive t-shirts or have your guests bring an old one from home to make their own smocks! Use fabric markers for quick drying.

Instead of goodie bags filled with sweets, fill bags with paint brushes, crayons, stickers and paper.

Fill fruit trays with a rainbow of colours - strawberries, oranges, pineapple, honeydew, blueberries and red grapes.

Label drinks as ‘creative juices’ and other snacks as ‘food for thought’.

Use plastic paint palettes as plates.

Four popsicle sticks can be glued together to make tiny easels. These can be used for decoration, paint brush holding or name cards.

Give each child their own small canvas, paint, glitter, ribbon and anything else they need to create their own masterpiece.

Keep a pack of baby wipes nearby for messy hands and spills.

H O EA R F T F PS H U E N K ID S!

*

*

*

* * *

*

*

us P lMeet Santa on DEC 19!

FO

10 - 12

every monday night at steeples

lil’ jockeys kids club kids receive meal, drink, dessert & activity pack frequent for $10

5:30pm start ipads with games

diner card

colouring competition with monthly prizes

Meet Silly Sarah

face painting, balloon artist, magician, games weekly changing entertainment

Ask staff for a membership form and become a member today!

Cnr Racecourse & Mornington-Tyabb Rds, Mornington P: 03 5976 0700 www.steeples.net.au

64

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

The MOrnington Peninsulas Freshest Market An independent market showcasing Melbourne and the Peninsula’s very best makers, creators, growers and collectors. Over 200 stalls, amazing kids entertainment, live music, craft workshops, gourmet food & local fresh produce!

2015: Dec 19 Special Xmas Market PLUS Meet Santa 10 - 12 2016: Jan 16 TWILIGHT market, Feb 20, Mar 19 & Apr 16

Market time: 9AM - 2PM |TWILIGHT market time: 3PM - 8PM

Emu Plains Reser ve Balnar r ing Racecourse, Coolar t Rd

w w w. e m u p l a i n s m a r k e t . c o m . a u CRAFT

FARMERS

VINTAGe

gourmet

Eclectic

Proudly supported by visitor publications

Step 1

Step 2

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How to draw a dog in

easy steps!

STEP 4

Step 5

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www.peninsulakids.com.au

65

Make Your Event One To Remember

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Alex and Ant 50’s romper $49.95 treehouse republic www.treehouserepublic.com.au

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Tiger Tribe Pull Back Birds $12.95 enchanted child www.enchantedchild.com.au

Anarkid Flag Bibdana $14.95 swimweargalore www.swimweargalore.com.au

dz

party

PLANNING

Stardust Fairies

I believe in fairy magic. Spellbinding fairies specialising in birthday parties, kindergartens, schools and corporate functions.

Tree M: 0414 470 522 www.stardustfairies.com.au

Sweetest Intentions

Kids Ahoy

Specialising in custom made novelty cakes.

Nicole Badenhop M: 0405 328 695 www.facebook.com/s.intentions Based in Mornington

Childrens Indoor Play Centre Factory 4,1 Watt Road Mornington.

P: 5975 2080 www.kidsahoy.com.au

kidz TOWN

pVENUE arty Melbourne Madness

DISCO ROOM Movie Room

Mini-Tradies

GIRLSTOWN

Kidztown

The ultimate kids’ show!

Come on an adventure full of magic and laughter with Charlie SillyPants and friends.

Parties, preschool and childcare.

M: 0411 957 185 or www.melbournemadness.net

The biggest and most themed kids The BIGGEST andexciting most exciting themed kid’svenue partytovenue hit the Mornington party hit the to Mornington Peninsula.

P:Peninsula 5976 4614 or M: 0403 795 562 www.facebook.com/kidztownmornington www.kidztown.com.au p. 5976 4614 or 0403795562

Five Times Fun

Color Facepainting

Art & craft workshop for kids and adults.

Celebrate your B’day party/work function with us.

Shop 004B Balmoral Walk Bayside shopping centre Frankston P: 03 9769 6967 or 0404 444 091

For birthday parties and events colorfacepainting@gmail.com www.facebook.com/colorfacepainting M: 0478200088

Colour Your World Art

Organised fun painting activity for the birthday child and their guests!

Term art classes and school holiday programs.

Michele Cleaver M: 0417 425 116 www.colouryourworldart.com

Little Kickers

Fun & healthy soccer birthday parties.

You bring the food and we’ll bring the fun www.littlekickers.com.au facebook.com/littlekickersmornington P: 5975 8637 www.peninsulakids.com.au

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Pregnancy & Baby

increased drooling to convulsions and even death! In 19th century England 10 percent of childhood deaths were blamed on teething.

Our ability to diagnose and treat problems in children has come a long way in the last 100 years so now we know teething isn’t as serious as all that... but what can it cause?

Teething can cause a variety of symptoms in some children, while other children experience no discomfort. Infants can experience any of the following: grumpiness, increased drooling, a rash around the mouth or red cheeks, loss of appetite and disturbed sleep. There is weak evidence that teething can also cause a mild fever or mild diarrhoea, but these symptoms are likely to be from other causes. It is important that your child is not experiencing something else such as a bacterial or viral infection, so a visit to your family GP or paediatrician is recommended.

There are things you can do to help relieve the discomfort and help your little one settle. Chewing on cold objects can be very soothing to the gums; there are commercial teething toys that are available but something as simple as a damp washcloth cooled in the fridge or rusks to chew on can do the trick. Don’t give them something from the freezer, as it’s too cold. Gently rubbing a clean finger over the gums can also help; this is helpful in the same way as rubbing your head after bumping it. Over the counter pain killers such as paracetamol (e.g. Children’s Panadol) or ibuprofen (e.g. Nurofen for Children) can be useful for pain relief. The skin around the mouth can become red and itchy from saliva so clearing away the drool regularly can help prevent this from occurring. And don’t forget good old cuddle therapy!

There are a few things to make sure you avoid for safety. Teething gels are a popular option to relieve the discomfort. There are however a

Amber teething necklaces have become a fad over the last few years.

Teething TEETHING CAN BE A DIFFICULT TIME FOR BOTH CHILD AND PARENT, WAITING FOR THAT SHARP POINTY TOOTH TO ERUPT, AND EVERYONE GETTING A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP CAN BE THE BANE OF ANY PARENT. BY: LUCAS DENTAL The first tooth will erupt at any age between four and 15 months of age, and then be followed by 19 more baby teeth over the next few years.

Teething generally lasts up to eight days, four before the tooth emerges and three to four days afterwards.

Every parent has advice for other parents about teething; some based on facts, some on experience. Teething coincides with an age when children are weaning from breast-feeding receiving less protective antibodies from their mother and being exposed to more childhood infections. This has lead to teething being blamed for everything from 68

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

couple of rare but significant risks with these. Some products contain topical anaesthetic medication (e.g. Benzocaine), which numbs the gums. These products are washed away by saliva quickly giving a limited effect but if applied too often can lead to a drug overdose. As this has happened to some families around the world most paediatric dental organisations no longer recommend their use.

Teething gels can also contain choline salicylate, a drug similar to Aspirin, as the active ingredient and are not recommended.

Amber teething necklaces have become a fad over the last few years, especially with Miranda Kerr’s son proudly displayed on the front cover of a popular magazine with one around his neck. The amber is thought to release succinic acid, a natural pain reliever, when in contact with warm skin. Their effectiveness is questionable but some parents think they help.

Be careful as the problem is some children will chew on the beads, which can be a choking risk because of their size, and the necklace itself is a strangulation risk.

Teething may be a terrible time for your bub but with a few simple actions to help it will be over before you know it.

Peninsula Kids Mag Ad Final OL.indd 1

11/11/2015 2:53 pm www.peninsulakids.com.au 69

WHAT IS NORMAL WHEN IT COMES TO BREASTFEEDING? BY: JACKIE KENT RESEARCH Our breastfeeding initiation rates in Australia are fantastic; 96% of mothers choose to breastfeed their baby from birth. Yet we see that rate drop dramatically in the first few months; in the second month full breastfeeding (this is where no other food or drink is fed to baby) rates have dropped to 57% and by five months under 30% are still fully breastfeeding.

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96%

of mothers choose ir to breastfeed the baby from birth.

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TAKING CHRISTMAS ORDERS NOW

TIPS for administering medicine to children

BY: REBECCA BOWYER

NECKLACES BRACELETS KEYCHAINS MEMORIAL PIECES ARE ALL AVAILABLE! WARRANDYTE MARKET 1ST SAT MTH GISBORNE MARKET 1ST SUN EMU PLAINS MARKET (RESUMES OCT) 3RD SAT ELTHAM MARKET 3RD SUN

PENINSULA BASED BUSINESS NIKKI YORESH 0439658319 nikki@puresilverimpressions.com www.puresilverimpressions.com 72

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

My 11-month-old son recently had a double ear infection, a heavy cold and severe conjunctivitis. My poor baby was very unhappy but even unhappier because treatment meant regular doses of pain killers, antibiotics, eye drops and saline cleaning solution for his poor sore, gunky eyes. There was lots of yelling and crying at medicine time: he particularly hated the taste of the antibiotics (which he tried to avoid or spit out) and just screamed when he saw the eye drops coming (while screwing his eyes tightly shut)!

I know there are many of us experiencing the same problems with administering medicine to children, especially in the middle of cold and flu season, so I thought we could do with some help from an expert.

Dr Michael Aizen, with over 35 years experience practising family medicine, has some great tips for us below. Dr Aizen is the senior doctor at Epichealth’s Mornington clinic.

Q: A:

CAN YOU HELP US OUT WITH TIPS FOR ADMINISTERING EYE DROPS TO A BABY?

This is a very common problem. It is important to administer

eye drops every four hours for them to be effective.

The most commonly encountered problem is the temperature

of the drops. Mistakenly, eye drops are kept in the

refrigerator. The sudden instillation of cold drops is a shock

to the system and is very unpleasant. Keep eye drops at room

temperature in a medicine cupboard or kitchen pantry for

the entire duration of treatment, usually three days for conjunctivitis.

Where possible, seek assistance from someone else to hold baby’s head still and distract him or her with rattles or similar.

The eyes will move across to follow the sound. When the pupils are out of line of sight the drops will enter effortlessly.

Q: A:

AND OLDER KIDS WHO NEED ANTIBIOTICS?

Again, it is difficult to reason with children this age. Story telling is a way around this. There are picture books that are instructive for children this age.

Q: A:

HOW ABOUT NEGOTIATING WITH OLDER KIDS (SAY THREE -FIVE YEARS) WHO NEED EYE DROPS?

It is difficult to negotiate with small children. Some three to five-year-olds will be naturally cooperative. The eyes should be moved inwards or outwards, out of the line of sight when the drop is introduced.

Q:

I UNDERSTAND YOU’VE BEEN PRACTISING FAMILY MEDICINE FOR OVER 35 YEARS, WHAT’S CHANGED IN ADMINISTERING MEDICINE TO KIDS SINCE YOU STARTED? DID A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR OR HONEY REALLY USED TO HELP THE MEDICINE GO DOWN?

When prescribing antibiotics for children I always consider flavour as well as the class appropriate for the infection. Many have attractive strawberry and banana flavours. In extreme cases it may be necessary to “do a Mary Poppins” and help the medicine go down.

A:

Bright Start Therapy is a Paediatric allied health company that offers Speech Pathology, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy services for children. We have new clinic located in Seaford but also offer a mobile service so we can bring the therapy to you!

We have a vast range of group therapy programs including: • Intensive school holiday program (P-Plates for Prep School Readiness) • Secret Agent Society (Social Skills Program for children 8-12yrs) • SOS (Feeding Therapy program for fussy or problem feeders)

We are also offering exciting brand new services including: • ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnosis Assessments) • The TheraSuit Method (an intensive, individualised and specific strengthening exercise program that aims to correct functional movements patterns of children with Cerebral Palsy, acquired brain injury, developmental delay.)

For more information on our services please contact us on 9785 7279 www.brightstarttherapy.com.au

www.peninsulakids.com.au

73

Where Can the

Children Play?

