This video of a six-month-old girl left to fend for herself after falling into a swimming pool has drawn a mixed response from mums all over the world. Though the mother of the baby, Keri Morrison says she posted the video to raise awareness of water survival, after her 2-year-old son Jake drowned in 2013. Thankfully, at the end of the clip, the baby was rescued.

Our Instagram page is buzzing with mixed reviews.

Over to you, Lagos Mums, do you think this shows good parenting skills for the purpose of raising awareness of water survival?

The post Water Baby Video Divides The Internet appeared first on Lagosmums.

                        www.feedingyourkids.com

It is very important that your child knows how important it is to eat healthy food and that they are aware of what types of food are healthy and what types of nutrients are important. It is also very important that your child is aware of what foods are unhealthy and what types of food they should east in moderation. Everyone deserves a sweet treat from time to time but it is important to know how to limit these treats and not make them a part of your child’s diet. The duty of teaching a child how to eat properly falls on the parent’s lap. It is important that you are aware of the fact that you need to teach your child to eat properly and that it is nobody else’s job but yours.

The following chapter will go over the importance of teaching your child to eat healthy food and will provide you with some guidelines that should help you do so in an effective manner. It is highly important that you teach your child about the importance of proper nutrition. It is also highly important that you inform them of the dangers and negative impacts not eating healthy can have on their life.

Be a Good Example

You need to teach your child to eat healthy food and you need to start teaching them these things from a very early age. One of the best ways to teach your child to be healthy would be to set an example and eat healthy foods yourself. Think about it, your child follows everything you do and uses you as their example for what you are supposed to do and how you are supposed to act in life. Therefore, if you set your child a positive example and make sure that you eat a healthy diet they will almost surely follow suit and see it as a normal thing to eat healthy foods.

Another good way to teach your children about the importance of proper nutrition is to learn how to limit the amount of sugary treats and other types of unhealthy snacks that you introduce into their diet. Make sure that your child knows that it is ok to have an occasional candy bar but make sure that they also know that it is not a good idea to eat one every day. Try to keep more healthy drinks around the house as opposed to having an endless supply of soda. Raising your child to enjoy healthy food will likely lead to them continuing those eating habits throughout their life. On the other hand, raising your child to enjoy unhealthy food will also likely result in your child continuing those eating habits throughout life.

As mentioned before, teaching your child to eat properly and to have a nutritional diet is extremely important for the development of a child. It is best to start this process as soon as possible because children absorb information like a sponge, especially in their earlier years.

Image Source:

www.naturalhomeschooling.com 

www.feedingyourkids.com

The post Child Nutrition Part 3: Teach Your Children To Eat Healthy appeared first on Lagosmums.

I first noticed her on the pages of This Day Style as one of the most stylish women in Lagos. I wondered how this woman I hear has five children looked so chic – how does she make motherhood seemingly effortless. I had to know and made up my mind to feature her as a LagosMums Mum of the Month. This month, we would like to honour Mrs. Bola Balogun as our Mum of the Month for May.

Bola Balogun is Chief Creative Officer of Glam Networks/ Glam Brand Agency. She grew up in America and moved back to Nigeria with her husband in 2005 – together they have been happily married for 14 years! Now a proud mother of five between the ages of 7 and 13 years old, she was more than willing to talk about parenting, raising children and managing the whole work life balance equation.

Enjoy the feature below – Bola Balogun as interviewed by Yetty Williams for LagosMums

On Doing It All

In Nigeria women do too much, they try to do so many things at the same time and they try to do it all alone. Women should make more time for themselves because there is always so much going on in our lives. My day ends at about 5:30PM; followed by my one hour “me time.” My children understand the importance of this time and it’s usually treated with respect.

On Raising 5 Children

Two words: structure and boundary. Raising children can be overwhelming and it is critical to set boundaries and to respect each other’s need for time and space. I have a solid support system with my husband who is hands on and very involved in the family and with raising our children.
Non one can raise my children except me and my husband and since this is important to us, I make the sacrifices necessary to ensure I spend quality one on one time with my children. I pay someone to do the chores and other roles around the house so that I can spend the quality time I desire with my children and my loved ones.

On raising children two words structure and boundary
Click To Tweet

“When you have as many children as I do, everything has to work like clockwork and there is a routine everyone follows to make sure things go well”. Bedtime is strictly enforced for the children so that I can have time for myself as well as my husband; our time together starts at 8 pm after the children have gone to bed.

On Parenting

Find what works for you as a parent and stick to it because the home is the best place and the one place for children to learn the values parents would like to impact. Be able to define what kind of child you want. For example I do not believe in sleepovers.

Ask questions about education that matter to you, for example if you want your child to go to an Ivy League university, ask questions and do your research. It’s your duty to prepare your children for the best future possible.

It is all about conditioning, children can be anything and everything that they are meant to be. Unless there is a learning disability every child has what it takes to be the best in what they do and to excel. Every child is different so it is important to work with each child’s gifts, talents and interests – conditioning can bring out the best.

children can be anything and everything that they are meant to be
Click To Tweet

On Passion/Purpose

Vision – have one for every area of your life. How do you want to be remembered as a wife, mum, or friend? It is not always about what the world thinks of you but what the people closest to you think of you. The world’s view can be misleading.

