Saffron

I would get a second opinion on the medical front. If she's had a slow bowel for some time, the lower bowel can have enlarged causing a loss of muscle tone in the bowel. Then the constipation becomes a self-perpetuating problem that increasing fluid intake will not resolve. If you've already tried lactulose and/or glycerin with no result, I would ask the GP about a short course of paediatric Movicol (macrogol). Softening the stool temporarily would help decrease distention in the bowel, and hopefully lead to overall better muscle tone, if diet overall is not an issue. Annoyingly, potty training books don't really seem to mention this. Also from your description, could your LO have a faecal bolus? This type of blockage can occur when the lower intestine does not coordinate contractions smoothely, leading basically to a ball of firm pooh being trapped in the gut. Softer faeces pass around this ball and appear to come out in a similar fashion to what you describe. I've known two children who've had this problem, so I don't think it's as uncommon as some believe.

Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > and the owner said....no, no, no I don't want you > to do that, but you need to think about these > prams. > > Perhaps he meant you need to think about which > pram you are taking to particular places. Some > buggies are very big, and if you're going to a > place with tight spaces they are going to be an > issue, whereas a stroller wouldn't be such a big > deal. Because we all obviously have multiple prams at our disposale for any given event? In which case, we purposefully choose the one that will annoy people the most? I think not.

The cafe on P Rye Common does a better job at managing buggies. They just matter-of-factly ask customers to put prams outside when it's busy. They're neither unkind nor patronising about it. The Gardens seems to have plenty of outdoor space for prams. I don't see why they can't do the same. They seem to be a bit adrift on the topic, not really knowing what to do. Again, it comes back to understanding your client base, surely? I hope they work something out in this respect, because the times I've been in there, the food and drink has always been really nice.

And older-child / dog-friendly does make sense, because lots of older children and dogs eat lunch there and take afternoon tea with cakes on a weekday? Hmmmm, not sure about that. Success in the cafe/restaurant industry is about knowing your customer base and catering for them. The Gardens seems to be suffering an identity crisis in this case. Who exactly IS their customer base? Half the time when I walk past them, they're half empty. What a shame, as they have such a nice location.

Parent and toddler flashmob, anyone? But seriously, I thought they had some kind of remit in their original planning permission, stating that they were providing some kind of community space? There were many planning applications before the Gardens that were refused. The Gardens seemed to be ok at first. How did they go so wrong?

El Pibe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Out of curiosity, what's the definition for high > and low functioning? > Are they just synonyms for intelligent and stupid? Sorry, psych books on the top shelf, and I can't be bothered to get the stepladder. But high and low functioning refer more to the person's ability to integrate into society than their IQ alone. For example, a highly intelligent but deeply delusional psychopath who wraps his house in aluminium foil to protect it from alien space crafts is going to ring more than a few alarm bells. In contrast some psychopaths can appear deeply introverted, the weirdo "loner" steretype, though still quite intelligent. Nevertheless, these people attract attention for their inability to integrate. So, in many senses "funtion" is related to how well a psychopath can appear normal. Although it's questionable how "normal" Saville appeared. Indeed he seemed so weird that he had to be normal, or at least that's what he made (nearly) everyone think. And therein is the evil genius of it. Saville was so well-integreated that he successfully pulled off being a weirdo pretending to be a normal person pretending to be a weirdo. And he used this manipulation to dupe others and to exploit vulnerable individuals, without showing remorse for his misdeeds. That's the sign of a classic psychopath.

Lovely name. (Means lark in French?) Little Saff's name was a late entry too. Husband didn't even manage to produce a "Short List". His list just consisted of turning down everything on mine! We had an easier time naming our cat than our child!! We wanted to give Little Saff another middle name, so we offered her a few options. She's chosen Halima for herself. It makes her full name complete in a nice way, and I like that she chose it for herself.

Saville was a highly functioning psychopath who manipulated not only individuals but also (nearly) an entire nation into believing his false persona. That's what psychopaths do. They lie and manipulate people. He was very skilled at it, sadly for his victims. In some ways, the people who covered for him are victims too: Victims of his evil-intentioned manipulations. However, because these individuals were entrusted with the care of others, including many highly vulnerable persons, they should stand up and conceed that their failure to provide duty of care has harmed those in their care. In short they should take their punishments too. But should those punishments be given with a modicum of understanding for the skill that Saville had at manipulating those individuals? We can all sit back and say, No one is manipulating me. But then again, if someone really skilled is manipulating you, how would you know? Institutional systems need to be re-written (and I think have largely made improvements in the last ~50 years), in order that internal checks are in place for this kind of behaviour, because it's not something that the person being manipulated can necessarily see for him/herself.

