Lula

Thanks, sjw Found this site ? going to investigate further https://www.iqglassuk.com/products/glass-box-extension/s15002/

We are looking at various options for an extension on our terraced house. I did wonder though whether it's possible to buy a pre-fab glass box rather than have one custom made? There is this option, which is quite inspiring but my OH is not as keen as me. https://alicejcollyer.wordpress.com/2017/03/12/how-to-extend-your-home-with-style-for-less-than-you-might-think/

Yes totally agree that selling stuff or giving stuff away is a total pain. The whole point is you want to get rid of it and yet the person who is the first to respond is quite often a time waster. Give it to the charity shop or friend instead. Saves a lot of time!

It is a difficult stage as others have said, but definitely drop the nap. Feed earlier (I have a funny video of my son falling asleep at the dinner table while my baby daughter is screaming the background) so you can ensure she eats well before going to bed. Maybe also keep the activities to a minimum for the first few days so she isn?t too exhausted generally. Then if she still needs a nap every 3 days or so you can do that to get her used to it ? I always found a nap in the buggy to be good. I?d be careful about telly too late in the afternoon too as she may fall asleep in front of it. She will soon get used to it and I reckon within 3 months you?ll have a child who happily goes to bed when you want her to. Good luck!

Norway is an incredible country. I had the good fortune to travel there for work before kids and we stayed a few days in Oslo, then flew to Stavanger and did a trip down the fjords. One of the most amazing experiences of my life. The fjords are incredible and I want to go back one day and take my OH and kids. It is expensive there but so is all of Scandinavia.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0763668745/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE This book is really good. I was worried about offering too much information too soon but it is presented in a way which kids are genuinely curious with a few comics, good illustrations, different chapters on girls and boys bodies, how a baby is made and born. I found if I just read it in a matter-of-fact way the kids really listen and ask questions, and my son has read it on his own too.

Agree that this book is genius: How to talk so kids can listen and listen so kids will talk. Something also that I read recently talked about kids' play being their 'work' so when we don't validate their 'work', ie say, 'Come on, stop playing with those toys', especially if they are in a make-believe world (as my daughter often is, role-playing in her kitchen as I am making breakfast) they can become difficult. My daughter also hates being rushed, has no sense of urgency and the more we push the more resistant she is. I regularly have to think of new ways to entice her to cooperate. Things that (sometimes!) work: a day chart for which day it is (great for younger children who have different childcare arrangements on different days, so that they know what's happening that day). A race to get dressed, where my older son races my daughter (but he's now the age where he will slow down if she's behind to ensure they always draw!) Avoid at all costs if yours are competitive and you think this will cause fights. Getting dressed before coming downstairs (although then you inevitably have to sponge breakfast cereal/milk off their school clothes).

Thanks all! Great leads here

Looking for some martial arts classes for my 6 year old. Preferably in Forest Hill, Brockley, Honor Oak area, ED or Peckham pls...

I went to a Star Wars party recently and the entertainer was amazing. Daniel the Space Warrior. He and the rest of his team are professional actors and you can tell ? they are good. My kids were mesmerised. http://www.nuttyschildrensparties.co.uk/

My children go to Cheeky Monkeys on Otford Crescent. It's a lovely small nursery and Muki and Daisy, who run it, are very caring. Friends have children who go to Seedlings, and lots of people like the set up there ? but it's much bigger than CM. Best to ring to see if they availability and do a tour to get a feel for whether your child will like it there. I think choosing a childcare is very personal and it all depends on your child. My eldest went to a childminder when he was the age of your child, which is a lovely environment if your child likes going outside a lot (I find childminders usually go out to the park every day regardless of the weather) and if your child is not a fan of big groups of children.

To be fair, BrandNewGuy, the blurb you posted above does sound okay. The Guardian article slant is definitely more negative. It will be interesting to see what actually gets built. The rents will have to be low so that independent businesses can afford them.

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/nov/10/council-rejects-plans-london-car-park-800-artists-studios-southwark-peckham Yes, I was incredibly sad to read this too. It's a real shame that the council doesn't have the foresight to say yes to something that will make the area unique rather than another luxe housing/retail space ? blah!

Thanks, Canela. I did hear about that but had not taken the time to look at the website. Interesting project. LondonMix, I wish I did but I was flabbergasted and by the time I found my tongue he was gone.