Work Life Balance

I am only now becoming more ambitious at 38. I got married at 22 so my family comes first, hence why I sacrificed a lot for my family: quality time raising my children, and my husband’s business.
It is now time for me to start growing my business as well. I hope to take my business to the next level; through hard work. There is a time and place for everything. Now is the time to be the Chief Creative Officer of Glam Networks / Glam Brand Agency.

Wow! All I can say is she is even more amazing than I might have ever imagined from a distance. When it comes to doing motherhood right it’s evident Mrs. Balogun knows more than one or two things about that. I experienced so many “aha!” moments that it felt like I had known her all my life.

The post Mum of the Month: Bola Balogun appeared first on Lagosmums.

Africa’s largest Education show, the Total School Support Seminar/Exhibition is set to hold in

Lagos on the 2nd/3rd of June at Ten Degrees Event Centre, Billings Way, Ikeja, Lagos. Time: 10:00am.

The event will feature the following:

•  Exhibition of educational products/services from over 100 local and international exhibitors.
•  Over 14 seminars for educators and parents.
•  A showcase of some of the best secondary schools in the “Schools City”.
•  Discount cards on products/services.
•  Gifts for visitors.
•  A display of all that is new in Education.

The seminars have been grouped into the following categories:

School Owners

•  The Entrepreneurial School: Innovative Ways to Keep Your School Financially Healthy
•  The Last School Standing: How Traditional Institutions can Survive a Digital Learning World
•  Succession without Decline: Ensuring a Brighter Future for your School
•  Rebranding a School: Getting it Right

School Administrators

•  Preventing Teacher Burnout: Strategies for Keeping Your Best Staff Motivated and Influential
•  Building Safe Schools: Empowering Students against Predators at School and Beyond
•  Structures, Policies and Curriculum: Fundamentals of Effective School Management
•  Understanding Basic Digital Marketing for Schools

Teachers

•  No Child Left Behind: Creating Successful Inclusive Education in Your School
•  Technology without Tears: Integrating Ed-tech Tools in Your Classroom
•  Beyond Grades: Improving Students Actual Learning and Performance
•  Managing Students Behaviour in the Early Years and Teenage Years

Parents

•  Factors to Consider in Choosing an Early Years School
•  The Conscious Parent: Values, Time and Things that Really Matter

To register, visit http://www.tosse.com.ng/register

For sponsorship, premium visitor registration, exhibition and other enquiries please call:

Joke: 08028399138,     Daniel: 08083337681,    Fisayo: 07011202454

The post 8th Total School Support Seminar/Exhibition: FREE Invites for Parents and Educators appeared first on Lagosmums.

Rue14 Studios located in Lekki, Lagos is offering Mid-Term theatre Arts camp for children between 3 1/2 and 17 years old. Did you know that Theatre arts education has far reaching benefits…and it is a lot of fun, too! Don’t miss this opportunity. For more information see below.

Parents!

Are you looking for activities that are beneficial to your child’s development? Then Rue14 Studios is just the place you’ve been looking for. Rue14 Studios is a theatrical and creative space. We offer Dramatic Arts, Public Speaking, Musical Theater, Voice, Art, Dance and Movement, Improv, Script Writing, Story-telling, Props Design, Expressive Art and so much more for children between the ages of 31⁄2 and 17.

Mid-Term Dates:

Monday, 23rd May – Friday, 28th May

Monday, 31st May – Friday 3rd June

Monday,Wednesday,Friday: N20,000

Tuesday / Thursday: N15,000

Monday – Friday: N25,000

(10am – 1pm or 2pm – 5pm)

Early drop off & late pickup options available. *Sibling discount available.

Contact Details:  08095165131 | info@rue14studios.com | @rue14studios |www.rue14studios.com | www.facebook.com/rue14studios

The post Mid-Term Theatre Arts Camp appeared first on Lagosmums.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Have you ever noticed that when someone is in a bad mood, it can cause your positive mood to skyrocket downhill rather quickly? Recent studies done by the Association for Psychological Science are showing that our mood does in fact affect those around us, especially our children.

According to the study, babies who are exposed to arguments between their parents actually strains the baby’s brain process. Research showed that infants are greatly affected by negative tone of voice, and not only during waking hours, but during sleep as well. When children are constantly exposed to this negativity, it can affect them throughout their life.

A young child’s brain is very vulnerable, therefore constant negativity, maltreatment and other negative behaviours that cause stress can severely impact the child’s development. The children involved in the study had their brain waves tested during their normal sleep hours. The research showed that children who loved a stressful home life were more vulnerable to the negative tone of voice that was played on a recording during the study.

No matter how oblivious your children may seem to your mood, or the conflict going on around them, thinking twice about the behaviour is very important for their well-being. Having ample amounts of stressful brain activity as a baby is shown to cause higher stress levels throughout their lives. As a parent, it’s important that you take the steps to create a health environment and lower the level of stress that your child encounters. There are some very simple, yet effective ways that you can go about making these changes.

Meditating on a regular basis is one great way to lower your stress, which will in turn lower the stress that your child is under. Simply taking 5-10 minutes out of the day quiet your brain and allow for an open mind can have real changes on your mood. While meditating on a daily basis is recommended, it’s also an effective way to detach from a situation that is becoming stressful and face it with some clarity once you have relaxed. You can also teach your child to meditate at a young age to help them create clarity and a better sense of well-being. While they may not be able to go deep into meditation for some time, simply having quiet time, while playing relaxing music is a great way to start the process at an early age.

