VanessaPMR

But the nephew only ate the ears...assuming a normal rabbit shape, that means he only ate..what, little more than a fifth or a quarter of the chocolate available...so, I think that shows considerable self-control in my book and potentially also awareness of doing something a bit wrong, but not horrendously so as he left the majority of the chocolate for the rightful owner..! That or, the oldish chocolate didnt taste good anymore (unlikely)!! ;-)

Nanny all the way, especially with a young baby. A nursery is unlikely to accept your child if they are sick, which they are often, so a nanny would be better for that reason.. Good luck!

I now understand your point LondonMix, totally misunderstood your previous post!

I dont think there is an ideal age really and agree that there is unnecessary pressure on women rather than men. I think it pretty distasteful to suggest that 15 years old (below the age of consent) is an ideal age to be pregnant, there is ample evidence that suggests this would increase her the girl/mother and the babies health risks. http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/maternal/adolescent_pregnancy/en/ http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X%2813%2970179-7/references

Congrats on getting married, and for being so organised to be looking at costs of childcare etc. As someone who has (almost) no support from grandparents, if its an option, would you consider moving closer to whichever set of grandparents are willing (and capable) of helping out with childcare? Being able to count on a grandparent to pick up a child that is too ill for nursery/their childminder, or to make pick up when you are stuck on a train/in traffic, or to take over when you are too ill to care for you little ones/need to meet a deadline is a life saver. Having said that, we've managed with no grandparents (two kids), but I've had weeks where my wages only cover childcare costs and mortgage payments.. thankfully, they are in the minority..and once they start school, the childcare costs ease up a bit... but as other posters said, dont over think it.. you will manage, we all do!

I second Fushia's suggestion, my then three year old did this to us and the solution was to make her a little bed on our bedroom floor. She slept well and we slept well. As she explained to us at the time, "I love you so I want to sleep in your room" ...they KNOW just what to say, dont they.. ;) V

So homeowners are allowed to purchase a public good (what was a public parking space) and permanently reserve it for themselves by claiming access rights to their newly generated mini carpark... Another excellent, well thought through policy Southwark. Why dont they just let people buy the car space in front of their houses, keep paths at a level height, and avoid various rainwater drainage/ front garden issues..?

Wonderful idea! I was very influenced by: Naomi Klein - The Beauty Myth. Alice Walker - The Colour Purple. Toni Morrison - The Song of Soloman and Love. Margaret Atwood - Alias Grace.

Sorry to not be in agreement, but my little ones homework is something we enjoy together...guess who got her head shoved down the loo at school for being a nerd.. ;-) I see it as a chance to keep on top of what she is doing at school and to understand her stage of development. Mind you, homework takes no longer than 10 mins...so it's not a huge effort..if it was, I'm sure I'd also be looking for less. V

Hi EG, Two things: 1- My son was only happy when continuously on the breast at that age. So it's where I put him. I slathered loads of nipple cream on to help with friction pain. I learnt to co-sleep with him, I learnt to stop feeling embarassed walking down the street with a baby always on the boob... basically I got sleep and calm by putting a nipple in his mouth. He was super happy, I was thrilled he wasnt crying.. 2- Get someone to bring him for a walk while you guys sleep, rest, listen to something else than crying for a bit. good luck!

I think its Wednesday the 3rd...but that's second hand from a friend whose child is starting at reception on wednesday...

Sorry Oimissus, I didnt mean to direct all that post to you necessarily, just the first part about children's school uniforms.. right better get back to work.. ;-\

oimissus Wrote: > > D'you know what worries me more, as a mother of a > girl? Things like a recent thread on Mumsnet, > where, because a teacher failed to discipline some > jeering boys properly, girls who had been doing > handstands in the playground and thus their > knickers were briefly on show were told to go > inside and put shorts on under their frocks. That > makes my blood boil. Primary-aged girls being > taught that it's up to them to modify their > clothing and/or behaviour because boys can't be > expected to. And the number of women on that > thread who supported this made me even angrier. > Because it's only a hop, skip and a jump to that > NHS poster doing the rounds suggesting that if a > drunk woman is raped, it's her fault for being > drunk. > I agree 100% with you Oimissus, but you know the first thing that struck me about your story? Why are primary girls required to wear skirts in the first place? Why cant they get to wear trousers if they so chose? Clothing that would allow them stand on their hands all day without showing their pants? Clothing that would protect their knees from scuffs and scratches..clothing that is superior to active play? Call me a soft hearted idealist...you wont be the first...but I'd like a system for my girl to be a child first and foremost...she has a lifetime of restrictions of what constitutes acceptable/desirable/appropriate female behaviour ahead of her..alas. I'm just trying to call foul on what I see as anachronistic, often unconscious, preconceptions of what is good gendered behaviour. And while I think we should all be free to choose what we want to do as adults, we owe our children a more careful and considered assessment of the junk we push down their throats in the guise of 'play' and 'entertainment'.. looking at you Disney toy stores. Disney have got better but for some reason seem to revert to their old ways if the pressure isnt kept up (so underscoring the importance of the OP's campaign), see the following regarding their back tracking on the sexualisation of Merida: http://jezebel.com/disney-exec-defends-brave-princess-meridas-makeover-508465393 Also, to get back to the OP, negative racial stereotyping is an issue in Disney's products http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/16/abigail-disney-meryl-streep-racism-sexism and we also need to resolve the comparative abscence of black and asian children in children's books. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/04/first-black-childrens-laureate-malorie-blackman