WHEN YOU COMPARE YOUR CHILDHOOD PLAY TO THAT OF YOUR CHILDREN, YOU WILL PROBABLY NOTICE ONE BIG DIFFERENCE – UNSTRUCTURED PLAY IN NATURE. BY: YVETTE O’DOWD

Like most adults, my childhood memories of play generally occurred outdoors. With the freedom of children in the 1970s, my friends and our siblings roamed not only our neighbourhood on the outskirts of Frankston but also the undeveloped land surrounding us, where remnant bushland and retired farmland gave us unlimited connection with nature and unsupervised play opportunities from a young age - the instructions to “look after your brother/sister” and “be home before its dark” rang in our ears as we raced out the door.

My own children, fortunate to grow up in the same neighbourhood as both their parents, found their own natural play spaces, even though many of our own were now sub-divided and out of bounds. Their roaming spaces were smaller and more play occurred in back yards, but there was still plenty of dirt, mud and risk taking going on unseen by parental eyes.

Cubby houses, mud pie creations and endless games of imagination went on from dawn to dusk in the summer holidays and on weekends and school days when increasing extracurricular activities permitted.

Another generation is now growing up in the same suburb. My granddaughter is only two, so not yet an age to roam. And while we are still blessed with green spaces close at hand, even more areas have been sub-divided for housing and increasing fear of predatory adults means unsupervised play is rare now - and likely to be rarer by the time she is of an age to gain such freedom.

There is concern around the world about children’s reduced access to natural place spaces and free play outdoors. Our idyllic local environment - where we can access the beach, bushland and rural spaces within a five-minute drive from our front door and have an abundance of community spaces many parts of the world could only dream about - is not to be taken for granted. We need to ensure all children have access to outdoor play.

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continued.... www.peninsulakids.com.au

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In today’s busy world, allowing time for children to play has become a scheduled activity slotted in between afterschool activities or weekend sports events and frequently involves an indoor purpose-designed play centre. Children are often in child-care from infancy, where man-made soft-fall surfaces replace grass and learning about the environment could mean a display on the nature table.

NATURAL SPACES TO EXPLORE ON THE PENINSULA In his international best-seller Last Child In The Woods: Saving Our

•Cranbourne Botanical Gardens Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, Richard Louv discusses how children have become increasingly alienated and distanced from nature.

•Coolart Homestead He claims their indoor habits contribute to the obesity epidemic, attentiondeficit disorder, isolation and Martha childhood depression.

•The Briars, Mount So – how can we incorporate natural play into our 21st century lifestyles?

•Bushrangers Bay Children need opportunities to explore nature with all their senses, in a free-form style Maze of play where there are no learning outcomes, •Athurs Seat & Seawinds simply experiences. From climbing trees to racing sticks in flowing

•Tootgarook Walk water, children will Wetlands create their own games if allowed the time and

Get outdoors as a family! Join a local community garden. Go for walks in local bushland instead of local shopping centres. Pack a picnic, visit somewhere new and allow the children to roam while you take a backseat to nature as teacher.

Yvette O’Dowd probably isn’t your typical grandmother.

This purple-haired mother of three and granny of one has been a breastfeeding counsellor for more than 20 years, runs breastfeeding education classes for parents expecting twins and more, facilitates local babywearing and natural parenting groups and writes for a popular parenting website. Yvette lives in her Frankston home with her husband, son, daughter, son-in-law and two year old granddaughter, plus a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel and a senile cat! In her spare time, Yvette is a keen photographer and scrap-booker and is keeper of a fairy garden. You can follow Yvette at www.bellybelly.com.au/author/yvette-odowd/ www.facebook.com/groups/SouthernNaturalParentingNetwork www.facebook.com/groups/SouthEasternBabywearing

opportunities to do so.

•Balcombe Creek Estuary

As parents, we need to facilitate access to natural spaces and to

•Sweet Water Creek Frankston supervise without choreographing.

Accepting risk-taking behavior as an important process, we need to allow for bumps, bruises and even

•McClelland Gallery & Sculpture Park broken bones as part of the learning experience.

Allowing ourEliza children to work as a teamReserve to build cubby houses, •Mount Recreational

as individuals collecting bugs and as part of the environment by observing plants and wildlife may not seem important yet all involve skills they will take into adult life alongside memories that will last forever. A child pottering around gathering seed pods, rocks or sticks is learning far more than you realise and this hands-on learning is valuable part of their education.

1000 QUESTIONS A DAY 1 ANSWER - DAILY ORDERS

Your children will build a childhood they will never forget!

Research Shows

A SLEEPING BABY IS GOOD FOR PARENTS’

MENTAL HEALTH Australian research has shown about 50% of cases of post-natal depression can be resolved by teaching your baby to sleep. Even the slightest lack of sleep can make for an unhappy family, especially when there seems no end in sight.

With around 35,000 Australian babies suffering with reflux and/ or colic each year, many new parents are finding that what is supposed to be the most magical time of their life is actually becoming their worst nightmare.

Daily Orders high gloss weekly planning boards are superb quality, wall mounted, and are used with vibrant liquid chalk markers to brighten your day.

Life is hard enough.

Do something simple to make it easier!

Visit www.dailyorders.com.au

for more information and to buy your weekly wall planner today.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Thoroughly tested to international standards by the world’s leading testing agencies, the Amby Baby Hammock simulates the maternal womb. This sensation enables a baby to experience the same spatial restriction and sensory stimulation as they did for nine months.

Widely used in hospitals, sleep schools, childcare centres and homes across Australia, the Amby Baby Hammock has been the best kept sleeping secret until now!

To find out more about Amby Baby Hammocks visit: www.babyhammocks.com or Facebook at www.facebook.com/ AmbyBabyHammock

FIV

EF A TO PASS MILY GIV ES E AW

AY

We’re giving away FIVE family passes to the opening night performance in Mornington on Monday Jan 4, 8pm

Gymnastics provides a fun and safe activity that gets kids physically active.

Not only does the sport provide good solid fitness foundation, gymnastics also provides many other benefits, from skills to life skills to basics that can BIRTHDAY enhance performance in other sports. ?

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WILDCATS offer competitive levels No Probl ‘s next ild 1-5 and recreational gymnastics, for ch r u Make yo ts y a Wildca rt Pa children as young as 2 years of age ay d Birth Party.

Gymnastics to 14 years of age.

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VALUED AT $120 See www.peninsulakids.com/giveaways for further details and to enter!

W SS NEDRE D A

1/24 Carbine Way Mornington (Off Racecourse Road) www.peninsulakids.com.au

77

THEENGINE LITTLE IVF THAT COULD DR. ANDREW GRIFFITH AND HIS LIFE SARA LIVE IN MOUNT ELIZA WITH THEIR SONS, JACOB, 22 AND RUFUS, NOW FIVE YEARS OLD. AFTER AN EARLY ONSET OF MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS SHE TURNED TO IVF AND AN EGG DONOR TO HELP HER CONCEIVE. BY: JO FORD “I never thought that getting pregnant would be an issue, particularly as I had conceived easily with my first son Jacob. I remember thinking when I met Andrew that we would have plenty of time ahead to plan babies. There did not seem to be a hurry; I was only in my thirties. I also knew that I would be leaving the UK to begin a new life in Australia with Andrew.

After settling in Mornington, Andrew and Sara decided it was the right time for a new addition to the family, but nothing happened. Sara started to experience hot flushes and other menopausal symptoms which lead to further investigations. These came back indicating she was indeed peri menopausal. “It was devastating. That kind of feeling that your body has let you down.”

The IVF specialist confirmed that it was highly unlikely that they would be able to conceive naturally. “Andrew’s test results were fine. It was me and the only way we were going to have a baby would be with the help of a donor egg.” At first Sara refused to consider it as an option.

After a horrific car crash Sara put the whole idea of IVF to the back off her mind.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

After two years of rehabilitation, the couple returned to the IVF consultant to talk about egg donor possibilities and add their names to the 24 plus month waitlist. “We never hid anything from those close to us, including the fact that we were desperate for a suitable donor egg.”

A couple of their friends stepped forward and offered to help. “We considered each offer carefully and ruled out those that we thought would be put under a lot of strain or were not really in a position to go through with it. We knew that aside from the physical components to IVF, couples would have to undergo counselling as part of the process too. Not something to be undertaken lightly.” The great news was that one couple was perfect; Andrew and Sara accepted their offer as they had already completed their family. “We will be eternally gratefully to them,” says Sara of their Mount Martha friends.

Their donor did one cycle of egg-stimulating injections and produced a staggering 30 eggs. Shortly after, Sara and Andrew accompanied her to the Alfred Hospital where Andrew’s sperm and the donor’s eggs underwent the IVF process. “We could not believe it when we were told that 17 eggs had been fertilised! We felt incredibly lucky and hopeful.”

IT WAS DEVASTATING. THAT KIND OF FEELING THAT YOUR BODY HAS LET YOU DOWN. Sixteen of the fertilised eggs went into the freezer at Melbourne IVF and the first ‘fresh’ embryo was transferred into Sara. Unfortunately her hormones were not at the optimal level and it was unsuccessful.

The next four were single transfers. At this point, it was discovered that due to the high levels of hormones over those five cycles, a small fibroid in Sara’s abdomen had increased in size dramatically. This now very large sized fibroid needed to be removed as it was preventing Sara from getting pregnant. “It was a fairly big operation and took me seven months to get over it.” More delays.

After their tenth wedding anniversary, two embryos were transferred at a time. The hormone reading from the first three indicated that the embryos had not taken. “It is such a rollercoaster ride both physically to your body and because of the surging hormones playing with your emotions. One minute you feel hope and euphoria; the next you are overwhelmed with disappointment and the grieving process. Then you start it all again five days later.”

But embryo 14 changed everything. It didn’t start well though - a big bleed sent Sara rushing to the hospital and into the ultrasound department. “We sat and waited, both of us staring at the monitor.

Pictured: Sara, Rufus and Jacob

And there it was, this little person tick, tick, ticking in the corner of the screen!’ Sadly Sara had lost the baby’s twin - but here was a baby, its tiny heartbeat lighting up their lives.

Rufus Griffiths was born at 38 weeks on 2nd July 2010.

Sara and Andrew never kept their journey to parenthood a secret. “I had the luxury of being away from the hospital but Andrew worked everyday; meeting countless pregnant women, delivering hundreds of beautiful babies into the arms of their ecstatic mothers. I knew it hurt him inside. He would sometimes come home outwardly disheartened. He did brilliantly to put on a brave face for everyone else. Of course he was always so happy for his patients but it was tough going.”

Sara had a last go with the remaining embryos. Only one had survived the defrost but it was unsuccessful.

Looking back at this long and emotional journey, what advice would Sara give to any others that are considering IVF? “ Make sure your marriage is strong as IVF will test its limits! It can also be a huge financial undertaking too which can place further strain on relationships. But if you yearn to carry your own baby then it’s so worth it. We wouldn’t be without Rufus for the world!” www.peninsulakids.com.au

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BABY SLEEP

MYTHS

D E T S BU BY: PINKY MCKAY Sarah is stressed and anxious. She tells me, “ I can’t get my baby to wake up for her 7am feed.”

I ask, “when did she last feed?”

It turns out that Sarah’s two-week-old baby was fed at 5.30am and, being a newborn, she took about an hour to feed and go back to sleep. This meant that she had only been asleep for half an hour when Sarah tried to wake her for her next feed. It turned out that the source of Sarah’s anxiety was a book on her coffee table: it advised that whatever time her baby last fed she should start her daily routine at 7am and now she was anxious that the routine would be mixed up and that she would then be setting her baby up for bad sleep habits.

There is so much conflicting advice and ‘rules’ about infant sleep that undermine mothers’ natural intuition and common sense that I’d like to bust a few common baby sleepmyths: 80

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

YOU MUST START YOUR DAY AT 7AM, WHATEVER TIME YOUR BABY LAST FED. You have two choices here that make sense – you can start your own day at 7am: Get up and have a shower (you might even have time to wash your hair) and eat breakfast or even prepare tonight’s dinner or do a load of washing while your baby sleeps. Or you can snuggle down under the covers and catch some zzz’s until your baby wakes.

It can create unnecessary stress and be a waste of time to wake a sleeping baby who was just fed an hour ago and probably won’t feed well anyway, if he isn’t hungry.

