Darwin is a place that is really geared towards our young population with there being many family orientated activities that are FREE and FUN. The Fun bus is just one of the many things on offer to keep the little ones busy and entertained during the week. The Fun bus mobile playgroup is run by the City of Darwin Council. It operates Monday to Friday except on public holidays and the December/January School holidays.
Starting school is a huge milestone for both your child and you as a parent. It can be a time of much excitement and anxiety (for both parents and/or the child!) It may be the first time they are away from you for long periods of time. Preschool in the Northern Territory is the first year of schooling.
Darwin Family Life has done the research and currently has had four children go through preschool so knows what to expect. Read on for more information about what you need to do, when your child can start preschool and which schools they could attend.
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Smash it, roll it, twist it, make animals, cut it…..the options are endless. So much imagination is ignited with play dough. We love playing with it in our household! It can be one of those activities you either love or hate. It can be messy – but of the messy play fun it is one that makes least amount of mess. Or if you really cannot stand the mess head to the funbus mobile playgroup – they often have play dough out for the kids!
Play dough can be very simple to make at home and then you then know the exact ingredients, giving you peace of mind it is safe for your babies or toddlers if they decide to eat some. Which for my toddler at the moment – everything goes in the mouth! Read on for our quick, easy and safe play dough recipe and it’s many benefits.
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One of our favourite places to take the kids is the Darwin Botanic Gardens. Weekend family time we find it is always good to get out and explore somewhere with the kids and let them burn some energy. We are truly lucky in Darwin with the various locations and loads of events to fill our calendars – many of them being free of charge too – which is always helpful with a large family.
Today we have guest blogger Jodie AKA Territory Mama sharing with us her favourite experiences of travelling to various places around the Northern Territory. Jodie is mama to one little girl who is about to turn 1 and her little family loves exploring.
It’s no secret that we love travelling and camping in the NT. Here’s a little run down on some of our favourite spots to visit with kids as well as some of our essentials that make life easier and enjoyable for everyone, when travelling around the NT.
It’s hard not to love Kakadu! There’s something for everyone, but our favourites are the waterfalls! We love camping and camping with a view just adds to the magic. Gunlom has one of the best views in the park, whether you are at the top overlooking the escarpment or from your camp site watching the water fall. There’s a great grassed area for kids to play in and for most of the season you can also swim in the bottom pool.
If planning to complete the hike to the top of the falls with young children, I would highly recommend a good quality carrier. We love ours and now don’t leave home with out it!
The Katherine area has a lot to offer for travelling families. Kids love the gorge cruise. It’s quite accessible for kids and even has an option for a quick dip.
Edith Falls has a great camp site with plenty of green grass and a great spot for a swim at the bottom or top of the falls. Katherine Outback Adventures also offer a kid friendly show with a glimpse into the life of living on a working station.
We love to take a good quality play mat with us for Bub to have a roll around on while on our travels. One with waterproof or even semi-waterproof material is ideal for camping. We also like to use one with a little padding for those harder rockier camp sites.
Our latest adventures took us to Keep River National Park, towards the W.A. border. This little known Park was a delightful surprise. When we visited unfortunately there was not a lot of water left but there was still a great lagoon for bird watching and some easier quite spectacular walks that are also manageable for little legs.
One of our favourite travel accessories is our compact high chair. Great for keeping the little ones ‘contained’ with some snacks or toys, while setting up or packing up camp.
We hope you have enjoyed this blog! Please leave aus a comment if you found something helpful or a new place to explore! We look for forward to seeing you in the Top End!
For more NT adventures please follow Territory Mama and her travels on Instagram Facebook and find her website blog here
Today we have a guest blogger – Alice Harold who is a new mum, a new breast feeder and a new business owner! She is a beautiful local Darwin Mumprenuer, a small business owner and is passionate about her business and her products. Alice is the proud owner of the Milk Mumma which creates scrubs and lotions which are handmade with love and your breast milk!
I am particularly passionate about the wonderful breast milk and have breast fed all four of my babies including my twin babies. It can be the most challenging and rewarding time to know your body can heal and nurture your little baby so when Alice decided to join our directory, I was super excited to have her on board and to try out her scrubs and lotions first hand! (My thoughts on those wonderful products will be shared on another blog!). Today she shares with us her story of her birth of her beautiful baby girl and how her new baby then created her new business. Read on for Alice’s story:
This week on the blog we have Kylie Sharp from My Childcare Directory summarising the Child care changes occurring in 2018. Kylie is a wife and a mum to two gorgeous little boys who love cars, trains, dinosaurs and getting messy! Since having children she has been a working mum as well as a stay at home mum. In these times Kylie used multiple childcare settings. Kylie has dealt with the children’s tantrums and the guilt that they cause when you leave them! Kylie also has Bachelor of Teaching (Birth to 5 years) so understands how childcare services work.
The Childcare Directory was created to help parents like yourselves navigate all the options available. Kylie will investigate your options and provide reviews from current and past families that have used the services to help you with your decision. You can also follow Kylie on Facebook or visit her website here
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As a busy mum, I am always on the lookout for ways to make my life easier and simpler. One of the constant needs in running a household is fuel in the car. But Darwin now has drive through fuel convenience in several locations. Darwin Family Life has done the research and found the locations for you!
I dread seeing that little fuel light come on and having a car full of kids, can you relate? You are then faced with the dilemma of dragging all the kids into and out of the car …..which can be a lot of effort and all those damn tempting chocolate bars right at the cashier. All the kids then want to grab one and say “can we have one Mummy”. Or you leave the kids in the car, lock it and run in to pay like a madwoman because you have left your kids in the car for one minute. Which of course is not really a great option.
Luckily there is now another option!!
Darwin’s picture perfect views of our foreshore are truly spectacular and what better way to enjoy them, than at a Family friendly cafe. Darwin Family Life headed out for brunch on the weekend. As a parent, I am sure you can relate to picking your venues carefully when you decide to venture out with your little munchkins. There is nothing worse than going to a cafe or restaurant that is not very welcoming to families. Well rest assured the Foreshore Cafe next to Nightcliff swimming pool is a perfect place for the family to head to for a bite to eat, coffee or a refreshing cold drink. Continue Reading →
Going back to work after maternity leave is bound to raise some practical issues. Issues such as finding good quality child care, dealing with child care expenses, getting adjusted to a new daily routine and managing additional workload. Oh and also still being a Mum and juggling work into the mix.
Before you decide to make the transition and return to your office/professional work space, take the time to understand that you will need some time to adjust. You may suddenly feel that you have two huge jobs to handle and absolutely no help. This happens in most cases because the load of domestic duties is typically left up to the woman. Therefore, the first step that you need to take is to sit down with your partner. Have a discussion on distributing domestic responsibilities in a fair way for the future. Can your partner bath the baby while you get dinner ready? What tasks and activities do you need to do during the week and who will be responsible for them? In my household my hubby does the dishes and I do the laundry.