Ellie Dixon lives in the Devon countryside in deepest rural England with a variety of dogs, cats and other animals! Read all about her life on her website Scruffy and Friends. As well as writing her own articles, Ellie revises and restores vintage children's literature which can be downloaded from her site, Scruffy's Bookshop and designs products based around the characters which you can purchase from Scruffy's Online Store. Visit Scruffy and Friends Visit Scruffy's Bookshop Visit Our Site

• Helping your Shy Child
  13/11/2007 | Parenting
  It's impossible to tell if a toddler's shyness is something that will remain with her through life, or if she's just behaving like a typical child of this age. So, instead of worrying about her shyness, or looking for a solution to it, try to find ways you can help her to have good feelings about herself and others, and to feel happy about interacting socially with other adults and children. With support even naturally shy children can grow into friendly, confident adults. Read
  
• The Importance of Play for Children
  08/11/2007 | Parenting
  Birds do it, bees do it, and so do other animals of all kinds. In fact, just about every animal species does it. Play is universal throughout the animal kingdom, and is an essential part of growing up. Some parents however, consider play a waste of time and think that the time should be put to more constructive use. That's just not true, for a young child there's no more important or constructive activity than play. Read
  
• Teaching Good Manners to your Child is Important - so Start Early
  02/11/2007 | Parenting
  Children need to learn how to stand up for their rights, but at the same time learn to consider and respect the feelings and rights of others too - in other words, they need to learn good manners. It is possible to teach children good manners without subjecting them to the repression of previous decades - who can remember being told "children should be seen, but not heard?" Start your toddler on the road to good manners now with the tips in this article Read
  
• Top Tips for Tidy Toddlers!
  31/10/2007 | Parenting
  When you hear the word "toddler" what does it bring to mind? Certainly not neat, tidy and clean - toddlers and mess seem to go hand in hand! But there are ways of keeping the havoc a toddler can create under control, without tears from either of you. Read
  
• How to Raise a Responsible, Helpful Child - Start Early!
  30/10/2007 | Parenting
  Imagine ... a child who puts her dirty clothes in the linen basket instead of dropping them on the floor, who tidies her room without being nagged, who clears the dinner table without complaint and who happily gives up an afternoon to help out with the grocery shopping. Every parent's fantasy? Yes! Will it come true? Realistically, probably not. But it is possible to raise a responsible child, one who will do her fair share of the chores with only the occasional grumble - if you start early! Read
  
• The Art of Storytelling - Choosing and Preparing your Story
  28/10/2007 | K-12 Education
  Stories are a part of our everyday lives. We all recount our daily experiences to our loved ones or friends - they are told and retold, embellished and held up for the listener to comment on. Any place and any time is a good opportunity for a story. Formal storytelling usually takes place in libraries, schools, care centres, anywhere a group can gather. Telling stories to larger groups requires care and preparation to ensure success. Read
  
• The Art of the Storyteller - the Oral Tradition
  27/10/2007 | K-12 Education
  For centuries storytelling has been a way of passing on society's traditions and beliefs to new generations as oral tales told by travelling poets or talented village storytellers. Today's storytellers are authors and teachers. They are often outgoing people who are passionate about storytelling and literature, and want to communicate their love of words to a new audience. Read
  
• Halloween Fun for the Whole Family With Pumpkin Painting!
  21/10/2007 | Parenting
  Whilst carving pumpkins is messy,time-consuming and risky (think of those sharp tools) pumpkin painting is easy, effective and fun. Within an hour or two, you can learn an art that will provide you and your family with a unique talent and creative outlet, even if you think you don't have a creative bone in your body. Read
  
• Early Reading - Can be Lots of Fun!
  19/10/2007 | Parenting
  Reading is a fundamental skill in today's society. But many of today's TV and computer age children never learn is that reading is also fun. It's one thing to simply teach the skill of reading, but quite another to install a love of books and reading. This article suggests some ways to nurture such a love in a young child. Read
  
• Dressing your Child Can be a Real Challenge!
  16/10/2007 | Parenting
  Even if it's her favorite sandwich or her most-loved dungarees, a control-hungry toddler is sure to rebel if it was chosen without express agreement. This means dressing your child can sometimes be a major challenge for parents of toddlers! Read