BABIES ‘SHOULD’ SLEEP IN TWO HOUR STRETCHES DURING THE DAY. Babies, just like all of us, are individuals with differing sleep requirements. These will change according to developmental stages,

SOME ‘EXPERTS’ CLAIM THAT ANY SLEEP THAT ISN’T IN A COT IS ‘JUNK SLEEP’ LIKE ‘JUNK FOOD. YOU SHOULD NEVER ROCK YOUR BABY TO SLEEP

illness, and environment. As a parent, you know if your baby has woken as he comes up into a light sleep cycle but could do with some help to resettle, or whether he will be happy to get up and play after 45 minutes or an hour of sleep. If you do try resettling, give yourself a time limit, say, 10 minutes, then if your baby isn’t going to sleep, get him up and play, go for a walk, talk to him and have fun. It makes no sense to stand in a darkened room all day trying to get your baby to sleep, especially if you spend half an hour resettling and your baby sleeps for an extra fifteen minutes. As one mother of three said, “I spent so much time trying to get my first baby to sleep, I wished I had spent it enjoying him.”

SLEEPING IN YOUR ARMS, A SLING, A PRAM OR THE CAR IS NOT ‘PROPER’ SLEEP. Some ‘experts’ claim that any sleep that isn’t in a cot is ‘junk sleep’ like ‘junk food’ and won’t refresh your baby, especially his tiny brain. Sleep is sleep. A child who is quite flexible about where he sleeps is a lot easier than one who will only ever sleep in a darkened room at home, in his cot. While you may be able to get home for every sleep with a first baby, it’s pretty unrealistic if you have more than one child: if you have a school pickup to manage, your baby will almost certainly get used to sleeping ‘on the move’. Also, if your baby sleeps in a pram, a sling or your arms, the rocking motion while he is sleeping is helping develop his vestibular apparatus, a series of canals inside the inner ear that, as fluid moves over them (with movement), send out messages to the nervous system that helps with the development of speech and language, balance and sensory integration (making sense of all the sensations of sound, movement, taste, smell and visual stimuli).

This method of calming and settling babies has been around for generations, so there just might be something in it, don’t you think?

As mentioned, movement is helpful to your baby’s development and, according to US Psychologist Sharon Heller, author of ‘The Vital Touch’ many babies may crave rocking if mothers have sedentary pregnancies and their babies have fewer opportunities for movement that supports vestibular development before birth. As your baby grows, you can ‘wean’ her from being rocked to sleep by offering more movement when she is awake and introduce gentle music as a relaxation cue, then gradually rock less. Later, you can simply reduce the volume of the music if you like.

YOU MUST NEVER BREASTFEED YOUR BABY TO SLEEP This causes so much stress because it is completely normal for a relaxed baby to fall asleep on the breast. Can you imagine being all snuggled up to your partner, then being poked and told, “move over to your own side of the bed, we are creating ‘bad habits’ ?” In fact there are amazing relaxation chemicals in breastmilk, with different hormones and proteins in your ‘night time’ milk (melatonin and neucleotides) that have stronger sleep inducing effects. This explains why your baby will probably go straight back to sleep after a night feed. Therefore, it makes no sense to wake a drowsy baby who is naturally calm and relaxed. And, just in case you are worried about ‘bad habits’, take heart: your baby may love to snuggle up to a warm breast when he’s eighteen – but it won’t be yours!

Pinky McKay is an internationally certified lactation consultant, certified infant massage instructor and author of Sleeping Like a Baby, 100 Ways to Calm the Crying and Parenting By Heart. In her baby massage DVD, Pinky shows parents how to give their baby a full body massage, a mini-massage (for when you are in a hurry) and specific stroke to help with colic and tummy discomfort. For more great tactics to help you get through the terrific toddler stage, see Pinky’s book Toddler. www.peninsulakids.com.au

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WIN ME

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

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BY MIRIAM DOE Look out mums, there’s a new café in town! Designed for kids to play, and parents to enjoy, the café’s name, ‘Family Retreat,’ says it all. This brand new café nestled among the shops in Somerville has been designed as a destination, and in their own words, provides activities that inspire learning and creativity.

The kids menu is simple, yet inviting. It caters to the needs of the fussiest, with the young 18-month-old Miss I had taken along looking for something as simple as vegemite toast. My biggest decision of the day? Whether to go the smashed avocado on sourdough, or the ham and cheese croissant. Oh my... between the all-day breakfast menu, other specialty delicacies, or a treat from the display shelf, the options are endless! A little birdy told me they will also cater for specific dietary needs on request.

A dedicated spacious kiddie’s area is set up with toys and activities allowing the children to roam free while being supervised by parents dining in the adjacent area. The setup seems to work perfectly, with kids mingling from one table to the next playing with garages, cars, sensory toys, old fashioned typewriters, and prams to push around.

The entertainment doesn’t stop at the play area. Each table is set up with books for reading and colouring, complete with tubs of pencils.

Review

The décor is as child friendly as it gets. First impressions? Clean, open, modern and bright. Booths, with long padded vinyl seats mean no need to worry about sticky fingers or messy eaters! The space has been well utilised. There is a bench table with stools along the side of the large play area making supervision of the little cherubs easy as pie. They boast pram friendly isles, and even a mobile number to order your coffee when you get there if your little one can’t wait to get to the play area. If all that wasn’t enough, how does free Wi–Fi grab you?

The only problem of the morning?

Convincing Little Miss it was time to leave!

The ‘Family Retreat – Mini Play Café’ is located Shop 18 Somerville Central Shopping Centre, (near Target).

Open 7 days a week.

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twelve

TOTALLY CREEPY MARRIAGE & PARENTING ADVICE BOOKS YOU DEFINITELY SHOULDN’T BUY PARENTING ADVICE BOOKS CAN BE HANDY FOR FIGURING OUT THIS WHOLE WIFE AND MOTHER THING BY: REBECCA BOWYER Well yes, ok, so they’re rarely helpful. But sometimes. Or not?

Anyway, I’ve found an awesome list of weird books on Abe Books. I thought I’d share some of the creepier titles for parenting and marriage which you definitely should not buy any time soon.

ON PARENTING Your Three Year Old: Friend or Enemy by L Ames Granted: some days it is a little unclear whether the little mites were just sent here to declare war on us.

Raising Witches: Teaching the Wiccan Faith to Children by A O’Gaea Raising-Witches Then again, if teaches you how to cast a hex on telemarketers who call during meal/bath/bed time I’m happy to give it a red hot go.

All About Pockets And the weird things you find in them? My boys usually just stash sand.

LOTS of sand.

The Encyclopedia of Medical Ignorance Because it’s always helpful to know what you don’t know.

All About Scabs Well, ok, this one could be kinda cool. But a whole book on it?

Just don’t pick ’em, kids.

ON FEMININE HEALTH Electricity in Gynecology No. Just no.

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ON HOUSEWIFERY The Radiation Recipe Book Put out in 1929 by the Radiation Group Sales Ltd, London.

Bolognese for your bunker?

Increasing Laundry Output I’m waiting for the sequel to be released – decreasing laundry input.

ON MARRIAGE How to Make Love While Conscious Just in case you’ve forgotten after all that unconscious love making…??!!

How to be Happy Though Married Because the natural state of marriage is unhappiness. Of course.

AND IF IT ALL GETS TOO HARD… How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found A little fantasy literature to indulge in when you’re hiding from the kids in the hall cupboard because you just can’t stand to adjudicate another argument. Ever.

How To Start Your Own Country After you’ve disappeared completely you’ll need somewhere to live. Obviously.

Between us we have 23 years of teaching experience, 53 years experience in the book trade, 13 children and 3 grandchildren - that’s a lot of wisdom and knowledge!

• Early Years • Home Schooling • Teachers Resources • Booklists (Primary & Secondary) • VCE Resources • Educational Games • Gift Ideas • 103 HIGH ST, HASTINGS | www.teachersresource.com.au | Phone: 5979 8233 www.peninsulakids.com.au

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HEALTHY EATING Over Summer

WITH SO MANY CONFLICTING VIEWS AND RESTRICTIVE DIETS AROUND, IT’S EASY TO SEE WHY HEALTHY HAS BECOME CONFUSING. BUT DOES IT REALLY NEED TO BE THAT HARD? TRY THESE 10 EASY TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED. BY: JODIE BLIGHT • Reduce portion sizes – Allow about 100–150 g of meat/ chicken/fish per person.

• Lots of salad and vegies – Ramp up the vegie and salad content in recipes. Varying the vegies in meals means that we get our five portions of vegies a day but delivered in different, new ways so we don’t get bored. Make extra for dinner and then lunch is already sorted – too easy!

• Switch to Spelt and Rye ­– For the last couple of years our family has been trying to avoid refined wheat. Spelt has a slightly nutty flavour and a soft and silky texture. It is not gluten free but the gluten in spelt has higher water solubility than wheat, so nutrients are more easily absorbed, making it easy to digest. They taste better and they make you feel fuller for longer, which helps you stay out of the snack cupboard (bonus). Try it – it tastes great!

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• Less bread – Eat bread (rye and spelt) in moderation. Try to eat salads/vegetables with meat/protein for lunch at least a couple of times a week. Kids love a change from sandwiches, and adults get through the day with so much more energy and don’t hit that slump a couple of hours after lunch.

• Reduce Sugar – Rarely use sugar, but occasionally add honey if needed. Most of us have become so used to sugar added to everything (often without us being aware of it) our tastebuds can have an aversion to foods that don’t have sugar. But there are ways to prepare meals which produce flavour without adding sugar - like roasting to create natural caramelisation.

• EVOO – Use Australian extra virgin olive oil. It costs a little more but is so much better for you with fresher, fruity flavours.

Studies over the last few decades have reported many health benefits of extra virgin olive oil, including reducing cardiovascular risk factors and the risk of stroke.

• Add Avocados – Add avocados to our meals as much as possible. They are considered one of the healthiest foods on the planet - good for maintaining a healthy heart, helping to lose weight and a great source of fibre. They are rich in vitamin E and C which is good for your skin and apparently helps to slow the ageing process. Gotta love that! For a quick snack, mix an avocado with some Italian dressing for a super quick guacamole.

• Feta and Goat’s Cheese – Adding a small amount of cheese to our meals adds a delicious and creamy flavour. Goat’s cheese contains less lactose than cheese made from cow’s milk, and is therefore easier to digest. It is also generally lower in fat, cholesterol and calories.

• Sprinkle with Nuts and Seeds – They are a natural source of vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre, and are rich in healthy monounsaturated fats. They have many reported health benefits, but best of all they taste great and add another dimension to some of our meals. Of course if there are any allergies to nuts, leave them out.

• Make your own dressings and sauces – When you read most sauce and dressing bottles, you will notice there are a lot of ‘numbers’ (additives) in the ingredients. By making your own dressings and sauces, you will cut out a lot of these additives, and the added sugar, from your diet. Your meals will taste fresher and are so much better for you.

• Making your own dressings is very easy – it takes only a few minutes to make a fresh, delicious and healthy taste sensation to add to your meals. In fact it is so easy that my 8 year old son is the ‘dressing King’ in our home. Once you know the right balance, you’ll wonder why you ever bought dressings.

The secret is simply 1 part vinegar and 3 parts olive oil. That’s it! Of course you can add many other ingredients to add variation, but the base for a foolproof basic dressing is just that! Place all ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake until combined. The most important part of making a dressing is to taste it and trust your own judgement to adjust.

Sometimes fast recipes are not healthy and healthy recipes are not so delicious, Summer TABLE proves you can combine fast, delicious and healthy for the perfect solution to the ‘what’s for dinner’ dilemma. And making life even easier, Summer TABLE includes a free APP - scan the recipes to create a shopping list on your phone, with all the items sorted by aisle at your local supermarket.

Find out more about this revolutionary cookbook at www.hellotable.com.au.

minti | munster kids | paper wings | sudo rock your baby | saltwater sandals | plus loads more bentons square shopping centre, shop 21/210 dunns road, mornington 3931, vic PH:(03) 5975 4350 facebook.com/treehouse.rep

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education

IS MY CHILD READY FOR

school

ALL PARENTS WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR CHILD MAKES A SUCCESSFUL START TO SCHOOL, BUT YOU MAY BE UNSURE IF YOUR CHILD IS READY. IN VICTORIA STUDENTS STARTING SCHOOL CAN BE AS YOUNG AS FOUR YEARS OLD. A TYPICAL PREP CLASS MAY HAVE CHILDREN WHOSE AGES RANGE FROM FOUR TO SIX YEARS. BY: MANDY WHITWORTH

Neuroscientific research has confirmed that the architecture of the human brain is an ongoing process that is most rapidly constructed during the early years of life. The quality of these early experiences affect this architecture. Therefore, children’s early learning experiences play a significant role in forming their brain for the future.

