oimissus

well - I don't actually think trick or treating, if done properly, does teach kids that this is fine any day of the week. As long as they stick to houses where there's a lit pumpkin on display (i.e. those households which are happy to hand out goodies) I think there's no real harm - though I do see why you don't like it. Equally, if she's been invited to a party more in keeping with what you want it seems ludicrous you can't go to that for fear of 'offending' some over-sensitive type. Can you say she had a previous invite?

I used the metal tray things and I noticed they have far more trolleys with this attachment than they did when Miss Oi was tiny, which is good. I couldn't be bothered with getting her out of the car seat, into a sling, and back again, especially if she was asleep.

oops, x post. Are there likely to be other parents not keen?

you're definitely not alone - look on Mumsnet for threads galore about parents who hate it. Glorified begging and all that. What I can't bear is kids who stick on a Scream mask and expect something for it - make an effort! And older kids - if you're old enough to be out at night without an adult, you're too old for treat or treating full stop, in my book. We get a lot of teenagers with aforementioned mask and I can't stand it, especially when they don't seem to get the whole 'no pumpkin, no treat or treaters' thing. Not that any of this helps you with your dilemma - I think all you can do is let her go but explain why you're not keen to her? Or is she a bit little? Is it trick or treating or Hallowe'en in general you don't like?

I only have one and quite often I wish we could go for a 3rd day at nursery! Roll on when she gets her free 15 hours (which won't actually be free but should make a 3rd day affordable)!

is he in nursery at all? It might be worth having a few mornings so that he can run around and let off steam without that pesky sister being about. I think toddlers can find babies playing quite frustrating - toddlers seem to be quite anal in their playing and get frustrated when a baby does it 'wrongly'. You could then have some one-to-one time with him at the weekend if your partner could take the baby for a couple of hours. It will also allow you time to do those chores which have become a nightmare with a toddler - at around aged 2 trips to the supermarket stopped being a jolly outing and started being a pain in the arse, so I now shop when Miss Oi is at nursery or in the evening when Mr Oi is back. I know children have to fit in with family life but I don't think it does any harm to drop it during a challenging time. Maybe try to hand him control of more situations - which park or activity would he like to do? What does he want to wear? What snack would he like? Give him just a couple of options so as not to confuse, but it might help him feel more 'grown-up', and could result in fewer 'nos' from you. I agree with both of the above - pick your battles, but once you have said 'no', don't go back on it, whatever he does. Easier said on the internet than done in real life. Don't worry about what anyone else thinks - parents will be sympathetic and anyone else can bugger off with their disapproving stares. Oh, and ignoring and making it clear that I am hurt and upset by bad behaviour has worked for us (sometimes), along with removal of extra special toys, generally whatever she has in her hand at that exact moment.

if she's been drooling for weeks I think she's almost certainly teething. I think as long as she's her usual self active-wise then she's fine. Have you tried soup on her? A bit of Heinz tomato always goes down a treat, and I've recently discovered spaghetti hoops and related items - Peppa Pig, Thomas etc. I was very fussy about what I gave Miss Oi to eat, but these things do come in so handy at tricky times and it's not every meal so I think they're fine.

teething? I hadn't quite realized what a drawn-out process it was, but at 2.10 yrs Miss Oi is still teething, and at different times there have been very few indications that she IS teething, until we've spotted a tooth or ruled out everything else. I guess I would still sit her down at the table (maybe time for a booster seat? - that could make her excited about sitting at the table in her new grown-up seat) and offer her little bits and have a couple of toys too, keep it relaxed but still the routine of mealtimes, and give her multivitamins. Is she having cereal for breakfast - that's fortified too. Oh, and reading a billion stories over and over through gritted teeth has got us through many a tricky meal.

NCt classes aren't just about the birth, my classes (run by Becky Byrne in Nunhead) covered home and hospital birth, breastfeeding and the first few days after the birth - but, almost as importantly, they are a great way of meeting people - 3 years in I'm still in regular touch with 4 mums from my class. And I think the dads found them especially helpful. (Also, without wishing to lessen your period pains - labour pain is in a whole class of its own! Have you thought of doing pregnancy yoga - that's a good way to learn to mamage the pain - I found what I had done in my class so helpful when it came to pushing!)

actually, I would have been happy for my daughter to have a male childminder. For one reason or another there aren't many men in her life (plenty of little boys though!) and another man would have been a very good thing for her. shaunag, I respect your decision but your reasoning for not leaving your child alone with any adult doesn't quite make sense - I can't imagine why you would think that any childminder or nanny would ignore her or call her names - equally, I very much doubt she'll be getting mollycoddled at nursery, and if a nanny could call her names or ignore her, why not a nursery worker? It just seems that there's some very jumbled thinking on this topic going on. But some positive stories too which is great.

