Bully proof

What can you do to make sure your child doesn't get bullied at school? Find out about "bully proof courses" in your area! Bullying is a major issue for all school children and parents these days and it seems schools or government initiatives are relatively ineffective in dealing with this problem. So it's back to us parents to sort it out - fine. I've recently come across so called "bully proof" courses which a number of martial arts disciplines offer. The courses are based on standard entry level martial arts classes but offer a few elements of how to deal with being bullied specifically.

After attending a number of karate classes I think enrolling your child in a martial arts course will address various aspects at play when it comes to bullying at school.

Long haul air travel with toddlers

Going on a long haul trip (as in 6h+ flight time) with a child aged 18 months to 3 years is probably one of the most challenging travel experience you can have as a parent. Obviously many of us do this but the difference between wanting to fling yourself off the plane and getting a few hours of sleep is all in the preparation. Check out some essential travel secrets for long haul trips with a toddler.

Here's our long-haul survival list (in order of keeping you sane)

#1 The most essential toy for air travel is a Doodle Pad. It's the most versatile, unmessy, imaginative and inexpensive toy you'll ever buy (you can get them for about $10). It's a true life saver as you can draw stuff, erase it and draw some more for quite a while. Most importantly you can use during take off / landing and when passing through turbulent weather (unlike some electronic gadgets).

Countdown calendars

Here's a useful tip to manage motivation and excitement for the little people in your house when you are working towards a particular goal or significant changes in their lives. You can use a "countdown calendar" to count down to the day when the change happens - for example starting school, moving house or an upcoming travel adventure. Countdown calendars work in the same way a Christmas calendar works except that you just count down the number of days (rather than using the days in the month). The easiest way to create a countdown calendar is by starting with a large piece of paper or card board and drawing something relevant on it (e.g. a house, building, plane or place, etc). Make the drawing as large as possible.

The million dollar mother's day tip

OK - so Mother's Day is coming up in a number of countries (either the first or second Sunday in May depending on where you live). So you need to get a present for your partner, right? So you don't know what to get, right? Well here's the million dollar trick ... go to pinterest.com find your partner's Boards (yes she will have a pinterest account and she will have created lots of boards). See what she pin'd and repin'd, pick something nice that fits with your budget for Mother's Day and get her that. This is a surefire method for getting her something that she really likes (as opposed to something that she pretends she likes).

Have a great Mother's Day!

-DIYFather.com

What presents to give babies and young children (by age)

Non-parents or brand new parents sometimes struggle to find age appropriate gifts for babies and children. To make the present-finding process a bit easier, here's a table with suitable presents and gifts by age range.

Age range	Gift idea / suitable presents
Not born yet - 3 months	Resist the urge to give newborn baby clothes unless you know for a fact that the parents-to-be are not already drowning in baby clothes. If you can't resist at least buy clothes for older age ranges like 6months or 12months and up. Instead of clothes get any of the following as gifts (which you can never have enough): picture books, wall stickers / murals for the nursery, bath toys or nappies (if you want to be really practical).
3 - 6 months	Teething toys, bibs, floor mats (protective covers or to play on), picture books, baby gyms / activity sets or Lamaze toys
6 - 12 months	Soft balls, stacking blocks, cardboard books and flash cards, toy animals, dolls, shape sorters, bubble guns or bubble makers (shapes and bubble liquid)
12 - 24 months	Simple jigsaw puzzles (up to 20 pieces), play dough, crayons / chalk, doodle pads, simple musical instruments (e.g. maracas)
2 - 3 years	Story books, toy animals / action figures, jigsaw puzzles (up to 48 pieces), train sets, dolls and doll house, toy vehicles (trucks, cars), fancy dress costumes or accessories (like dinosaur tails or princess tiaras), large LEGO blocks (Duplo)
3 - 5 years	Children's kitchen sets, ball games, water color sets, kites, paper planes or toy planes, LEGO blocks, paddle pools, scooters and tricicles

With children 5 and up it's pretty much down to what they are in to at the moment. Find out what they really like - common themes include fairies, trains, princesses, Disney stories and characters, dinosaurs, animated movies and related characters.

Top child-friendly airlines in the world

Here's a list of top airlines and their child-friendliness (as rated by DIYFather dads). Send in comments or experiences about a particular airlines and we'll include it in the list.

Air New Zealand is the national carrier of New Zealand serving routes between Oceania, the US/Canada, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the Star Alliance and cabin crew are generally quite kid friendly and accommodating. All AirNZ lounges have facilities or toy boxes for kids and you can use Star Alliance lounges (some of which have kids facilities) in airports where AirNZ doesn’t have a dedicated lounge. Air New Zealand hands out little game packs to children on board.

