redjam

Does anyone know of any local Christmas C of E church services featuring lots of lovely singalong carols that would be suitable for young kids? I'm not a regular churchgoer but I do like to make the effort once a year, in the hopes that my kids don't grow up completely heathen, so it would need to be somewhere that doesn't mind non-regulars pitching up on their turf. I've always gone to the family service at St Paul's Cathedral before, which is magical but quite solemn for very small children (my husband spent the whole time in the crypt last year with our youngest, as she was insistent on going walkabout). So we'd like to try somewhere local this year if possible. I've posted in the What's On section asking for more info about the Children's Nativity Pageant service at St John's on Sunday (are there carols? is it suitable for littl'uns?), but it occurred to me this might be a better place to ask. Thank you!

No one seems to be stating the obvious here in that there has to be a cut-off somewhere! While I have every sympathy with those who have kids with late August birthdays, deferring their entry into the school system effectively just pushes the cut-off date further back. So maybe it solves the problem for you, but just moves the goalposts for other children. I've got a daughter with a July birthday and I too feel she'll have a slight disadvantage when she starts school. But them's the breaks - and overall I think your relative age in your class is just one small factor in whether you have a happy and 'successful' life (however you define that). Reception is very play-based, as someone pointed out above, so your daughter will have plenty of time to adjust to school without being thrown into the world of times tables and long division from the off!

We were one of the lucky ones who made it in - and really enjoyed it, though it was a bit TOO busy (hardly the organisers' fault). Nice mix of free play and singing/dancing/rhymes, and Tina did a great job holding the kids' attention during the circle time despite the big turnout. My two-year-old was rather sweetly trying to teach her older sister the 'banana banana' rhyme when she got home from school (missing half the words, natch) so it obviously made an impression! Thank you to Kate and Tina for setting up this new session a stone's throw from my house as winter draws in and the parks get too cold; much appreciated! We'll be back...

We were one of the lucky ones who made it in - and really enjoyed it, though it was a bit TOO busy (hardly the organisers' fault). Nice mix of free play and singing/dancing/rhymes, and Tina did a great job holding the kids' attention during the circle time despite the big turnout. My two-year-old was rather sweetly trying to teach her older sister the 'banana banana' rhyme when she got home from school (missing half the words, natch) so it obviously made an impression! Thank you to Kate and Tina for setting up this new session a stone's throw from my house as winter draws in and the parks get too cold; much appreciated! We'll be back...

If you buy the C&L My Extremely Smallish Little Library there are about half a dozen little board books in the box, one of which is titled 'One for Me, One for You'. It's about Lola failing to share nicely (unless it's peas, in which case she's happy to give them all to Charlie) - but to be honest it's a pretty basic introduction to the subject as only 12 pages long with about one sentence on each page! So not necessarily worth buying if you only want it for that...

On the flip side of this I had a very compact little bump for my first pregnancy (one colleague who I hadn't seen for a while even asked another whether I was pregnant when I was 8 months gone!) - yet I still gave birth a fortnight early (baby healthy and normal-sized, thankfully). So really I would echo others' comments that size of bump is no indication of when you'll give birth. I say relax and enjoy your last few weeks of freedom!

This is a very good and entertaining article about what you can/can't eat in pregnancy which I hope will reassure you! Guardian article

Gosh, poor you, sounds awful - there but for the grace of God etc. But try not to worry about a possible court case - I'm sure the docs/police would have clocked that the man was very drunk (and obviously they know you were sober), and common sense tells us it's very hard for someone to get run over by a rear wheel unless they've actually fallen into the side of the car, so it sounds highly unlikely you'd ever be charged for it. But how stressful and unpleasant - I suppose just be glad you weren't travelling at speed otherwise there might have been more than one person ending up in hospital.

Well said, I sometimes wish I could go round hugging all first-time parents and saying, 'Don't worry, chances are everything will be fine!'