Education is about nurturing and developing the “whole” child. A young child needs the time to develop, play, create, wonder and enjoy in a relatively stress free environment in their early years of life.

Prep is emotionally, physically and mentally demanding even for the most ready child.

Life and education is not a race to be won, but a journey of discovery, mastery and exploration. Many believe that school readiness is about being able to read, write or count. However, these are not necessarily a priority for school readiness. To enter school ready to thrive, flourish and enjoy the challenges, readiness needs to be seen as emotional

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and social maturity - aspects of development that we cannot fast track.

Emotional and social maturity includes an ability to deal with separation, to show initiative, to demonstrate interest and to play alongside others.

It also involves the ability to concentrate, to deal with frustration, to follow instructions, to express needs, to demonstrate self-help skills and to participate in small groups. We want children to be happy, to have a high sense of self-worth and enjoyment.

There is no long term research that shows disadvantages in either starting a little older or earlier. The trend of carefully considering if a child has the necessary social skills to start school is a sensible one and a significant shift from the days when it was just assumed that all children would be ready at the same time. The best teachers strive to help parents make a more informed and considered decision about whether their child is ready to start school.

The best person to consult about school readiness is your child’s preschool teacher. Success in the early years of school has implications for future achievement in school and beyond. It is important to visit the school you have chosen for your child and meet the principal and teachers. A school tour on a school day will allow you and your child to experience the culture and approaches of a school and confirm that you have made the right choice. Talk to other families and members of the school community to determine whether this school shares your family values and aspirations. Children are going to be at school for a long time, so let’s ensure their success with a great start.

Edu

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abo Mandy has been the Head of Wardle House, the Junior School at Toorak College, since 2013. Prior to that she was the Deputy and Curriculum leader. Mandy has over 30 years’ experience in various Primary schools, with particular expertise in the early years of schooling.

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Why choose us? • Professional, experienced educators • Nutritious meals prepared daily by our on-site cook • A unique curriculum that prepares children for successful lifelong learning • State of the art facilities that cater to all interests and levels of development

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guardianearlylearning.edu.au/mteliza www.peninsulakids.com.au

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Granny’s Guide to..

Baby-Led Weaning

IF YOUR IMAGE OF STARTING BABIES ON SOLIDS INVOLVES SLOPPY RICE CEREAL, STRAINED PEARS AND PUREED VEGETABLES, THEN BABY-LED WEANING MIGHT COME AS A BIT OF A SHOCK! BY: YVETTE O’DOWD In the past, babies were introduced to solids much earlier than they are today – even as early as a few weeks of age. For babies aged two-four months, the only way for them to safely ingest solid foods without choking was to puree them finely - in fact, liquefy them. Boiling or steaming fruits, then vegetables - in strict order - then pureeing them by forcing them through a sieve and mixing with a little boiled water, before spooning the sloppy mix into the gaping mouth of a reclined infant was tedious and time consuming after the novelty wore off. Not surprisingly, mothers were drawn to the little jars, cans and packets of prepared foods which began to fill the supermarkets after World War Two and being able to afford commercial baby foods quickly became a status symbol in the mid- 20th century.

By the 80s and 90s, the recommended age became four -six months, but babies were still not able to chew and swallow foods without pureeing and mashing. Mothers who were into natural health returned 94

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

to preparing fresh produce, often pureeing with a Mouli sieve and, increasingly, using blenders and food processors to render food suitable to swallow. A strict timeline evolved to begin with rice cereal, mixed with breastmilk, formula or boiled water, moving on to pureed fruits, vegetables, meats and grains, then later those foods mashed and, finally, finger foods were introduced around seveneight months of age.

But a revolution was quietly brewing. The importance of breastmilk gained recognition and in 2002 the World Health Organisation produced guidelines that babies be exclusively breastfed - with no other milks, drinks or foods - for the first half year. Health authorities around the world followed suit and solids were now recommended from around six months.

In the UK, Health Visitor (Maternal and Child Health Nurse equivalent) Gil Rapley was questioning the need to bother with all that pureeing, if babies were not starting to eat until after the need for it had passed.

At six months, babies are able to sit upright, lose their natural tongue thrust reflex and develop the hand-eye coordination which allows them to bring objects to their own mouth. They are capable of biting and chewing – regardless of the presence or lack of teeth – their gagging reflex is effective in preventing choking and they are developmentally ready to eat solid food in its solid form.

HE CAN SIT UPRIGHT IN HIS HIGHCHAIR UNSUPPORTED HE CAN BRING HIS HAND TO HIS MOUTH WHEN PLAYING HE HAS CAN SWALLOW FOOD BECAUSE THE TONGUE REFLEX IS NOW GONE

Rapley’s book Baby-Led Weaning, co-authored by Tracey Murkett was published in 2008 and is still the definitive text on the subject. It explains why it makes absolute sense to introduce babies to solid foods this way. It’s full of tips for how to use BLW with your baby - and what to expect when you do.

So – what exactly IS Baby-Led Weaning? Well – firstly, you need to understand the use of the word “weaning” in its British meaning: it refers to starting solid foods, not ending milk feeds.

A four-month-old baby will begin showing interest in people eating, not because he is ready to join in, but so he can learn the process. He will study how you move your hand from plate to mouth and try to copy you.

He will grab at food, cutlery, plates and makes chewing movements and even drools! Sit him on your lap and let him learn, but don’t mistake these signs as him needing food – he isn’t ready yet.

Being physically ready to eat food is very important. All three signs of readiness need to be in place before you begin. Your baby is ready to eat when: It isn’t about age since birth but about physical development. If your baby hits these milestones earlier – or later – than the average six months, adjust as needed. There is no rush. Around six months allows for a few weeks either side.

continued.... www.peninsulakids.com.au

95

Food Before One is Just for Fun! Offer foods your baby can grab hold of easily – “food with handles” like strips of cooked steak or roast meat; broccoli, carrot and other vegies cut into sticks long enough to hold in his hand, thick pieces of fruit with the skin left on. Whatever you prepare for dinner can be adapted for baby – there is no need to cook separate meals. His hands can soon pick up pieces of pasta, clumps of rice, bits of chicken or fish, baked beans and other legumes … the only foods off the menu are honey and whole nuts. Nut butter spread on toast or dolloped on his tray will help his protein intake and provide essential fats.

Between 6-12 months, milk – either breastmilk or infant formula – is still the primary food source and solids should not yet take over. By letting him control what he eats and how much, you can avoid over-feeding him.

“Food Before One is Just for Fun!” Let him play with his food and experience how it feels and tastes. He will pick it up, drop it, dip it, squish it, lick it and learn how far to put it in his mouth. He is not likely to choke because his natural gag reflex will kick in if food goes too far back – gagging is not choking – and he will probably pop the food back into his hand, look at it and put it back in again! First aid training will teach you what to do if he chokes at any age and sitting with your focus on him while he eats (not your phone!) is important.

Sharing the experience of food and eating with your baby is a wonderful way to introduce eating. Baby-Led Weaning frees you from boring purees and mash and allows you to share meals with your little one.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

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24-26 Malcolm Road, 118 Overport Road, Langwarrin Frankston South Phone 03 9787 9494 Phone 03 9787 6730 to visit our school to visit our school altochildren@bigpond.com piccoloschildren@bigpond.com www.altochildren.com.au www.piccoloschildren.com.au Creating confidence

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97

COOKING THE

PERFECT STEAK! 1. PREP

THE WEATHER IS WARMING UP. IT’S TIME TO DUST OFF THE BARBECUE.

A Poem for the Night Written by Simone Thompson for Archie and Natasha xoxo

Ideally allow the steaks to come to room temperature before cooking - this helps the steak cook more evenly. But if you don’t have the time, don’t worry. Rub the steak with oil, salt and pepper. Only salt the meat just as you are about to put the steak on the barbecue. If you salt the meat too early, it will draw the moisture out and make it dry. Contrary to popular belief, turn the steak often, probably every minute or so. Your steak will cook faster and more evenly by turning it frequently.

Ideally start on the flat hotplate and then finish off on the grill for the last minute or two to get a nice crust.

2. COOKING TIME Now the big question – how long do you cook it for? It all depends on the thickness of the steak.

THICKNESS 2 1/2 CM 3 1/2 CM 4 1/2 CM

MEDIUM-RARE 6-7MIN 8-9MIN 10-12MIN

MEDIUM 8-9MIN 10-11MIN 14-16MIN

WELL DONE 10-12MIN 12-14MIN 18-20MIN

3. HINTS AND TIPS These are total cooking times, not for each side, and are based on a gas barbecue. Times may vary slightly depending on the type of grill you have and whether you use wood, charcoal or gas.

If you are using a rib eye on the bone or a T-bone, for example, cook for 1-2 minutes longer than the times suggested above.

Finally, rest and relax – both you and the steak. When the steak is cooked, remove from the heat, cover loosely and rest for 5 minutes. Our favourite salads with steak and sausages are Tomato salad and beetroot salad.

Here’s an idea for later in the week. Cook an extra couple of steaks and be ready to whip up a thai beef salad in less than 10 minutes.

Courtesy of Jodie Blight, author of Summer TABLE – available from independent bookstores across Australia, Big W, Sussan and online www.hellotable.com.au

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I put you in your cot at night waiting for your call, When you cry I rush to you, bolting through your door, Gently picking you up I cradle you, I’m secretly glad you called for me so I can squeeze in some more love, As if I want to sleep all night missing out on our precious time, Your head is cradled on my arm as I hold you close to mine, Your eyes have closed and you nuzzle in feeling safe again, I can smell your sweet breath and love it more than words, I stroke your soft hair and hold your hand, I feel so very blessed, Thank you for calling out to me, From this I never tire, Even if it means sleepless nights, I truly love our time.

Carr Dow um Loll ns NOW ipops OPE N

8738 5237 THANK YOU

to our market regulars, our loyal stallholders, volunteers and our community group, The Mornington Mens Shed, for their support in 2015.

We wish them a successful 2016!

e and Fresh seasonal produc regional delicacies:

ts, herbs, heirloom carro d Berries, apples, juices, local honey, fresh bake beetroot and radish, flax oils, ses, chee l loca s, breads, homemade caketo-plate meats, local wine ockpadd , eggs od, s, seafo es, jams, preserves, paté and smoked salt, relish h more… and so muc the kids, freshly made Plus plenty of fun for good coffee. ready-to-eat food, and

Market Dates 2016 9 January 2016 13 February 2016

• Open every day 9am-6pm

12 March 2016

11 June 2016

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99

FROM MISERY mastery JOURNEY TO FREEDOM AND EMPOWERMENT

BY: RUTH CYSTER-STUETTGEN

to

From Misery to Mastery - Journey to Freedom and Empowerment is about learning how to cope with what life dishes out for you. It’s about being okay with where you are and knowing that you will be okay to get from the low valley to the top of the mountain, facing those truck-loads of stuff that you get dished out on your life journey.

From Misery to Mastery dares you to discover your place and your purpose on this planet. Be empowered by realising that you are worthy enough to get over each hurdle in your life – use the strategies and simple and powerful tools Ruth has put into place to get over her own hurdles.

From Misery to Mastery further empowers you if you have dared to step out of your abusive relationship, saying YES! to rebuilding your life to finally get to that sweet spot that you deserve.

The following is an excerpt from Part II –

CHAPTER 5: TAKING CONTROL ‘Faith can move mountains.’ - Unknown

All of us, no matter who we are or where we are, have some kind of responsibility in life. As an adult, we feel we need to have responsibility to ourselves or to others. It gives us confidence that we are actually in control of the situation and not someone else. You feel empowered and you steer the course of your life. The responsibility for your actions lies 100

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

only with you, allowing you to correct any negative decisions to ones that feel right for you.

Some women (and men) might be afraid of taking or being in control of their lives, especially after many years of their partner making most or all of the decisions. If we do not allow ourselves to take control or be in control, to have some sort of responsibility in life, we may fall victim to being walked all over. This can stop your personal growth, preventing you from becoming a better and stronger person. By not taking control, you might stay stuck in the past and have to deal with the same challenges over and over.