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China Airlines is the national carrier of the Republic of China. The airline serves destinations in China and routes to Europe, North America and Asia. The airline is part of the SkyTeam alliance so you can make use of SkyTeam lounges (some of which have facilities for kids).

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LAN Airlines is the national carrier of Chile serving routes between South America, North America, Oceania, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the One World Alliance.

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LOT is the national carrier of Poland and the world oldest airline in operation serving European destination and long haul routes to the US/Canada, Asia and Africa. The airline is part of the Star Alliance so you can make use of Star Alliance lounges (some of which have facilities for kids).

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Swiss International Airlines is a Swiss airline (owned by Lufthansa) serving European destinations and routes to the Americas, Asia and Africa. The airline is part of the Star Alliance so you make use of Star Alliance lounges (some of which have facilities for kids). Staff are generally more kid friendly than staff at the parent company Lufthansa.

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Air Canada is the national carrier of Canada serving routes between the Americas, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the Star Alliance so you can make use of Star Alliance lounges (some of which have facilities for kids).

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Emirates is the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates which operates an extensive network of routes around the planet. The airline is not part of any alliance but has codeshare agreements in place with Japan Airlines, Korean Air, South African Airways and Thai Airways International (among others).

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Qantas is the national carrier of Australia serving routes between Oceania, the Americas, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the One World Alliance but also operates their own lounges in many key destinations. Qantas staff are generally very kids friendly and hand out ice creams and games to kids on the plane.

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Singapore Airlines is the national carrier of Singapore serving routes between Oceania, North America, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the Star Alliance and operates its lounges in many key destinations around the globe. SIA staff are somewhat less kids friendly than other Asian airlines however the inflight entertainment is second to none so kids aged 3 years and up are easily entertained. The airline also hands out little game packs for kids.

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Royal Jordanian is the national carrier of Jordan serving routes between Africa, the Middle East, North America, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the One World Alliance.

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American Airlines is a US based airline serving destinations in the Americas and intercontinental destinations to Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania. AA is part of the One World Alliance so you can make use One World lounges (although not many of those have special facilities for kids).

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10 foods pregnant women should avoid

Every dad and dad-to-be should know the list of foods mums-to-be should avoid during pregnancy. Here's a quick summary cheat sheet*:

1. Cold deli meats or pâté
   
2. Ready-made salads
   
3. Soft cheeses like brie, ricotta and blue vein
   
4. Sprouted seeds and bean sprouts
   
5. Sushi and especially not raw fish
   
6. Unpasteurized milk
   
7. Raw egg and foods with raw egg like mayonnaise, aioli or tiramisu
   
8. Raw meats
   
9. Ice cream
   
10. Stuffing (chicken / poultry stuffing)

And in general any food that is not fresh and has been sitting on food counters for a while (e.g. pre-prepared sandwiches) or that has been in the fridge for longer than 12h. Also avoid fruit juices sold by the glass (as these are generally unpasteurized) and drinks with lots of stimulants (energy drinks, coffee, tea, etc) or alcohol.

The list has been compiled based on information from the US FDA and Australian (NSW) Food Authority.

By DIYFather.com

All you need to know about the umbilical cord

The following are the top 5 questions and answers dads have about umbilical cords:

1. What happens when the umbilical cord gets wrapped around the baby's neck during birth?
Having the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby's head, neck or limbs is not uncommon during pregnancy or birth. Sometimes these conditions are detected during regular check ups and your midwife or health care professional decides what to do about the situation. Drastic interventions are rare if the baby's vitals are fine - medical staff might suggest exercises to encourage the baby to shift position.

10 baby toys made from stuff you already have in the house

Don't get sucked into an ongoing spending pattern to buy ever more baby toys. You can probably find better things to do with your money and your baby will *love* the following toys made from stuff you already have in the house as well as store bought toys. Here's our list of essentially free baby toys that you can put together easily in a matter of minutes. Even better all of these toys stimulate your baby's development through sensory stimulation or direct experience of concepts.

1. Make Maracas - use an empty softdrink bottle (POM juice bottles are awesome) and fill with anything that makes a noise (beans, lentils, old screws/nuts/bolts, etc).
   
2. Make a cardboard snake - use paper rolls (from kitchen roll or toilet paper) and a piece of string, tie the cardboard rolls together with the string (make little holes and thread through). Your baby can use the cardboard snake to drag around the floor or just play with it

Does my child look good in this?

Emma Brannam at TV3 News discovered our Dressify App and did a nice segment on the news this morning! Dressify delivered an instant fashion result on screen and provides definitive answers to the ultimate question of whether you child looks good in the outfit they are wearing!

Download Dressify here - it's free.

DIYFather.com