Eating healthy and teaching our children to eat health is also vital for healthy stress levels. When you have a healthy diet for you and your child, you’ll both have an elevated mood and you’ll be able to ward off stress better when it does occur. Fill your diet with healthy organic fresh vegetables, fruits, grass-fed meats that are antibiotic- and hormone-free, wild caught fish and legumes.

Exercise is another important part of low stress levels, improved brain power and a positive mood for you and your child. When you exercise, your brain releases “feel good chemicals” called seratonin that help create a good mood and make you feel better overall. It also boosts your immune system, allows oxygen to flow to the brain and is one of the best lifestyle choices you can incorporate into both of your lives. When your child is small, simply taking them for a walk each day and enjoying the added benefits of the fresh air, is a great way to get the exercise in, while creating time to bond with one another.

Source – The Alternative Daily

The post Elevated Stress Levels Directly Impact Others, Especially Our Children appeared first on Lagosmums.

In celebration of Children’s Day join the EMIRATES MOTHER AND CHILD MEMORIES COMPETITION. Describe your most memorable moment with your child. Selected entries will be invited to Ikeja City Mall (ICM) on Children’s Day, Friday May 27, 2016 from 12 Noon till 7pm.

What is in store for the Winners

Emirates will offer your child a host of exciting activities, such as face painting with animal faces and Emirates activity books. Your children will also capture great memories with Emirates Fly With Me Animals dressed up as pilots and cabin crew. There will also lots of toys as giveaways. Get ready to have fun and hang out with Emirates to celebrate Children’s Day.

Contest will end on May 25th 2016. Make your comments in the box below and wait for a chance to win! Get ready for your ticket to a fun filled Children’s Day celebration with Emirates.

Contest Rules

• Enter your comment in the box below telling us your most memorable moment with your child.
• Selected entries will be notified by email (Please put your email in the comment box or send just your email to contactus@lagosmums.com after commenting).
• To redeem gift at Emirates stand on May 27th 2016 you will be required to show an email confirmation.

The post Emirates Mother and Child Memories Contest appeared first on Lagosmums.

I remember two years ago, when my friend who lives on the Lekki Axis mentioned that her neighbor’s security guard lamented that his sister was part of the Chibok girls that had been kidnaped. That was the closest I got to knowing someone who knew someone who was directly impacted by the Chibok girls.

Fast forward to this morning, when the same friend told me the security guard announced with joy that his sister had been found! She is Amina Ali Nkeki who was kidnapped by the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram more than two years ago. Now a 19 year old girl, she has been reunited with her family. This is great news!

How She Was rescued

The post Rescued Chibok Girl, We Are All Connected In A Way appeared first on Lagosmums.

Parents do you unknowingly place more value on material goods than your child? To know how you might be guilty of this, watch the video below.

This video should cause you to pause and think.

This daughter innocently asks her mother if her material goods are more important than her. She can ask this because her mother says that she locks her room because she does not trust the house help, however she is willing to leave her daughter with someone she does not trust. It is food for thought.

Think twice about who you bring into your home to care for your children, you should be able to trust your nanny or house help and if you do not should you really be trusting them with your child?

[Read: Key Tips on How To Treat Your Nanny]

The post Parents Do You Place More Value on Material Goods Than Your Child? appeared first on Lagosmums.

Power Of a Slaying Mum

This is a spin on the popular best selling book by Stormie Omartian titled, ‘Power Of a Praying Woman’, amongst other titles that she has in these series. I want to talk to us mothers today about the slaying power that we have.

www.love-everlasting-ministries.com

Now when I say slay, I know the first thing that comes to mind is fashion, dressing to the nines, dressing to kill or whatever phrase you find comfortable to describe yourselves when  you know you are well dressed. Well this slaying is a whole lot more than that. I’m all for women who look their fashionable best and exude confidence or Godfidence like my christian folks will call it. This is particularly important as we need to model to our children that tacky looks don’t give anyone a foot in the door. But again this is not the drift of my gist for today.

“You need to stay awake in the place of prayers as a 21st century mother. If you are too silent, you will be silenced”. Funke Felix-Adejumo

You need to stay awake in the place of prayers as a 21st century mother
Click To Tweet

Growing up, I once heard stories about mothers who joined the occult  or got initiated into witchcraft because they want to see their children succeed and become someone in life. Needless to say that this has very dire consequences because a lot of times, either the woman or even the child in question ends up dying in often mysterious circumstances. Now if some mothers can go to this length, what makes you think that you can just leave the destiny of your child to just time, chance and happenstances.

You need to slay in the place of prayers. Slay every enemy that says your children will not get to every divinely appointed throne for them in life. Slay every star gazer who have consulted their crystal balls and have seen the glory that lies ahead of your child. Slay in the place of prayer because where you cannot get to, your prayers can get there. Some children are a result of the prayers their mother prayed over their lives long time before they even got there. Such was the case of my late dad whose mother died even before he got married but every word she spoke over his life came to pass.

