Island Parent Fall 2026 by Island Parent Group

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Vancouver Island’s Parenting Resource for 38 Years

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Grown-ups

Need Fun Too

Living Local

Thinkers

Raising in the Age of AI

Practical Guides to

Parenting

Island Parent Magazine

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A holiday fundraiser for Island families

Pancakes & Pajamas is one of Victoria’s favourite traditions, bringing families together for festive fun, delicious pancakes and holiday magic while supporting local kids and families. This year, we’re making it even bigger! For the first time ever, Pancakes & Pajamas is expanding with two new locations: Campbell River and Nanaimo. Now more families can experience this unique and memorable holiday fundraising event! Gather your loved ones, grab your PJs and save the date for a magical morning of breakfast, festive activities and holiday cheer. All in support of Island kids.

Get Your Tickets

New this Year: 3 Dates & Locations! CAMPBELL RIVER

VICTORIA

NANAIMO

November 29 9:00 am

December 6 9:00 am and 12:30 pm

December 13 10:00 am

Fraternal Order of Eagles Hall

Hotel Grand Pacific

Grand Hotel Nanaimo

1999 14 Ave, Campbell River

463 Belleville St, Victoria

4898 Rutherford Rd, Nanaimo

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Fall 2026

INTHISISSUE

10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

RAISING THINKERS IN THE AGE OF AI

FALL2026 Jim Schneider Publisher publisher@islandparent.ca

LEARNING DIFFERENTLY

RETHINKING ROUTINE

GROWN-UPS NEED FUN TOO

FEMALE FOUNDERS

LOCAL SHOPPING

FARM ANIMALS & EMOTIONS

Stacie Gaetz Editor editor@islandparent.ca Kristine Wickheim Account Manager kristine@islandparent.ca

Island Parent Magazine, published by Island Parent Group Enterprises Ltd., is a bimonthly publication that honours and supports parents by providing information on resources and businesses for Vancouver Island families. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. No material herein may be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. Island Parent is distributed free in selected areas. Annual mail subscriptions (7 issues) are available for $21 (GST included). Canadian Publication Mail Product Sales Agreement 40051398. ISSN 0838-5505.

For distribution inquiries, please email publisher@islandparent.ca

PUMPKIN PATCH

YOUR CHILD HAS AUTISM

On the Cover Natasha Shepherdson Wild Oak Creative wildoakcreative.com

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EDI T OR ’ SNO T E

Love Local, Live Local

all has a funny way of shifting our perspective. After the wild, expansive freedom of summer, autumn invites us to settle back into our routines, our neighbourhoods and our immediate surroundings. In a world that constantly encourages us to look outward, scroll further and schedule more, choosing to anchor ourselves in our immediate community is a quiet act of self-care. It means trading the endless highway drive to the next big attraction for a spontaneous afternoon exploring a neighbourhood park you’ve passed a hundred times. It means slowing down enough to notice the changing season right in your own backyard. For our children, the benefits of this rootedness are profound. When kids are raised with a strong sense of place, they gain something far more valuable than another item on a rèsumè or a trophy from a scheduled extracurricular: they learn that they are part of a bigger picture. When your child visits a local pumpkin patch, they aren’t just picking out a jack-o’-lantern; they are connecting the

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food on their table to the hands that grew it and the soil beneath their boots. When you bump into neighbours at the autumn farmers’ market or let your kids linger to chat with the local baker, they learn that a community is built on relationships and mutual care. They begin to understand that the city around them isn’t just a backdrop for their lives—it’s a living, breathing network that they belong to. Unscheduled, local exploration teaches kids curiosity over consumerism. A spontaneous Saturday spent splashing through coastal tidepools, kicking through fallen leaves along a local trail or attending a community harvest festival shows them that adventure doesn’t require registration or a complex itinerary. It simply requires paying attention. As parents, when we choose to show up for our local events, support our libraries and care for our shared spaces, our children are watching. They absorb the lesson that communities don’t just happen—they are built by people who choose to care about where they live. – Stacie Gaetz

Fall 2026

10 T hings YOU NEED T O K NO W

Victoria’s Fall Salmon Run

The annual salmon run at Goldstream Park happens from mid-October through midNovember and is an excellent free nature outing for families. bcparks.ca

Galey Farms Fall & Halloween Activities

The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley

Crafting Connections: GLOW

Jingle Into Christmas

Galey Farms is a classic Greater Victoria fall destination, with pumpkins, hay rides, train rides, a corn maze and Halloween activities this October. galeyfarms.ca

A free Salt Spring Arts family drop-in Crafting Connections series takes place on November 14. The program is designed as a hands-on creative activity for children and their families. saltspringarts.com

Chemainus Theatre Festival presents The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, a holiday-season production set in the world inspired by Jane Austen, starting November 13. chemainustheatrefestival.ca

Tofino’s festive shopping night invites residents and visitors to explore local businesses and shop for holiday gifts around town on November 20. tourismtofino.com

Comox Mayor’s Tree Lighting

Nanaimo Christmas Village

Pancakes & Pajamas - Campbell River

Glob

Kick off the holiday season in downtown Comox on November 27 with the annual Mayor’s Tree Lighting, featuring festive entertainment, holiday cheer and the lighting of the community Christmas tree. downtowncomox.com

Put on your favourite PJs and enjoy a festive breakfast at Pancakes & Pajamas in Campbell River on November 29. This family-friendly holiday event has pancakes, Christmas fun and community spirit. islandkidsfirst.com

Step into a festive German-inspired Christmas market at Nanaimo Christmas Village from November 27 to 28. nanaimochristmasvillage.com

Glob is a fun family performance filled with circus charm, magical moments and two playful clowns at the Sid Williams Theatre in Courtenay on November 30. sidwilliamstheatre.com

Little Skies: moving image art for youth

A brand-new festival introducing kids to the art of film and video through in-person screenings, a hands-on workshop and online programs. November 7 and 8 at Deluge Contemporary Art in Victoria. deluge.ca

T EC H

RaisingThinkers in the Age of AI

everal years ago, I was having breakfast at a restaurant when a conversation at the table next to mine caught my attention. A father was eating with his son, who looked to be about nine years old. At some point, the father asked his son a question that involved a simple math calculation. The boy immediately reached for his phone and opened the calculator. “You don’t need a calculator for that,” his father told him. “You can figure it out.” The boy looked at him and asked a perfectly logical question: “Why should I think about it when I have a calculator? It’s faster.”

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I still remember the father’s face. He was unable to provide a clear answer. At the time, it seemed like one of those small exchanges between a parent and a child that make you smile. Today, in the age of artificial intelligence, I think that boy was asking a much bigger question than any of us realized.

Why should I do the thinking when technology can do it for me?

It is a question our children will face more and more. AI can explain a difficult concept, summarize informa-

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tion, suggest an argument, generate ideas and produce polished writing in seconds. What once required searching, reading, comparing, questioning and sometimes getting things wrong can now begin with a prompt and end with an answer. That can be incredibly useful. But it also creates a challenge for parents. Getting the answer and learning how to arrive at an answer are not the same thing. That father at breakfast wasn’t worried about whether his son could obtain the correct number. The calculator could take care of that. He wanted his son to exercise something else: the ability to think through a problem and decide whether the answer made sense. We develop that ability through practice. Children learn to solve problems by solving problems. They develop judgment by considering alternatives. They learn persistence when the first answer doesn’t work. They develop critical thinking by asking questions, making mistakes, reconsidering assumptions and trying again. The risk with AI isn’t that our children will suddenly lose their ability to think. It is that they may have fewer reasons to practice it. That doesn’t mean we should keep AI away from them. Quite the opposite. Used wisely, AI can be an extraordinary learning tool. A child who doesn’t understand something can ask for a different explanation. A student can explore opposing points of view, brainstorm possibilities or discover questions they hadn’t considered.

There is an important difference between using AI to expand your thinking and using it to avoid thinking.

Perhaps that is where parents can help. In our family, we can establish a simple framework: TAB: Think. Ask. Build. • Think. Before turning to AI, make an attempt. Solve the problem. Develop an idea. Write something. Form your own opinion. Decide what you know and what you still need to understand. • Ask. Then use AI to take your thinking further. Ask for another explanation. Request feedback on what you wrote.

