Summer in Australia – beach days and hot sun. Also sunburn, mosquito bites and dehydration.

The first can be avoided by wearing long sleeves and smearing ourselves with sunscreen – there’s plenty on the market, but be warned – not all of them are good for your skin nor are overly efficient. However – you’ve done the wrong thing and come home with red painful skin. What do you do?

The first thing is to cool down. Stand under a cool shower to take the burn out of it. Is there anything you can put on your skin to help healing, and hopefully to stop blistering?

Growing Aloe Vera in your garden is a really good idea. If you are burnt, either by the sun or any other type accident, you can cut a leaf and pop it into the fridge. When it is cold, squeeze out the gel and apply it to your skin. Cooling and healing in one easy application. A lovely remedy right at your back door! It will also soothe the sting of a wasp or bee as well as being a great face mask to smooth and feed your skin. Wow! Several remedies in one plant!

One of the things that I do, (if you’ve read any of my other posts you will already know this), is write children’s books. When I was a youngster, I only had a few toys, a couple of dolls, a blackboard to draw on, and lots of books. I always preferred my books. That’s why I write now.

I try to help parents who read these books to their children, by giving them some insights to help and guide their little ones.

For example – ‘Angus Ant and the Acrobats’ talks about friendships and exercise, as well as letting your child know that they are special in their own way.

‘Dorothy Dog and the Dangerous Dragonfly‘ explains the dangers of going out without approval and that home is often the best place to be.

 

There are eight more available in the series, with more to come.

 

 

A friend of mine in the USA has a lovely picture book that she has recently launched. I’ll let her tell you about it in her own words:-

Do you have a picky eater in your family? Are mealtimes a battle?

I can completely relate. My daughter was super picky as a child and when she was about to be school-aged, I wanted to figure out something she could take for lunch. She liked peanut butter, she liked jelly, and she liked bread so I thought, naively, that she would like a PB&J sandwich. Oh my goodness, did we have a standoff?

Sound familiar?

Don’t despair. Determine which battles you want to pick and be patient. Here’s my story…

My newest picture book, Franky the Finicky Flamingo, was inspired not only by my child’s pickiness but my own. I know that’s not a very “grown up” kind of thing to admit but alas I am picky. Most of it is due to texture issues but some of it is actually due to taste. Now, don’t get me wrong, I was a much pickier eater when I was a child. So, I’ve outgrown a lot of it. And if you have a picky eater, I believe they’re going to grow out it as well.

When I was in Elementary School, I didn’t eat the school lunches so my Mom packed me exactly what I wanted every single day and that was a cold hot dog. Not the healthiest food, but I was happy. Somewhere around Middle School, I started eating school lunches. I know she was relieved.

I can honestly say that vegetables are just not my thing. I found out as an adult that I actually prefer my vegetables raw. Part of that is definitely texture, I don’t like mushy vegetables but the other more surprising thing is taste. I find vegetables in the raw are much tastier than after they have been cooked. I have even been told they are better for you. So, who’s picky now? Am I right? LOL

The other types of food that I really don’t like are citrus fruits. They have those strings in them. I choke on them. Still to this day! And I don’t like orange juice with pulp in it. Other fruits are all good though. What about you—do you have any foods you don’t like?

One time I heard a story about a set of twins that were separated at birth. One Mom said their child was a difficult eater because they wouldn’t eat anything unless she put ketchup on it. The other Mom said her child was the easiest child to feed because she would eat anything as long as she put ketchup on it. Maybe it’s all in perspective.

I just want to challenge you today as you think about your child’s picky eating–what battle do you want to pick?

And just maybe Franky the Finicky Flamingo might help encourage your picky eater to try new foods. You can check it out today at myBook.to/Franky