Picking the right pre-school for your toddler in Shanghai can seem like a daunting task: what does all the terminology mean? How can you determine which school is the right fit? Nina Cheung, from our Bumps & Babes Expert Panel, sheds some light.

Raising small children in Shanghai isn't always easy; there is so much going on all around, it is easy to get distracted. In this talk Dr Beth Kremer Collins from Olivia's Place reminds us how important it is to connect with our children through child-centered play.

Small children in Shanghai are often ill - is it the air? The food? The poor quality heating? Or an inbalance in their bodies that only a holistic approach can fix? In this talk, Dr Doris Rathgeber from Body & Soul Medical Clinics looks at the Traditional Chinese Medicine approach to treating common children's illnesses.

Your child's first two years are full of monumental milestones. Learn more about them here, and about how you can help your child to reach them!

On January 13th Dr Sadnha Sharma from Shanghai East International Medical Centre joined Bumps & Babes to talk about the importance of sleep and how to promote good sleeping habits in small children.

Living as an expat in Shanghai usually involves long-distance flights as you go home to see family and friends. This means jet-lag and tears. How do you cope with these challenges? And what about trips in Asia? What vaccinations need to be up to date? And what medical supplies should you bring?

On November 28th Dr Tyrone Bristol joined Bumps & Babes to give advice.

Ever feel like all you ever say to your child is "no" "don't do this" "stay away from that"? How do we teach our children limits without damaging their self-esteem? What can we actively do to help them develop confidence in their own skills and ability? Read what Carries Jones, Director of Counselling at the Community Centre Shanghai, had to say on the matter at this Bumps & Babes talk.

Our children live in a world where screens are everywhere - from TVs, to phones, to laptops, to DVD players and game systems... How much exposure should your child have to all this new technology? When used correctly, can they stimulate a child's development or should they be avoided at all costs? And what limits should you set on their use for each stage of your child's development?

We have all been there before, right? You put together what you think is a delicious meal, your precious child takes one look at it, scrunches up his/her precious little nose, and decides it's not going to be nice - he/she isn't even going to try it. What do you do? Do you try bribes, torture, begging or force feeding? Unfortunately there isn't much you can do, or is there? Read what Rashmi Dalai, author of "Mika The Picky Eater", did when faced this dilemma.

Fertility can be a bit of a grey area – we all know it won't last forever, but what can we do to maximise it? Do we have any influence at all? Bumps & Babes asked three experts for their opinions on how to boost your chances of fertility and conception: Dr Livingston, a TCM specialist, Dr Nichole Mahnert, an Ob/Gyn, and Dr Missy Chua, a Naturopath.

If you are not on an all-inclusive expat package, and have more than one child to consider, school fees in Shanghai can be astronomically expensive. Add to this a language and cultural barrier, and not knowing how long you will be here for, and you might well decide to keep your pre-school aged child at home. How can you be sure he/she isn't suffering from this decision though? And that you are providing your child with sufficient opportunities for stimulation? Sarah Juta joined Bumps & Babes to share with us her experience and offer us some tips.

This is the biggest worry shared by most parents in Shanghai and indeed China: what effect is pollution having on my child's health?  Dr Celese Beadreau from Shanghai United Family Hospital, and Louie Cheng from Pure Living China met with Bumps & Babes to discuss the lowdown on the different sources of pollutants here in Shanghai and what you can do about them to keep your child safe from harm.

Jon Robinson from www.makethisworkout.com joined Bumps & Babes on July 11 to offer us some working-out tips with our babies. Here is a summary of the the exercises and routine he suggested we follow with our babes to get back in shape while we hang out with them! 

On June 27th, Hong Forelli from Hong Pre-Natal Yoga Studio joined Bumps & Babes  to teach us some nifty massage moves to help us bond with our baby in a whole new way.

Anyone who's been here a while knows that the Shanghai summer does strange things to skin and hair... Skin starts looking grey and tired, and hair goes limp, or frizzy, or both! This is not a good look. It can be worse when you're pregnant or breastfeeding because your hormones are all over the place, and because baby's nutritional needs come first, leaving less over for you to nourish your body with. Olya Eastman, founder and director of the natural, seasonal skincare company Delicious and a mother herself, says this doesn't have to be the case. On June 6th she joined Bumps & Babes Pudong to tell us how to care for our skin and hair using natural, seasonal ingredients that don't cost a bomb, to give us back the glow we all deserve.