How can you take control of your life? Remember, you have the power! You are the one to decide which way to go. You are a strong person and you are worthy of taking control. You are responsible for your own life (and those of your children, if you have any). Take ownership of what has happened in the past, even though some of the things may not have been a choice that you made consciously, you allowed people to take control of you. Acknowledge it, embrace it and then move on. Mould your life into whatever way you want it to be.

Empower yourself, knowing that when you make decisions, you are the one who made it and not someone else.

I remember feeling like I had lost control. In the beginning, there were lots of challenging times and moments of uncertainty. It took me a long time to decide what phone to get, which provider to go with, which internet plan to choose – simple things, but I was too afraid of making

Leanne Poulton 0437 441 127

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the wrong decision. I know now, it is okay if I make a mistake; I can ‘unmake’ it anytime and in any way I choose.

Something happened that made me realise I have always been in control of where my life is heading. I am somewhat of an anti-electronics freak. I hardly watch television or listen to the radio. I am quite strict with my kids watching TV as well, not allowing them to spend too much time in front of the box. But as kids are, they always try and sneak in some extra viewing time as soon as I leave the house. One day, I decided to be smart and hurriedly hid the remote control before I ducked out to go to the shops.

As Murphy’s Law would have it, I could not find the remote after that.

Days turned into weeks – it just disappeared into thin air! – and my memory was no help. I was worried at first, but I knew it would turn up eventually and the kiddies finally got used to not having it – perfect!

I just let it go. I was on the phone one afternoon, and while making myself a cup of tea, I reached up into the pantry. Low and behold, there was the remote control!

Yay, I had control again! I think that life is like that sometimes: it throws us off course, we feel like we have lost control. Things seem to go wrong all the time. It could be perceived as everything being a downward spiral, nothing is moving ahead and we are faced with challenge upon challenge. We talk about it never raining but pouring. When we stop for a while and take a step back, we can let the challenge go by acknowledging, accepting and embracing it. This is when we are likely to find a solution – relinquishing the control and allowing for things to

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unfold naturally, without forcing them. We are then able to get back on track and are good to go with a fresh outlook. In my case with the remote control, I did not worry about being unable find it. Once I let go of the control about needing desperately to find it, it found its way back to me.

After starting off on my single mum-dom, I had to manage everything.

I was the one in control of my children and my life. I had to steer the course that we wanted, as well as trying to manage and micro-manage everything. I was playing both mum and dad, twenty- four hours a day. You need to strategically control or regain control of your life by delegating rather than trying to do everything yourself – that is the smart (wo)man’s control. I lost that control in the past and now I believe I have found it again.

So now, I have the control to change the channel whichever way I want to go and I can stay on that channel for as long as I choose. I can now flick through different channels to see which one I like best.

We have a choice of how we deal with life, how we control it and how we get that control back. If you have gone off track and think there is no way of getting back on, know that there is always a way.

You can make that choice of how you deal with your situation. You can really live your life by design; the choice is yours.

There are many strategies that have worked for me and also some that have not.

To read more about Ruth’s strategies and more about her powerful journey through gaining back life empowerment pick up a copy of her book from www.ruthstuettgen.com, Petersen’s Bookstore in Hastings or Farrell’s Bookshop in Mornington.

1 2 - 1 4 M I LG AT E D R I V E , M O R N I N GTO N

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Ruth Cyster-Stuettgen is a published author of From Misery to Mastery – Journey to Freedom and Empowerment and creator of Focus on Balance. Ruth CysterStuettgen is a speaker, coach and mentor passionate about helping women empower themselves to make delicious changes in their life and business. www.ruthstuettgen.com www.facebook.com/focusonempowerment

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Recipes

Summer is my favourite time of the year and means fun, lazy days, laughing with family and friends, and entertaining with fresh delicious food (without too much effort). It’s also the time for picnics and parties.

Here is a selection of healthy and tasty ideas for your weekday table and with a little twist, you can transform them into fantastic finger food for a stress-free summer get together.

Jodie BLIGHT We’re all busy and want quick, healthy and delicious meals but sometimes just don’t have the time.

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After years working as a company director in the finance industry, starting a family and moving half way around the world, Jodie Blight discovered her passion – creating healthy, easy and delicious family meals. “A fist pump from the kids is as good as a Michelin star in my books.”

To find out more about this revolutionary cookbook, please visit www.hellotable.com.au or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hellotable

www.peninsulakids.com.au

103

Haloumi is a semi-hard, salty, and scrumptious cheese, which is fantastic grilled or fried. It is made from a mixture of goat’s and sheep’s milk. We call it the squeaky cheese because it makes a squeak when you cut it.

This salad combination of salty and sweet makes for an amazing fresh flavour sensation and is best served while the cheese is still warm.

Try it with chicken, lamb or fish.

Haloumi and Watermelon SALAD Prep time 10 minutes Cook time 2 minutes Total time 12 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients

¼ watermelon 80 g haloumi 1–2 tablespoons olive oil lemon juice Yoghurt dressing 2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt tablespoon mint sauce 1 handful mint leaves, chopped

Method

1 Cut watermelon and haloumi into 1 cm thick slices with a similar shape.

2 Heat a non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Toss haloumi slices in oil, then fry cheese for 1 minute each side until golden brown.

3 In a small bowl, mix dressing ingredients. Taste and adjust to your liking.

4 Arrange the haloumi and watermelon in alternating layers across a plate. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and top off with a squeeze of lemon juice.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Party Food

CUT WATERMELON AND HALOUMI INTO SQUARES AND TOP WITH MINT YOGHURT.

When the fridge is a little bare, this is a quick and healthy idea for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Of course if you don’t have any leftover pumpkin, it won’t take long to cook some.

Pumpkin and Spinach FRITTATA Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 30 minutes Total time 35 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients

10 eggs ½ cup milk or cream salt and pepper 200 g cooked butternut pumpkin pieces ½ red onion, finely sliced (optional) 2 handfuls baby spinach leaves 100 g feta or goat’s cheese

Party Food

PERFECT FOR A PICNIC AND WONDERFUL FINGER FOOD FOR A PARTY. ALLOW IT TO COOL COMPLETELY AND REFRIGERATE BEFORE CUTTING. THAT WAY YOU GET A REALLY CLEAN CUT, WHICH SHOWS OFF THE WONDERFUL MARBLED EFFECT OF THE SPINACH. CUT INTO A SMALL, BITE SIZE SQUARE.

Method

1 Preheat oven to 200C. Grease a 20 cm × 20 cm baking dish or loaf tin. Lightly whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a bowl or jug and put aside.

2 Combine pumpkin, onion and spinach in the prepared dish making sure the spinach winds in and around the pumpkin. Pour egg mixture over the top, crumble with cheese and cook in oven for 30 minutes. To check if it is ready, give it a wobble or touch the top in the centre of the dish. If not set, give it another 5 minutes and check again.

3 Allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

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Great on its own for a quick, light meal or served as a side dish. An absolute winner in our house.

Party Food

I LOVE TO MAKE A FINGER FOOD VERSION, WHICH IS PERFECT FOR PARTIES OR PICNICS. USING THE BASIC RECIPE, PLACE A THIN WEDGE OF FIG ON A LONG STRIP OF PROSCIUTTO, ADD A BASIL LEAF AND A SMALL SLICE OF GOAT’S CHEESE. WRAP PROSCIUTTO AROUND THE FIG. IF THE PROSCIUTTO IS FRESH AND STICKY, IT SHOULD STAY IN PLACE (OR USE A TOOTHPICK). JUST BEFORE SERVING, DRIZZLE WITH DRESSING.

Fig, Prosciutto and Goat’s Cheese SALAD Prep time 10 minutes Cook time 0 minutes Total time 10 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients

4 handfuls mixed lettuce leaves 4 fresh figs, cut into wedges 8 slices prosciutto, torn 100 g goat’s cheese, crumbled 1 handful pine nuts, toasted (optional) Dressing 2 tablespoons white condiment (white balsamic vinegar) 6 tablespoons olive oil 1–2 tablespoons honey, depending on sweetness of figs 3 handfuls basil leaves 106

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Method

1 Arrange lettuce, figs and prosciutto on a large salad platter.

Crumble goat’s cheese over the top.

2 To make dressing, blend ingredients in a food processor or with a stick blender until chopped and combined. Just start with 1 tablespoon of honey. Taste and adjust to your liking.

3 Pour dressing over salad and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Hoisin Pork in Spring Onion PANCAKES Prep time 10 minutes Cook time 10 minutes Total time 20 minutes Serves 4 (3 per person) Ingredients

600 g cooked pork, shredded and warmed 2 Lebanese cucumbers, ribbons 4 spring onions, julienned hoisin sauce to serve Pancakes 1½ cups spelt flour ¼ teaspoon salt 3 eggs ¾ cup milk ¾ cup water 2 teaspoons sesame oil 4 spring onions, finely sliced olive oil spray

Always a favourite choice in Chinese restaurants, but you can make these pancakes so quickly and easily at home. This meal is a winner, with a perfect combination of flavours – salty hoisin with the warm citrus-infused pork and fresh cucumber all wrapped in a pancake.

What’s not to love! For a gluten-free option, wrap in a crisp lettuce leaf.

Method

1 To make pancakes, sift flour and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, lightly beat eggs, milk and water. Make a well in the middle of the flour and gradually add egg mix and whisk constantly until smooth. If lumpy, beat with electric beater for 1 minute. Add sesame oil and spring onion and stir. Ideally cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, but this is not absolutely necessary. The pancake mix should be thin and fairly runny. If too thick, the pancakes might split when wrapping. Add more milk if the mix is too thick.

2 Remove batter from fridge and stir to mix up onion. Heat a crepe pan/small frying pan over medium–high heat. Spray a small amount of oil onto pan. Using a soup ladle, add ½ ladle of batter to the pan (making sure to get some spring onions).

Swirl the pan around until the batter covers the bottom (not too

Party Food

MAKE THE PANCAKES SLIGHTLY SMALLER THAN THE ORIGINAL RECIPE FOR THE PERFECT TO BITE FINGER FOOD.

much mixture as they need to be thin). Cook for about 1 minute.

When the bottom of the pancake is cooked, flip pancake using a spatula. Cook for a further ½ minute until the other side is cooked. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil until you are ready to serve. Continue making the rest of the pancakes, always remembering to spray the pan in between each pancake.

3 Spread a thin layer of hoisin sauce on pancakes and top with warm pork, cucumber ribbons and spring onion. Roll up to enclose filling.

www.peninsulakids.com.au

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Caesar SALAD

Prep time 10 minutes Cook time 5 minutes Total time 15 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients

2 eggs 4 slices prosciutto 2 cos lettuces 4 spring onions, thinly sliced 400 g cooked chicken, shredded 50 g parmesan cheese, shaved Dressing 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 garlic clove, crushed 2 anchovy fillets, chopped ½ tablespoon lemon juice ½ cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated 1 tablespoon water

Method

1 Boil eggs for 3 minutes until softly boiled. Drain and allow to cool, then peel and quarter. Cook prosciutto under medium grill for 1–2 minutes each side until crisp, then remove and allow to cool.

2 Place lettuce, spring onion and chicken on a salad platter or individual bowl. Cut or scrunch prosciutto and sprinkle over salad along with shavings of parmesan cheese. Place eggs on top.

To make dressing, whisk together mustard, garlic, anchovy, lemon juice, mayonnaise, cheese and water in a bowl until well combined. Taste and adjust to your liking.

3 Pour dressing over salad and serve.

A summer favourite and a dish that makes a regular appearance on restaurant menus. Caesar Salad is easy to make, so try this quick and simple version at home. If you haven’t got time to make the dressing, don’t rule this dish out - pick up a Caesar dressing from the store.

Party Food

IF YOU ARE HAVING A PARTY, ADAPT THE RECIPE ABOVE TO MAKE FINGER FOOD VERSIONS SERVED IN A WITLOF OR BABY COS LEAF. MIX TOGETHER CHOPPED CHICKEN, GRATED PARMESAN, CHOPPED SPRING ONION AND ENOUGH DRESSING TO BRING IT TOGETHER BUT NOT MAKE IT TOO SLOPPY. SPOON ONTO A SMALL LETTUCE LEAF (WITLOF OR COS) AND SPRINKLE WITH CRISPY PROSCIUTTO. PERFECT FOR ANY GLUTEN FREE GUESTS.

