An Emergency Preparedness Checklist -- Top 10 Tips For Families

The week of May 5 to 11 is Emergency Preparedness Week in Canada. An annual event, the first week of May signals an opportunity for people to make sure that they're ready for any eventuality that may occur...

You pass her on the street and give her nary a glance.

That frail old woman, doddering and slow, walking along with a cane.

Poor thing, you think. And then you move on.

You go about your day, perhaps on to work; then to the grocery store for a few...

"I have to go pee!"

No sooner do those dreaded words leave the lips of your child and you've already broken out into a cold sweat.

The thought of entering a public bathroom with your kid is more than you can bear. A cesspool of germs -- literally -- thoughts...

Moms at the park playing with their kids are a common sight in most neighborhoods. After all, children love playing and moms, for the most part, love playing with their kids. Not surprisingly then, is it any wonder that there are as many different types of moms at the park...

All parents lie to their kids. It's part and parcel of being a parent.

The reality of being called "mom" or "dad" means that you're gonna have to bend the truth somewhat. And often. Sometimes the lie is to get your child to do something, like eat their dinner (yes...

What is it about moms? They just seem to know everything, right? Why is that?

My mother is no different. Sure, there as a time -- a long time -- that I didn't believe her. After all, what did she know? She couldn't have any sound advice because she hadn't...

Kids and sports -- if you're a parent you know that it's just a matter of time before you address the topic. It doesn't matter if your child is a boy or a girl, the question hovers over their heads nonetheless. Will they play sports? What sports do they like?...

If you're a parent, you know that your little darlings may not always be telling you the absolute truth. Yes, it's hard to believe, but kids lie. A lot. Kids lie so much that it's any wonder that their collective noses don't start sprouting like Pinocchio's famous schnoz....

Gone are the days when you waited for New Year's Eve with excited anticipation. No, you are in a different stage of your life now. You are a parent of children. Young children. Ones that can't be left alone while you party hardy with your friends. New Year's...

This blog post will self-destruct in 15 days. That's if you believe all of the hype about the Mayan prophecy. Apparently, the world, as we know it, will come to an end. It's over, folks. It's the end of the world as we know it; I feel fine but...

"It takes a village to raise a child," a wise woman once said. A noble philosophy one can concede, but is it realistic?

Sure, in some instances extended family is the glue that holds everything together, from child care to support to finances and more. There's nothing like having grandma...

"What I say goes," we think to ourselves. Or so it should go, but often doesn't because of the age in which we live.

When it comes to discipline, many parents have taken a large step backwards, and technology is to blame. In this day and age of smart phone...

I've been using the power of Santa Claus for a few weeks now, and things are looking good.

He keeps me from raising my voice. He keeps my kids on their best behaviour. His spectre over the day-to-day insanity that is part and parcel of raising many kids is one...

We've all heard them. Those annoying phrases that our parents said to us growing up and now that we're parents ourselves, we've decided to inflict them our own kids.

There must be a gene that is passed on from generation to generation that provides the ability for a parent...

Who hasn't bought some waxy, chocolate-covered almonds from a kid that was selling them door-to-door? Or perhaps you may have parted with your hard-earned cash due to the incredible guilt felt after seeing a cute but wary child holding up a sorry-looking box of "candy" in front of your local...

Sometimes you don't have to look too far beyond your own backyard. Such was the sentiment behind my most recent family vacation.

A lifelong Torontonian, I've seen startlingly little of the rest of our beautiful country, a reality of which I'm not proud. This reality was the impetus behind my...

I haven't read Fifty Shades of Gray and not sure that I want to.

From what I hear, it's quite the scorcher.

Is it abnormal to be generally embarrassed by the overall heaving and titillation that accompanies the mere mention of this book's title?

A prude I'm...

There's no doubt that the digital age is here to stay. Not only are we enamored with the ability to send and receive information in a digital format, but our children are equally smitten. I hear more and more parents bemoaning the fact that they're not able to retrieve their...

My family and I are city slickers, that's a fact.

We love the life that living in the downtown core affords us. Walk for five minutes from our home and you've got a choice of five or more coffee shops, a few fruit markets, some funky restaurants and, well......

You can't babysit your own kids. That's fairly obvious.

At least in the case of women, or so it seems.

Apparently those in possession of the double-X chromosome are the only ones that are the true "parents" of their children; men are merely "caregivers," if you believed the U.S. Census...