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Look for alternatives. Ask what you might have missed. Ask it to challenge your argument. • Build. Finally, take responsibility for the answer. Check important facts. Question what doesn’t seem right. Decide what is useful and what isn’t. Then use your own judgment to create something that is yours. That last step matters because AI can be wrong. It can also give us an answer that sounds convincing enough that we forget to question it. In an age when answers are increasingly easy to obtain, perhaps the more valuable skill will be knowing which answers to trust, which to challenge and which questions still need to be asked. This brings me back to that boy at breakfast. Today, I think I have an answer for him: Why should you work out the calculation when the answer is already sitting in your hand? Not because calculators are bad. Not because AI is bad. And certainly not because there will come a day when you won’t have technology available. The opposite is probably true. Our children will grow up with tools far more powerful than anything we have today. And that is precisely why they need to learn how to think. Because life will eventually give them questions for which there is no button marked “answer”: questions about friendships, relationships, careers, values, family and difficult choices. AI will probably have suggestions. But our children will still have to decide. We aren’t raising them simply to find the right answers. We’re raising them to know what to do when there isn’t one.

Alexis Santacruz is the founder and CEO of OpenWorks Canada Inc., a technology and software development company working with artificial intelligence. A father, writer and lifelong learner, he is interested in how technology is changing our lives and how we can use it without losing the human skills that matter most.

Fall 2026

LEARN

From ‘I’m Not Smart’ to ‘I Just Learn Differently’ Unlocking Your Child’s Strengths N

ow that the school year is underway, many parents are getting a clearer sense of how their child is settling in academically. For some, familiar concerns are reappearing: homework takes far too long, reading remains effortful, writing causes frustration or math facts seem elusive. Sometimes the first sign of difficulty is not a poor mark, but the amount of effort school requires. Children may struggle because of gaps in instruction, attention difficulties, learning disabilities, anxiety, processing weaknesses, language factors or slower skill development. When

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problems persist despite appropriate support, a psycho-educational assessment can help explain how a child learns and what may be getting in the way.

Looking beneath the report card

Completed by a psychologist, a psycho-educational assessment examines the processes underlying school performance. Depending on the referral question, it may consider cognitive abilities, memory, attention, processing efficiency, reading, writing, mathematics and social-emotional functioning. Scores alone do not tell the whole

story. The psychologist also considers developmental and school history, previous interventions, observations during testing, input from parents and teachers and everyday functioning. The goal is to understand the pattern. Two children with similar reading marks, for example, may need very different help: one may decode accurately but slowly, while another reads fluently but struggles to understand or remember. Assessment can explain a mismatch between what a child understands and produces. A strong thinker may struggle to read unfamiliar words, follow

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multi-step instructions or translate ideas into writing. Adults may focus on effort: Try harder. Pay attention. Check your work. Yet the child may already be working exceptionally hard. Understanding the barrier changes the question from “Why aren’t you doing this?” to “What is making this difficult, and what would help?”

Strengths matter too

A useful assessment identifies strengths as well as needs. A student who struggles with written language may have excellent visual reasoning; a child with attention difficulties may show strong verbal knowledge and creativity. These strengths help guide teaching and protect self-concept. Repeated difficulty can turn “I can’t read well” into “I’m not smart.” A fuller learning profile offers a more accurate and hopeful understanding.

The report should answer what happens next

Assessment findings should lead to specific recommendations, such as targeted reading or math intervention, executive-function support, counselling, occupational therapy, assistive technology or formal accommodations. Accommodations do not change what students must know; they change how students access learning or demonstrate knowledge. Additional time, speech-to-text, computer use or a quieter testing setting may reduce the impact of a documented disability, so marks more accurately reflect ability. Findings may also support a school designation and Individual Education IslandParent.ca

Plan (IEP). The IEP translates the assessment into goals, supports, accommodations and a plan for monitoring progress. Because needs change with age, assessment is best viewed as a roadmap rather than simply a testing exercise.

School-based and private assessment

Public schools may provide psychoeducational assessments at no cost, usually to answer educational questions and guide school supports. Private assessments may offer more flexibility in timing and, depending on the child’s needs and the psychologist’s scope, may also consider ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression or other developmental and mental-health concerns. A private psycho-educational assessment generally costs about $3,500 to $4,000. Families should check extended-health benefits; some can coordinate two parents’ plans or schedule services across two benefit years, subject to their insurer’s rules. The documentation may also support applications for the federal Disability Tax Credit, the BC Children and Youth Disability Supplement beginning in 2027, post-secondary accommodations and StudentAid BC disability support, or Community Living BC

services for some young adults with intellectual disabilities. Eligible psychological services may qualify as medical expenses.

When to look more closely

Not every concern requires assessment. Start by asking the teacher which skills are difficult, whether progress is as expected, what interventions have been tried and whether they are helping. A physician may be useful when attention, sleep, development, anxiety or health concerns could be contributing. Also listen to how your child talks about school: “Everyone finishes before me,” or “I’m just bad at math.” These comments do not establish a learning disorder, but repeated frustration can become part of a child’s identity.

Understanding comes before intervention

The most valuable outcome of assessment is not a collection of scores or a diagnosis. It is a clearer understanding of why a child is struggling, what remains strong and what adults can do differently. The goal is not to change the child. It is to understand them well enough that we can change the way we support them.

Dr. Jillian Roberts is a professor of educational psychology at the University of Victoria and a licensed psychologist with more than 25 years experience working with children, adolescents and families. She founded MindKey Health in 2003, a psychology practice providing psycho-educational, ADHD, autism and other psychological assessments across the lifespan. She is also the author of 16 books and a frequent contributor on issues related to child development, learning and resilience. Fall 2026

S EL F - C A R E

Grown-ups

Need Fun,Too Exploring Ways Parents Can (& Should) Reclaim Play

et’s play a game. What’s the first word you think about when I say parent? Maybe the word “rewarding” comes to mind. Or perhaps “exhausted” or “loving.” When I think about what it means to be a parent, one of the first words I think of is “responsible.” From providing the basics of food, shelter and clothing, to managing the complexities of work, school, friends, appointments and activities, parents not only have to be responsible for their own multi-dimensional lives, they also have to be responsible for their children’s ever-evolving schedules. On any given day, parents bounce between dressing for work and playing dress-up, managing meetings and juggling school pick-ups, seeing friends and arranging playdates. The laundry never ends, the emails don’t stop, the appointments stack up and dinner must be thought of, shopped for, unpacked and prepared. Parents are role-shifting superheroes, and their superpower (among many) is responsibility. A big part of our job as parents is to shepherd our children towards age-appropriate fun and play. As much as we love to do this, their experience of fun isn’t always what

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we would choose for ourselves. It’s okay to admit that your child’s fun isn’t your idea of fun; once you’ve accepted those differences, you can get to the business of discovering what fun means to you now. So, what is fun as an adult? Is it something you do? Somewhere you go? Do you share the fun or prefer to have fun solo? What does having fun look like as a parent? It’s not surprising if you have a hard time answering some of those questions; there’s a good chance, as a parent of young kids, you’ve lost sight of what fun is or can’t remember what it feels like to have fun and play. Even as a parent of older children, you may find yourself with more time and unsure how to fill it. Now, it goes without saying that it’s perfectly natural to have thwarted your own need for play as you raise(d) your kids, that’s part of the gig. It’s also perfectly natural to find your way back to fun when time permits, or better yet, when you figure out how to make it a priority. “But I don’t have time for fun,” you say. “Fun is a privilege I can’t afford,” you say. “There’s nothing fun to do,” you say. And I can entertain those self-limiting beliefs, because your worldview matters. But could you entertain my

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gentle challenge to that narrative? What if I told you that having a bit of fun could improve your mood, improve your relationships and improve your sense of self in a busy, loud and increasingly digital world? I hope you’d say, “Let’s go!” Fun, especially when it’s shared with others, naturally stimulates the production of oxytocin (the hormone behind social connection) and the reward circuity in our brain that’s responsible for pleasure. Put simply, fun equals feeling good! So, what counts as fun? Maybe it’s a casual hobby like painting, baking or playing a board game. Perhaps fun for you elicits more excitement and thrills, like downhill mountain biking, karaoke or going to a concert. Whatever your version of fun is, we know that play helps us achieve joy. When we feel joy, we are more likely to engage in the present moment, we’re better equipped to cope with stress and we’re more likely to (surprise!) seek more joy. The benefits of play as an adult mean we might have more capacity for the sleepless nights, more energy for LEGO® marathons, sibling squabbles or a grumpy spouse. Play is another way of taking care of us and self-care is a currency best spent consistently.

