My own private gate

I'm back from holiday and delighted to share with you a guest blog from Jennifer Graf Groneberg (photo above, with her twins Avery and Bennett), author of Road Map to Holland: How I Found My Way Through My Son’s First Two Years with Down Syndrome, a memoir that provides practical insight and emotional support to parents of children with special needs.Thank you Jennifer for this beautiful reminder that we are families first and foremost, and sometimes...

Read More

What makes the night beautiful?

BLOOM reader Sarah Leal sent me a message that I think captures the inherent beauty of our children – which in no way depends on what they can or can’t do, on which milestone they do or don’t achieve. It’s a reminder to open our eyes to the wholeness of our children – which is always there – but which we sometimes lose sight of when we get caught up in the “fix-it” mentality that dominates our culture. Thank you Sarah for this beautiful image! It...

Read More

Does your child struggle with keyboarding?

Touch typing isn't the answer! I wasn’t great at sports growing up, but I did excel at piano, so it wasn’t a surprise when I aced my Grade 9 typing class. Our elderly teacher made two rocket ships out of bright construction paper and placed them on a wall chart to track our collective typing speed. She divided the class into two teams and I helped propel our rocket to the top with my 90 word-per-minute scores. Back in those days we...

Read More

To infinity and beyond!

He caught his first fish. He climbed up a 10-foot ladder in harness and roared down a zip line – like Tarzan – giggling all the way. He paddled a canoe and got a black eye when his sail boat tipped. He rode Velvet and Jack. In a speed boat, the wind took his breath away. He explored an island and collected bugs. He made friends. He made friends! The ordinary rites of summer for most kids, but a new world for my son Ben, who just spent his...

Read More

TV bad for baby, growing body of science shows

From 24-hour “Baby’s First TV” to Baby Einstein DVDs, it’s hard to fault parents for getting the idea that sitting their infant in front of a screen may prod development. The “baby-brain” business – educational toys and DVDs that promise to make your baby smarter – is the largest growing toy sector in Canada. But growing research suggests screen time doesn’t promote cognitive development and may hinder language in children up to the age of...

Read More

'It's normal to be different' competition

I'm back from a week's vacation and wanted to let you know about this contest for children and youth ages 5-21 to be part of a media awareness campaign called "It's Normal to be Different." The International Association for Life Quality is looking for songs, stories or poems that break through stereotypes about people with disabilities. Submissions can be about any type of disability – developmental, physical, learning – and can be written by...

Read More