Swimming is an essential life skill and building water confidence is the first step when it comes to teaching your kids to swim. Water confidence is all about how comfortable your kids are in water. As a parent you can play a huge role in developing this confidence and teach them core water safety skills from an early age.

It’s officially summer and water safety is more important than ever as you spend your days at the beach or by the pool. It's not only important to actively supervise young children in and around water, but to be conscious of potential safety hazards too. These 5 tips will make an enormous difference to your family’s water safety over the holiday period and could even save someone's life.

Toddlers and preschoolers will love this fly swat painting activity! Fly swat painting is a great outdoor messy play activity you can do at home with a cheap fly swat and homemade or shop-bought paints.It’s such a fun way to paint and will take your toddler’s or preschooler’s artwork to a whole new level!

Have a go at these fun beach games for young kids! Games you can enjoy on the sand this summer once they’ve had enough time swimming in the sea.

We all know that physical activity is important for young children for their whole development, building their confidence, strength and improving balance. Being active is what kids are born to do! Find out more about the importance of exercise for preschool kids.

Are you sure your home is really poison proof? It’s amazing how many poisons can be found around your house which you might not even be aware of. We take a look at common household poisons you're likely to find in your home, what preventative measures you can put in place and what to do if your child is poisoned.

Water play can be a great source of fun and exercise for the whole family, but it can also be dangerous for kids if the proper water safety precautions are not taken. The good news is though there are many ways to keep children safe in and around water. Check out these helpful tips.

Often students learning a new motor skill, like swimming, experience a sudden lack of progress after a very strong start. This can be because of something called the 'learning plateau'. This term describes the way in which a period of rapid skill acquisition can be followed by a prolonged 'dry spell' during which no discernible progress is visible.

Have a go at creating your own mini aquarium in an old jam jar. It’s easy to do and the kids will love how the glitter and sea creatures swirl around inside the jar. The aquariums also make great party decorations and party favours for kids to take home instead of a party bag.

Do you have little kids and find that you are constantly washing their dirty clothes? Then Mud Mates could save you time and money! Our machine washable Coveralls, Overpants, Craft Aprons and Shoe Covers slip straight on over your children’s clothes to protect them – perfect for when they are making a mess!

Parnell Baby Boutique is a boutique baby and kids store offering a unique blend of designer baby and kids brands sourced locally and from around the world. Founded in 2013, Parnell Baby Boutique is home to a large collection of baby and kids clothes, gifts, toys, nursery essentials and more for babies and children through to 8 years.

Research has shown that early childhood physical education is important and improves more than just physical wellness. It also assists and improves mental and emotional development in children too. The earlier the age physical education is taught, the earlier children begin to develop the ability to think critically.

Sometimes it seems we’re just so busy! Busy shopping, busy working, busy cleaning the house, busy taking pre-schoolers to daycare and lessons. Have we gotten too busy to have a little fun? An early childhood teacher shares ways to help you put some fun into family life.

**FEATURED** Do you want to teach your kids to swim and SAVE 20% OFF your SplashSave Parents Pack? Our SplashSave water safety programme has been put together with this mission in mind. A specially designed water safety programme for parents with young kids aged 0 – 7 years old, so they can take the lead when it comes to swimming and water safety education.

Water is an essential part of Kiwis identity and many under 5's grow up spending their holidays at the beach, fishing off the rocks, swimming in a pool or learning how to drive a boat. Yet according to Safekids Aotearoa, drowning is the leading cause of injury-related death among children between 1 and 4 years old.

Not only does teaching your kids how to float provide them with a strong foundation for learning to swim, it’s also one of the most important core water safety skills they can learn from an early age.

A key element in helping young kids to develop their water confidence, is to teach them about submersion and how to feel comfortable putting their head underwater. Young kids can sometimes be afraid to submerge their head fully underwater, but as a parent you can play a huge role in teaching your kids this core swimming skill from an early age.

As we head into summer here's a quick reminder of what we need to do and what we need to teach our kids to do. We’ve all heard the phrase Slip Slop Slap and Wrap a thousand times, but it’s so important as parents and caregivers to keep kids safe in the harsh New Zealand sun whilst they're playing outside, swimming in the pool or visiting one of our many beaches.

Everyone's different, but children are usually ready to start toilet training somewhere between 18 months - 3.5 years on average. We take a look at some of the cues for toilet training readiness, managing poo issues and moving through each phase of the toilet training process at your toddler's pace.

Modern cloth nappies are widely available these days, but it’s still important to take good care of them. Check out these useful tips on washing and drying modern cloth nappies and how to keep them in tip top condition.