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If you’re having a hard time coming up with something fun to do, try thinking about what you used to love doing as a kid or some of your favourite pastimes when you had more freedom. If it’s still tough, here are a few ideas: • host a trivia night • try a pottery or candle-making class • learn to make sushi • go kayaking or rent an e-bike • start a veggie/flower garden • go dancing • take a scenic drive • sing Of all the responsibilities parents shoulder, we can’t afford to dismiss the responsibility we have to take care of ourselves. And have some fun along the way! Dr. Fiona Patterson is a registered clinical counsellor in Victoria with more than 20 years of experience. She sees patients both in-person and virtually throughout Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the Interior. She can be reached via her website fionapatterson.ca.

Fall 2026

PA R EN T ING

How Local Shopping Shapes Mindful Consumers

here’s a saying that when you support a small business, an actual person does a happy dance. As a small business owner, I can confirm there’s truth to it. Shopping locally feels personal because there is usually a person, family or small team directly behind what you’re buying. I’ve always been a huge supporter of local and small businesses. As a kid, I loved buying beaded earrings directly from makers at farmers’ markets or pulling over at roadside lemonade stands. Now, as a parent, I appreciate that shopping locally is about more than where we spend our money. It’s also an opportunity to show our kids where things come from, who makes them

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and what goes into getting food and products into our homes. At the farmers’ market, we can talk to the person who grew the vegetables, baked the bread, made the jam or bottled the hot sauce and ask about the process. Kids get to see that food didn’t simply appear on a grocery store shelf. Someone planted it, grew it, harvested it, made it and packaged it. The same thing happens when they meet a local shop owner, artist, designer or author. There’s something very different about getting a new book signed by the person who wrote it compared to clicking a button on an app and finding a package on the doorstep the next day.

Meeting the person behind a product makes creativity and entrepreneurship feel tangible. It shows kids that people in their own communities write books, grow food, bake, start businesses, invent, design clothing, create art and turn ideas into real things. Shopping locally isn’t always the cheapest or most convenient option. Sometimes ordering online is faster. Sometimes a locally made product costs more, and it’s worth talking to kids about why. A handmade product may take hours to create. A small food producer doesn’t have the buying power of a massive grocery chain. A local shop has rent to pay and employees to support.

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2026 Capital Regional District

I LY •

S •

WINNER 2026

ITE

The 2026 Family Favourites results are in! Our readers were invited to vote online at islandparent.ca for their family favourites and the response was phenomenal! Thank you to everyone who voted and sent us such wonderful feedback. We have tallied your votes—here are your 2026 Island Parent Family Favourites!

Family Favourites FAV O

A higher price often reflects smaller production runs, more hands-on work and the realities of running an independent business. Local products also aren’t always available on demand. A shop may sell out of something we saw last week, or a café may stop making a favourite item. These conversations help children understand the time, skill and resources involved in creating what they buy instead of simply looking for the lowest price or fastest delivery. There are other benefits to shopping locally too. When you develop a relationship with a business in your neighbourhood, there’s often a level of connection and service that’s difficult to replicate with a large company. The shop owner remembers you. The person at the market knows what you bought last time. The barista knows your coffee order. You start recommending businesses to friends, and those businesses recommend others in return. Those interactions create familiarity and connection within a community and keeps more of our spending connected to the places where we live. As a family, supporting small businesses doesn’t have to mean buying everything locally. That isn’t realistic for most of us when convenience is so accessible. It can mean choosing the neighbourhood coffee shop, spending a Saturday morning at a farmers’ market, buying a birthday gift from a local maker or attending an event where small businesses are selling their work. For us, it’s about choosing local when it makes sense. It’s also important to make those choices visible to our kids and bring them into the conversation. Discussing global supply chains and tariffs can help them understand why we sometimes choose businesses closer to home. Ask them to help find local produce, chat with a shop owner about their products, or learn about materials, upcycling and sustainability. Explain why something might cost a little more when it’s handmade or made with higher-quality materials. Kids learn from what we tell them, but they also notice how we spend our time and money. Shopping locally gives them a closer look at how businesses work, how products are made and how everyday choices can support the community around them.

ATTRACTION ARTS Victoria Butterfly Gardens Stages Performing Arts School RETAIL Hillside Centre NONPROFIT Cridge Centre for the Family DINING Floyd’s Diner CAMP UVic Vikes / Camp Qwanoes SPORTS & RECREATION Lakehill Baseball

Jenn Wint is a writer and public relations specialist passionate about sharing stories that connect people, communities and local businesses. She lives with her husband, son, daughter and two kitties. Follow her @jenn_wint. IslandParent.ca

Fall 2026

PA R EN T ING

Rethinking Routine

The Everyday Rituals that Anchor Family Life

friend of mine once said “routine saves us” in reference to managing family life. Yet, when I hear the word routine, I have a sinking feeling. Routine, by definition, is repetitive. Routine is the opposite of spontaneity, the opposite of excitement. One of the reasons why the start of summer is so exciting is because it signals the end of routine and the start of everything that is not “everyday”—camping, hikes, paddleboards, late nights, s’mores. Travelling is an escape from the routine. So are birthdays, girls’ nights and concerts. Many of my strongest memories are things that happen outside the routine: going to a Taylor Swift cover band with the neighbourhood moms and daughters, watching my daughter get further up the climbing wall at family camp, a Muskoka trip with girlfriends, my mom’s 80th birthday. These memories are the exceptions to the everyday. However, not every day can be exceptional. Exceptional can become exhausting. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I

took a leave of absence while daycare was closed. Considering the world was in a state of emergency, I have wonderful memories of that time—taking my daughter to the beach and singing “Coming Around the Mountain,” discovering parks we’d never been to before, playing in grandpa and grandma’s backyard and waving at them from a distance. Yet even during this time, I found I needed a routine, so I invented one: we would have breakfast, go to a park or beach, then come back around lunchtime. When daycare reopened, I went back to work and although I missed our mother-daughter time, I felt an unexpected sense of relief in knowing what was ahead of me each day. It may not have been exciting to go back to the work/daycare routine but the predictability released me from the weight of orchestrating fun each day during a difficult time. Lately, I have found that routine provides some comfort, momentum and things to look forward to. On Tuesdays, I

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go to exercise class and skip the bedtime routine. On the weekends, there’s gymnastics, where I go for a walk downtown while my daughter is on the uneven bars. One of my favourite routines is walking my daughter to school. We’re lucky that we live in a walkable area where we bump into classmates along the way. The morning walk to start the day is nourishing—I get outside, get some steps in, socialize with other parents and have some mama-daughter time. As much as drop-offs/pick-ups can be a pain, I like how they bookend the day. More than a routine, they’re a ritual to help gear up for what’s ahead. Routine doesn’t always feel like a comfort. Sometimes, when the soccer WhatsApp thread pings or my Saturday morning alarm goes off for 8:30 am practice, I groan. Why can’t we just wing it? But more often than not, once we get cleated up and down to the field, the fresh air doesn’t feel so chilly, watching little girls play “zamboni” makes me smile and once the season is over, I feel oddly disconnected from the other neighbourhood families. Breathing in the cold morning air isn’t something I would do without the routine of soccer. Yet this year soccer has increased from twice a week to three times a week. Are the memories of last year’s season with kids gathering around for snack time after practice, running around the track on the way home and sipping coffee while catching up with other parents enough to make a more hectic pace of life worthwhile? The routines that I

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savour are also our family rituals: sleepy weekend mornings, pancake making and day trips to the Malahat Skywalk. How do we fit in these less structured family times amid soccer and dance and swimming? How much structure supports us and how much holds us back from unexpected adventures? And why do I get a feeling of unease every September when I look at our schedule and wonder “Will this work for us?” Or will the many activities feel claustrophobic? The nice thing about routines is they can change. We could always pass on one of the activities, reassess what’s working and what’s not. Heck, I could even start a new routine of 6 am running before the family is up. (Not that I will…) Routines are like puzzle pieces, we need to figure out what fits together with our life, with each family members’ needs, with our energy levels and with our daughter’s love of cartwheels and chicken fingers. May we find the routines that save us. And may all the pieces “click.”