As mothers, we wield such influence over our children using even our body parts. Praying for them with the breasts that these children suckled. Praying for them using the wombs that we bore them in as a point of contact. Praying for them even using the vaginal outlet from where they came from if theirs was a natural birth. You think this is over the top? Ask those in the occult, they understand the power and the significance of prayers like this. You don’t even need to go too far, check Africa Magic (Yoruba, Hausa or Igbo) where stories like these abound. Like them or hate them but I must commend them for the enlightening work they are doing using the medium of film.

21st century mothers, there is a dimension to life that is spiritual, way beyond our noses and our physical eyes. With our prayers we can go into the future of our children even before they arrive there. I once read a story in the Bible about Samson who the Gazites laid an ambush for but decided to attack him early the next morning. The Bible records that as a result, everything was calm and quiet all through the night because their plan was to attack him the next morning- Judges 16:2(KJV).

Mothers, that all is well with your children now doesn’t mean all will continue to be well if you have not slayed the ‘Gazites’ that may have laid an ambush for your children, in the place of prayer. For some children, the enemy leaves them alone all through primary school then waits till secondary school before they strike. I know of a lady who died in mysterious circumstances the day she wrote her final paper in the university. I say mysterious because the way and manner she died was nothing short of one under a spell. So the enemy didn’t strike when she gained admission, she went right through the four or five year of study in school then boom! final year, final paper, the enemy strikes.

I know some may be thinking what is all this talk about the enemy? Are we to start praying the fire and brimstone kind of prayers? Should we be wishing our fellow human beings dead? All these and other questions I will discuss in my next post.

Till I come your way again and if you’ve already got the drift of this message, then I say to you,

” Keep being a slaying mum!”

Toyin Akinlade is a 21st Century Parenting Enthusiast, an inspirational blogger and business woman. You can read the many other thoughts that runs through her mind on www.tythotville.blogspot.com.ng

The post Power Of A Slaying Mum appeared first on Lagosmums.

Ok so during the week, I made meat balls (made from ground beef) for the children to go with the rice they were having for dinner.

Usually I would make it in a sauce, then sauté vegetables separately but I decide to do it differently by enhancing the flavour of the ground beef using fresh herbs, adding the veggies in the ground beef mixture… then remoulding. I did the remoulding with my daughter and she enjoyed the experience (think she will be coming into the kitchen more often, under supervision of course.. lol)

If you are one of those mums that like to “hide the veggies”, you can try blending them into the ground beef before remoulding…

Our recipe for the week is taken from traycee’s kitchen

INGREDIENTS

• A pack of meat ball or ground beef
• Fresh or frozen vegetables mix (sweet corn, carrots, peas)  [green beans (cut into smaller pieces)] optional
• Rapeseed oil
• Little butter or 1 whisked egg..

HSS: 1/2 tsp. curry powder, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/2 tsp. basil, dash of cumin, 1 sprig fresh thyme and fresh basil (mixed together), little crushed garlic and ginger, sea salt to taste.

METHOD

• Empty pack of meat balls into a clean bowl
• Add the HSS as mentioned above and mix with your hands

•  This recipe used frozen vegetables…In another bowl, season the veggies with black pepper and dash of tarragon, then steam for a few minutes. Drain and put to the sideStart with a simple combination of the “sweet like” and easy to digest vegetables for example sweet corn, green peas, cucumber, spinach
• Make sure the vegetables are cut in small bits (honestly, as small as possible) for example your cucumber
• Depending on what your child likes, you can blend the vegetables into their food – dodgey? Yes I know but if that’s what you have to do for now- Then you do it. My advice her though will be, don’t keep blending it in all the time, as they need to get used to seeing and trying the vegetables
• Be patient with the little one, it’s all new to him or her
• Graduate the mix in a stepped approach. For example, move onto sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes as they are also easy to digest. Then go onto steaming broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and adding into their food as you go on
• At this point, you have two options, blend the “hidden vegetables (without water) until smooth then add to the beef mix, OR just pour them in…
• Add very little butter to the mix to help bind the veggies..

[You can also use a little of 1 whisked egg as a binding agent- If your child loves eggs :)]

• Start remoulding the mixture into small balls using you hands… if you don’t want to add whisked egg into the mix, when you remould, dip some of your fingers into the egg then  pat the balls to help bind the veggies

• Place remoulded meat balls on a plate or tray
• In a pre heated oven,  grease oven tray with  little rapeseed oil (or olive oil).

• Place rustic meatballs then oven bake at 180°C for at least 10mins.
• The meat balls are cooked when it isn’t pink on the inside…

Add to your children’s sauces, rice dishes etc

• Try alternating the dinner plates in which you serve their food- It keeps them excited even if they don’t quite know what is in the plate, psychology wink
• Whatever new addition you try? KEEP IT SIMPLE AND COLOURFUL. This is the key to getting their attention in the first place
• Lastly, but not the least … try that vegetable with your child. They need to see you eating it and enjoying it for them to take notice

Source : Traycees Kitchen

The post Recipe Of The Week: Rustic Kids Veggie Meatballs appeared first on Lagosmums.

We all need a break at one point or another, but perhaps you need one NOW. You may say that you are absolutely too busy to take a break or there is no way that you can let go right at the moment. Below are things to help you know when to take a break.

1. You’re making small mistakes
When we work too much, our brains just kind of stop paying the amount of attention that they’re supposed to. Everyone gets overworked and small mistakes can happen anywhere. If they’re happening to you, it’s time to take a break.

