Dear Moms, Dads, Relatives, Educators and Business Owners!

Have you ever had a moment when your child grows up right in front of your eyes?

My daughter (4 years old) has been asking me for a hamster for a year now. I finally gave in when her babysitter, Nadia offered us her rat (white with pink, beady eyes). "Why a rat?" you ask. They actually make really great pets! I told Kayla, "This new pet is totally your responsibility. You have to feed her, water her and clean out her cage once a week. "No problem," she assured me.

A week after acquiring Tru, (the rat) we bought some sawdust from the pet shop to replace the bedding in her cage. Kayla removed the bottom from the cage and took it outside to wash. After 10 minutes I walked outside to see how she was doing. There she was standing on her chair by the sink up to her elbows in soap, sawdust and rat droppings with a great big smile on her face. In that moment I watched her grow up. I had given her the opportunity to take on a responsibility and she was showing me she was true to her word. I smiled back acknowledging her achievement.

“Has the novelty worn off now,” you might ask. “No,” would be the answer. Kayla faithfully and thoroughly cleans out Tru’s cage every week. Carrick, her brother, is happy as Kayla no longer mothers him and dotes on the rat instead. In a rather thankless moment, he did try to feed the rat to the cat (Joshcat). Fortunately for the rat, Joshcat proved to have very few cat instincts and ran in the opposite direction. He is a rather strange cat. He chases our German Shepherd and runs away from a rat!

Kayla is now trying to get us to agree to a second rat to keep Tru company and another cat for Joshcat. It is clear the story of Noah's Ark has had a profound influence on her and she wants to start her own collection of animal pairs.

We have 5 really useful and interesting articles for you this month. Rozanne Thackwray looks at Sibling Rivalry. Is it healthy or does the bickering just drive you mad? We have two articles from Melanie this month, Reading Assistance at Home and The When's and How's of potty training. If you would like to read more articles by Melanie or you would like to ask her a question on school readiness or your child's development, please click here! Sr Lyn Wade, the author of the new book Perfect Steps, has permited us to include an excerpt from her book on the Introduction of Solids. Finally, Cheryl Goodenough a freelance journalist and mom of 2 children under 5 years attended a workshop on Raising Drug Free Kids by Aletha Solter, Ph.D. In her article Drug Free Kids she reports on the preventative parenting style that Solter recommends we adopt from the moment our first child is conceived.

As usual we bring you lots of news, new competitions and some new and interesting listings to keep you informed. Make yourself a cup of tea, wrap a blanket around you and start reading!

Cara
Editor

WIN a comprehensive Newborn Starter Kit from U&Me.
[Click to enter]