Julia Mais is a policy and communications professional in Victoria. She looks for beauty in the everyday through writing, photography and the outdoors. She lives in a messy, cheese-filled home with her husband and young child. Fall 2026

Local Female Founders B U S INE S S

Are Changing the Way We Support Small Business I used to think living local meant something straight out of a rom-com; a brown paper bag tucked under my arm with locally grown flowers peeking out one end, fresh produce out the other and a charming shopkeeper who knows every patron and their dog by name. Okay, maybe I’ve watched Under the Tuscan Sun one too many times. But this isn’t entirely untrue. Living local can mean choosing the neighbourhood market over the grocery chain, buying produce from the farmer down the road or spending a few

My job was to walk around with a microphone and ask local business owners the question I am always most curious about: What is your “why?” The answers were as multi-dimensional as the women themselves. Some had turned a health journey into a service. Others had noticed a need in their community and created something to fill it. One woman told me she started her charcuterie cart because it “made her heart dance.” Many were mothers building businesses around raising

extra minutes chatting with the person behind the counter who genuinely means it when they ask, “How’s your mom?” However, I recently spent an afternoon at a local business event, and suddenly living local looked a whole lot bigger. Because it’s not just about where we shop. It’s about who we support, who we connect with, what we build together and what our kids are quietly learning while we’re busy doing it. During the summer, I was invited to be the media host for the first Babes in Biz event in Victoria. Two local women with a passion for building community planned the curated event experience in roughly 40 days, bringing together women-led businesses, families and community members for an afternoon of shopping, quick lashing, speed tatting, conversation and connection.

children, finding flexibility where they could and creating work that fit their lives rather than forcing their lives to fit a traditional workplace. But while I was talking to the adults, I noticed the kids next to them. Children helped at vendor tables, watched their mothers network and make their own connections. There was even a “Mini Babes in Biz” section area where children became entrepreneurs. Kids (mine included) were weaving through the aisles seeking out samples. Rather than policing their cupcake intake, I was thrilled they were getting a behind-the-scenes look at the final product of what mommy had been working on tirelessly at home.

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They have watched me turn our living room into a makeshift studio, wrestle with microphones and cameras and even helped with sound checks. That afternoon, they saw me in my element, holding mini podcast-style interviews beneath the neon sign they helped give feedback on. Seeing my husband, children and elderly parents watching me do something I love was a surprisingly full-circle moment. It reminded me of my own “why.” It also reminded me that sometimes our children learn best by watching and experiencing something in real time. They see us buy a crocheted character from our neighbour’s teenager. They see us book an appointment at a friend’s home salon. They see us collaborate instead of compete. They see that the person behind a business is often someone who lives nearby, raises children, has bills to pay, gets tired and keeps showing up anyway. And sometimes, they see something even more powerful: people using business to give back. Proceeds from Babes in Biz went to Bridges for Women Society, a Victoria-based organization providing traumainformed counselling and healing-focused employment programs in a safe and supportive environment that honours diverse identities within the women’s community. During the event, I met a woman whose connection to Bridges began more than a decade ago. She was a single mother seeking direction and support during one of the most difficult seasons of her life. Bridges helped her recognize her strengths, develop skills and find a meaningful path forward.

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Years later, she returned that gift by serving on its board. The overwhelming emotion that came over us surprised us both. That to me, was living local. It wasn’t simply people buying from local businesses. It was people using their talents, passions and resources to support themselves, their families and their community. Supporting local isn’t always the cheapest or easiest option. Sometimes it takes a little more effort to get out the door instead of clicking “add to cart.” But our children see what happens when we do. They see that communities aren’t built by logos or algorithms. They’re built by people who know one another, lift each other up, share opportunities, collaborate, volunteer and enthusiastically roll up their sleeves to make the magic happen. And maybe that’s the lesson worth passing on—not simply where we shop within our community, but how we show up for our community.

Deb Balino is a Victoria-based writer and mom of two, navigating life in the sandwich generation. She’s the Podcast Host of Sass & Small Talk on TELUS StoryHive, exploring the mental load of parenthood, sharing stories from the trenches of raising a neurodivergent family, while balancing advocacy, entrepreneurship and caregiving.

Fall 2026

Farm Animals Help Children Navigate Big Emotions PA R EN T ING

ids have big feelings, and some have them more often than others. One strategy for handling big feelings, that I learned from a friend and mentor, is to incorporate farm animals into family life. She believed that her daughter’s horse helped keep her alive through her teen years. I admit, I didn’t need any convincing. I loved my farm animals growing up and I knew they were an important part of my parenting strategy. However, how they helped us surprised me, as I didn’t know how regulating the relationships would be. Farm animals are domestic creatures who rely on humans for all their basic needs. In return, they provide food and resources. This symbiotic relationship creates a strong feeling of nurturing and attachment in most children. When our kids have big feelings, having a creature to nurture and take care of can serve multiple purposes. The first thing I noticed upon introducing my toddlers to

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our ducks and chickens was the profound curiosity that little children have around animals. The basic human need for connection is the first thing that they achieve, when petting or caring for a farm animal. The farm animals that we choose for our kids were bunnies, chickens, ducks, goats and ponies. These all responded with positive reinforcement of the care. They responded like a family pet would, with attention, fun noises and following our children around for more food. The second benefit I noticed was emotional regulation. Even when big feelings come, farm animals are a constant in the family that can absorb a lot of day-to-day stresses. Farm animals are very consistent. They are consistently needy, consistently hilarious and consistently present. Kids with big emotions benefit from having consistency, and I think this was one of the best gifts we got from having a small farm. Being around farm animals all the time creates gentle and aware children. They learn about safety and consequences of

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rash decisions. They learn about gravity and how the ground can bite you if you take risks. They learn about their own physical and mental limitations. They learn about what it takes to keep another creature alive and healthy. This kind of feedback creates the right environment for building healthy self-esteem and self-acceptance. A third benefit is in learning about systems. By introducing children to the concepts of cause and reaction through teaching them about keeping a farm, we can use teachable moments to instill a sense of maturity early on. They learn how leaving a grooming kit messy or outside can cause the tools to become less effective, or how not feeding the animals on time can cause them to bloat. These intricacies inside the farmyard point to real-life skills of noticing the systems inside a family unit, a neighbourhood and ultimately a village. This kind of self-awareness can help kids grow out of big-feeling outbursts in a natural and supported way. It becomes less about the “me factor” and more about the needs of the whole. A fourth benefit was in creating a safe space for my children’s healthy mental growth. By letting them form attachments with their farm animals, they always had a friend to turn to, after school, during our divorce and during COVID isolation. In times when my kid’s social net was rocky and uncertain, farm animals never let them down. Farm animal attachments can help teens survive middle and high school drama like a healing balm for the heart. They can galvanize kids to face their bullies and cliques at school, knowing that their pony or lambs are waiting for them at home. The benefit of local 4-H clubs or pony clubs are they provide networking outside of school and the role modelling of how farming can remain a part of their adult lives too. Now that they are in their young adult years, my kids both understand where food comes from and appreciate farmers and how our food systems work. They both like to cook using fresh food, and like having their own pets. We all need ways to ground ourselves and farm animals created that for my family. The farm animals we had created a sense of purpose and wonderment during moments of reflection that came with life’s ups and downs.

Rachel Bevington is a member of the Lower Nicola band who lives and works on Salt Spring Island as a restoration biologist and mom. When not working or playing outside, she likes to be knitting and weaving in her studio in the forest.

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Is it Time to See Some Bunny? Everyone welcome, including autism and paediatric care. Estevan Optometry Clinic 2544B Dunlevy Street, Victoria

778 430 2020 estevanoptometry.ca info@estevanoptometry.ca

Fall 2026

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Let’s Go to the Pumpkin Patch! E

very autumn, families visit the pumpkin patch. It’s a classic autumn tradition as well as a fun-filled family activity. The farmers’ fields are full of bright orange globes of delight set against the deep warm tones of falling autumn leaves. A visit to the pumpkin patch is an opportunity to slow down, enjoy time in nature and marvel in the crisp fall air while walking in fields dotted with pumpkins.