Only just discovered this thread and loved reading back all the intelligent well thought through comments. I agree that parents and siblings are the strongest role models but gender stereotyping and pink and blue toys/clothes do make me despair. Love that video, WM. I find some of the strongest stereotyping comes from adults. I once saw a mother forcibly remove a sparkly necklace from her 4 year old son's grasp because it was not for him to play with. Little things like this happen to both sexes throughout childhood and into adulthood. I guess it depends on your mood on the day. However, just the other day I was really peeved because I was parallel parking and paused mid-manoeuvre because me son asked me something so I turned around to talk to him and a dad walked past and looked at me, waving me into the space. Now he could have done this by asking if I wanted help getting into the space but instead he smirked and gestured in a way that essentially said, 'go on, you can do it...' Made me so cross!

This is a distressing story. I feel all worked up for you after reading your post. It does sound like he was victimised at the second nursery and him having to endure being dragged by his feet is unbelievable. Also it's astonishing that they have CCTV and would do this anyway. I hope that Ofsted investigated that incident. My daughter has some behavioural issues due to nursery and I totally think it's from having to fend for herself. Having started at quite a boisterous open-plan nursery she, I'm sure, had to endure things being snatched off her at an early age. I really hope you can turn things around for your son. If you find a nanny who is open and loving towards your son, I wouldn't necessarily start preschool in September. Give him time to heal. She can always take him to playgroup sessions or some in my area do sessions where the parent/carer stays while the child plays. This might give your son the reassurance to trust other women again in an environment with a trusted adult present. What you described also doesn't in any way sound like your child has or needs tests to determine if he has ADHD, ODD or autism. Forget these labels unless you or a medical practitioner says it needs addressing in the future. A lovely post from mima08 ? I hope your boy finds a happy learning environment in the future. Lots of love xx

Sounds mad!

Rascals at Bellingham is great. Good value. You can park in the leisure centre and a cafe on site to boot!

Thanks, DaveR ? that's really helpful!

My son is turning 5 soon and he has the Mini Micro Scooter. I was going to get the next scooter up ? Maxi Micro ? but I've just seen they do something called the Micro MX Stunt with a helmet. Is this one too advanced for a 5yo? Any thoughts very welcome. Thanks

I also vouch for natural oils. I've tried everything for clear, luminous skin and the best stuff by far that I have come across is Jessica Laura Organics (used to be known as Raw Gaia). I'm not sure what is going on with her website but she appears to be relaunching under the Jessica Laura Organics name rather than Raw Gaia, so you can contact her through Facebook to order products. Honestly it's the best stuff: all natural, raw and my skin has never looked better. I use her MSM beauty oil and Skin Divinity Cleanser. Amazing stuff. https://www.facebook.com/jessicalaurauk?pnref=lhc

irishnkiwifamily: my daughter has had more than 12 courses of antibiotics over an 18 month period for a chronic ear infection. I am not happy about it as the antibiotics have not been successful in clearing the infection but I respect that the doctors know more than me. She also has a perforation in one ear and we have been referred to the ENT clinic at Lewisham Hospital where they have been dealing it for the last year. One thing I have noticed that has helped is taking her off cow's milk. I was reluctant to do this but a nutritionist friend suggested I try goat's milk instead. She hasn't noticed the switch and has goats milk in her porridge and to drink in a cup daily and the infection has cleared. We put her back on cow's milk and the infection came back. We returned to goat's milk and the infection has cleared again. It could be a coincidence but it worked for me? Maybe worth a try if your child is experiencing something similar?

I can highly recommend Iyengar yoga in Forest Hill, too. https://yogafh.wordpress.com/yoga-classes-timebable/?preview=true&preview_id=8&preview_nonce=6f256eb539 I find it really helps with stress. My friend recently did a mindfulness course and is a completely changed woman ? she was losing weight due to work stress and not making time for herself. I think the course is in North London but there should someone locally doing something similar.

We've had good and bad experiences with them. Our Bugaboo's collapsing mechanism failed on one side 2 years ago and Buggy PitStop fixed the problem, then a year later the other side went and we sent it off to them again. Paid quite a lot of money (around ?130, think this was including couriers) for them to fix it again. They said it was fixed but when it was returned to us the catch on one side kept releasing making the buggy really unstable to push. We returned it to them but they insisted that it was due to incorrect use ? I resented this remark as having used Bugaboos for almost 5 years I did know how to open and close my buggy! We returned it to them a second time; this time we actually dropped it off at their Wembley workshop but again they insisted it was fine. We collected in person to try to show them it was still broken but annoyingly the fault didn't present itself while we were there ? even when I demonstrated opening and closing it. I foolishly thought maybe it was fixed but as soon as we got it home, it wasn't working again. We had to admit defeat ? luckily we were coming to the end of our buggy use and now have a MacLaren Quest which is perfect for light use. So I would say if it's an easy fix like wheels, they are probably okay on that but if you have a more complicated issue like ours was, it's not worth meddling with it.