Parents

FANTASTIC!! Before you do get around to the dump trip, let’s just have a look through the pile to see what amazing play and healthy development opportunities might be in there for your children (grandkids, neighbours etc).

First it was toilet paper….people started hoarding, the shelves were bare, supermarket staff were abused. To put it bluntly we all went a bit loopy. ScoMo had to get firm and tell us to “Stop It! Just stop it!”. An item that has always been available to us and its importance …

For those who do not know me, I run an Outdoor Occupational Therapy practice. Our core messages centre around increasing time outdoors and healthy development. So if you had said three months ago that I would be writing a blog entitled “Outdoors Online” I would have probably laughed out loud.

In 2019, Jump Up For Kids made the decision to more closely align two parts of our business – our clinic based Occupational Therapy (OT) services and our outdoor play programs. Whilst we have always had a joint vision and mission statement, we felt like we were running two di…

Learning how to control and regulate emotions and arousal levels is one of the most important skills a child can possess. We all want our kids to feel in control and safe as they navigate this world. So how can we support our children so that they can self-regulate?

Toilet training can often be a tedious task – particularly when it is not clicking for your child. So what can you do to support your child in gaining the independence to be able to take care of their toileting needs? Keep reading and you can use these handy tips to help the …

Over the years, we have watched many children arrive on the first day of a Jump Up Outdoors program determined not to take their shoes off. After a few hours, they might reluctantly remove their shoes at the creek and sometimes forget to put them back…

In today’s society we are constantly bombarded with how we should be teaching our children, how to promote healthy development and how to best prepare our kids for the challenges they will face in this ever changing world.

Floortime is the direct practical application of the DIR framework. In order to support a child’s development, we need to interact with them in a way that is meaningful and fun for them. And what do children so best? PLAY!

Motivating and stress-free beginner scissor skill activities.

Children in Australia live in one of the most affluent countries in the world and yet it seems this affluence is harming and in some cases killing them – increases in childhood obesity, youth suicide, technology addiction, failure to launch, mental health disorders.

In Australia around the age of 4.5 – 5 years old, children are considered to be ‘ready to learn’ or ‘ready for school’. Of course as humans we are learning from birth and certainly the years from birth to five are one of the steepest learning curves of our entire lives.

If you’re craving rest by the end of term then chances are that your child is too.

Would you describe your childhood with terms such as simple, adventurous, outdoors ? Would you describe your child’s childhood with terms such as clean, indoors or structured? How times have changed! Thankfully fashion and hairstyles have changed but does it matter that play has changed so significantly?

Although we live in a digital age, handwriting remains important. Writing by hand engages the brain and body differently to using a keyboard or screen. It can also be a more mindful way of learning as it requires one to slow down while they write, and this can improve the ability to retain information.

Today, August 12, is International Youth Day. A day to celebrate young women and men as essential partners in change and an opportunity to raise awareness of challenges and problems facing the world’s youth. There are currently 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in the world.