WHAT THEY LEARN

A trip to the pumpkin patch is also great outdoor fun and kids enjoy hunting for the largest and roundest pumpkin to take home and carve into a jack-o’-lantern for Halloween. There are many learning experiences at pumpkin patches where kids can see how local agriculture works and how plants grow from seeds. Kids can learn about gourds and other vegetables that grow on vines such as butternut squash, kabocha and zucchinis. They will see first-hand many different types of pumpkins in various shapes, sizes and colours such as white pumpkins, pumpkin with warts, pinkish pumpkins and orange and green striped pumpkins. Remind your

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kids to avoid carrying a pumpkin by its stem as the stem can be fragile. Encourage them to carry their pumpkin with their hands under the bottom and sides of the pumpkin to avoid snapping off the stem.

WHERE TO GO

There are many local farms on the Island that offer “u-pick pumpkins” as well as other harvest festivities such as corn mazes, hayrides, live music, feeding the rabbits and goats. Often there is a farmers’ market nearby to buy local seasonal produce such as fresh corn on the cob, homemade pumpkin and apple pies, farm eggs, potatoes and carrots. Be sure to plan ahead and check websites for hours of operation in advance. Expect the farm to get increasingly busy towards Halloween and try to arrive early to beat the crowds.

WHAT TO WEAR

Dress for the weather and be prepared for the kids to get dirty. Be sure to wear your blue jeans and bring rain jackets and umbrellas. It can be muddy with an uneven terrain walking in the pumpkin patch so wear comfy

hiking boots or rainboots. Be sure to take photos! There will undoubtedly be plenty of photo opportunities you will want to capture.

WHAT TO MAKE

Be sure to save the pumpkin seeds after the kids have scooped out the pumpkins for their jack-o’-lanterns. Pumpkins seeds make a crunchy snack! Toss them with olive oil and salt and then bake them until crispy. Another idea is to make a planter by cutting the top off the pumpkin, cleaning out the inside and then filling it with colourful autumn flowers to make a table centerpiece. Or, fill the pumpkin with birdseed and hang it outside in the garden for the birds to enjoy.

WHAT TO READ

Prepare your kids before venturing to the pumpkin patch by reading books about pumpkins. There are several fun and interesting books about growing pumpkins that will introduce your kids to the autumn season and, of course, Halloween. Here are some of my favourites:

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THE PORT THEATRE PRESENTS

December 2nd - 5th 7:00pm December 5th MATINEE 1:30 pm

NUTCRACKER Royal Winnipeg Ballet

porttheatre.com/spotlight | 250-754-8550 We’re grateful for the opportunity to live, work, and celebrate the Arts on the traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation. hay ce:p q’a

It’s Pumpkin Time by Zoe Hall This is a colourful book with simple text that teaches how to grow a pumpkin from seed. Learn how to plant and water the pumpkin, harvest it and turn it into a jacko’-lantern. How to Help Pumpkin Grow by Ashley Wolff Learn the steps needed to grow pumpkins in this rhyming tale. It features a large dog who is digging and preparing his garden to plant pumpkin seeds. Kids will love the colourful illustrations, and it will prepare them for the visit to the pumpkin patch. Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington This book will encourage your kids to plant a pumpkin seed next autumn and watch its growth. In this book, Jamie plants a seed and sees the stages of the pumpkin growth until he picks it and carves a face to place in his window. Jerri Carson is a SD61 retired primary music and choir teacher. She plays piano and cello. IslandParent.ca

Fall 2026

Autism Coping with the Diagnosis S PEC I A L NEED S

Your Child has P

erhaps you always knew there was something different about your child, or maybe it gradually dawned on you as the comments of well-meaning friends shifted from how cute his differences were to asking how you were coping. Maybe she seemed like other kids some of the time but didn’t appear to pick up on unspoken social expectations or to learn appropriate behaviours. By the time you hear those words you will never forget—“Your child has autism”—you have probably already talked yourself in circles about what this means. There is no right or wrong way to feel when your child is diagnosed. For me, the first feeling I experienced on hearing those words, “Yes, it’s ASD,” was relief. For two years, I had known something was not connecting for my child; the lack of desire to feed, to play, to speak, to engage with the world. I had questioned deafness, because of the seeming indiffer-

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ence to words, to the sound of thunder, even my own voice. I had wondered about other conditions, both known and unknown. Autism gave me an answer, a “what” on which to base my hopes of making things better. An early diagnosis gives you the opportunity for early intervention—in our case, speech therapy—but there is a high price to pay as a parent. Gone are the innocent days of enjoying the toddler years, full of hope that milestones will be reached naturally, and skills like language will be “picked up.” Days are filled with appointments, the often-conflicting opinions of professionals and nights are filled with wondering “what if?” Was there something I did to cause this? Is there something I can do to make it go away? While your child’s behaviour is unpredictable, so too are the reactions of others. Some friends or family keep their

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distance, while others become self-appointed experts. A rare few continue to appreciate your child in all their uniqueness, without romanticizing, claiming autism is a “superpower,” a gift or some kind of spiritual test. But foremost in your mind is not your own emotional struggle, but how best to support your child. You want to get them help, as soon as possible. In BC, the Autism Funding program covers approved therapies up to $22,000 per year for children under six, and up to $6,000 per year for children aged six to 18. Programs like this demonstrate why it is more important than ever to seek a diagnosis that includes a detailed evaluation of your child’s functioning and needs. Your child should have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) through their school, which is an opportunity not only to advocate for support, such as an Educational Assistant (EA), specialized equipment and accommodations, but also a time to build collaborations with the school team. As a parent, you are constantly balancing your child’s goals with their motivations and abilities. My personal observation, both as a parent and as a psychologist, is that our children can accomplish more than expected when sufficiently motivated, supported and given different approaches to learning, including those developed specifically for their learning processes. As your child matures, new challenges emerge. Adolescence intensifies difficulties with mood regulation, and the many struggles this life phase brings may be coupled with ongoing difficulties from childhood, overcome many years before by their typically developing peers. All the while, you may still be working through your own adjustment to what parenting means for you because the need to care for your child is typically extended longer than you expected, perhaps well into adulthood. They may have difficulties with friendships and fitting in socially, often prioritizing comfort over the social conventions that are so important to acceptance among teens and young adults. Your child’s interest in, and ability to achieve independence may be severely limited. As they approach adulthood, further assessments should be conducted, to ensure access to adult disability supports, including Persons with Disabilities Assistance and Community Living BC funding when your child reaches 19, if they are eligible. Feelings of grief, frustration, anxiety and exhaustion are common among parents of children with autism; but the joy when your child accomplishes something others may take for granted is unparalleled. One of my happiest moments was watching my child cross the stage to graduate high school, after years of being told this would not be possible.

E X P E R I M E N T • A N I M AT E • E N G AG E

Little Skies moving image art for youth A free introduction to the art of film and video: age-appropriate, in-person screenings, online programs and a hands-on workshop.

November 7 & 8 2026

Deluge Contemporary Art | 636 Yates St | deluge.ca

Dr. Elizabeth Hartney is a licensed and registered psychologist in private practice on Vancouver Island. She provides services to children and families, including diagnosing autism and other conditions and is the proud parent of a young adult with autism. IslandParent.ca

Fall 2026

E X PL OR E

More Than a Day Out Turning a Day in Victoria into a Life Skills Lesson F

or families in Nanaimo, Duncan, Sooke or elsewhere across the island, a day in Victoria is a familiar outing, easy to reach without a long drive or a ferry crossing. Victoria offers something for everyone, cultural sites, beaches, shopping and endless food options. But even a familiar city has its hustle and bustle, busy streets, difficult parking, lineups, noise and crowds. For families with neurodivergent children or teens, such as those with ADHD or autism, these elements come with an extra layer of consideration. The good news is that even a familiar trip into the city can become something more: a classroom, teaching your child valuable life skills without them even realizing it. It just takes a little planning.