2. You feel overwhelmed
Have you gone into work, sat down, looked at your to-do list, and just want to start crying? We’ve all been there. Being overwhelmed is a common sign that it’s time to take a break from the job and go find a beach to relax or visit a spa.

3. You’re tired all the time
When you have been working too long without a break, you start walking in every day in a haze of exhaustion. This is also a cause for things like the small mistakes we talked about earlier.

4. You’re irritable
There comes a point where even the usual actions of your coworkers start to tick you off or a little “am hungry mummy’ gets you angry.

5. You suffer from insomnia
Between the stress of the job, being irritable, and thinking about all those mistakes, you’re likely pretty stressed out. This can lead to sleepless nights, nights of tossing and turning, and trouble falling asleep.

6. You can’t focus
Do you look at your computer screen and the words just sort of blur? Being able to focus is essential to doing good work and if you’re having trouble focusing then you’re having trouble doing good work.

When you’re overworked and need a break, everything suffers.
Click To Tweet

7. You  neglect other things
When you’re overworked and need a break, everything suffers. You have to focus all of your energy on work because you’re so distracted and stressed and that means you don’t have energy or time for the other things in your life that matter. It would be a good time to shut down and take a break.

Don’t hesitate to take some time off if it means you’ll be a better person afterwards. Always treat yourself or treat a friend, you deserve it.

Juvenis spa Nigeria | @Juvenisspa

Special Offer: We offer a  30% discount on all our services to all Lagosmums readers. Just mention “LagosMums” at point of service. Juvenis spa is located at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

The post When Do You Need To Take a Break appeared first on Lagosmums.

A mother complained to me recently that there was an “Egungun festival” in the area they reside, and that her 5 year old boy even if glued to the floor would find a way to unglue himself and follow the masquerade. Now that is something considering the fact that as Christians this is not something the parents discuss or celebrate in the house. So their question was where did their son learn about this and build up interest in it.

This comes to the question for mothers and parents, do you purposefully and consciously teach your children faith in God? Or are you of the notion that they are too young to understand life, or maybe you are too busy to teach them?

The training of a child’s faith is the most delicate and the most important duty
Click To Tweet

According to an Author H. Clay Trumbull “The training of a child’s faith is the most delicate and the most important duty that lies with those who want to properly train a child. It is critical to work on this part of the child’s development and it really is a factor upon which the child’s life will flow. This also affects other phases of the training of a child. To train a child to have faith, the adult needs wisdom and a good amount of their own faith to be able to impart same. Everyone is wired to have faith in something – the question is what. Children inherently know about God and they are either trained to continue to grow in faith or not.

Everyone is wired to have faith in something the question is what
Click To Tweet

So then what is Faith?

Faith is trust, assurance and confidence in God. It is shown by service and obedience to God. Biblically, in Hebrews 11:1, it says “now faith is the evidence of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. This means that faith is just a knowing, it is the foundation from where all else flows. When a child had faith in God and believes in himself or herself – she is ready to be all she is meant to be.

Think this will be complex for the child to learn? A child is never too young to hear about creation, about God’s love, about Jesus, and about the many wonderful Bible stories. Explain to them as simply as possible. Don’t speak too much grammar, to avoid the long sequence of the “Why” and “Who” questions because they don’t understand you.

You have to let them know that in life, there is only one boat to be in, and that is God’s boat. There is need for our Children to start learning what faith is and from a young age.

Like the popular saying, a house without a solid foundation is unstable and, eventually, it will crack and crumble. So start early and be intentional in moulding what they believe in because if you don’t, someone else will. Let your voice be the loudest.

The post Children Can Learn About Faith appeared first on Lagosmums.

Tuta Absoluta are moths that cause diseases that destroy swaths of tomatoes fields , and threaten supplies of the country stable food. It has been tagged “Tomato Ebola” after the deadly disease that devastated West Africa in the year 2014. The moth lays eggs on tomato plants and develops into a hungry caterpillar that feeds on the leaves, stems and fruit. This disease has affected about 6 states, namely Jigawa, Kastina, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, and Lagos.

And as a result, Tomato prices have shot up, adding to existing hardship from a 67% rise in the price of petrol and soaring inflation in Africa’s largest economy. More than 90% of 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) of tomato fields outside the northern city of Kano have been destroyed by the insect, according to the state’s agriculture officials.

A $200m tomato processing factory built by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has been forced to shut down because of the shortfall in supply, its managing director, Abdulkareem Kaita, said. Tuta absoluta, which originated in South America and spread to Europe and Africa, quickly develops resistance to pesticides, making it difficult to contain. A state of emergency has therefore been declared over the outbreak as it has destroyed over 80% of tomato farms in the state, the Kaduna state agriculture commissioner, Manzo Daniel, told AFP.

He also said that the tomato shortage caused by the outbreak has caused prices to go up“astronomically” in which a wholesale basket containing hundreds of tomatoes now sells for 42,000 naira ($212), up from 300 ($1.50) to 1,500 naira ($7.50) before the outbreak. “This is only the beginning of a disaster if we don’t take drastic measures because the disease is fast spreading across the north,” he warned. As more than 200 tomato farmers in the region have already suffered losses of more than 1bn naira ($5.02m) from the disease, he said.