This salad is quick, fresh and tangy, and effortlessly satisfying on a hot summer’s night. If you don’t have any leftover roast beef, not to worry, you can still enjoy these delightful flavours.

Cook a steak on the barbecue or if time is not your friend, drop into the deli and pick up some sliced rare roast beef.

Thai Beef SALAD Prep time 10 minutes Cook time 0 minutes Total time 10 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients

4 handfuls baby spinach leaves 1 Lebanese cucumber, julienned 1 red capsicum, sliced 2 handfuls bean shoots 4 spring onions, sliced thinly 1 handful mint leaves, chopped 1 handful coriander, chopped 600 g roast beef 1 long red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped (optional) 1 handful chopped peanuts, roasted (optional) Dressing 6 tablespoons lime juice 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons fish sauce 2 tablespoons sesame oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed ¼ tablespoon grated ginger (optional)

Party Food

SUMMER IS PARTY TIME, AND A MINI ADAPTED VERSION OF THIS SALAD IN A CUCUMBER CUP MAKES GREAT PARTY FINGER FOOD (HALF THE ORIGINAL RECIPE SHOULD MAKE 20). MIX CHOPPED BEEF WITH FINELY CHOPPED SPRING ONIONS, CHOPPED BEAN SHOOTS, MINT AND CORIANDER. TOSS WITH ENOUGH DRESSING TO FLAVOUR BUT NOT MAKE IT TOO SLOPPY. CUT CONTINENTAL CUCUMBERS INTO 1½ CM LENGTHS. THEN HOLLOW OUT THE SEEDS (ONLY HALFWAY) MAKING A CUP. FILL WITH BEEF MIX AND TOP WITH CHOPPED CHILLI.

Method

1 Toss spinach leaves, cucumber, capsicum, bean shoots, spring onion, mint and coriander leaves in a large salad bowl. 2 Slice the meat into strips as thin as possible and scatter across the salad.

3 To make dressing, shake ingredients in a jar until combined. Taste and adjust to your liking. Pour dressing over salad and toss together.

4 Sprinkle with chopped chilli and peanuts. www.peninsulakids.com.au

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Health

Diabetes

Denial WHAT IS DIABETES? In people with diabetes, blood glucose levels are higher than normal because the body does not produce enough insulin and often cannot use insulin properly.

Insulin is a hormone needed for glucose to enter the cells and be converted to energy.

Diabetes Helpline 1300 136 588 www.diabetesvic.org.au

I USED TO THINK THAT IT WAS A BLESSING TO BE DIAGNOSED WITH DIABETES AT THE EARLY AGE OF NINE. I ADJUSTED QUICKLY, AND CAN BARELY REMEMBER LIFE BEFORE DIABETES. THE PROBLEM WAS THOUGH, AT THAT AGE, LONG TERM COMPLICATIONS ARE A DIFFICULT CONCEPT TO GRASP. AS I MOVED INTO MY TEENAGE YEARS, I WANTED TO ‘FIT IN’. I WANTED TO EAT THE SAME FOOD AS EVERYONE ELSE. I DIDN’T WANT TO BE THE ‘SICK’ KID WHO NEEDED INJECTIONS TO LIVE. I COULDN’T BE BOTHERED DOING BLOOD TESTS, AND WOULD OFTEN LIE TO MY PARENTS ABOUT MY SUGAR LEVELS, AS I WOULD HAVE SECRETLY EATEN CHOCOLATE OR LOLLIES, OR SKIPPED AN INSULIN INJECTION, SENDING MY READINGS SKY HIGH. BY: JANE FLYNN

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

I wish I could say that as I got older, I matured, and started taking better care of my diabetes, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. I started smoking, and in my later teens, drinking. Doctor would still try and tell me about the risk of long term complications, but I chose to live, somewhat, in a state of denial. Once I moved out of home, I essentially stopped testing my sugars altogether. With no one to ride me about it, I basically lived like I wasn’t a diabetic. I would still have my insulin injections, but often at the wrong times, just when I could squeeze them in around whatever else I was doing. I ate what I wanted. By the time I was in my 20’s, my life was in such a spiral of dysfunction, having diabetes seemed like the least of my problems.

The problem with diabetes is, if you ignore it, it won’t go away. It will kill you. Slowly. Those long term complications that the Doctor kept banging on about include blindness, gangrene, organ failure.

When I found out I was pregnant in 2010, suddenly diabetes wasn’t just something in the background of my life. It became impossible to ignore once I realised the risk it posed to my unborn baby. Sadly, in a way, it took being responsible for another person’s body, for me to start looking after my own. Blood testing became a priority; I would check my sugar levels nearly every hour. I was having up to seven

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S U F F E R I N G

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At around five months pregnant, I was diagnosed as having developed diabetic retinopathy, an eye condition that lead to abnormal blood vessels growing in my eyes, then haemorrhaging. I could have gone blind. If I have another pregnancy, there is a very high risk I will go blind. My vision is so affected that I can no longer drive. Diabetic retinopathy is a risk for all pregnant diabetic women. Was I more at risk because I didn’t look after my diabetes properly before pregnancy? Maybe. Maybe not. It’s impossible to predict, but I assure you, I wish it was something I didn’t have to even consider.

My beautiful daughter was born safely, albeit, two months early. She is a blessing, and I am so lucky to have her. My body owed me nothing, after the way I had treated it for so many years.

Twenty four years after diagnosis, and I still have a complicated relationship with diabetes. I lapsed a lot after Milla was born. Once I stopped expressing, I became less vigilant with blood tests again.

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

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insulin injections a day. I went back to counting carbs again, watching every single thing I ate.

Pollen and allergens in the air can cause misery for many people, particularly hay fever sufferers. Itchy eyes, irritated skin and a runny nose can be debilitating and even trigger asthma and eczema. Salt therapy natural therapy designed relieve I stopped seeingis my aendocrinologist (diabetes specialist).to I blame congestion, inflammation and allergies of the airways my diabetes for not being able to drive, for not being able to safely and skin.pregnancy.

Salt is a I’m natural so those inhaling attempt another angry.antihistamine, It’s not fair. I feel all salt particles through sinuses and deep into the lungs emotions that I wasn’t capable of when I was diagnosed at nine-yearscan help reduce any irritation. The minute salt old. The trouble iswill now, ‘long termthe complications’ aresinuses, not some far particles also line walls of the draw awayout abstract concepts. They are on my door step.

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Ask the Experts!

What age should I first take my child to the dentist?

Healthy habits start early and having your child visit the dentist gives them a great start towards a healthy mouth. The Australasian Academy of Paediatric Dentistry as well as other international professional bodies recommends a first dental visit before the age of 1. I hear the eyebrows rise at such a statement but there is sound reasoning behind this advice.

Although baby teeth fall out, the molars need to last until the age of 12. Keeping baby teeth healthy is important as they: allow children to eat, are involved in speech development, important for the positioning of the adult teeth and of course to give a beautiful smile. The reason for visiting a dentist so early is to identify and prevent potential problems early.

Tooth decay is the most prevalent chronic disease of children and by the age of six, half of all children will have at least one decayed tooth! This is a lot of treatment for children we could avoid, as dental decay is preventable. A dentist can give you advice on many topics that are relevant to your little one. These include: assistance with that troublesome time of teething, identifying feeding practices that increase the risk of tooth decay, the use of dummy’s or thumb sucking and of course can examine the teeth for any developmental defects that increase the risk of decay.

If your child has already had their first birthday it’s time to start visiting the dentist for early identification and prevention advice.

Dr Daniel Cocker Specialist Paediatric Dentist Lucas Dental Care Paediatric Dental Specialists 134 Tanti Ave Mornington

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

My daughter is 12 years old and has straight top teeth.

The bottom teeth are only slightly crooked, however at my daughter’s last check-up the dentist recommended that we see a specialist orthodontist to discuss orthodontic treatment.

A couple of parents at schoolare questioning why I am taking her for a consultation. Why would our dentist be sending us to see the orthodontist when my daughter’s teeth look fine as they are?

Orthodontic treatment is about more than just straight teeth and a beautiful smile. Orthodontic treatment aims to give the patient an excellent occlusion (the way the teeth bite together), so that the teeth and jaws function properly (for speech, eating, etc) but also do not wear down prematurely, which can cause many dental problems later in life. Of course, if your child is undertaking orthodontic treatment, you would also expect them to have a wonderful smile at the end of treatment!

Your daughter may have a deep bite, which is a greater than normal vertical overlap of the bottom teeth by the top teeth. This can cause premature wearing down of the teeth or permanent damage to the gum behind the top front teeth. Once the teeth are worn, or the gum is damaged, this is permanent, and may be difficult to remedy with your dentist.

Despite your daughter’s top teeth being straight, they could also be protruded (or more forward than normal) relative to the lower teeth. Statistics show that children and teenagers with protruding top teeth are more likely to experience trauma to these teeth, resulting in pain as well as lengthy and expensive dental treatment to fix the damage. Sometimes teeth can actually be knocked out and lost permanently. It is not always possible to achieve an ideal cosmetic result with remedial dental treatment such as bridges and implants.

Crossbites may also be present toward the back of your daughter’s mouth. This means that one or more of the top teeth are biting on the inside of the lower teeth, instead of the other way around.

Not only can crossbites cause wearing down of the teeth, but they are also often associated with facial asymmetry (the appearance of a crooked face).

Even though you mention that your daughter’s bottom teeth are only slightly crooked, crowding (or crossing over of the teeth) tends to become worse with time, often accelerating during the late teens and early twenties. As we age, our lips tend to drop, so that with maturity, we tend to show more lower teeth than upper teeth. So even on purely cosmetic grounds, if the crowding of your daughter’s lower teeth is likely to become worse with time, it would be better to have them straightened now (and then kept straight in the long term with retainers).

Furthermore, teeth tend to move more quickly and efficiently in adolescents than they do in adults, as orthodontic tooth movement relies on bone metabolism. (It is still possible to move teeth in adults, although more slowly).

During puberty or the adolescent growth spurt, the body’s metabolism is very fast, which tends to result in optimum tooth movement and treatment.

So although at first glance your daughter’s teeth look fine, leading you or others to think that orthodontic treatment is unnecessary, there may be very important reasons for your daughter to have an orthodontic consultation. This way, she can be equipped with a healthy functioning bite, resulting in teeth that last a lifetime, to go with her beautiful smile.

Dr Daniel Sable BPharm, BDSc, MDSc, Grad Dip Clin Dent 134 Tanti Ave Mornington

Dr. Carol A. Thomson (Podiatrist) discusses some of the most asked questions regarding children’s feet.

The human foot is one of the most complicated parts of the body – 26 bones, plus ligaments, tendons muscle, blood vessels and nerves. Baby’s feet are soft and pliable, any abnormal pressure can easily cause deformities. Baby’s feet grow rapidly during the first year of life, reaching almost half their adult foot size. This is why foot specialists consider the first year to be the most important in the development of the feet.

Shoes – When your baby begins to take steps, it is not necessary to put shoes on indoors. Going barefooted is a healthy activity for children under the right conditions, It encourages strong development of muscles. However walking/ playing barefooted on dirty footpaths may expose your child to infection through accidental cuts, a stubbed toe, even a sprain or fracture.

Warts: planta warts, a condition caused by a virus which invades the sole of the foot through a small cut or break in the skin Do not apply home remedies to your child’s feet, always consult a specialist foot practitioner. Your local Podiatrist or General Practitioner.

Shoe sizes: Check shoe size and sock fit every few months.

Problems noticed at birth usually will not disappear by themselves. Do not wait until your child begins to walk to take care of a problem that you have noticed earlier.

Walking is the best of all foot exercises, according to the APMA Podiatrists recommend that walking patterns be observed carefully. Look for in toeing or out, is your child knock kneed, are their feet flat, do their ankles roll in, walk on their toes or other gait abnormalities?.

These problems can be corrected if they are detected early.

Whenever you have a question about your child’s feet contact a podiatrist who has a special interest in the pediatric foot.