[quote name=GAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! The Back to Sleep campaign has been the most succesful public health campaign ever' date=' in this country and around the world. You and your siblings, and the rest of us here were the lucky ones.] Gubodge, I quite agree, and of course I didn't mean to imply you should willfully ignore the official advice, esp for a young baby. But if we're talking about a seven-month-old baby, who sleeps better on his front, and he's in a well-ventilated room with no smoking etc, then I really think not much need to worry. The OP is clearly a sensible woman who knows about the risks and has tried all the alternatives - surely bringing up kids is a constant process of gathering information about risks and making decisions based on it? Of course everyone has to make their own personal decision about these issues but if I was in her position, I'd judge the risk as being fairly small at this age.

My mother always gleefully tells me that when my brother and I were newborn babies, the medical advice was to put us to sleep in a warm room, face-down, covered in blankets AND a duvet! Oh, and of course my mum smoked like a chimney, as so many people did in those days. Needless to say, my brother and I both survived, as did the vast majority of our generation. That's not to undermine your natural worry, but just to reassure you that babies are generally hardy little souls. As Fuschia says, by 7 months you're well past the major risk age for SIDS (I'm sure your baby can lift his head slightly, even if he can't roll over) and as long as you're not chain-smoking cigarettes over him in a boiling hot room I'm sure he'll be fine. As an adult I still always sleep on my tummy - by far the most comfortable way to get to sleep, even if you do wake up with a cricked neck in the morning! So I'd say go for it and personally I wouldn't go near those monitors that check the heart rate - from what I've heard of them from friends your baby will sleep through blissfully but you'll be up every ten minutes every time the damn bleeper goes off for no reason.

My mother always gleefully tells me that when my brother and I were newborn babies, the medical advice was to put us to sleep in a warm room, face-down, covered in blankets AND a duvet! Oh, and of course my mum smoked like a chimney, as so many people did in those days. Needless to say, my brother and I both survived, as did the vast majority of our generation. That's not to undermine your natural worry, but just to reassure you that babies are generally hardy little souls. As Fuschia says, by 7 months you're well past the major risk age for SIDS (I'm sure your baby can lift his head slightly, even if he can't roll over) and as long as you're not chain-smoking cigarettes over him in a boiling hot room I'm sure he'll be fine. As an adult I still always sleep on my tummy - by far the most comfortable way to get to sleep, even if you do wake up with a cricked neck in the morning! So I'd say go for it and personally I wouldn't go near those monitors that check the heart rate - from what I've heard of them from friends your baby will sleep through blissfully but you'll be up every ten minutes every time the damn bleeper goes off for no reason.

A*se. My kid's at Heber. Honestly, does seem a bit bonkers to be so strict when the kids are so little and so much of the day is effectively spent playing. I know kids are absorbing information all the time at school but as previous posts have mentioned, you can also genuinely learn a lot by travelling abroad (esp. as we're visiting relatives in this case, so it's not just lounging by a pool but actually seeing how real lives are lived in a foreign country). Also my partner and I do spend hours reading with our kids and doing educational-type play at home, so the school gets a lot of support. Honestly, I'd be tempted to take the ?50 fine - some of the package deals we were looking at were ?1000 more in the summer holidays as opposed to term-time! Grrr, looks like it'll be a summer spent in the UK next year then...

Pah. That's my favourite song, and they didn't do it on Wednesday (stayed for both encores). But we had both slow and fast versions of another song (sorry, forgotten which one) - which I thought was a bit unnecessary!

Coming to this thread late, I also went to see them in Brixton last week. They sounded as great as ever, but I did feel they milked the encores (and where was 'Gigantic'?). Loved the background visuals, though - was that Un Chien Andalou at the beginning? The whole thing did make me feel old, though. There were a bunch of mums in front of me discussing babysitting arrangements and little Johnny's first day at school while we were waiting for the band to come on - bet you don't get that at Dizzee Rascal gigs (I speak as a fully paid-up member of the babysitting club myself before anyone thinks I'm having a go). Realised all the gigs I've seen this year - Blur, The Specials, The Pixies, several of the bands I saw at Camp Bestival - have been going for 20-odd years. Had a sudden realisation it's the equivalent of old ladies going to tea-dances and being stuck in a timewarp... Had a proper student hangover the next day though.

