A day at the beach (in sunny, hot weather) is always good. However, these top five beach essentials for kids will make your beach day even better! Inspired by Loukia's Top Five Summer Beach Essentials — I gathered together some beach essentials for kids.
Beyond towels and water bottles and sunscreen and sun hats, these five things will make family beach time easier.
Make the most of your vacation to a sunny destination by planning ahead. Don’t miss these other articles that will help you and your family have the holiday you deserve.
Of all the awesome activities I can recommend for kids this summer, joining the TD Summer Reading Club is high on the list. It’s a summer tradition in our family.
"What is it?" you ask.
The simple answer is this: it's a fantastic free activity that encourages reading and entertains kids.
The TD Summer Reading Club runs in partnership with the Toronto Public Library and Library and Archives Canada; helping children across Canada build reading skills (and a love of reading). Running from mid-June until Labour Day, go visit your neighbourhood public library to join the reading club. There's no cost and your kids will receive an activity kit and poster — my kids always love them! The TD Summer Reading Club welcomes readers from pre-schooler to teen.
Here are a few books picks from the Survive theme:
Title: The Little Hummingbird
Author: Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Age Group: 4-8
Title: Naomi's Tree
Author: Joy Kogawa
Age Group: 6-9
Title: The Daring Book for Girls
Author: Andrea J. Buchanan
Age Group: 8-12+
The TD Summer Reading Club is a weekly destination and on some summer days you just need a kid-friendly, air conditioned, destination. It’s a great library activity—listen to stories, do a craft, read a book. And again, it’s FREE. It is a great way to get kids reading through the off-school months.
The club is drop-in so you don’t have to worry about missing a week because of camp or vacation—kids can read anywhere/anytime. It’s also a really easy kid activity—get a book, read a book.
Here are a few books picks from the Explore Far theme:
Title: Fly High, Fly Guy
Author: Ted Arnold
Age Group: 4-8
Title: Travels with My Family
Author: Mary-Louise Gay
Age Group: 8-11
Title: The Vacation
Author: Polly Horvath
Age Group: 10-12+
Here’s how I customized the TD Summer Reading Club to my family…
No, my toddler isn’t old enough to really participate but he loves reading books and the big kids love reading books to him. So I encourage everyone to have 20 minutes of reading every summer day (read to yourself or read to your brother). It’s a part of our family summer routine which encourages reading skills while entertaining the kids.
You know I’m raising bilingual kids and keeping language skills strong through the summer can be a challenge (we get lazy and talk Franglais). So, I have the kids choose an English book and a French book when we are at the library. It’s a great way to get them exploring different areas of the library as well as keep that brain skill of switching between languages strong.
I do my part to join the TD Summer Reading Club by putting the remote down and picking up a book myself. Not only am I showing the kids how to be a reader — I find I am a happier mom when I read. I love re-charging my brain with a good book.
Click to find out more about the TD Summer Reading Club.
Want to inspire a love of reading in your children?
Check out some great ideas and more stories by moms on our Get Kids Reading page.
And to find out more about TD’s Children Literacy initiatives visit tdreads.com.
This is proudly sponsored by our friends at TD Bank Group.
tdreads.com
First off, I love Pinterest. I find it a great source for inspiration, recipes, kid activities, and more. I have it bookmarked on my computer as well as in app form on my phone. But I discovered something I think is share-worthy about Pinterest (especially if your kids like to pin)...there is content which is, um, well you decide...Pinterest or Soft Porn?
I first heard of erotic photos on Pinterest via a friend's status update on Facebook. Apparently, her daughter had typed in a doll's name which came up with all sorts of results (the kind of non-doll-related results your 5-year-old might not be ready for). From there I did a bit of research and found out Mashable had done an interesting post "Pinterest or Porn-terest?" I even searched "Caroline" (my own name) in Pinterest and found a few risqué pictures which were, well, certainly not me.
Consider this pin: nude or naughty?
I don't really see that naked lady as art (and yes she's absolutely naked in the original pin — clearly so — I added the boxes so that it wouldn't be explicit here). I do consider it to have a sexuality that doesn't fit with with my kids at their present ages. And I'd appreciate them not stumbling across it when they pinned.
Now, my kids have seen naked-body-parts. Statues at museums. Print ads in France. Topless beaches in Spain. I am not sheltering them from body parts. It's the sexuality which alerts my parent radar.
If you search "Porn" on Pinterest, you are most likely to see shoes or bags. "Erotica" brings up pictures of Madonna. But should you search "hot military men" the visuals of servicemen taking half-naked selfies pop up. "Boudoir," "Nudes," and "Sexy" also can bring unexpected pins.
On Pinterest's side, they do try to give you — the pinner — regulating rights over questionable material. Under the Acceptable Use Policy they state:
You agree not to post User Content that is sexually explicit or pornographic
Moreover, they have a page dedicated to Pin Etiquette and invite pinners to report or flag questionable pins.
In the end, I suppose it's not up to Pinterest to filter and sort the pins or pin boards. But should your kids pin, just know there are not parental controls on the site. Use your own judgement and do your own research. Like everything on the web...Pinterest is a wealth of information with a few dark corners. Keep your kids out of the dark corners.
What do you think: Do nudity and sexuality belong on Pinterest?
-----------------------------------------------------
Image Sources:
Printer-friendly version