Foot Street Podiatry 11 Foot Street Frankston Ph: 97663252

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134 Tanti Ave Mornington 03 5975 5166 smile@peninsulaortho.com.au www.peninsulaortho.com.au @Peninsula_Ortho

Peninsula Orthodontics

@Peninsula_Ortho

www.peninsulakids.com.au

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DAD SUGAR Sunny Life Baby Inflatable Flamingo $39.95 swimweargalore www.swimweargalore.com.au

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Sudo La-Di-Da Dress Carousel $69.95 treehouse republic www.treehouserepublic.com.au

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Janod Butterfly Stacking Puzzle $44.95 enchanted child www.enchantedchild.com.au

Anarkid Flag Bibdana $14.95 treehouse republic www.treehouserepublic.com.au

A WHILE AGO I HAD THE PLEASURE OF FILMING A COUPLE OF SEGMENTS FOR THE HUGELY POPULAR “THAT SUGAR FILM”. IN PARTICULAR, I FILMED THE EXPERTS DELIVERING THEIR MEDICAL FINDINGS TO DAMON GAMEAU AND REVEALING WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO HIS BODY IN THE FEW MONTHS THAT HE HAD BEEN EATING LESS SUGAR THAN I DO (A LOT LESS!).

AND IT WAS HORRIFYING. EVERYTHING THEY SAID SUGGESTED DEATH, DISEASE OR LOSS OF LIMB WAS JUST AROUND THE CORNER. BY: DAVID HAWKINS Everyone turned to me as I bit off a mouthful of Mars Bar. Awkward. I made self-deprecating jokes about it, pretended I didn’t care, packed up the equipment, said my goodbyes and sped home to tell PhenomA-Mum that we were quitting sugar. And we did. For a while.

But what caused my sugar problem to begin with? I was always the guy who chose savoury over sweet. Who wants chocolate when you could have a pie or a schnitzel burger? Somewhere something changed and I believe I may be able to find a key suspect:

WHEN I BECAME A PARENT MY SUGAR ADDICTION WENT INTO OVERDRIVE

knocking at the door (sometimes literally as guests arrived to meet the new bub, armed with yummy goodies. I’m not talking about those Nutella doughnuts; you can bring those anytime!). It’s a very easy trap to fall into, particularly in our sugar-saturated modern world, but I think I need to try to climb out of this sweet pit.

Body image is not my main goal, neither is my health really. I’m going to quit sugar, again, because my kids need a fighting chance to develop a strong and maintainable approach to food.

Right now that’s not happening.

My eldest jumps into the car after childcare and says “Surpwise, Daddy?”. He’s waiting for a naughty sugar-stuffed treat that I’ve gotten into the habit of giving him, in lieu of the guilt I feel for abandoning him all day long. But now if I don’t have anything or, even worse, I offer him an apple or banana, he loses his toddlernut and tantrums the whole way home.

I’VE TURNED MY BOY INTO AN ADDICT AND HE’S ONLY THREE It has been found that parents’ food habits tend to set those of their kids for their entire lives; I have only to look around the neighbourhood to see generations of bad eating echoing into the future. And I don’t want that for our boys, I want them to have a chance to start healthily.

This poor food education I’m teaching them has to change but it can’t if I’m openly gorging on sugary goodness all of the time.

Now I don’t want to openly blame my first-born for condemning me to an early grave, because I was doing that long before he was a dirty thought. Yet I can track my overconsumption of sugar back to around the time he was born. Sure I was working a job that stressed me out, while making a no-budget feature film in every spare minute. Prime excuses for comfort eating for sure, but the sleep deprivation factor of parenthood was significant.

SO I’M QUITTING. AGAIN. WILL YOU JOIN ME?

Without realising it was even happening I was giving into the very loud craving in my head multiple times a day. Why not treat myself to Frosties for brekkie? Bargain lollies at Coles, a naughty Twix while paying for petrol, a sugary snack before dinner and we’ve got to have desert. It’s tradition!

You can find the honest video accounts of Dave’s first two weeks going cold turkey on the Big Kid Little Kid facebook page.

I’M ON A ONE-DAD SUGAR-RIDE TO DIABETESVILLE Sugar has been my best friend yet again since Little L arrived.

There were admirable attempts to shake him, but ol’ Sugar kept on

Novelty Glass Holders From $14.95 20/20 Sight n Style www.sightnstyle.com.au

La De Dah Ava Unicorn $70 enchanted child www.enchantedchild.com.au

It won’t be easy. Sugar is insanely addictive (as bad as cocaine according to some experts). Add to that the tired factor of having young kids who only allow us small amounts of sleep, stressful days when parenting just goes bad, and you’re in for a helluva war. I’m not going to like it and I tend to avoid things I don’t hate, just like my kids. I think it’s time I started being a grown-up!

David Hawkins is a Peninsula based stay-at-home-dad who realised that he needed to improve his Dadding. So he set himself the simple task of being an Awesome Dad. He now challenges all dads to be Awesome Dads, by doing something out-of-theordinary with their kids every month, via his blog Big Kid Little Kid.

Sunny Life Stripe Avalon Underwater Camera $26.95 swimweargalore www.swimweargalore.com.au

Rock Your Baby Striped Rose Dress $44.95 Enchanted Child www.enchantedchild.com.au

www.peninsulakids.com.au

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five

of the most common emergency situations involving children and how to respond 118

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

BALNARRING VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTRE 3050 FRANKSTON - FLINDERS ROAD, BALNARRING

We aim to supply you with the freshest produce, the latest fashion & homewares trends, delicious cafes & restaurants and all of your daily needs, while ensuring that our Centre is always family friendly, clean and provides a happy and welcoming environment for everyone.

Balnarring Village has it all... now that’s convenient!

•Falls are one the most common emergency situations paramedics see involving children. The effects of falls can range from bleeding and abrasions (which are usually easily managed by a parent with a first aid kit) to sprains/fractures and head injuries. Head injuries from a fall are most likely to be minor but it is crucial that parents learn to recognise when the injury is serious as a serious head injury may require emergency care.

•Choking is often described as one of most scary things a parent may encounter! Being aware of the different types of choking and knowing how to respond can really be a matter of life and death. A choking event may be a complete obstruction where the child is silent as the airway is completely obstructed, or a partial obstruction with the child having difficulty breathing and hearing a wheeze. Appropriate treatment will depend on which type of choking but may include back blows and administering CPR. •One of the most common ambulance jobs our paramedics attend is for febrile convulsions although many parents don’t know what they are or how to respond and often cannot stay calm to help the situation. It is important to call 000. Lay your child on the floor and loosen any tight clothing, roll the child onto their side only once jerking has stopped or if they vomit. Never try to restrain a fitting child.

•Children are naturally curious. They learn by putting things into their mouths and touching things they shouldn’t. Among the most common injuries suffered by children are burns (caused by dry heat) and scalds (caused by hot liquids). Of course, prevention is better than cure. So keep children away from the kitchen, away from hot water taps, and away from anywhere where hot surfaces or liquids may be within touching distance. In the event your child is burned, you must act

quickly. Call 000, remove clothing, nappy or jewellery (Unless it is stuck to the skin) cool the skin under cold running water.

•Recognising respiratory distress early can have a huge impact on the final outcome, so knowing the signs is vital. Some signs and symptoms of breathing difficulties may include, wheezing sounds, pale/cool sweaty skin, hoarse barking cough, shortness of breath or sucking in of chest muscles, blueish colour around the mouth and the child may even have a fever. If your child is in respiratory distress you must call 000, keep upright and forward, provide reliever medication if available and if not breathing commence CPR.

The most important thing for parents and carers to do is to equip themselves with the correct skills to use in an emergency situation involving their child. It is essential that parents try to remain calm and collected during the event and have the knowledge and skills to render the appropriate treatment.

What happens immediately after an emergency can make all the difference! Learn all of this and much, much more, including how to administer CPR from a qualified paramedic in a three hour kids first aid course, available across Australia.

Visit www.kidsfirstaid.com.au or call 1300 138 133 for more information. www.peninsulakids.com.au

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What’s New at the Zoo? WITH NEW PROGRAMS, EXHIBITS AND SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES FOR THE KIDS EVERY SEASON, THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW TO SEE AND DO AND THE ZOO! Peninsula Kids has a family pass to giveaway to one lucky family to visit a zoo of their choice.

Passes are valued at $70.90 and valid till 24.3.16.

WIN A FAMILY PASS VALUED AT $70.90

HEALESVILLE SANCTUARY Where Eagles Fly | 19 December - 24 March Our famous Spirits of the Sky show turns 25!

To celebrate, new birds will fly alongside Jess the Wedge-tailed Eagle and Kevin the Corella.

Plus enjoy thrilling animal close encounters, flight training demonstrations and much more!

MELBOURNE ZOO Seal Lifesavers | 19 December - 24 March Pop-in to our pop-up beach in the iconic Carousel Park. Frolic in the sand and play at saving marine wildlife. Head to Wild Sea to say hello to our charismatic penguins, see Port Jackson sharks and experience our seal show.

WERRIBEE OPEN RANGE ZOO Hippo Splash | 19 December - 24 March Splash about in our new water play zone at Hippo Beach. Kids can work together to build a dam to make a moat. They’ll love cooling off in our water jets and fountain, plus you can catch our special Hippo Keeper Talk!

FIND OUT MORE AT www.peninsulakids.com.au/giveaways/

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

BY: DAVID HAWKINS

DO YOU NEED A QUICK AWESOME PRESENT FOR CHRISTMAS, A BIRTHDAY OR JUST A THANK YOU? LITTLE E AND I HAVE SOMETHING EASY TO MAKE THAT WILL BE LOVED BY ANYONE YOU GIVE IT TO.

CHECK OUT OUR

TODDLER ART COOKIE JAR! You Will Need: • glass cookie jar • glass/porcelain paint markers • paper • pen • sticky tape • scissors, scalpel or box cutter This concept started with Phenom-A-Mum’s plan to have Little E stencil a plate, on which we would layer a few biscuits, as a Christmas thank you gift to his amazing carers. I ruined that by deciding to ‘dad it up’ and upgrading the plate to a huge cookie jar which would better hold the taste-a-licious whoopie pies that I was planning to bake.

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creative

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Art

Cookie Jar

I’ve gone all Xmas-themed on it but this present will work with any fun pictures you choose, for any occasion.

1. Track down some stencil templates on Google Images: a tree, an elf, a heart or a star are great choices!

2. Place a piece of standard office paper over the top of the tablet and trace the outline with a pen.

3. Hack out the shape using a scalpel. If you can do fancy cutting like this with a pair of scissors, then my hat is off to you because it’s darn tricky.

4. Sticky tape your stencil to one side of the cookie jar and then let your kids loose with paint markers that can be set in the oven. Seeing as it is for Christmas, I set Little E up with red and green colours.

5. Paint two sides at a time, allowing these to dry before sticking on the remaining two stencils. This smooth move will stop any artwork from being smudged.

6. Once the masterpiece is complete stick it in the oven for 90 minutes to bake. Make sure you take off the rubber seal ring from under the lid!

I whipped up Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pies with Cream-cheese Marshmallow Filling to fill the jar. When I say “whipped”, I really mean “spent eight hours baking”. I only have two baking trays. And then discovered that I couldn’t buy marshmallow fluff like the recipe requests; so I made my own from scratch. But I didn’t even have what I needed for the scratch, so I had to make up my own glucose syrup. The only thing I didn’t do was grind wheat with two rocks to make flour!

I don’t want to brag (anymore than I am right now) but this present was raved about by all of the carers! The biscuits were gobbled and the jar was admired. Even better, you can whip this up with hours to spare before the special day.

www.peninsulakids.com.au

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Mason Jar

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cardboard castling

When I first mentioned the idea of empty paper roll crafts to the kids they were pretty excited. Suddenly, the bathroom usage in our house sky-rocketed and the munchkins became very enthused about cleaning the windows. Because of this new enthusiasm our stock pile of cardboard rolls built up quickly. Maybe don’t mention it in advance, but start to keep a stash of the empty rolls.

It only takes a few to make a really cool castle.

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glass jar• g sticks •sti low cky tape scissors• gli (or bow)• tter butterfly pom (or sequin pom trim )•glitter

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

What To Do: 1. Get your jar and glow sticks (5) ready 2. With scissors, cut the tops off the glow sticks.

3. Place glow sticks into jar and let the liquid drip down into jar.

*TIP – if you cut the opposite end of glow stick as well, the liquid will run quickly out!