How to Make City Challenges into Lessons

Every child manages a busy day differently. Some find the noise and crowds the hardest part. Others find it’s not knowing what comes next, even in a place they know well. A familiar city can start to feel unpredictable the moment it’s more crowded, or the parking spot you usually get is taken. Either way, a little planning goes a long way, and doubles as real skill-building. Sit down together the night before, or over breakfast and walk through what the day will look like. How are we getting into the city? If we drive, where will we park? Where are we going first? What happens after that? Do we have a plan for food, or will we decide once we’re there? This kind of planning is a master class in executive functioning, the skill your child leans on all school year for homework, time, and transitions. That plan might even include stops that connect to what they’re learning in school. Seeing the Parliament Buildings in person after a Social Studies unit can make an abstract les26

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son concrete, especially valuable for kids who process and retain information best through hands-on, visual experience. A stop at Beacon Hill Park’s Harrison Yacht Pond pairs nicely with a story like Stuart Little beforehand, turning a familiar tale into something they can picture in real life. Even lunch on the harbour can do double duty. Letting your child order for themselves is a low-stakes chance to practice a real social interaction: speaking directly to someone outside the family, waiting their turn, responding to a question, working out the tip together—which turns percentages from a worksheet problem into something real. For kids who find the unknown hard to manage, a simple sequence of the day, written out or sketched, is a perfect tool to reduce overwhelm. It doesn’t need to be rigid, the goal isn’t a strict itinerary, it’s a shared sense of what’s coming next, and permission to adjust the plan together if the day calls for it. Perhaps you arrive at the BC Museum as planned, only to find the IMAX show is sold out, so you head to lunch and come back for a later show instead. Moments like these can bring real disappointment, but handled together, they become lessons in flexibility and compromise, especially valuable for family members who find sudden pivots hard. Build breathing room into that plan and use what you already know. Before you go, decide together where a quiet moment might happen. Identifying that spot in advance is teaching your child how to plan for their own regulation, so

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the option is already there when they need it, which matters most for a child who finds the noise and crowds draining. The exit point deserves the same attention. Decide ahead of time what “time to go home” will look like, and what will trigger it, whether that’s a certain time on the clock, a certain number of stops or simply a check-in with your child about how they’re doing. An exit strategy is key to building self-awareness: knowing when you’re done and having the words ready to say so, is a skill that will serve your child well beyond a single day downtown. A day in Victoria will still have its noisy street corners and long lineups. But with a plan built together beforehand, it can also be something else: a low-stakes place for the whole family to practice skills that will matter far beyond one afternoon. The executive functioning, regulation, social awareness and self-awareness your child builds today don’t stay in Victoria, they show up again at school, at home, wherever your child needs them next.

Kristi Rigg, BEd, MEd, is the CEO and Founder of West Coast Centre for Learning, offering evidencebased, neuroaffirming programs for neurodivergent children, teens and young adults across BC. With over 30 years in education, she leads WCCL’s newest location at Victoria’s Uptown Centre. Learn more at wccl.ca. IslandParent.ca

Fall 2026

E AT

Food Fads, Fights & Phases

ood fads, fights and phases are a common parenting concern, whether your child is three or 13! From the toddler who will only eat white foods, to the teen who refuses to eat anything besides cereal, it is amazing the things kids will come up with to keep parents on their toes.

current advice from the Dietitians of Canada distilled down to four points: • It is your job to serve healthy meals. It is their job to choose what they are going to eat. • Set regular meal and snack times (three meals and two to three snacks). Only offer water between meals. This ensures kid(s) are

Taste or Texture

Feed kids who are sensitive to taste or texture something they will like while offering other food choices too. Don’t label them as a “picky eater” or tell them that they won’t like certain foods. Avoid treating their food preferences as if they are a part of their personality. Just because they don’t like broccoli now, doesn’t mean they won’t love broccoli in the future!

Choice and Control

Parents often forget that food is an area where kids can express their opinions and individuality. The best way to deal with a food fad is by not paying much attention to it. Let them choose what they want to eat and have back-up options that they can make for themselves. In our house, kids could always make peanut butter sandwiches if they wouldn’t eat their dinner.

Holding Out for Treats

Both my kids started holding out for treats when they were three years old. After realizing they didn’t eat their dinner because they wanted dessert, we stopped serving treats. Instead, we had our treats after they were in bed.

MAKE-YOUR-OWN GLORY BOWL

My favourite way to cut the food fights is to serve make-your-own-meals. It’s also a good option when you’re serving friends’ kids. That way everyone will find something they enjoy. Easy make-your-own meal options include pizza, tacos, pasta bar or barbecue. Here’s another option: the glory bowl!

In my case, I had one kid who went through a phase of only wanting sweet and starchy foods, and another kid who didn’t like mixing foods with different textures. And then there’s the Emmy-nominated performances that ensue whenever I accidentally serve them something with a strong flavour. Onions, garlic, spices and herbs are all drama-worthy in our house. So, what is a parent to do? Here’s the

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hungry at mealtimes. • Eat together. Family meals are more fun! • Don’t make special food for your child. Serve the same food to everyone; however, make sure to serve at least one food that you know your child will like so that they won’t go hungry. It’s also helpful to consider why your child may have strong food preferences. Knowing what is going on for them will help reduce the battles.

The Choices Base Layer Lettuce Cooked rice Roasted sweet potato Vegetables Roasted broccoli, cauliflower, green beans Diced cucumber, sweet peppers, tomatoes, sweet peas Grated carrot, beet

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2026 Nanaimo & Area

The Steps 1. The ingredient list is just a suggestion of options. Use whatever is in your fridge or whatever is convenient. Stick with preprepared food if you don’t have a lot of time. 2. Prepare each of the ingredients so that they’re in ready to eat, bite-sized pieces. Place them in separate bowls and set aside until everything is ready. 3. Make the glory bowl sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl or jar. Whisk until it’s well combined. If you mix for long enough it will emulsify into a thick, creamy dressing. 4. Offer a few different sauces and dressings in addition to the glory bowl sauce. Favourite options include grocery store salad dressings, mayonnaise, sriracha, hummus and pesto. 5. Place all the ingredients on a counter or table, give each person a bowl and let them build their own delicious meal. Use it as an opportunity to chat about the importance of all the food groups.

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ATTRACTION North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre

SPORTS & RECREATION Nanaimo Aquatic Centre

RETAIL Coombs Market DINING French Creek Pub

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The Sauce 1⁄2 cup olive oil 3 Tbsp roasted tahini 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 Tbsp soy sauce 11⁄2 tsp lemon juice 1⁄2 tsp salt

FAV O

Fun Toppings Grated cheese Vegetable chips or plantain chips Crumbled corn chips or croutons Fresh berries, sliced pear or apple

Family Favourites UR

Protein Nuts, seeds, chickpeas Cooked chicken Canned or smoked fish Sauteed tofu

ARTS Nanaimo Art Gallery NONPROFIT Nanaimo Museum CAMP Camp Qwanoes

Emillie Parrish loves having adventures with her two busy children. You can find more of her recipes in her cookbook Fermenting Made Simple. fermentingforfoodies.com IslandParent.ca

Fall 2026

Practical Guides to Parenting

LEARN

ormally this column is where you can find recommendations for books written for children between the ages of newborn and 12. However, a quick peek at the covers in this edition will show you that we are switching things up.

Today, we are focusing on the adults in the family. These books are packed with actionable advice, expert guidance and real-world strategies. From navigating puberty without the

awkwardness to fostering independence and resilience in your kids. Whether you are looking for practical step-by-step solutions or insightful memoirs on raising confident children, these recommendations have you covered.

The Period & Puberty Parenting Revolution

Complex Kids, Simple Solutions

Puddle Jumpers

By Dr. Charis Chambers This book teaches parents how to help their child survive female puberty in a nonjudgemental and easy-to-read manner. In it, you will learn about the biology of menses, what symptoms are normal or abnormal, how to properly clean the external parts of the female reproductive system and how to deal with menstrual pain. Chambers, who is a pediatric and adolescent gynecologist, also gives parents and guardians (both male and female) advice on how to help their children through puberty.

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By Jenny Denmark, Conrad Leung and Linda Reinstein Have you ever seen those art “tutorials” when step one is drawing a circle, and step two is the completed Mona Lisa? This book is not like that. The first part of the book contains common parenting advice, like using reinforcement instead of punishment, but the final section of the book is filled with stepby-step instructions on how to actually do that. And when I say “step-by-step,” I mean they effectively break down how to get your kids to consistently acknowledge your existence when you speak—a huge win!

By Brandon Webb Webb, who is a father and a trainer for Navy SEAL snipers, intersperses his research and advice with stories about how he has applied it in his personal and professional life. Some of the topics covered in this book are the importance of positive psychology, goal setting, modelling healthy habits and online safety. If you enjoy reading memoirs more than how-to books but still want research-backed tips on becoming a better parent, read this book.

