Sholain Govender-Bateman, Author at zaparents

Tedious time-consuming parenting tasks

by Sholain Govender-Bateman | motherhood | 0 comments

I know that the gist of most 21st century mantras for working mums/mums/parents is to aim for work-life balance, ditch the non-essential stuff, don’t over-commit, keep it simple, blah blah blah – but there are some things that seem so unnecessary yet end up taking SO much time. Here’s my list

5 free holiday activity ideas for kids

by Sholain Govender-Bateman | family, play | 0 comments

It’s holiday time and every parent needs an arsenal of activities to keep their little darlings busy and it doesn’t have to cost a lot. Here are 5 of my top budget activities that both my girls love:

Women’s Day – “Dresses are preferred”

by Sholain Govender-Bateman | culture, gender | 0 comments

There is something fundamentally wrong with a school giving their female students a civvies day treat for Women’s Day but then saying “the dress-code is smart-casual, but of course, dresses are preferred…”.

Playtime!

by Sholain Govender-Bateman | family, indoor, play | 0 comments

World Play Day is being celebrated this Thursday (28 May 2015) with local activities being organised by non-profit organisation Cotlands. Some may scoff at a day being dedicated to playing but in a world where our children are under constant pressure to excel academically…

Using a fitness tracker to stay fit

by Sholain Govender-Bateman | parenting stuff | 1 comment

As if being a full-time working mum of two young children wasn’t hectic enough, there’s also the added pressure to stay fit. Solution – Get a fitness tracker for motivation and to keep track of how active you actually are.

Menlyn Park – Fun Company Review

by Sholain Govender-Bateman | day outings | 0 comments

What a fun experience going to the newly opened Menlyn Park fun centre! As a rule, hubby and I avoid busy shopping malls with the girls and rather go to parks and restaurants that have open air playgrounds and jungle gyms. However, we decided to give the new play area a go and it was a hit!

“Learn the News”- a paper for kids reviewed

by Sholain Govender-Bateman | kids books, teen books | 3 comments

Durbanite, Duncan Guy has created an online kids newspaper that is suitable for any primary school child, locally and internationally called Learn the News…

Beware: bullies come in all shapes and sizes!

by Sholain Govender-Bateman | bullying | 4 comments

Within two months of Isobel(now 6) starting at a new preschool last year, she began complaining about a little boy, who I’ll refer to as A, who was mean to her….and we brushed it off.

Mama, why can’t girls be the president of South Africa ?

by Sholain Govender-Bateman | gender | 4 comments

Yesterday my 6 year old daughter asked me: “Mama, why can’t girls be the president of South Africa?”

I immediately told Isobel that girls can certainly be president if they wanted to and we went on to have a chat…

Lunch box politics

by Sholain Govender-Bateman | lunchboxes | 1 comment

Isobel hasn’t even started Grade 1 yet where we’ll have to pack lunch and snacks for her school day but we’ve already experienced our first incident of snack box politics.

Getting ready for big school next year!

by Sholain Govender-Bateman | preschools | 0 comments

It’s happened, Isobel is turning 7 next May which means that the transition to ‘big school’ has begun…for me. Of course, she’s thrilled with the prospect of meeting new friends, swimming in the big school pool and having loads of new adventures.

Are we raising self-obsessed children?

by Sholain Govender-Bateman | giving | 9 comments

I think that many of us parents are focussed on giving our kids the best that we can afford and making them confident and independent, teaching them to always seek the best for themselves… but how do we know that we’re not raising our kids to be so self-involved and narcissistic…

Fantasy vs reality – #SantaGate

by Sholain Govender-Bateman | Uncategorized | 7 comments

There’s something amazingly innocent and sweet when your little child falls for the Santa lie, which I like to refer to as #SantaGate. They listen wide-eyed as you explain how Santa will arrive on his sleigh transport magically by flying reindeers so that he can deliver zillions of presents globally. It’s thrilling to see the huge smiles when they wake up in the morning