redjam

We hired Juggling Joolz a while ago and she was great - balloon animals, magic, juggling etc. Her show was perfect for that age. See recent forum recommendations here: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?25,1231976,1282741#msg-1282741

I've not heard of someone doing an open house before for baby stuff but have you considered getting a pitch at one of the local car boot sales? Several schools hold them, and Heber's one is coming up on Sunday 18th May, if I may be allowed a quick plug... http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?6,1308652,1317520#msg-1317520

Hello, I'm on the Heber P&F - v sorry this has happened. We do contact parents to check they're still happy being on the list but looks like you must have got missed somehow here. I gather another member of the P&F has got in touch with you to get your address so we'll arrange to get the board removed asap (not sure who has cut it down!). Many apologies for the inconvenience.

My daughter started learning guitar at 7 and I don't think she could have done it any earlier, both in terms of applying herself properly to practising and being able to manage the strings (it hurts the fingers to press down on the strings at first, even on a child-size guitar). I'd personally wait till that age before shelling out on proper lessons for any instrument, unless they're a musical prodigy - before that it's just nice for them to muck about and enjoy making a racket on whatever instrument is to hand before they get on the treadmill of daily practising. A few years ago I took my daughter to an event organized by the Musician's Union where she got to try out loads of different instruments with proper teachers, for free (this was the day she decided she wanted to play guitar). It was fantastic - I even had a go at a French horn and a flute, never having even held either in my life before! I've just googled it and it looks like they've just had one this year but I'd recommend watching out for the next time they hold one of these Learn to Play days as it was really good: http://www.musiceducationuk.com/mu-benefits/

Ooh, that's a good tip, simonethebeaver, I've not seen that one advertised before! Think we might try that over the summer holidays. Oimissus - another option is the Museum of Childhood - they often have dressing-up stuff there (though as simone says, it's a bit battered). For some reason one time we went there were loads of vegetable costumes, so there exists a number of photos of me dressed as a giant parsnip that I hope will never be seen in public.

Yes, I too went as a kid, age 6, which was why I was so keen to recreate it for my own kids as I still remember it as my best-ever childhood holiday. My parents went with us again this time round too so it was a lovely intergenerational thing - a real once-in-a-lifetime trip. I saw lots of other grandparents out there too. I can still remember loads about that holiday (the first one I can remember) so for that reason we waited till my youngest was nearly 6 before doing it. We didn't want to shell out all that money for her to not even remember it properly in later life! So snowboarder, I'd say 6 and 8 is perfect. They are old enough to amuse themselves on the flight too at that age, which makes life much easier.

nunheadmum - my youngest is really into Disney stuff but my oldest isn't at all and never has been - hates princesses and anything girly. But she loved all the exciting rides and the animal-related stuff and just the whole atmosphere - I know it's cheesy but pretty much every member of staff from the balloon sellers to the people driving the little trains from the car park really do make a fuss of every child that's there. So we all kind of got sucked into it, even my extremely cynical husband! That said, we only did three days at Disney (four if you include the water park) which was enough for us. There's inevitably a lot of queuing, even with all our planning, which drove me nuts after a while. But yes, there's heaps to do for every age and bravery level - there seems to be less emphasis on scary rollercoasters at Disney, compared to Universal. Townleygreen - I'd agree that Universal is better for older kids but ours weren't so enamoured. There was a Dr Seuss bit for v young kids which was fun, but other than the Harry Potter area (which was rammed) there wasn't as much for the 5 to 8-year bracket, I thought. And it didn't have quite the magic of Disneyland somehow. But maybe we were just exhausted by this point!

Ultimately it's not our decision, redmonkey. It's the DfE who gets to hear both bids and choose.

We went last Easter when our two were eight and five and had the BEST TIME EVER, despite my partner and I having been quite cynical about Disney beforehand. We stayed about a 10=minute drive from the park in one of those apartment resorts (Sheraton Vistana - huge apartments). It was a bit cheaper and it was absolutely fine - it's v easy to drive in and out of the Disney resorts and the parking system was unbelievably well organised. You do spend extra time transferring into and out of the park but for us it was not a problem. We got a package via Virgin but I'm sure it would have been fine booking it separately (we booked our own Disney tickets separately as we found them cheaper online). We went to Disney World twice, plus Animal Kingdom and one of the water parks (and Universal Studios too). Loved it. Yes, you do get tired but the time difference works in your favour so you can get there early when it's not so busy then leave at 4pm and crash out back in your room. We organised the whole trip like a military exercise and even worked out which rides we wanted to go on, so that we could target the most popular ones early in the day. There's heaps of information online so you can research it all first. The best thing about the holiday was that the kids loved it so much they never whinged/moaned/fought each other for the whole two weeks we were in America. A miracle. They still talk about that holiday now (mind you, I think we're still paying for it now too, but that's another story?). Hope you have a great time!

Maybe just give him a bit longer before making the swap, if you can bear to keep using the sling for your new baby for a few more weeks/months. Your older child's nose might be slightly out of joint with the new arrival anyway so you don't want him to think that he's losing his beloved buggy as a result of the new baby coming. Once the baby is older you can make a big deal of them both going in it together and that might be fun for him. Sounds to me like he feels pretty cool in his Maclaren so might be a shame to take this away just when he might be feeling a little vulnerable. Sorry, I realise this probably isn't what you want to hear! Though to be honest I found a Maclaren and a sling much easier to manage than a double buggy anyway when my kids were little. Either way, good luck...

