EDmummy

Love your suggestion Sanity Girl but I would warn that if you are driving from Naples that you would need to be a very confident driver - the roads are crazy (highways are nice though).

Count me and my youngest with this as well. Unfortunately, I didn't find out until I was an adult and at an arthritis clinic. It is also the cause of my terrible back problems. Youngest has only just been diagnosed and I completely relate to everything you are saying about the affects at school, Fuschia. Youngest is working with an Occupational Therapist at Sunshine House and we have been given some good strategies. We have bought him a disc-n-sit and it was recommended he does gymnastics, swimming (both of which he already does) and Tae Kwon Do to develop core strength and other muscles. Yoga and Pilates are also recommended. You might think about chatting to Kelly Thursfield the SENCO at Heber, if you haven't already done so, as there are quite a few kids with the condition at the school. @darlin', not sure about the moving bit but in hindsight there were some early developmental indicators that we were not aware of. One of the questions asked by the OT was about his early development but, despite the odds, he crawled and walked early. Definitely have a chat with your GP to get baby checked out.

Had to explain what happened here to my 10 yr old son after driving past police cordons. Absolute tragic waste of life. We don't know anything about the poor boy who lost his life or his devastated family. My thoughts go out to them. These are the people who can, through their unbelievably horrific experience, help others to avoid such senseless waste of life.

Oh Shovel, that is hideous. Poor you. I hope you recover soon. Have to say I have always felt at risk on Oakhurst Grove. I am glad my commute no longer means walking down this street. Even in daylight all the large houses and quiet street feel imposing. My latest attempt at trying to feel safer when coming home from dinner/bar etc., is to either not take a handbag or wear a slim across the body bag under my coat. I also only walk on one side of the road for a certain amount of time before crossing to the other side (obligatory glance behind me up the street to "look for cars") as a way to see if anyone is following... but would agree in getting a cab to the door if poss.

Just want to big up Kidscape in Purley for parties. Probably suit 6-10 year olds but also has toddler area. It is incredibly well organised, the staff are fantastic and the kids have a fantastic time. Leaves Gambardos in the dust!

Yes, closing date has past but be sure to ring the phone number on the right hand side of this web page here to find out what to do next. At the same time, if you are not aware of how the system works in the UK, I would ask them for advice on how to select schools for your shortlist. There are a few posters on here that will hopefully provide you with more information. Good luck.

I am a little surprised at the amount of strong feeling expressed in this thread. Absolutely breast is best but I hope that mothers aren't missing the needs of their children when they are ready for a mix of breast/bottle and solids because the mothers are determined to stick to some sort of doctrine. We all love our children and want to do the absolute best for them. A lot of allergies are, unfortunately, hereditary. I come from a family of VERY allergic people so I was very frightened that my own children would inherit the long list of food allergies and asthma that most of my family have. Weaning them on to solids (whilst still breast feeding) at 4 months was incredibly scary for me because of the amount of adverse literature about at the time. Thankfully, it all turned out OK for us but the amount of pressure the literature puts on women is unacceptable. Equally unacceptable is the amount of pressure we put on ourselves. Having children is an incredibly long journey and I think we should all be accepting of the way we chose to take that journey.

One child before the change in guidance to 6 months, one after. Both children weaned and still breastfed from 4 months because they both rocketed to the bottom of the chart from 75% and 98% centile respectively. Both children always incredibly healthy with very little illness (touch wood). I think I am with the 'trust your instinct' and your health provider crowd. Even according to the WHO new press release above; the benefits of exclusive bf until six months are "...a lower risk of gastrointestinal infection for the baby, more rapid maternal weight loss after birth, and delayed return of menstrual periods"; So, one benefit for the child and two for the mum. It also cites the findings of the study in the Cochrane Library that "No reduced risks of other infections or of allergic diseases have been demonstrated..." by exclusive bf.

As far as I am aware, independent providers of the flu jab are not licenced to give the jab to children. This can only be done by the NHS and they are only giving it, at the moment, to children who are identified as high risk.

So, what are views on this?

