My son loves to climb. Seriously. He climbs the lattice in our living room, the door jams, our daughter's crib rail and trees are his favourite hang-out spot. He is a proficient and confident climber and likes to challenge himself to new and exciting heights. When we are out and about, I often get comments such as "Are you OK with him climbing that tree?" or "He is up really high..." and sometimes "That kid is giving me a heart attack!". I usually tell them that my son climbs

On May 20th, 2016, at 3:59 am, my world changed forever. My son, Roman Orion Alexander, was born after a dramatic labour and delivery. I remember everything and I remember nothing all at once. I remember my water breaking in bed at 11:00 pm the night before. I remember telling my husband that, no, I was not "peeing my pants" and that this was, indeed, really happening. I remember trying to take a shower and then falling to my knees as soon as I turned on the water. I remember

When I hit a home run with a craft that a) works with short attention spans, b) is virtually indestructible (you know what I’m talking about here), c) allows learning to happen naturally and d) is FUN, you know I have to share it! Note: this is an unsponsored post from one parent of an exceptional child to another. Recently, we received an amazing gift for Easter: the Koala Crate by Kiwi Co. The Koala Crate is a monthly craft subscription box for children aged two to four tha

If you're a visitor of this site, you already understand the challenges of raising an extremely active child. Children who are exceptional demand so much more of us as caregivers; they insist on our undivided attention and require a high level of energy and resources in order to thrive. And that's on a good day. The international crisis of the COVID pandemic has added yet another layer of challenges to parents and guardians of exceptional children. Schools and childcare facil

You've seen the Instagram posts. Beautifully rendered daily schedules promising order, tranquility and intellectual stimulation for all ages. You've read the homeschooling posts, too, all of them. You know, the ones that promise that your active child will be busy with a (full!) cup of water, a paintbrush, a chalkboard easel and some good-old-fashioned creativity. In your "spare time" (I'm laughing out loud at this), you peruse fellow parents’ haggard posts on Facebook, their

Sometimes, life's greatest challenges bring about life's greatest triumphs. An Intense Baby Three and a half years ago my world was changed forever. Every parent can relate to this feeling. It is a world-changing shift, it is something that changes you permanently and, at the same time, connects you to every other parent on the planet. "In an instant, my heart was now outside of me, residing in a being that was beyond myself." After I healed physically from my son’s semi-trau