Interesting article on what's happening in London here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10744997/Cool-London-is-dead-and-the-rich-kids-are-to-blame.html

Good post, SplendidLikePeckham.

This would indeed be a fantastic outcome. My only worry is if Haberdashers' Aske's and Charter go head to head over this particular bid, whether it's going to take longer to sort out - in other words we miss out on a Sep 2016 opening while the DFE have to go through the process of choosing between the two. Please reassure me this won't happen? I'm delighted that Haberdasher's Aske's are on board, by the way - heard lots of good things about them.

That's an interesting post, bornagain. Is this the report that's going online on the 20th? I've just done a search for it and can't find it. I guess the bit that's leaping out at me from your post is your first point: 1. There is over capacity in the secondary provision across the borough UNTIL 2016. What happens in 2016 if no new schools are built? Tough luck for those kids who don't get in anywhere? As for supporting existing failing schools, I completely agree with this in theory. But you can see why it's not a particularly appealing thought for local parents to think that their kids' fate is to plug up the empty spaces in the less popular schools in the borough, wherever they may be. Realistically, parents will just move away rather than do that. I should say I'm not a supporter of free schools in general. I wish we didn't have this fractured system - it's a mess. But with the huge baby boom IN THIS AREA, it does seem sensible that a new school would open here. (Or expand an existing successful one like Charter, but I've not heard that as a realistic option before - would be delighted to be proved wrong!)

Wow, I hope this other kid's family doesn't read the forum! It's quite an assumption to say that this child deliberately stole the toy and necklace, linking it with bullying, saying their house is 'chaotic' etc. Even your own child says this other kid put the toy back after she'd finished playing with it. Is it not possible it might just have got lost? And even if they did take it, it's very strong to accuse a child of being a thief when they're five, for God's sake! Wait till your own kid comes home from another playdate having accidentally brought something back with her - it'll happen, I promise you.

Hmm, I'm thinking you've got 7 weeks to train your husband to learn how to bath, feed and put his own child to bed! Other than that, no helpful suggestions, sorry, though I'm sure if you google you will find several nanny/babysitting services who can help with short-term childcare solutions.

Oh dear, James, I write a nice thank-you post to try to get the thread back focusing on the positive aspects of the new school, and you go and spoil it all by political point-scoring and dragging us back into an argument about the merits or otherwise of free schools. Argh! I honestly don't give a hoot about the history of whose fault it was that we're in this mess; I just want whoever is in charge now to try to fix this problem. And yes, perhaps that is short-term thinking, ITATM, but we need a short-term solution for the kids who are coming up through the system now. I'm all in favour of pragmatism over political point-scoring, myself.

Hooray, I am so pleased this is moving forward. And credit where it's due - well done James for leading this and for the steering committee members who are giving up their time and expertise to help it reach the next step. There's been a lot of tough questioning going on this thread, which is all well and good, but I think it's also important to make the point that many of us parents are just very grateful someone is taking up this issue. Thank you all, and let's hope we get the outcome we want.

My kids have been several times - one of the women who runs it is the music teacher at Heber so we hear about it through the school. It's really very good - they do absolutely loads and it's very creative and fun. I wouldn't say it's cheap but my kids beg me to go so we've just signed up for another day this half term. Very nice women who run it; they have heaps of energy and come up with some really great ideas for themed activities.

There's a nice lady called Sarah who sells her own home-made East Dulwich-branded jams and pickles outside Franklins farm shops on occasion - would make a nice gift.

Somerset House is beautiful and it has the free penguin area so it's good for kids who are learning - though you're stuck in quite a small space there and also the main rink is quite small. Nice cafe next door though and just such a lovely-looking location. I've also been to the Winter Wonderland one in Hyde Park a couple of times (not this year) which is much bigger and also Christmassy and atmospheric, though obviously you have to run the gauntlet of the whole theme park surrounding it, which does get very busy (and expensive!). Best to go early in the morning before it is packed.

Ha! Yes, this is becoming pleasingly mad. But to bring it back on topic (sorry), the local estate agents sponsor several of the local schools for their fairs, jumble sales etc and actually make a huge contribution to the community in doing so. I know estate agents get a lot of bad press, but I've been involved in organizing sponsorship for my kids' school - Heber - and I've been surprised by how generously and enthusiastically they've supported our events (thank you Winkworth, DaisyLets, Haarts, Jacksons and Spencer Kennedy!). So credit where it is due - their involvement makes a huge difference to us and many other local schools. But no, the boards are simply there to advertise the event, nothing to do with that property being for sale.

A new, efficient GPs' surgery would be a popular 'community' choice, I suspect, given DMC's woes? But surely any commercial developer is going to want to maximize profit and build more flats or shops?

I also think this is quite a weird post. As others have mentioned, I have never in my life heard the expression 'boys are lazy', so the list of your son's amazing achievements seems a bit unnecessary. While I am delighted that 'his development is so advanced' and he is quite 'the king of soft play', I feel that's the kind of mummy pride that's best not shared aloud, particularly as not everyone will have such a broccoli-loving, articulate, weeing-on-cue prodigy. As for my own kids, my first (a girl) was extraordinarily slow meeting some milestones - to the extent that doctors were worried - and extraordinarily fast in others - to the extent that health visitors didn't believe me. I tried not to care too much about it at the time, and certainly now, nine years on, it all seems laughably irrelevant. Milestones, schmilestones. I'm glad your son is happy and healthy, I really am, but everything else is neither here nor there.

Cross-posted with Shuggy but agree with you too!