Nigerians on the other hand have voiced out their fears on social media that they would not be able to make jollof rice – a beloved national dish made with tomato paste because of the scarcity. Although experts have been sent to Kenya to develop a strategy to combat the brown moth, hopefully the issue will be resolved before we start buying a basket of tomatoes for N100,000.

What are your alternatives to tomatoes? Do share.

Source: The Guardian News

The post ‘Tomato Ebola’ Hits Nigeria As Prices Shoot Up appeared first on Lagosmums.

Who is a prodigy? A prodigy is someone who is a master in something. Prodigies are more unusual because they are individuals who are masters of one or more skills or arts at an early age. Is there something that parents or nurture can do to help a child become the best he or she can be? We believe so – the first step is to identify your child’s gifts and talents, every interest if nurtured right has the ability to become a top skill. Here is just a list of 10 modern child prodigies in various fields in the world.

1. Saheela Ibraheem

At just 15 years old, Nigerian American Saheela Ibraheem was accepted into Harvard University, which makes her among the youngest students ever to attend that school. But that’s not the most impressive part, Saheela was accepted at 12 other colleges, including MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Brown, Princeton, Columbia, and the University of Chicago. Saheela’s parents, totally supportive of the young scholar, sometimes taught her subjects the schools didn’t offer.

2. Tanishq Matthew Abraham

Picture: asmarterplanet.com

Tanishq Matthew Abraham is among the youngest members of Mensa, which he joined when he was four years old. He started to show his genius at four months, when he began browsing children’s books and correctly answering questions about them. Upon entering Mensa, he scored a high 99.9 percentile on the standardized IQ test of Mensa. At five years old, he finished the math courses  offered by Stanford University’s Education Program for Gifted Youth on five levels (kindergarten to 5th grade) in just six months.At six years old, he is already taking high school and college courses. He has maintained a grade point average of 4.0 in all of his college courses and was one of the youngest to be inducted in the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. He also publishes essays on NASA’s Lunar Science website.

3. Ethan Bortnick

Picture : mainlymozart.org

Ethan is a musician, songwriter, and actor. When he was three years old, he began playing the keyboard and at age five, he began composing music. His debut performance was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2007, and he has had numerous performances thereafter. He is a proud Guiness World Record holder as the world’s youngest solo musician to headline his own tour. He is also the youngest headliner to ever play Las Vegas, which he did at the age of 10.

4. Akim Camara

Picture: www.wowamazing.com

He a violinist prodigy in Berlin.He began playing the violin at the age of two and displayed a remarkable memory in the music he heard while still in diapers and speaking unintelligible toddler gibberish. His instructor noted his natural “ear for music” and began teaching the two-year-old twice a week. He learned to play exceptionally quickly after only six months of training, and made his debut performance in December 2003—at the age of three—at a Christmas concert

5. Priyanshi Somani

Picture: newsroompost.com

Priyanshi is a mental calculator from India.She started mental calculation at the age of six, and by age 11 she was the youngest participant at the Mental Calculation World Cup of 2010—which she won. She won first place by solving the square root of 10 six-digit numbers in a record-breaking 6 minutes 51 seconds. To top it off, she was the only participant to have 100 percent accuracy in addition, multiplication, and square roots in the history of the competition.

6. Zuriel Oduwole

Zuriel is a Nigerian American who at 14-years-old is a Filmmaker, and has interviewed 19 presidents including President Buhari. She has been listed in the New African Magazine‘s list of “100 Most Influential People in Africa” thus making her the youngest person of African descent to achieve such feat. She has also interviewed Africa’s richest person Aliko Dangote and tennis super stars – Venus and Serena Williams. She makes the case for education the Girl Child in Africa and Emerging Markets.

7. Jacob Barnett

Picture: trueactivist.com

Jacob Barnett is an American mathematician. When he was two years old, he was diagnosed with moderate to severe autism. Doctors said that he might not be able to talk, read, become independent in basic daily activities. Jacob proved the doctors wrong when he was able to recite the alphabet forwards and backwards—at three years old. At the same age, while visiting a planetarium, Jacob answered the presenter’s question of why the moons of Mars are oddly shaped. He enrolled at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis at age 10. He is currently working on his PhD in Quantum Physics.

8. Cameron Thompson

Picture: dailymail.co.uk

Cameron Thompson is a math prodigy from north Wales. When he was four years old, he corrected his teacher about her claim that zero is the lowest number, saying she forgot negative numbers. He began studying his degree in mathematics at the Open University at age 11. And at the same age, he passed two GCSEs in math and GCE Advanced Level math with flying colors, and was featured in BBC’s “The Growing Pains of a Teenage Genius.” He has difficulties in his studies because of his Asperger’s Syndrome, but undoubtedly, Cameron is a mathematical genius

9. Taylor Ramon Wilson

Picture: ted.com

Taylor Ramon Wilson is the youngest person in the world to build a working fusor: a device designed to create nuclear fusion. He built a bomb at age 10 and the fusor at age 14. In May 2011, he won the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for his radiation detector. In February 2013, he spoke at the TED 2013 conference about his ideas on self-contained underground nuclear fission reactors. He designed a compact nuclear reactor that he said would generate 50 megawatts of power and would need to be refuelled only once every 30 years.