4. Add glitter into jar, put lid tightly on and swirl around.

5. Decorate the outside and twirl the pom pom trim and sequin string around the jar. Use sticky tape to secure.

6. Complete jar by adding a glitter butterfly or bow on top of the lid.

7. Now turn off the lights and see your magical fairy jar come to life!

All items used in this craft and other awesome craft ideas available at whatastore.com.au

一甀爀琀甀爀椀渀最 䌀漀渀ǻ搀攀渀琀 䰀攀愀爀渀攀爀猀 最攀猀 䘀漀爀 愀 琀栀猀 渀 㘀 洀漀 愀爀猀 礀攀 琀漀 㔀

吀栀爀漀甀最栀 洀甀猀椀挀 愀渀搀 洀漀瘀攀洀攀渀琀 眀攀 挀爀攀愀琀攀 猀攀氀昀ⴀ爀攀氀椀愀渀琀Ⰰ 挀漀渀ǻ搀攀渀琀 愀渀搀 眀攀氀氀ⴀ爀漀甀渀搀攀搀 氀攀愀爀渀攀爀猀⸀

䴀椀渀椀 䴀愀攀猀琀爀漀猀 䌀氀愀猀猀攀猀

뜀 䈀甀椀氀搀 䌀漀渀ǻ搀攀渀挀攀 뜀 一甀爀琀甀爀攀 圀栀漀氀攀 䈀爀愀椀渀 䐀攀瘀攀氀漀瀀洀攀渀琀 뜀 倀爀漀瘀椀搀攀 匀漀挀椀愀氀 䤀渀琀攀爀愀挀琀椀漀渀 昀漀爀 倀愀爀攀渀琀 愀渀搀 䌀栀椀氀搀 뜀 䄀爀攀 䄀最攀ⴀ匀瀀攀挀椀ǻ挀 琀漀 䌀愀琀攀爀 昀漀爀 䌀栀椀氀搀爀攀渀ᤠ猀 䐀攀瘀攀氀漀瀀洀攀渀琀愀氀 匀琀愀最攀猀 뜀 倀爀漀瘀椀搀攀 䌀氀愀猀猀爀漀漀洀 䔀砀瀀攀爀椀攀渀挀攀 椀渀 倀爀攀瀀愀爀愀琀椀漀渀 昀漀爀 䬀椀渀搀攀爀 愀渀搀 匀挀栀漀漀氀

吀愀欀椀渀最 䔀渀爀漀氀洀攀渀琀猀 昀漀爀 ㈀ ㄀㘀 䴀漀甀渀琀 䔀氀椀稀愀 ⴀ 倀栀漀渀攀㨀 㐀 㤀 ㈀ 㐀㤀㔀

眀眀眀⸀洀椀渀椀洀愀攀猀琀爀漀猀⸀挀漀洀⸀愀甀 www.peninsulakids.com.au

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six

pointed snowflakes FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

We are seeking a Franchisee to service the Mornington area www.fairdinks.com.au/franchise or call Arron 0408 141 005

What To Do: 1. Start with a square piece of paper 2. Fold the paper diagonally to make a triangle 3. Fold the triangle in half to make a smaller triangle 4. Fold the smaller triangle into thirds (The more the folds are lined up the more symmetrical the snowflake!)

5. Cut the ‘v’ end off on the diagonal (This makes the points!)

6. Cut away at the sides. Use different shapes and slices in varying degrees.

(Keep in mind that the more paper you cut away, the more delicate of a snowflake to unfold.)

7. Carefully unfold your snowflake. (It may not lay flat right away – pop under a heavy book for a bit.)

8. Behold – your beautiful creation!

www.peninsulakids.com.au

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Stranger BY: MICHELLE MCCULLOUGH

I decided to contact Victoria Police to see if they could help me with my quandary and being the awesome sorts they are, they put me in touch with Inspector Zorka Dunstan of the Safer Communities Unit who was happy to point me in the right direction.

I HAVE TWO KIDS WHO WOULD DITCH ME IN A HEARTBEAT FOR A SNACK. IT DOESN’T EVEN Inspector Dunstan said parents and caregivers educating their children HAVE TO BE A GOOD SNACK. AS A MASSIVE FAN about the idea of stranger danger need to be careful not to install a OF LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, sense of fear.

THE FACT THAT MY CHILDREN CAN BE SO EASILY “Parents shouldn’t be alarmed by the idea of ‘stranger danger’. The BOUGHT MAKES ME EXTREMELY ANXIOUS. AS A reality is the overwhelming majority of the adult population have good CHILD I WAS TAUGHT NOT TO TAKE ANYTHING, ESPECIALLY ANYTHING EDIBLE, FROM STRANGERS, intent towards children, and there are only a small number of people who don’t. There are steps that parents can take to educate themselves BUT I WORRY THIS WON’T WORK FOR MY TWO and their children about how and when to associate with strangers or FOOD-CRAZED OFFSPRING. unknown people.

When it comes to the concept of “stranger danger” the rational part of my brain knows that not all strangers are dangerous (and that some dangers might not be strangers) but I still worry. How do I give my children the street smarts to keep themselves safe without making them terrified of every single person they meet?

“We shouldn’t be placing fear in children because the reality is that there are very few people that present risks to them. It comes down to giving children the knowledge and confidence to ask for help if they ever feel unsafe – from a passer-by or from police.’’

Inspector Dunstan encouraged parents to educate their children about

SUPPORT AND SERVICES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES · Early Childhood Intervention · Family Services · Occupational Therapy

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Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

Monday to Saturday

0359 751820

admin@bialapeninsula.org.au www.bialapeninsula.org.au

Danger all elements of safe behaviour from a young age – particularly around the time they are starting pre-school or school.

“We encourage parents to have conversations with their children from an early age and to educate them about when and how to call police. Teach your children how to call Triple Zero in an emergency or when they feel they are in danger. It’s also a good idea for parents to introduce themselves to their neighbours. If you know each other, you’ll be more likely to look out for each other’s safety.

“Children should feel that they can ask for help if they ever feel unsafe.

If children get approached by a stranger in public, they should seek help from another adult or a group of people. Most of all, we encourage children to not be afraid, but to remain aware – when in public or at home alone.”

Following Inspector Dunstan’s advice, it seems the key to raising street smart kids is to ditch the danger in “stranger danger” and replace it with awareness (although “stranger awareness” doesn’t have the same ring to it!).

I personally think a great way to teach “stranger awareness” is to teach your children how to be assertive and to trust their instincts.

Letting them know that it’s ok to say ‘no’, it’s ok to leave a situation and it’s ok to ask (or shout) for help if they find themselves in a situation with a stranger which makes them feel scared, uncomfortable or confused.

But like with most parenting dilemmas, I think it’s up to each family to work out what is going to work best for them! Good luck, and lets keep each other safe out there.

Michelle McCullough is a journalist, mum of two, amateur photographer and when she has time, a meerkat enthusiast. She lives in the eastern suburbs and spends her days trying to find new and fun ways to keep her two little monkeys entertained.

“Parents shouldn’t be alarmed by the idea of ‘stranger danger”

A space for discovery and learning

Windermere Early Learning Centre provides a natural play space with seamless transition from a purpose built indoor environment to spectacular outdoor playgrounds.

Our team of warm, professional educators and support staff are dedicated to ensuring your child has the best early childhood education experience.

• For babies and children up to 5 years • Qualified and experienced team • Funded four year old preschool program • Fresh, nutritionally balanced meals • Nappies provided • Affordable fees (CCB/CCR applicable)

Call 1300

946 337

www.windermere.org.au

www.peninsulakids.com.au

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Books

Reviews The brilliant team that brought you the best-selling Where is the Green Sheep? have a new story to tell.

A story of THIS, and a story of THAT.

FOX + HORACEK

An utterly DELIGHTFUL bedtime tale.

By MEM FOX

+ JUDY HORACEK

PIP AND PIM

CLEMENTINE’S BATH

A, YOU’RE ADORABLE

THIS AND THAT

BY AUNTY RUTH HEGARTY 3+yrs, Scholastic, p/b, $15.99

BY ANNE WHITE 3+yrs, Scholastic, h/b $24.99

BY JUSTINE CLARKE 3+yrs, Scholastic, h/b, $24.99

BY MEM FOX 2+yrs, Scholastic, h/b, $19.99

Tonight, for the very first time, Pip and Pim are going down to the forest floor. Papa Possum warns the babies to be careful, but the two excited young possums scamper far away in search of new friends, fun and adventure.

Clementine runs away to escape a bath. “NOT A BATH!” Thinks Clementine. She hides under the bed, behind the curtains and even in Baby’s toy box. Can her family find her in time to give her a bath?

Come and wander through the alphabet with adorable ants, dogs playing dominoes, ice-skating iguanas, picnicking penguins and even a zippy zebra! Sing along with Justine Clarke’s charming CD recording too!

I’ll tell you a story of this. And I’ll tell you a story of that.

The best-selling team that brought you Where is the Green Sheep have a new story to tell. A story of this, and a story of that. An utterly delightful bedtime tale. This and That is destined to become a classic bedtime book.

SING A REBEL SONG

WEIRDO 5 TOTALLY WEIRD!

HARRY’S SECRET

BY PAMELA RUSHBY 10+yrs, Scholastic, p/b, $16.99

BY ANH DO 6+yrs, Scholastic, p/b, $14.99

BY ANITA HEISS 8+yrs, Scholastic, p/b, $9.99

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS AND THE SENSATIONAL SAGA OF SIR STINKS-A-LOT

Maggie McAllister and her family are caught up in one of the most dramatic events in Australian history. Maggie plays a part in no small way herself, through her writing. Her friends do not see things the same way, and for Maggie, singing a rebel song may yet have heartbreaking consequences.

The Camp Kangaroo Challenge is on, and Weir’s team is up against Bella and the new kid, who has the coolest name ever…Hans Some! Yep, that’s really his name!

Weir Do vs Hans Some! It won’t be easy…but it will be funny!

Harry has a secret. He loves to draw. You wouldn’t think that would be a problem but Harry’s friend Gav thinks skateboarding, footy and fishing are cool, but art is definitely not. But when Harry enters the local art competition, his talent is no longer hidden. Or is it?

WIN ONE LUCKY PRESCHOOLER & ONE LUCKY SCHOOL AGED READER WILL WIN A PRIZE PACK OF THE REVIEWED BOOKS TO ENTER, VISIT:

www.peninsulakids.com.au/giveaways 128

Peninsula Kids – Summer 2015/2016

BY DAV PILKEY 7+yrs, Scholastic, h/b, $14.99

George and Harold, and their doubles, Yesterday George and Yesterday Harold, have a good thing going. Two of them go to school, while the other two hide in the treehouse and play video games all day – then they switch! But when their malicious gym teacher, Mr. Meaner, creates a method of mind control that turns their fellow students into attentive, obedient, perfect children, the future of all humanity will be in their hands!

Meet & feed friendly kangaroos and wallabies Pat & cuddle up to a koala (2 sessions daily) interactive animal encounters Dingoes, colourful birds, snakes and lizards Bushfood garden, wetlands and more learn about our critically endangered animals and their conservation

at night, Moonlit Sanctuary comes alive with world-famous lantern-lit evening tours night birds are active, gliders swoop around and endangered quolls, pademelons and bettongs forage for food Bookings required city hotel transfers & Private tours available

cafĂŠ & gift shop available

Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park 550 tyabb-tooradin rd, Pearcedale, Victoria, 3912, australia Ph 5978 7935 www.moonlitsanctuary.com.au

www.peninsulakids.com.au

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ENINSULA KID P S M A G A Z I N E

To secure your place contact

Miriam Doe 0421 085 974 Download our media kit at www.peninsulakids.com.au/advertise-with-us www.facebook.com/MorningtonPeninsulaKids

Autumn

EDITION

M A R C H 2016

KIDS FUN FARM!

Over 60 acres of adventure FUN for kids!

Petting Barn Tractor Rides Mini Golf Pony Rides Adventure Playground Tyre Maze Jumping Pillow and much more.

Open Wednesday to Sunday 10am–4pm 233 Mornington-Tyabb Road, Moorooduc Enter via Stumpy Gully Road www.thebiggoose.com.au www.peninsulakids.com.au

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PENINSULA KIDS SUMMER 2015/16

ENINSULA KID P S LOVING FAMILY LIFE ON THE PENINSULA

SUMMER 2015/16

Summer Safety

Feature INFORMATION FOR SMOOTH SAILING THIS SUMMER!

PETER MITCHELL

www.facebook.com/morningtonpeninsulakids

Runs during school holidays

GIVEAWAYS THINGS TO DO ON

THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA

FREE