Family Archives - Page 47 of 72 - Pretty Please Charlie

And the winner is…

Nadia Williams!

Congrats. I’ll be in touch shortly.

xoxo

Snookums is a baby brand that I love and trust. They offer an extensive range of affordable, quality baby products produced right here in SA.

Snookums has just launched two brand new baby rattles namely the Twisties rattle and the Crown teether rattle. Both of these have been designed with colour, shape, texture and sounds to stimulate baby, plus they double up as teethers and can be washed. These rattles go for a steal at only R54.95 and are available at all leading baby retailers.

Ever wonder about the origin of the baby rattle? Here’s an interesting read…

A rattle is a rattle is a rattle? – Snookums

A rattle is a rattle is a rattle right? Not according to history… The origins of the rattle were lost in time but it can definitely be regarded as the oldest toy in the world. A museum called the Bibliotheca Wittockiana has on display a collection of over 500 rattles collected by Idès Cammaert, a passionate collector and owner of the largest private collection of its kind.

Some say that the rattle was invented by Archytas of Tarentum (born around 440 BC). But is wasn’t merely something for a child to play with. The material that the rattle was made of often determined its role. Dried fruit, pomegranates, terracotta, gold, silver, mother of pearl, coral and crystal were all used in earlier years to produce rattles. The material used was sometimes an indication of the child’s family’s wealth and they were also used as lucky charms to protect babies against sorcery or disease.

Other sources will tell you that figures shaped like birds or dogs were made with small balls inside that would rattle. But as clay is not safe for babies, Paul Revere started making silver rattles that can be chewed. Tiffany’s, the famous New York company, soon jumped on the band wagon and made sterling silver rattles as baby gifts.

Fortunately rattles today is a much less complicated matter than in earlier years. But even so, the reasons for using them and the advantages for baby are probably still the same. Rattles are a source of stimulation for babies – they like the sounds and they try to follow the path of the rattle with their eyes. So while entertaining baby the rattle is also honing baby’s senses. It also helps them to learn to explore and can of course also double up as teethers.

To celebrate the launch of these cute new rattles, Snookums has been kind enough to offer an amazing hamper to give away to one lucky Pretty Please Charlie reader.

Win a Snookums hamper wirth R500!

The Hamper includes:

Twisties Rattle

Crown Teether

Numbers wooden puzzle

Bath book

Snack pod

Soft toy

Stick it bath toys

Entry is easy. All you have to do is comment below and you are in the draw. Extra entries for Facebook and Twitter shares – make sure to leave a separate comment for each share telling me where you’ve shared the giveaway. Please make sure to leave your Twitter handle and/or Facebook name for verification. Max of 3 entries per person. Giveaway is open to SA residents only. The sponsor will send the prize directly to the winner. Winner will be announced on 15 March ’16.

Good luck!

xoxo

Cara had her first session with an occupational therapist yesterday. One of our main aims with these sessions will be developing fine motor skills.

Fine motor skill (or dexterity) is the coordination of small muscle movements—usually involving the synchronization of hands and fingers—with the eyes. Source

I want to do all I can at home as well, but honestly, I need ideas. Thank goodness for Google! There are so many great resources on the web and I have quite a few activities planned.

Developing fine motor skills activities

Tearing paper into small pieces (for a collage or just for fun)
Making macaroni necklaces and bracelets
Popping bubble wrap
Use clothespins to pick up small objects
Tracing and drawing in rice/sand
Building puzzles
Making shapes with pipe cleaners
Cut out shapes and patterns
Folding paper into shapes
Playing with building blocks
Threading buttons and cards
Making and playing with play dough – awesome DIY recipe over HERE.

Acornkids also has a great range of products that can aid in developing fine motor (and other skills) in fun and creative ways.

Please note that this is not a sponsored post. I asked Acornkids for info and suggestions and feel it is worthy of sharing as this is a brand that I have much love and respect for.

Surfs-Up Fun Foam – Provides an opportunity for children to use pincer grips to pick up the objects floating in the foam.

Snow Dough – Younger children make larger models or cover larger objects, that require less finger and hand finesse and older kids make more delicate models, with more details, that require a higher level of finger agility.