10. Esther Okade

When you take a look at Esther Okade a 10 year old British-Nigerian, she will strike you like the average young girl of her age. What then makes her exceptional is that this young whiz is presently an undergraduate at the Open University, a UK based distance learning college. Her mum noticed her flare for figures after she started being home schooled at three. She sat for her first Math GSCE exam, a British high school qualification at six.

The post 10 Modern Child Prodigies appeared first on Lagosmums.

Maxis are so much fun and every yummy Lagos mummy should definitely own one or two of these babies. They are so versatile, and can be worn through all seasons.

Its most loveable qualities include: its extreme level of comfort, it’s ability to stun for both daytime and evening events, and it’s easy-to-wear shape—but, fit is key. It owes these qualities to the fact that it can be made from various fabrics and materials.

If you are still self conscious about your post baby body, I have inspiration here from yummy mummy’s and mummies-to-be!

Look 1: Violet .N.A.Bannerman / Instagram: @akosua_vee

Look 2: Chrismiss / Instagram: @chrisiss_

Look 3: This Ankara piece is perfect for a Sunday family hangout. Comfort is key to mummies!

Look 4: Devalsam / Instgram: @devalsam

Look 5: Eki Ogunbor

Look 6: Stella Uzo / Instagram.com: jadorafashion

Which look do you like the most?

The post Lagos Mums and Maxis Fashion Friday appeared first on Lagosmums.

Our children are the future. LagosMums decided to celebrate Children’s Day by spending time with some children to tell us what they want to be when they grow up and why. Every child has their gifts and talents and it is never too early to start to encourage and develop it. Watch our Smart Kids role play in the video below on LagosMums YouTube channel.

On Career Flexibility

Tari aged 7, says “I will either be a doctor, engineer or go into construction”. He explains that if being a doctor is too hard, he will just move to another field.

On Being Like Dad

Debade aged 7, says he wants to be an engineer because his daddy is an engineer and is good at working, he wants to be just like him. Aww!

On Inspiration

Temitope aged 8, “I want to be a dancer, model and singer”, when asked why? She says she has seen dancers, models and singers and they inspire her.

On Justice

Diamen aged 11, wants to be a lawyer because he wants to bring justice to people who deserve it.

On Construction

Folahan aged 6, says he wants to be a construction worker because he likes to build things.

Watch the whole video for more.

If you need a place for your children to explore and get creative, check out Mindscapes Children’s Museum located in Lekki Phase 1.

The post Watch our Smart Kids Role Play for Children’s Day appeared first on Lagosmums.

Our help comes from The Lord. If we don’t understand this we will grope in the darkness the same way the unbelievers grope. We must know that our help comes from The Lord and therefore any hesitation means that your expansion is waiting. As long as you are aligned with God’s promise, hesitation is your fear speaking.

Every time you move past your moment of hesitation you will experience the supernatural, God is waiting for you to push past your point of hesitation.

“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise”. (Hebrews 10:35-36)

Hesitation is really rooted in uncertainty or fear. Below are four reasons why you hesitate.

4 Reasons for Hesitation

1. Lack of resources – Do not hesitate just because you think that you do not see the resources that you need to achieve that vision God has given you. Did you know that favour comes before money? Your success is based on grace. You experience this grace too by the willingness of others to use their connection, gifts and abilities for your benefit.

Grace is the favour of God. Provision means providing for the vision which God will take care of. As you have a vision go ahead to execute it because God will send the provision – God provides what you need. “God will generously provide all you need” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

2. Lack of resolve – make up your mind to be who God has made you to be and that God has promised you to be. When God promises return hundredfold it means optimum return for everything you have given up for the kingdom. So you must have the resolve to stay the course.

Those people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. (Daniel 11:32)

3. Lack of resilience – The inability to keep pressing on is a big reason for hesitation.  Resilience is the ability to bounce back from challenges, from obstacles and from resistance. Not everybody will support your vision, persecution is for sure when the vision is big and from God. You cannot afford to give up.
4. Lack of revelation – God reveals enough for us to start and he gives us more revelation as we move on. What you do with the little God shows you is what determines how much further God will take you.

Hesitation is not a problem, it is following through that matters. Every time you move past your hesitation God is waiting to do mighty things. God will send someone to push you into obedience.

Consider your ways (Haggai 1:7) – It is best to consider your ways and make sure you are aligning yourself with God’s will for your life. Every point of hesitation can be overcome with the faith. Be rest assured that when God has given you a vision, he will make it come to pass. However he needs your unrelenting faith. Do not miss your supernatural advancement.

With revelation and resilience resolve that God will provide the resources you need.
Click To Tweet

The post Hesitation Means Your Expansion is Waiting appeared first on Lagosmums.

Let me ask you some questions. Do you know all there is to know about child abuse? Do you really know the how’s, what’s, why’s of child abuse? Do you know how to handle the emotions that come with child abuse? Do you know, as parents, how your actions could affect the mindset of your child?

Should it hurt to be a child? NO – it should not!

Facilitators:

• Laila St. Matthew-Daniel (GenderBased Violence & Abuse Advocate) – The connection between domestic violence and Child abuse
• Wale Adefarasin – Senior Pastor of Guiding Light – from the Male and Spiritual Perspective and Role of The Parent.
• Christianah Akindolie – Christianah Fate Foundation – Child Abuse: the why’s, the what’s and the how’s.
• Itoro Anaba – Mirabel Centre – Rape as Child Abuse.