...whhaaaaaat?? Since when do you have to be 5'6", 54 kg, 34-26-36, to be considered 'attractive'?? Frankly, I dont think anyone is very worried about the poor girls (or now it seems the conversation has moved on to grown women) who grow up to have smokin' bodies... I support this campaign for all the girls who are constantly being told that they dont live up to what is for many an unobtainable ideal, and that they are therefore physically unacceptable.... I'll say it again: CHILDREN being told that they are physically unacceptable.. I also support this campaign as I hate adults sexualising childhood, and having childhood heroines with 'bunny' sexy bodies.. is wrong 'cause: 1 - I dont want my girls to be internalising a highly restrictive and deeply conservative understanding of what attractive is...(see above) 2- one of these days it would be nice to think that girls could be valued for who and what they are and not need to be ranked by their capacity to be f****able.......

Sounds like you were being serenaded, throw flowers at them next time.

Done! Good work Emma! It makes my blood boil too, on a good day, and my heart weep on a bad one. I have very strong memories of being ashamed to be a girl, given their obvious lower class status, as a child. The ultimate insult for a boy is still: to be a girl. It doesnt work the other way 'round, its just illogical. Our modern turbo charged sexualised 'feminist' disney heroines are an imperfect replacement to the one dimentional doormats of my youth.

School's out for summer!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Yes, totes agree, women are SHIT, they have kids and bring them to places with them, they even have things called buggies which shouldn?t exist, that their babies sleep in, they drive me MAD swanning around pushing those contraptions, STAY AT HOME..you pompous snoot bags. I see them looking at me with their devil eyes too, you know. Also, to get back to the OP, I would like to know what on earth it says about the world we live in that a business which was not very mummy-buggy-brigade friendly is being replaced by one which is...its like they are winning or something?

Love this thread, I am 40 next week and these positive stories might just encourage me to have another...eeek!

What do dog owners think of dog nappies? I always thought our problem with dog poo could be resolved by requesting dogs wear dog nappies when out in the park... that way the non-responsible dog owning minority are very clearly recognisable as such...

Isnt Barbie's body shape a bit problematic though? I wouldnt want to stop my daughter playing with 'girlie' things, not that I need to she prefers snakes and trains..to date, but I would stop her playing with a doll that is frankly a bit of a blow-up doll in her morphology. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/02/barbie-as-a-normal-woman_n_3534934.html

Seriously unclegen.. We 'interfere' in other peoples countries through a variety of channels..international aid being the most obvious one..but somehow its a bit off to try to stop them hacking away their girl children's privates... signed

I've been keeping a 'personal bests' score with my breastfeeding friends, of the most exceptional/unusual breastfeeding situations we've been in. Its fun and it helped us feel stronger/defiant in the face of the very very small minority of people who rather than encourage a mother who is demonstrably caring for her child, use the opportunity to spew their hate... Anyway, mine was on a see-saw.. baby was hungry, toddler wanted to play... ;-) Took a while to build up to the see-saw though..

I seem to spend a huge amount of time with my 3.5 year old explaining the working week to her. Every evening I go over the lovely times we have been able to spend together that day, and then point out the N of days until the weekend when we get to do something fun 'en famille'. It seems to calm her and allows her to reflect on the nice periods of togetherness rather than focus on imminent separation. I also tend to 'overthink' these things, I like to tell myself its part of the job of being a good mother... ;-) Have a lovely weekend away!

Hi midivydale, My little one (13 months) is also not a sleeper, and has a rather spectacular trick of being able to vomit up the entire contents of his stomach if I leave him to cry for too long anyway...and I too would rather have my hair set on fire than have to listen to my little one cry and wail.. My little one was also an unreasonably early riser.. We've have 'success' (by which I mean compared to how things were for us..) with the following: We very recently moved him to his own room ( i was SOO sad about the move and thought he would be too..nope); this has decreased the N of night-time wakings. He only naps once a day now at about 1pm for 2 hours. (mostly intitated by him..the world is too exciting for him.) We have given up on getting him to sleep at a reasonable baby time, and he tends to be down for 8pm(ish) now. He wakes at 6am now, give or take 3 mins..he is part baby, part alarm clock... :-) [though of course, there are no constants in baby world..this is how it has been for 3 weeks...] I worry lots about him not getting enough sleep, but he has always been like this... Good luck with the sleep deprivation..it is pretty hellish xxx V