• book review - mindfulness - parenting - What I'm reading

    What I’m reading: Mindful discipline

    Today I wanted to share two new parenting titles from Scribe with you. They aim to help parents solve two of the most commented on, despaired over and debated about parenting dilemmas: sleep and discipline using Mindful discipline The Happy Sleeper by sleep experts Julie Wright and Heather Turgeon offers an alternative sleep training method to ‘cry it out’ or ‘attachment parenting’. Using an approach rooted in making children feel safe, secure and happy in their bedtime routines, The Happy Sleeper offers practical advice for parents wanting to create good sleeping habits, or undo poor ones. The fantastic thing about…

  • book review - parenting

    What I’m reading: The Playful Parent by Julia Deering

    I’m not a huge fan of parenting manuals. You can probably tell from the books I share here that I love my craft books and the odd piece of fiction. At the end of last year HarperCollins asked if I wanted to take part in in their 31 days of inspiration and ‘live a book’ in January. This month they are bringing 31 of their inspiring books together covering areas such as; professional development, parenting tips, health, exercise and general well-being. Some of the ideas in these books involve a complete overhaul, whilst others require small changes to effect positive…

  • parenting

    Sponsored video: Barclays and Mumsnet ‘Your Bank Live’

    Today I wanted to share a video with you. I don’t know about you but sometimes I wonder if shops and brands ever think about their customers experience, especially customers with young children. I dread visiting my local bank as my children have a tendency to go crazy. They love to play with the button which opens the door and they swivel on the chairs until they get dizzy and fall off! Luckily for me Barclays have listened, with a little help from some members of Mumsnet. The video shows some real mums from Mumsnet road-testing a real Barclays branch,…

  • parenting

    Surviving school #HelloNatWest

    My son has survived his first term of Big School. He seems to be enjoying it. The other day we were talking about hobbies and he told me his was learning, which made my heart melt. He loves School and frequently gets his Sound book out to tell me which letters he has learned that day. His writing is coming on really well and I was able to look through his books at Parents evening and see he had drawn a picture of him as an artist, something he wants to be when he’s grown up. He keeps coming home…

  • driving - parenting

    Surviving the school run

    Today is the last day of this half term and I couldn’t be happier. My 4 year old loves Reception and I support him with everything from getting to school on time, completing his homework to providing cakes for the Halloween party and much more. Being a full-time mum of a school aged child really is a full-time job and I need a break next week as much as he does! We’re really lucky that we live 3 minutes from school so although mornings can be a rush I don’t have to worry about finding a parking space when I…

  • parenting

    Inspiring learners to write

    You all know that my 4 year old started Reception this September. He has settled in really well and adjusted to his new routine, he no longer flops on the sofa when he gets home but runs around like a mad thing until bedtime. He is very keen to share all his new knowledge with his sister and the poor thing gets bossed around by her brother, he even tells her off when she does things her own way, rather than his. One of the great benefits is that she wants to copy him. She tries to ‘write’ just like…

  • competition - Lindam Munchkin blogger panel - parenting

    Win a Lindam Funpack Harness for Child Safety Week

    Do you know that it’s Child Safety Week this week? I’ve been working with Lindam – the UK’s number one safety brand – who have been raising awareness of child safety in the home via some research with Mumsnet to find out parents’ opinions on child safety. Although a large number of Brits would suggest they are confidently clued-up when it comes to safety knowledge, this new research suggests many remain on the lookout for more information to help understand the products and devices needed to adapt their homes effectively. The report shows only 37% of people are aware of…

  • parenting - potty training

    Operation Big Girl

    Little Sis is almost two and a half and I find myself caught between wanting her to attend nursery for a few more hours a week (!) and not wanting her to grow up. She is very independent and hates being told what to do (not sure where she gets that from) and I need to let her grow up a little. We recently ditched the dummy which wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be and she barely wants a noo noo any more. She used to always have a dummy and noo noo (a muslin) but she…

  • days out - Local Review - London - parenting

    Little Adventures at the Natural History Museum

    Like most of the UK we have been experiencing our fair share of bad weather lately. The forecast for the weekend was atrocious so instead of staying in with two bored children we decided to head out to visit the Natural History Museum. We were lucky and managed to park 2 minutes from the front door so didn’t get too wet. We hadn’t visited in a while but the children were so excited! Our first stop was the Dinosaurs gallery. The only dinosaur my children knew was Mr Dinosaur from Peppa Pig. In fact Little Sis took her very own…