Laila St.Matthew-Daniel- Transformational Strategist/ Emotions Therapist Psychologist, Writer Speaker. Jacinta Limited Lifestyle Re-Engineering Coaching, Psychology, Counselling

• Training 14b Ogbunike Street Lekki Phase 1, Lagos State
  http://lailastmd.com
• Founder: ACTS Generation – 
  Gender Based Violence, Advocacy, Awareness 
  www.actsgeneration.org/info@actsgeneration.org
  The world will be a better place when women and 
  girls are treated with love, respect and care 
  SAY NO TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN/GIRLS
  The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…..http://actsgeneration.org

The post Child Abuse- It Shouldn’t Hurt To Be A Child appeared first on Lagosmums.

Are good leaders born or made? Is leadership a natural talent or is it a characteristic that can be nurtured in a child? The question should start with what makes a good leader? We believe that parents have a key role to play in defining leadership traits in their children. There is no better place than the home to start training children to become a leader for the future. Below are the top 10 characteristics of Leaders.

1. Independence – This is naturally inborn and starts when a baby starts to learn to walk by trial and error.  While you will not let a child go in the line of clear danger, but you must enable the child to explore and even make their own mistakes. One easy way to achieve independence is to encourage your child to take responsibility in the house. For example teach your child to take his dishes to the kitchen and then ask them to wash their dishes as they get older. Build independence through responsibility. [Read:Age Appropriate Chores]
2. Team Player – organised sports are not the only way for a child to pick up team player skills. Children can learn to be team players right from the home, dealing with their siblings. The ability to take other people’s needs and desires into account is critical in learning to be a team player. The home is the child’s first negotiation experience.
3. Loyalty – Loyalty is the ability to rely on someone. Loyalty means looking out for each other. Not selling each other out. A brother looking out for a brother, a sister looking out for a sister. Children should not be allowed to ignore their family or close friends for an invitation to a party. So teach them from now to be loyal.
4. Perseverance – If everyone could only get a bottle of this and consume the daily dose. Perseverance is what leaders are made of. The inability to take no for an answer, to keep trying with a goal in mind. Successful leaders always have stories of all the failures and set backs that they had to overcome on the journey to their success. It is never an overnight luck factor, success has no secrets – it takes hard work. That is why only 20% of people achieve their goals, they preserver and keep taking steps towards their goals.
5. Good Attitude – Everything is about attitude and it is not cute to say your toddler has an attitude. An attitude at three will lead to a teenager and an adult with an attitude. Life is full of ups and downs and what makes the difference is the attitude that you have. A good attitude is so critical for all aspects of life – the ability to lead, to follow, to get along with colleagues, bosses, customers and everyone in between. So encourage and teach good attitude from the home. Do not ignore or excuse away a bad attitude.
6. Empathy – Good leaders are empathetic, that is the ability to think about others needs and think about other people. The best leaders earn respect and genuinely care about the people around them. Start this training from the home, let you children consider other people’s feelings when they make a comment or take an action. Let them care for the people around them who are not as privileged as they are, this builds in a natural humility to be thankful and have an attitude of gratitude.
7. Focus on Tasks – These days of faster, more and quicker makes us think that we are the masters of multitasking but the truth is that the best way to get things done is still to focus on a task at a time. So do not let your children get into the habit of having dinner while using their smart phone and also trying to have a conversation. There should be a sense of doing the right thing at the right time – it reduces errors and it also makes them more efficient.
8. Goals – When a goal is written down it seems to get a life of its own. If a goal can be visualised and written down, backed by identifying one to three steps needed to achieve them – then it has the chance to become a reality. Most adults were never trained to do this and one of the biggest areas of stress that I have seen as a coach is the feeling of regret later in life. You can only track the goals that you take the time to write down and try to achieve. Encourage your child to have appropriate goals and to celebrate the feeling of accomplishment. 
   

   ---

   Encourage your child to have appropriate goals
   Click To Tweet

   ---

9. Honesty – Being honest is something that has become almost a thing of the past, everywhere you turn people seem to make things up and get away with it. The society seems to have relaxed when it comes to holding people to a high standard. The person who is honest, who lives up to their promises and has integrity is more valuable than money in the bank. So do not encourage them to keep secrets, or to lie to get away with things. This means as a parent you must also be held to this standard – do not tell them to tell the person on your phone that you are asleep while you sit beside them on the sofa – confusing.
10. Financial Skills – Being able to understand how money works is crucial for a successful future making and handling wealth. Children can learn the value of money from home. Learning how to make money is something most people have to figure out along the way and it is not the same as just earning a good salary. Creating wealth comes with understanding how to create value, how to save and invest. Depending on the age start them on earning by creating products like lemonade for sale, or get a summer job from a young age. Children learn best about money when they learn how to handle what they make. There is a big difference between saying something is expensive and taking them to the store to spend the hard earned money they earned after a long day working.

The home front is the best training ground for your future leader, when you realise that you are raising a future leader and not a child you take a very different role in the lessons that your child is learning. Raising a leader takes intentional parenting.

The home front is the best training ground for your future leader
Click To Tweet

The post Are Good Leaders Born Or Made appeared first on Lagosmums.