All interesting and helpful comments, thank you. I agree it sounds like a good idea to raise it with the teacher/head first, though am worried we haven't yet had much of a chance to prove that we are 'good parents' and committed to the school etc, and ironically the longer we leave it to book the less financial saving we'll make going away in term-time. Also sounds rather scary to demand an appointment with the head - the thought of it makes me feel like I'm back in school myself! I guess it's all part of adjusting to the lack of flexibility in school culture - working as I do in a fairly laid-back company with relatively flexible hours and an understanding boss, I'm finding this new influence in our life quite strange.

We're long overdue a visit abroad to see some relatives next year, so I was idly browsing some holiday deals last night and was genuinely shocked by the huge difference in price between term-time and school holidays. I know this is hardly news, but it's the first time we've had to deal with it as our eldest child has only just started Reception. I'd be interested to know what views people have about taking a week off for a holiday in term-time? Has anyone done this? Do you just front it out when you come back or do you pretend the child has been ill all week (and what to do about the tan)? Were there any repercussions from the school (is it even legal to take them out of school for a holiday)? Any teachers out there who have a view? My own feeling is that in primary school it doesn't seem like the end of the world if they miss a week's schooling but I can see it might be disruptive to the teacher if they've got lots of kids coming and going at different times. So it's a bit of a dilemma...

Maybe too late, but I can recommend a chap called Alan Wright (www.phonesockets.co.uk) who came and did exactly what you described for us the other week (move a BT socket from kitchen to living room by running the line under the floorboards and wiring in a new box). He was great - punctual and friendly. Cost ?85 total.

Bobbaz - Cherry Tree Montessori is the one on Lacon Road. Were you thinking of Blossoms Montessori (on St Dunstans Grove)? That one is open till 4. My daughters go there and it's fab.

Last time I asked, the Soup Dragon lady was no longer doing the haircuts there. A great shame as she was good and cheaper than the 'proper' hairdressers round here.

My kids (4 and 2) also love doing the poses off Waybuloo. I was thinking about getting them a yoga video from Father Christmas, but the ones on Amazon seem to get mixed reviews. Anyone bought a yoga vid they would particularly recommend (or not)? Will check out the classes mentioned above, too, thanks - though not sure my kids would last the distance with a whole class...

Wow, there was me thinking they were quite rare, especially in London. They're everywhere! Will go out hunting for one this weekend. No worries about the fruit, reetpetite, I've eaten mulberries before and they're very bitter (OK in jelly) - but it's just the leaves I'm after now. Thanks very much, all.

Fantastic, thanks so much. I love this forum - no request too random...

I know this is a slightly strange request, but I'm looking for some mulberry leaves for an art project thingy I'm doing. Anyone noticed any mulberry trees in our local parks or have one in their back garden? They'd be fruiting around now. It's the big, almost heart-shaped leaf I'm after, with a slightly zigzag edge (sorry, sure there are technical horticultural terms for all this...). Thank you!

Following up references scrupulously is very good advice - I always find it so awkward to initiate and put it off, but it really is the quickest way to flush out any potential problems - you can tell so much from people's tone of voice if you ask them lots of direct questions. But other than that, as Moos said, just go with your instincts - you need to have someone who you feel shares your values and will fit into your household (strict/relaxed, noisy/quiet, sociable/self-contained or whatever) and someone that you feel comfortable to 'take charge' of. This latter point can be quite tricky as with a first child it's tempting to go with someone who seems to know it all, but the downside of that is that they might end up leading the choices about how you want to bring up your kid, which might not be a good policy in the long-term. Equally you don't want some timid little mouse who doesn't take any initiative of their own! Either way, don't fret - you will always be your child's parent and the most important person in his/her life - nannies/childminders will come and go but you are the constant. Whoever you choose will form an attachment with your child and provide an alternative perspective on the world, and although it's painful leaving your child at first it's all part of the process of gently teaching them independence and socialisation, so I truly believe it's not something you should feel guilty about. Good luck finding someone wonderful...