"My child drank the toilet water"…and other things I've Googled

Being a parent in the 21st century isn’t easy. With modern inventions comes new risks and dangers, but there is one thing we have that our parents before us didn’t: Google.
 

The day you fall pregnant with your first child is the day your Google list starts...and then it grows exponentially from that point onwards. Questions we would never dare to ask our fellow NCT mate (“why are my labia swollen” if you’re wondering) suddenly make their way into our search bar and fill us with a feeling of solidarity as our results page is flooded with answers or similar questions from other anonymous mums asking the exact same questions. Usually.

Not ready to give up the loungewear?

Not ready to give up the lounge-wear just yet? Me neither babes. I've practically eaten my way through lockdown, and a year later I have to tell you - I am here ALL day for the comfort. The softness. The elasticated EVERYTHING. I am not bodycon midi dress ready, and neither is the world just yet either. It used to be jeans and 'a nice top' for a G&T or a grey goose in the local loungebar ...now there's no lounging in bars, just lounging in grey loungewear in the beer garden, hoping the clouds don't match your outfit and dump a million drops of rain on your (probably now grey) hair. Hope you brought a hoodie!

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Seriously though, working from home means being sofa ready for your tea breaks, and after-work drinks are probably in the same place! If you are lucky enough to pop out for an al fresco lunch, you want something that lets you put the washing on and then walk into town without anyone batting an eyelid. Dressed up loungewear and co ord sets are a THING right now, and I'm going to show you some of my new faves....

Birthday Newspaper Book | Review

If you’re looking for a unique birthday gift, for those ‘hard to buy for’ loved ones ... something personal to the recipient with a bit of history thrown in, then this is for you!
 

Disclosure: Ad: We were sent this book for the purpose of this review

Historic Newspapers have created a  birthday newspaper book, created from original newspapers from days gone by. With the world’s largest archive of over 3 million newspapers, this is the perfect opportunity to have a little look back into past birthdays and discover who or what made the headlines!

UKCA / CE Testing Home-Made Playdough for sale

Thinking of CE testing and selling playdough? Did you know that to LEGALLY sell homemade playdough you HAVE to have it UKCA / CE certified to get the CE mark (EU) or the UKCA mark (UK) and chemically tested under EN71-3 by an independent lab in order for this to be certified as safe for children? Not just one sample either... each colour of dough needs to be tested separately under the toy safety directives, and if you change your ingredients or supplier then you will have to retest? 

 

I have been through the UKCA / CE testing process with my own gluten free, homemade playdough which I sell over in my shop - www.childledplay.co.uk. Finding the right information 

was a long, drawn out process and getting the right answers took up a lot of time. If you have found this post due to your own information searching, I hope that this helps you to understand how to start the process of CE testing playdough and how to work out if this is a viable option for you....

How to make Fairy Butterfly Wings with Pressed Flowers

My little girl absolutely loves to put on a pair of wings and dress up a fairy or a butterfly, but the wings we have which are made from the same material as nylon stockings have ripped in places and shed glitter like there's no tomorrow! I decided to make a custom pair of wings at home, using home pressed flowers (in the microwave!) and contact paper - which give more of a natural, iridescent 'flutter', look incredibly delicate and so beautiful and personalised....

(Blog originally published April 2020)
 

The best thing is that the lead up to making these links into some special experiences - you can forage in your garden for leaves, flowers and petals...or whilst out on your walk. We included some tête-à-tête daffodils that the children picked for me whilst I was poorly in quarantine to cheer me up and make me feel better, some tulips we had before lockdown and some cherry blossom flowers collected from a daily walk (also my favourite tree!). This activity is perfect for learning and teaching symmetry, discussing differences and changes, noticing patterns and details, following instructions and role play....

What is child-led learning? | How can loose parts & playdough help?

What is child-led learning and child-led play? What does it mean to 'follow a child's interests'? How can we use specific resources within an environment to help create a child-led environment? Why are loose parts and playdough such a helpful resource to use?

This blog post includes a link to a youtube video where I give an explanation and examples of what child-led means and why certain resources are so helpful...

Guest Post | My son banged his head and now he's deaf | Living with EVA

Sudden hearing loss in a child can come as a huge shock. Not only does it change their perception of the world around them and put them in a potentially frightening and unfamiliar situation – it also changes the lives of those around them, who interact with them, who are used to dealing with and speaking to them in a certain way or a certain tone. It is a steep learning curve, not just for the one who has lost their sense of hearing, but those who now have to learn different ways of communicating. 

 

The year before last, my younger sister, Laura, called me to tell me that my young Nephew, Oliver had suffered sudden hearing loss due to a bang to the head and what we later discovered was EVA – Enlarged Vestibular Aqueducts.

I am going to hand over to Laura now to tell you their story….

School readiness – preparing your child for Reception Class

School readiness…its something you’ll probably hear quite a lot if you have a child who is preparing to start Reception Class in September, but what does it actually mean??

How can we, as parents, make sure that we are helping and not hindering when preparing our 4 year olds for big school?

Most of my Teaching career was spent teaching Reception, and so this is something I thought long and hard about when passing on information to Parents. What would I hope, as their Teacher, they could do already? What sort of things would I discuss in the Parents meetings for new starters? Where would my expectations be bearing in mind I don’t yet know the children or what level they are at?

Its not what you might expect….

CMPA | Milk Allergy | What Can I Eat?

My youngest child, Charlotte, was diagnosed with CMPA – cows milk protein allergy – at 4 months old. In hindsight, I believe that my eldest child also suffered with the same allergy but back then I had NO idea it even existed! Even after countless trips to the GP for severe colic and reflux, and numerous calls to the health visitor – it was never even mentioned as a possible allergy. Only after searching through facebook groups and reading advice online did I come to realise, and eventually diagnose, Charlotte with a milk and soya allergy.

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I was breastfeeding at the time, so this meant I also had to cut out the allergens from my diet as they can be passed on through breastmilk. At first it was a very steep learning curve working out what I could and couldn’t eat! In this blog post I’m going to talk you through the process of testing for allergies, and how to adapt your diet to make sure you are eating safe foods which are allergen free.

A Homeschooling Poem

As we start 2021 in another lockdown, most of us faced with homeschooling our children whilst also trying to work/run a business/ stay healthy, it goes without saying that this is an incredibly tricky time for a lot of us. I think we all know how difficult the current situation is for us all, and although I toyed with the idea of writing a poem in solidarity with the feelings of many of us, I decided to step back at look at things from a totally different angle. I thought about the silver lining of homeschooling...the little things that will make the biggest difference, and the way we might look back on it for the moments we gained, rather than the moments we lost... It has helped me to take a more positive view on our days of homeschool and to remind me that I now have the ability to change our days and find the fun when our children need a breather too. x

As always, please remember that this poem is subject to copyright and must not be copied, pasted or republished anywhere. If you would like to share this you may use the URL of this website to share, or use the social media share buttons here or on my social channels. Thank you.