Jess-ED, I am so very sorry to hear about your nasty experience. I hope you are recovering well. I am not sure where you heard about talking on your phone as being safe but we might all find it useful to have a look at this website here. Another tactic I follow is walking on one side of the road for a period of time before crossing over to the opposite side. By doing this you can figure out if someone is following you. I recently spoke to one of our community police officers (PC Crust) after my neighbour was mugged and he said that he was not aware of any increase in this type of crime in ED but that, as always, we should practice personal safety techniques wherever we are in London. We should all make ourselves less of a target and keep vigilant.

Oh gosh have we been there! In our own car for long journeys, always take at least two change of clothes, cover back of car with towels, lots of spare plastic shopping bags, kitchen towel and wipes. Have also been known to travel with a bucket in the car. Also the long search for engaging in-car music. Also for trips over 2-3 hours long we would break a night time journey in motorway service hotels (much nicer than you might give them credit). Fortunately, we never had trouble with the bus (as long as he was able to have his face plastered to the window - never, ever sitting in a buggy) so no advice to offer there. For us this phase only lasted (at full tilt) for about a year but, to be fair, we have probably avoided any long journeys since that time. Wish you all the luck in the world. We also had wailing on quite a number of journeys for which I would recommend ear plugs (esp if you are the driver)!

Sadly I haven't anything constructive to say but I think you are incredibly brave to post on here and I really hope you give Al-anon a try. Many people have been/are going through what you have described. The two questions I would probably ask is, was he like this before you had your child and does he have a stressful or pressurised job? If he is on anti-depressants, is he also receiving counselling? It definitely sounds like there is a bit of a pressure cooker effect going on and only by finding out the cause, will he/you be able to work out the 'treatment'. I would really like to wish you all the best. x

As much as I would like a Waitrose I am afraid I am voting against... and certainly against M&S Food (instant, tasteless food full of salt). I would love a Carluccio's - would not detract from local supermarkets and offer Italian food to the Lane.

hay hay, I think your company should be much more worried about your spelling than whether you are friends with someone on FB.

Have they ruled out Lupus?

Thanks Fuschia.

Rang our dentist today to find out they are closed now until 4 Jan. My poor son is in pain and I am sure it is going to get much worse by 4 Jan. Anyone know a dentist open in between Xmas and New Year that may see a new patient?

It would seem a lot of Royal Mail items are delayed by about 2 weeks. I had something sent 1st class from Cheshire on 9 December - received it on the 19th Dec. As far as Amazon is concerned, just feel lucky that your item has left the depot- we have Xmas presents stuck in Scotland.

There is always Dawson Heights by foot if you can't get to Horniman. We're going tomorrow.

Absolute w*****s. I was at her stall today buying a lovely lunch for my family. Doesn't she have her money bag across her body? They must have used some force to get it off her! How terrible. I hope that they get caught, the mongrels.

James, 50% is still 50% that is coming from money that should be used for the whole population. I know plenty of religious schools that get additional church moneys to pay for extra in school and out of school activities that even the best state schools around here cannot provide with the money they get. I really don't want to open a debate about public funding of church schools but this does not happen in most democratic, developed countries (in fact, struggling to think of any country where it does happen other than UK). Right, got that off my chest - now to battle with the elements.

I see that most of the schools in the top 15 are church schools. It is shame that state money goes on education that is not open to all.

Books, books and books. The 7 yr old might like Mr Gum books. The 11 and 12 year old Darren Shan. Or, how about sponsoring an animal. There are lots of different animals to sponsor. You can sponsor a guide dog (Guide Dogs for the Blind), Sky are running a sponsorship programme at the moment (it is a big cat but can't remember which one), there are also charities where you can buy a goat, chickens etc. It is never too late to get kids to understand about charity giving!

As a boxing day baby of LONG standing, it is defo two sets of presents once bub is old enough to realise. My mother also used to remove Xmas tree and ban turkey sandwiches on Boxing Day. As I got older it was a great excuse to have another party with friends once Xmas with family was over. Thankfully, my birthday was in the summer where I grew up so weather was good for outdoor parties. In my immediate family we have about 10 birthdays between End Nov and End of Jan. Expensive time of year.