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that, it might be worth checking out this book. In it, Assa gives you advice on how to effectively set up a play space, and what to look for when buying toys for independent play. However, I do have one caveat: the cover says for parents of kids aged one to eight, but I think that parents with kids between the ages of two and five will get the most benefit.

Making It Up

But I’m Bored!

By Lizzie Assa Researchers agree that play is important for children. However, parents cannot always play with their kids, so they need to be able to play independently. If your children struggle with

By Christopher Mannino While independent play is important, it’s also crucial for parents to play with their children. If you are unsure about the best way to engage in your child’s imaginative play, Making It Up is a great book. In it, Mannino, who used to be a high school theatre teacher, teaches you how to play. You will jump into the game right away with the phrase “yes, and…” and move on from there. By the time

you are done the book, you will understand the importance of anchors, why you should avoid questions and so much more. More importantly, you will have a personalized list of topics and strategies to help you and your child play together.

Christina Van Starkenburg lives with her husband, children and cat, and is the author of One Tiny Turtle: A Story You Can Colour and many articles. To read more of her work and learn about her upcoming books, visit christinavanstarkenburg.com.

Thank You for voting us #1, Victoria!

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Fall 2026

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Little

Adventures Close to Home Raising Kids to Love Where They Live

ome of our favourite family memories have started with a simple question: “Where should we go today?” There is usually no elaborate plan. We pack some snacks, get our three girls ready (which is sometimes an adventure on its own) and head out. We might spend the afternoon at the beach, discover a new park or trail, visit

Island Parent Magazine

a family-friendly attraction or stop at a local business for a treat before heading home. They are simple days, but somehow, they often become the ones we remember most. Raising our daughters on Vancouver Island has made us realize how much there is to experience without travelling very far. Our family loves travelling and discovering new places

but having children has also taught us that adventure doesn’t have to mean getting on a plane or planning an expensive vacation. Sometimes, it is already waiting close to home. Children have a wonderful way of making familiar places feel new again. A beach we have visited many times can become an afternoon of collecting shells, throwing rocks into the water and searching for the most interesting piece of driftwood. A walk through a park becomes an expedition when the kids are choosing which path to follow. A community event that might seem ordinary to an adult can become something they talk about for days. Exploring with our children has made us slow down and notice those little things, too. With three children, including a baby, we have also learned to appreciate outings that don’t require complicated planning or a large budget. Some days, packing lunch and heading to a beach, playground or trail is all we need. The kids get fresh air and room to explore, and we get uninterrupted time together as a family. We also enjoy mixing those free adventures with visits to local attractions, seasonal events and locally owned businesses. Supporting local has become another part of how we explore our community. When our children see us choosing a neighbourhood shop, attending a community event or supporting a local family business, they begin to understand that a community is made up of people. We can explain that where we choose to spend our money can help support the families and businesses around us. It turns “supporting local” from something we simply tell them is important into something they can actually see. One of the biggest things our local adventures have taught me as a parent is that children don’t need every outing to be impressive. They care much more about how it feels. They remember getting a special treat afterward. They remember finding a tiny crab IslandParent.ca

2026 Cowichan Valley

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Family Favourites FAV O

at the beach, choosing the trail we walked or laughing with their sisters in the car. They remember when we put our phones away for a while and gave them our attention. And, of course, our outings aren’t always picture-perfect. Someone gets tired. Someone forgets their water bottle. The weather changes. The baby needs to be fed at exactly the wrong moment. Sometimes we arrive somewhere and realize our original plan simply isn’t going to work. But those imperfect days still become part of our family story. As our daughters grow, I hope these little adventures give them something bigger than a collection of fun memories. I hope they develop a genuine connection to the place they call home. I want them to appreciate the ocean, forests and communities around them. I want them to understand the importance of taking care of those places and supporting the people who make their community special. Most importantly, I want them to know that creating a meaningful life doesn’t always require going somewhere far away. There will always be bigger trips on our family wish list, and we will always love discovering new places together, but I never want our children to believe that adventure only begins once you leave home. Years from now, they may not remember every beach we visited, every trail we walked or every little stop we made along the way. But I hope they remember piling into the car together, snacks packed and no big plans, wondering where our next little adventure would take us. And I hope they grow up knowing just how special it can be to love where you live.

ATTRACTION Malahat Skywalk

SPORTS & RECREATION Cowichan Aquatic Centre

RETAIL Honey Willow Consignment

ARTS 4Cats Studio

DINING Dog House

NONPROFIT The Raptors CAMP Camp Pringle

Angela Asma and her family are behind @exploringwiththeasmas, where they share family life, local discoveries, travel, lifestyle and everyday adventures with their three daughters. Based on Vancouver Island, they love exploring close to home and beyond, sharing family-friendly experiences, favourite finds and meaningful moments along the way. IslandParent.ca

Fall 2026

Record the Everyday Magic PA R EN T ING

Create Videos Your Future Self Will Treasure

magine you’re 80 years old and someone offers you a gift. For three minutes, you can go back in time. Not to your wedding day, a birthday or a family vacation. Just an ordinary Tuesday, decades ago, when your grown children were still little. You press play. There they are. You hear that tiny voice you haven’t heard in years, the one you were certain you could never forget. You hear the words they used to mispronounce, the questions they asked over and over again, and that laugh. Oh, that laugh. A sound so familiar it brings you right back. You watch the way they moved through the world before they became self-conscious. The way they ran toward you and wrapped their arms around you as if you were the only person they could ever love. You see them playing with your hair, squishing a sticky face against your cheek. You can almost smell them. For a moment, it feels so real you could reach through the screen and touch them. You can almost remember the weight of their tired body in your arms. Gosh, they were so little. What would you give for those three minutes? Before becoming a mom, I was already a family photographer. I understood that childhood moved quickly and had spent years helping families preserve pieces of it. Then I had my daughter, and suddenly I understood it differently. I wasn’t simply watching a child grow. I was watching my child disappear and reappear, again and again, as someone slightly new. The baby became a toddler. The toddler began speaking in sentences. Words she once adorably mispronounced suddenly came out correctly. Little habits disappeared without announcement. There are no warnings for these last times. No one tells you, “Pay attention; this is the last time she’s going to say that word this way.” It just happens. Like so many parents, I found myself desperately wanting to hold onto it. I took photographs, of course. Thousands of them. I treasure photographs and always will. But I started realizing there were pieces of my daughter I couldn’t hear in a photograph. Pieces I wanted to feel that were too alive to remain still. I wanted her voice. Her movement. Her laugh. The strange little stories she told me. The way she said “Mama.” The way she looked at me when I walked into a room. I didn’t just want to remember what she looked like. I wanted to remember what it felt like to be her mother at this age. So, I turned to film. I began creating motherhood and family films. Something closer to a time capsule than a production. Bare feet running through grass. A child climbing into her mother’s lap. A dad making his kids laugh. A cozy hug with a well-loved stuffy. Little voices and conversations that don’t seem important at all. 34

Island Parent Magazine

The ordinary things. Then I started creating them for other families, and I think that was when I knew I had found something I was meant to do. Messages began arriving from mothers after I delivered their films. Some told me they couldn’t stop crying. Others had already watched theirs repeatedly. I heard some version of the same sentiment: “I can’t believe I get to keep this forever.” It made me realize this wasn’t just my own ache as a mother. So many of us are quietly trying to hold onto a season we know is slipping through our fingers even as we’re living it. Our children are supposed to grow. Their voices are supposed to change. Their hands are supposed to get bigger. They are supposed to need us differently. Maybe our job isn’t to stop time, but simply to notice it while we’re here. To linger in the moments that can be so easy to rush through. IslandParent.ca

Take the photograph. Record the voice. Capture a little video when nothing particularly exciting is happening. Right now, preserving these memories feels like a gift I’m giving myself. But someday, these memories won’t just belong to me. They’ll belong to her. She’ll hear my voice talking to her. She’ll see the way I looked at her when she wasn’t paying attention. She’ll watch herself being scooped up, kissed, chased and loved more than she could ever have known. And maybe one day, long after I’m gone, these little pieces of our ordinary life will become something entirely different. They’ll become her way back to me. So, if I’m lucky enough to be 80 someday, I know exactly what I hope to have waiting for me. Three minutes where I get to go back. And someday, they’ll be waiting for her, too. Natasha Shepherdson is a family photographer, filmmaker, mother and the heart behind Wild Oak Creative on Vancouver Island. Inspired by motherhood and the fleeting nature of childhood, she creates heartfelt photographs and films that preserve the beautifully ordinary moments families never want to forget. Find her at @wildoakcreative and wildoakcreative.com.

