Reading, writing, and math come easily to us, adults. Remember when you were a young child, how difficult it was to learn reading your first book.

This is the struggle kids go through every day at school. For them, learning can be tough especially when they don’t get the results they study hard for. It is up to us, parents to take an interest in their education and supplement their teachers’ efforts. Here are some simple but effective tips on how to support your child’s learning.

Responsibility means many things including taking care of others and being dependable. It means keeping your word and contributing to your surroundings.

Every parent wants to teach their child all the best traits. They want them to grow and become model adults. The only problem is, when it comes to children, most things are easier said than done. Teaching them takes time, commitment, and right methods. We wanted to provide some ideas and tips on how to teach kids responsibility.

Allergies can affect anyone regardless of age. However, when children show symptoms, it is essential to take proper precautions, to prevent bigger health problems.

An allergy can be described as an abnormal response of the immune system to something perceived as a threat. This substance is called an allergen, and anytime the body encounters this allergen, it triggers the allergic responses.

There is nothing quite like New Zealand summer, which includes numerous beach visits, quality times with family and friends and fun in the summer.
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Unfortunately, New Zealand summer also has a considerable disadvantage - harsh sun that just burns and is dangerous. Here we prepared a few easy steps of protecting kids from the elements and safely enjoy kiwi summer.

Adventures as a whole family aren’t just important for kids because of the bonding time, but there are other significant advantages for kids. Adventures can be anything from overseas holidays to day trips. They don’t need to be expensive or extravagant, and the simplest of them all benefit kids so much! Here we put together a list of why family adventures are so good for kids.

Summer holidays are fun, but planning them and then packing your life into a couple of suitcases to go away is pretty challenging. Especially when you have more than one child. We wanted to include these tips in the hope of making your packing and preparing for the holiday easy.

It is widely known that Omega-3 fatty acids are important for a healthy brain function along with other huge benefits it delivers to our bodies. It is needless to say that it’s even more important for a pregnant woman as she’s growing a baby inside of her.
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Out of many edible fatty acids, only Omega-3 cannot be synthesised by our body, which means fetus must receive this nutrient from their mother (through the placenta).

Everyone talks about probiotics and how they can give your body a good bacteria with many benefits it brings. Lots of product providers now speak about good bacteria in their yoghurt, cereal or granola bars…
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​But what are these probiotics? Well, they are live microorganisms which are located in certain yeasts, which are believed to beneficial for general health and especially the digestive system.

Some might be surprised to find out that bruising can be a sign of vitamin deficiency. Yes, that’s right, your child might be in need of vitamin C, Vitamin B-9 and B-12 and vitamin K, as these are associated with bruising easily. Once your child starts taking these vitamins as supplements, you will see that the bruising will improve.

Vitamin C helps with the body’s collagen production, boosts the immune system and serves as an antioxidant. A very powerful little vitamin isn’t it!

Recently the concept of Play-Based Learning has been popular among New Zealand families and
educators.
​Many sources are providing a wealth of ideas on Play-Based Learning and how to approach little learners and help them develop and learn. Play-Based Learning helps in developing social skills, relationships, communication skills, motor and fine-motor skills and problem-solving skills.

Did you know that there is a high level of Vitamin K deficiency in infants and children?
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Vitamin K2 and its amazing benefits are often overlooked. However, it is, in fact, an essential vitamin which can hugely support your kids’ health and development. It has so many benefits, like promote cardiovascular health, supports coagulation and bone mineralisation.

As a child grows and learns the environment around them, it is important to encourage and support their development.

Children benefit greatly from active learning activities. Simple and fun activities can be incorporated easily into your daily life, and we would like to share nine ideas below. Remember when a question is asked to which your child finds a solution, a critical cognitive development happens which is important to the little mind.

More people are choosing a holistic way of treating themselves and their kids from sicknesses.
Choosing natural or herbal medicines doesn’t just help you during or onset of sickness, but it supports your immune system in fighting bugs naturally.

At the end of October 2017, Childlife Essentials NZ team received an email from a group of mothers from a small town in New Zealand.

​Their children had weakened immune systems and different health disorders, and mothers had been looking for effective supplements and vitamins for the kids to improve their health.
​They asked whether Childlife Essentials could provide product samples to help understand whether the supplements are suitable for kids before purchasing more.

Did you know that Omega 3 isn’t just crucial for nourishing kids’ brains, nervous system and supporting their immune system, but reduces their behavioural problems? We talk about this further.

With statistics of 1 in 4 people not eating any fish at all, it is important to take these essential fatty acids in another form especially for kids and to aid their development.

Many families lead a very busy life these days. Besides a busy work schedule, parents have to deal with their kids’ school routine, after-school activities, weekends with family and friends and so on. So it is hard to prepare healthy meals for kids every day. ​

Introducing the hard-working Childlife Essentials NZ distributors JC and Françoise. Originally from Belgium, they have been living in New Zealand for over 17 years now.

The husband and wife team took on Childlife Essentials NZ in 2016 and started sharing the love of natural supplements and vitamins for kids in New Zealand, Australia and Pacific Islands supplying retailers and online stores with the wonderful products created by Dr Murray Clarke.

One of our lovely clients Amanda shares her kids' health stories and how Childlife Essentials Vitamins help them below. Her children are Madison (2 and a half years old) and Paige (6 months old).

As adults we are aware that calcium is vital for our bone and teeth health, but did you know that kids and teenagers need it so much more?

When we are growing, calcium is needed to develop strong bones and teeth that will be with us for the rest of our lives, so it is extremely important for kids and teenagers to receive enough calcium while they are doing the vital job of building their bodies.

We can all agree that these days our lives are very busy with careers, kids, hobbies and lifestyle in general. Then besides kids’ school, there are numerous activities they attend. The busyness of it all never stops even on the weekends.