There is a hypothesis that bovine spongiform encephalophathy (BSE) entered cattle not via being fed the scrapie-infected remains of other ruminants (mainly sheep), but rather by cattle being fed contaminated bone meal derived from human bones contaminated with CJD (ie prion disease). These bones/bone meal were purportedly obtained from companies sourcing products from 3rd world countries where unidentified bones (ie, species unknown) were being scavenged and also possibly obtained from human graveyards. Under this hypothesis, cows fed on this CJD-contaminated feedstuff became infected with prion disease manifesting as BSE. This BSE was then passed up the food chain to re-emerge in humans as new variant CJD. If this hypothesis is true, then the human race effectively (re)infected itself with concentrated CJD via eating this twice contaminated flesh. There are evolutionary reasons most predators eat near the opposite end of the food chain, not each other: Biomagnification. CJD is just one example. The cultural taboo has its roots in evolutionary logic. . . . Nevertheless, I've been saying for years that the solution to overpopulation is simply to feed the obese people to the starving people, as the number of obese people has surpassed the number of starving people some years ago. Therefore this trefoil solution solves not only the overpopulation crisis, it also addresses the obesity crisis and resolves world hunger, thus rebalancing the population as a whole. ;-)

Why not just talk (yes, actually talk!) to the other parent about it? And definitely don't lie by saying you had a "previous invite" if you didn't. Cripes, what kind of message does that send?!? Maybe your daughter could go to the party, but leave before (or arrive after) they've done the trick or treating, if you simply explain that it's custom you don't share? Just sitting in the back of a darkened house for hours seems like teaching a child to hide from problems. As for knocking on strangers' doors, well they're always going to be strangers if you never knock on their doors to get to know them. ;-) xx

At age 10, I hated my school, and I wish my parents had given me a choice. A teach there marked my paper wrong because I stated that the Nile River flows north. She said it was wrong because rivers flow down not up, hence the Nile according to her flows south. (I heard she's a headteacher/prinicipal now.)

Particularly baffling as the Clock House is not generally known for being child friendly! Opinions have been very divided about The Gardens cafe in the past. There was a long thread on it somewhere...

I was also surprised to learn that poison ivy can be found here, and even more surprised that it may have been brought here purposefully as an ornamental! From the website: http://www.kingdomplantae.net/poisonIvy.php

Obvious solution: wrap the footballs in cotton wool, just like the children ;-)

The OP makes an interesting point about older residents coming out to socialise as well, so it isn't just about kids, or streets vs playparks. Older residents may be unable or feel comfortable walking to playparks to socialise. A quiet road with no cars might seem quite inviting for older folks to come out on their doorsteps and chat with neighbours they don't see everyday. xx

Little Saff and I loved Water Babies at Lewisham hospital therapy pool. The pool is lovely and warm all year long. It's a therapy pool, so it has to be warm. The pool was always super clean as well. The only drawback is that there isn't a lot of changing space. To save time, I wore my swim suit under my clothes to the pool. Getting dry and changed afterwards can be a bit tricky. A spare sarong is handy. Happy swimming :)

Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Yeah A Levels are a different kettle of fish, > you're old enough to make a decision on such > things, and a year or two later you could be > leaving home all together for uni. > > An 11 year old is different though IMO. There also plenty of 11 year olds who are capable of making this decision, and it isn't "pathetic" if it's the right decision for that family to have their child attend a school that isn't near to them. The issue isn't always about supporting local schools, is it? It can also be about finding the right school for the child. Nothing pathetic about that.

buggie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Saffron - unsure if soft furnishings need to be > sanitised following lice as their fussy whatnames > and only move from head to head with direct > contact so you can't catch them sharing a cuddly > toy or blanket. > We'd always have clean bedding & towels following > headlice treatment but more because the stuff we > had to have on our hair overnight & washout was so > stringent. It's not common, but, yes, you can catch lice from bedtoys and bedding. Particularly if people are finding that they are being reinfested quite frequently or that they are not able to shift the infestation, then they need to treat these things as well. Just put them through a hot wash and tumble dry. I spent many of my formative years in a hot climate, where lice seemed to be even more problematic than they are here. I thought I escaped having them as a child... but then I got them when I was 16. Mortifying.

:)

His parents made him walk to school... miles and miles... in the snow... uphill both ways. ;-)

:( I really hope this doesn't happen to Crystal Palace 1 o'clock club too.

Yes, you need to sanitise the hairbrushes, hers and yours. Water ~60 C should be fine. Boil the kettle, pour the water on the brushes, and let them sit in until the water cools. Alternatively, you could put them in the freezer for 24 hours. Some treatments for hair target mainly adult lice, so check the label. But also be aware that if there are only a few adults, they can be well-hidden. Check with a pharmacist if you're not sure. xx

Good tip! Will definitely file that one away for a child-free afternoon with the girl friends some weekend. :)

Argh, tough decision. I like the idea of a smaller venue, not so croweded/touristy, staff probably have more patience, but I don't want to totally lose all air of tradition and formality. I was looking forward to getting everyone dressed up a bit. Definitely no jeans and trainers, and preferably not too many tourists! Somewhere small might be a little quieter too? My mother is a little hard of hearing these days. Although we don't want to spoil other people's afternoons with our boiterous toddler daughter. Hmm, yes I might have to make a few phone calls to see what the various establishments have to say. @steveo, yes, a London kebab is high on the To Do list, but probably not the same day as tea!!

simonethebeaver Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > But Saffron, state funding for faith schools > reduces the school places available for everyone, > surely? For us, for example, it means two of our > six closest schools are not possibles for us. The > schools select their pupils from faith groups, so > children outside that faith are excluded from > education. Yes, that does appear to be the case. I wouldn't dispute that in some circumstances state funding for faith schools complicates the placement system. I'm still not opposed to faith-based school receiving funding. (And I'm saying that as someone who is highly unlikely to send my child to a faith school.) BUT, I would agree that the system for allocating that funding and for allocating student places is rubbish. Actually, there is plenty about the state funded standard education system that I find less than ideal. > Religion should fund its own schools. There was an lively debate on free schools (including religious context) in the Drawing Room a while back, which is more in line with this discussion than the OP's original topic. So, posting link for anyone interested. :) http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?27,745792,page=1