IslandParent.ca

Fall 2026

T W EEN S & T EEN S

A Teen’s Guide to Skateboarding Safely S

kateboarding is one of the most exciting ways for teens to stay active, express creativity and build confidence. Whether you’re practicing tricks in a local park or simply learning to ride around your neighbourhood, skating offers freedom and a strong sense of community. But like any sport, it comes with risks if you ignore basic safety habits. The good news is that most skateboarding injuries can be reduced through smart preparation, proper gear and consistent practice. Here’s a practical guide to help teens enjoy skateboarding safely while improving their skills over time.

Learn the Basics Before Attempting Tricks

Start with the Right Safety Gear

Choose Safe Places to Practice

A helmet is the single most important piece of equipment you can wear. Choose one that is certified for skateboarding and fits snugly without moving around on your head. Wrist guards, knee pads and elbow pads can also help reduce injuries, especially when you’re learning new tricks or skating on ramps. Protective gear may not seem fashionable at first, but experienced skaters often wear it because they know how quickly falls can happen. Confidence comes from being prepared, not from taking unnecessary risks. 36

Island Parent Magazine

Many beginners rush into ollies, kickflips or stair sets before they’re comfortable balancing on the board. A safer approach is to master the fundamentals first: • Standing on the board comfortably • Pushing with control • Turning smoothly • Stopping safely • Riding over small cracks and uneven surfaces Once these skills feel natural, progressing to beginner tricks becomes much easier and less intimidating. The environment you skate in makes a big difference. Smooth pavement, dedicated skateparks and beginner-friendly areas are ideal. Avoid roads with traffic, steep hills or crowded pedestrian spaces until you have enough control to react quickly. Skateparks are often the safest option because they’re designed specifically for skating and usually attract people who understand park etiquette. Watching how others move through the park can help you avoid collisions and learn proper timing.

Check Your Skateboard Regularly A poorly maintained skateboard can become dangerous without warning. Before each session, inspect: • Wheel tightness • Truck stability • Deck cracks • Grip tape condition • Loose hardware Replacing worn parts early is usually inexpensive compared to the cost of an injury caused by equipment failure.

Practice Falling the Right Way

Falling is part of skateboarding and learning how to fall can significantly reduce injuries. Try to avoid landing with stiff arms extended directly in front of you. Instead, bend your knees, keep your body loose and roll, when possible, to spread the impact across a larger area. This skill takes practice, but it becomes one of the most valuable techniques a skater can develop.

Learn from Experienced Skaters

One of the fastest ways to improve safely is by observing people who have been skating for years. Watching their posture, foot IslandParent.ca

2026 Comox Valley/Campbell River

Social media can make it seem like everyone is landing advanced tricks immediately, but real progress usually happens gradually. Give yourself permission to repeat the same trick dozens of times. Consistency is far more valuable than rushing into difficult manoeuvres. Some teens benefit from structured skate lessons that provide step-by-step guidance and immediate feedback, making it easier to build strong habits from the beginning. Orthopedic specialists note that many skateboarding injuries can be prevented by using appropriate protective gear and skating in designated areas. Skateboarding should be challenging, rewarding and fun—not reckless. By wearing proper gear, practicing in safe environments, maintaining your board and progressing gradually, teens can enjoy the sport while minimizing unnecessary risks. The best skaters aren’t the ones who take the biggest chances; they’re the ones who keep showing up, practicing consistently and skating safely enough to enjoy the sport for years to come.

ATTRACTION Comox Airford Museum

I LY •

WINNER

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Progress at Your Own Pace

FAV O

Skateboarding demands balance, flexibility and quick reactions. A short five-minute warm-up before skating can prepare your muscles and joints for movement. Try ankle circles, leg swings, gentle squats and light stretching before stepping on your board. Warming up is especially important if you’ve been sitting in school all day or haven’t skated for several days.

2026

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Don’t Skip Warm-Ups

Family Favourites UR

placement and approach to obstacles can teach lessons that are difficult to learn alone. Listening to tips from skateboarders in your local community can help beginners avoid common mistakes and build confidence more quickly.

RETAIL Podlings

ARTS Campbell River Art Gallery

DINING Big Foot Donut

NONPROFIT Filberg Heritage Park

SPORTS & RECREATION Mount Benson

CAMP Boys & Girls Club

Duncan Macnally is a skateboarding enthusiast and youth sportswriter who supports beginner-friendly skate education. He works with GOSKATE, a leading skateboarding instruction platform that helps riders of all ages develop skills safely through experienced local instructors and structured learning programs. IslandParent.ca

Fall 2026

ART

Let the Art Supplies Live on the Kitchen Table

n our home, the kitchen table has slowly become the centre of our creative life. There is usually a basket of crayons and markers sitting in the middle, along with paper, stickers, scissors, tape and whatever other art supplies we happen to be using. For a long time, I was constantly moving them, cleaning them up and putting them away. Eventually, I gave up on trying to put everything away and gave the art supplies a permanent spot on our kitchen table. It turns out, I really like having them there. Now that they’re always available, art has simply become part of our everyday rhythm. There’s no need to plan it or pull everything out. If the kids want to draw, cut, stick or make something, everything is right there. My kids can reach for the supplies whenever the mood strikes, whether it’s while I’m making dinner, after breakfast or during a quiet moment in our day. They might create for 20 minutes, or five or leave the supplies untouched for days. There doesn’t need to be a project or a plan, and they don’t need to make something to show us at the end. I think that’s one of the things I love most about art for children. It gives them space to explore, experiment and follow their own ideas without needing to get it “right.” When a child chooses their own colours, decides what to draw or figures out how to make something work, they are practicing decision-

making and learning to trust their own ideas. When the tape doesn’t stick, the paper tears or the creation falls apart, they are problemsolving, experimenting and trying again. Art also supports the small, practical skills children are constantly developing. Holding a crayon, squeezing glue, cutting paper, rolling playdough or using a paintbrush all help build fine-motor strength, coordination and control. But, beyond these developmental benefits, I think there is something even more important happening: children are expressing themselves. Art gives children a way to communicate ideas, feelings, stories and experiences in ways that don’t always require words. A page covered in colour might not mean anything specific to us but, for a child, the process of making those marks can still be meaningful. This is why I’ve tried to move away from asking, “What did you make?” and instead ask, “Tell me about this.” I’m less interested in whether the picture looks like the thing they intended to draw and more interested in what they experienced while making it. I also try not to jump in too quickly. If my child is figuring out how to build something, I don’t need to show them how I would do it or tell them what they’re making. Sometimes it’s better to step back and see where their ideas take them. There is so much learning in that space between, “I have an idea” and “I figured it out.”

I was reminded of this recently at a Sunday Circle gathering, where an art therapist invited children to explore paints, tapestry, sticky paper and collage materials. There wasn’t one thing they were supposed to make. Children ranging from one to six followed their interests, returned to materials repeatedly and became completely absorbed. It was a simple reminder of what can happen when we give children the freedom, time and materials to follow their ideas.

Making Art Part of Everyday Life

You don’t need a dedicated art room to make space for creativity. A small basket on the kitchen table is enough. Keep a few basics within reach: paper, crayons, washable markers, stickers, scissors, glue and playdough. You can save cardboard boxes, paper bags and other bits and pieces that might become something else. Let the materials live alongside your family life. The goal isn’t to add another activity to an already full day. It’s to make creativity part of the day you already have. Sometimes the most valuable thing a child creates isn’t something we can put on the fridge. It might be confidence, persistence, a new idea or a way to express a feeling. It might simply be the discovery that they can take something from their mind and bring it into the world. And perhaps that is one of the most important things we can teach children: the belief that their ideas are worth bringing to life. Kate Landreth is a mom of two little boys, former primary teacher and adult learning designer who has spent her career creating learning experiences for children and adults. She is also the founder of The Sunday Circle, a monthly family pop-up in Victoria focused on play, connection and child development. @thesundaycircle.victoria.

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