Monthly Archives: September 2014

Do you limit screen time at home? 21

 in parenting  tagged family time / screen limits / screen time by

Screen time and the boys is something I battle with.  It isn’t such an issue in the summer and good weather when their first choice would be to be outside playing with their friends.  But as the nights draw in, then they do reach for the screen more often than not.  They are not TV fanatics and we do not have it on in the background, but they do love their Ipods and Xbox. It is all about finding a balance that suits us as a family. At the moment, we have strict limits on screen time at home which are no screens at all (except for TV as a family) more »

Label Love: Itemising When Moving

 in Featured and Guest  tagged moving home / moving tips / parenting by

Labelling boxes may seem a little OCD to you more laid back, relaxed folk, but you may be surprised how handy they are. And when you can’t find your toothbrush the first morning you wake up in your new property you’ll wish you had marked the cardboard. (image: Kandela) Here’s how to create the perfect labelling system for your move: Room by Room Start off by labelling your boxes with what room they will need to be moved into. This will help distinguish what needs to be moved upstairs, and downstairs and often who is responsible for unpacking a certain set of boxes. These sticky labels should be large and clear more »

What do you look for in a school shoe? 16

 in parenting  tagged back to school / parenting / school shoes / shoes by

School shoes.  I have to admit that I find hunting for school shoes with the boys a chore and it isn’t because they never like what there is to offer, but down to the fact that they wear them out in no time at all. Last year Mini’s second pair of shoes lasted six weeks, yes six weeks before they had a hole in them.  I have tried expensive shoes, less expensive shoes and everything in between my, but we are lucky to get more than 12 weeks out of a pair of shoes.  My boys only wear them for school so 8pm to 3pm, 5 days a week. When you more »

It’s Back To School Time

 in parenting  tagged back to school / back to school tips / school by

It’s time to get organised and make sure you get the new school year off to as good a start as possible. The return back to school after the fun-filled weeks of the summer holiday can be a struggle for the whole family, but with careful planning and emotional awareness the transition can be smooth for everyone. Think about buying everything you need now and start preparing for the year ahead. Buying New Kit

Ways to spend more time with the kids during school term time 21

 in parenting  tagged back to school / family fun / family time / fun / parenting / school by

I love the school holidays.  I love spending time with my little darlings (are you getting the sarcasm here?), no really I do love spending time with Mini and Maxi, they are actually becoming great company and are fun to be with and I miss them once school starts again.  So I try to make sure I spend quality time with them once the school term starts. Do not overschedule kids

What was your favorite childhood toy? 23

 in parenting  tagged growing up / memories / parenting / toys by

John Lewis are running a campaign about childhood toys and this week are talking all about model trains and to celebrate this asked me to share with you my memories of my favorite childhood toy. My childhood is filled with the toy I had and the one I really wanted, but never got! My most loved toy would have had to be my multistory Sindy House. It was something that I never thought I would own.  I remember the joy at coming down on Christmas morning to find it under a candy striped sheet. I spent so many hours playing with it and all the accessories that my mum and dad more »

Blackpool for kids, by kids 17

 in days out / UK Holidays  tagged backpool / days out / family days out / family fun by

Did you see that we went to Blackpool as a family over the summer holidays? We had THE BEST time.  Blackpool has really changed since I went there last 20 years ago.   Blackpool is certainly back! Blackpool certainly is a wonderful place for families to visit and they have just brought out their ‘The Kids Resort Guide’, an interactive guide, written by Blackpool’s biggest critics… the kids.  It shows Blackpool’s top attractions through the eyes of a child.

Technology Free family time – 10 screen free family activities #screenfree 19

 in parenting  tagged family activities / family screen free time / family time / parenting / screen free / screenfree by

Technology, it pervades all parts of our life at the moment and I am not saying that is a bad thing, but I feel that we all need some freedom from it and some quality family time.  Kids need quality time with you, yes you and for that I mean me in the picture! We have implemented a screen free day each weekend and have screen free family time at 6pm, but this wasn’t easy to implement.  It took time, it took planning and it takes constant input from me.  I am not going to pretend that it is easy, so I am going to be sharing some screen free activities and more »

Cooking with Kids – Vegetable stuffed omelette 19

 in cooking with children  tagged cooking / cooking with kids / eggs / kids in the kitchen / omelettes / recipe / veggie stuffed omelets by

I am passionate about teaching my boys life skills and for me a big part of that is cooking.  I aim to give them the skills in the kitchen to read recipes, prepare food and cook and bake meals from scratch.  At eight and nine, they are pretty handy already and vegetable stuffed omelette is a great recipe for kids as they are do it all themselves.

Would you put a tracking app on a loved ones phone? 18

 in parenting  tagged kids / parenting / technology by

At eight and nine, my boys do not have mobile phones.  I want to hold off on them getting them for as long as possible.  But if they had mobile phones would I put a tracking app on them and use it as a parenting tool?  I have to admit my first reaction is hell yes! What got me thinking about this, well Folr, is a location-tracking application which offers real-time information on the whereabouts of the device it is installed on from kids, elderly parents (with consent of course) or anyone who agrees to be tracked, quickly and easily.