of course, why on earth not?

yes, that's was I thought, can see the little 'uns being excited about that too, never mind the toys!

can't you just have the heating come on in her room in the morning? We turn Miss Oi's radiator off (if it's been on at all) at her bedtime but before we go to bed I switch it back on so that when the heating goes on in the morning her room will heat up. If you make sure she has enough layers on and perhaps a blanket she'll be fine - last winter Miss Oi would be in a long sleeved vest, sleepsuit or PJs, 2.5 tog sleeping bag and maybe a blanket - but that was in the depths of winter. If you read the guide that comes with the sleeping bags (well, with John Lewis ones at any rate) you'll see that really being cold isn't a problem, it's overheating you need to worry about.

I might give it a go on Friday, I've a 2.9 year old, and I'll ask chum with toddler and baby (that's you kitty if you're reading, fancy this on Friday?).

Karvol, it's like Vicks for babies, you can rub ointment on their chest and back or get drops to put on their mattress. Put a towel under the head of his mattress so he's not sleeping flat, make sure the heating is off in his (your?) room so his snot doesn't get all dry and crusty. It's horrid when they have a cold, isn't it? Just after Miss Oi was born I caught a horror and was sneezing all over her poor thing, she didn't stand a chance!

The Worst Witch! My sister and I loved these; we wrote to Jill Murphy and she sent us back a letter all beautifully decorated with bats and spiderwebs. We would play TWW with our best friend, my sister was Mildred, I was Maud and friend was Ethel (we made Ethel a goody). Oh, I'm so glad I started this thread, I'm going to write all these down so I don't forget when the time comes.

'still involves teenage love-life angst but she's very independent and intelligent' - see, this is what I'm talking about. The heroine in this book I'm proofreading, a la Bella Swann, is a simpering, pouting muppet around boys and it's agonising to read; I want to slap her. Might look for Mortal Engines in the library.

these are all great, but not contemporary. Much as I would love to think Miss Oi is only going to read classics, it's not terribly likely! Has anyone got pre-teen or teenage girls that are reading anything with good heroines in? Other than the big series (HP, Twilight, His Dark Materials) I don't know what else is out there that's being read these days. And - Anne from Anne of Green Gables? She's good in the first one but gets more and more annoying if I remember rightly. Though I did love them as a child, it was a recent re-read of Anne of Avonlea that made my toes curl up.

Lyra, of course! DV, Miss Oi is not 3 yet but this book has annoyed me so much I feel like I need to start stockpiling decent books right now!

I think there's more to Hermione than being sensible, let's face it, Harry wouldn't have found any of the Deathly Hallows without her! Smart, brave, loyal, witty. oh yes, Sophie in Howl, she's a good one, though does the fact that she's in a the guise of an old woman mean she can be more upfront than if she was a young girl? Laura Ingalls is another good one, can't remember Pippi though I'm sure I read her. They're not very recent though, I'm more thinking of contemporary heroines.

I'm sat here proofreading some teenage fiction and the heroine is an unbelievable sap, and I'm filled with horror at the idea of Miss Oi reading this drivel in years to come (yes, yes, I know, hiding to nowhere), or behaving like this girl. So, I started to think about who would be good to aspire to, in recent fiction at least, and so far I've got: Bella Swann - nil points Hermione Granger - 9/10 who else can we think of? And good ones for boys are welcome too.

is this the Crystal Palace Road branch? There's a very long ongoing thread about this in the General section of the forum, doesn't sound good at all! I'm at Chadwick Road, it's not too bad, I've never gone down first thing but have generally managed to get through on the phones to get an appt that day. Were you taking your child to the doc's? If you've just started a new job couldn't your partner take them?

if you click on the link KalamityKel posted it shows all the info, including dates and prices (Southwark Park one is free).

Gosh, what a charmer you sound. 'Screaming brat', 'breeder'??? If she was attacked by a dog as a child then she is not unreasonably wary of dogs around her baby. Yes, she probably over-reacted, but she gave you a very good reason for doing so, so I'm not sure why you then felt the need to write this post?

Tippee Toes do 2 singing groups on Thursdays, really lovely class. Not a group, but there's parent and toddler/baby swimming at the Peckham Pulse on Thursday and Friday afternoons which is great - the hydrotherapy pool is like swimming in your bath. Here's the timetable http://www.fusion-lifestyle.com/cms_uploads/file/London_Borough_of_Southwark/2012/F_SOU_01924%20season%203%20web%20pool%20timetable%203%20WR.pdf