nunheadmum

Will the light work in a tent - is it dark enough?? We've got a bunny awake / asleep one but the light is rather weak....not sure it's that obvious unless the room is fairly dark. (Also only mains operated - sorry!) Got a clockwork bunny one with eyes/ears if it helps. We don't use it (girls are scared of it!!) so welcome to it if it'll help.

Most probably - September born kids do tend to be the eldest due to the August cut off for school - she'll be almost 5 starting school. That said, if places come available during the year and the nursery can't fill them from older kids who are then almost due to start school, I have heard of them letting the older kids from the next year's intake start e.g. in the summer term rather than waiting till Sept. So maybe worth checking with the school what their policy is. Oh and re full days, our school nursery is trying it this year - offering the 2.5 days as full days rather than 5 x half days. If it works for them, maybe other school nurseries will start trying it too.

Have to add - my kids are 6 & 4 and I think your reaction does change/mellow as they get older. I would have loved to say wooden / traditional toys only but you give in to the inevitable!! And yes, gilland joe, stuffed toys!! So supersweet that you feel awful if you try and get rid of any (and TOTALLY impossible with 2 girls!!) but my house is being taken over by them!!!!!

Wooden toys cost more to make so they need to appeal on longevity or some kind of beauty / value in how they are constructed. Well constructed plastic toys with a real play value are just as good. Unfortunately the cheapness of plastic means that it's easy to make cheap, tacky toys with it that wouldn't get made in wood. Whizzy, noisy, sparkly toys will attract kids attention short term, no matter what they're made of. But the toys that last will engage their minds more and be less prescriptive in what you do with them. That's in the design of the toys, not what they're made of. On one hand I loathe the tat that comes with magazines / party bags. But I have a bag of it that the kids tip out every time they have a 'at home' day and I have to say, it's earned its place. I'd love all my kids toys to be beautiful and add to the aesthetic (ahem??) value of my home. But at the end of the day, I'm more concerned that the kids enjoy the toys and they help them to develop and somehow I think that'll always win out. Probably just as well really or they'd put the rest of my house contents to shame!! I'm probably less concerned with what they're made of than just how many of the darned things we seem to have. I don't think I buy that many but they seem to multiply every time I turn my back......usually over the floor I've just tidied!!

As some nurseries get busier they are applying the same criteria as per reception. Only difference is that the kids applying aren't ALL the kids who will be applying come reception and may include kids who will want to go elsewhere for reception. It's all down to the individual school so do ask.

Re the stand off - I think the main thing is that he refused to do something you asked rather than the fact that it was to say please. We all compromise at times to stay sane and I wouldn't worry about it. But just make sure you don't do it too often or he'll learn to stand his ground till you give in. As regards please and thank-you, we still battle with it at age 4 & 6. My kids know how to say it and when to say it but they sometimes forget and they sometimes (I think) do it deliberately to get more attention. I would say that as long as you keep saying it yourself and stress it now and again (getting more as he's older perhaps), he'll get the message. If he's making an issue of it now, I'd say leave it be for a bit and then try again later. There's plenty of time for him to get it and resisting could get ingrained if you persevere too much.

Has anyone used these and got any thoughts on whether it's worth it? And could a not so experienced rider (me!) use it on a cycle trail? We're going off to Brittany and it sounds like there are some lovely bike trails around the area. But kids are too small to cycle far. We may get away with youngest in the child seat but that means I'd need to tow the elder one as don't think MrNHM could really do both (and issues of fittings too, I think). The reviews I've read so far sound quite mixed but largely negative unless you're fairly experienced. I don't ride a lot around here due to the traffic but I think I'd get more into it on quiet tracks. And it'd be lovely on hols to do things without the car. Any thoughts or comments?

Another weightlifter here - North Korean male!

Delia's all-in-one victoria sponge always a winner for us as nice and moist and so easy to make and scale up if needed. Chocolate version with chocolate fudge icing is great for kids....although messy maybe for a 1 year old! Depends maybe whether you're making it for the kids or the parents? It can be soul destroying to make a nice one and then see kids smearing it everywhere and leaving it after one bite. Hence Delia for kids cakes and something nicer if it's for adults. I think the cook shop on LL hire out number cake tins. Just make sure you prepare them well with butter and flour to help the cake come out easily - although again, seldom have trouble with Delia's recipe.

I think how much you'll use it will depend on where you are locally compared to the amenities you are likely to use. Do you walk yourself rather than drive or do you like the practicality of jumping in the car. I found that with 1 I seldom used the car locally and walked instead - it was much less fuss and often useful to get the baby to sleep. But once the second came along, it's got a lot more use as windows of opportunity got narrower (juggling sleeps / food / activity for 2 is harder) and walking with a toddler in tow is a challenge in itself, never mind adding in a baby that is getting hungry and needs a feed. If you go away a lot, a big car may make sense. If you stay locally and do a couple of longer trips a year, maybe a small car and hiring a larger one for trips may work?

I've seen Lewisham council out teaching school kids (year 5 or 6) to ride bikes around the Nunhead area. Maybe you could get in touch with them? I guess some of them will be around and maybe not busy over the school holiday period so able to do private work. I think Southwark have a service too as our local school has been doing it recently.

Sorry been away for the week but interesting discussion. It is one of those things that bugs me.....arks and other bad/localised grammar/slang. But at the same time, my mum was the same and made us speak properly - and I remember the hell I got at school for 'talking posh'. (Can't blame them really - talking 'Queen's English' when all about are speaking Glasweigan is setting yourself up for problems!) I don't mind her being aware of it and using it at school. But I definitely will make sure she learns the correct way to say things and if possible, uses this at home and knows when it should be used. On the point of good grammar - does anyone know a good, accessible reference book on grammar? At school I don't think we ever went past 'First Aid in English' in terms of learning grammar and a lot of what I know comes from learning other languages and therefore having to understand the English construct first. But hubby hasn't done that and we often try to work out what should be said and why and, all too often, fail miserably! Would be good to have a source of the rules but put in a way that your average non-English-language-graduate can understand.

Thanks everyone - and the PM's. Thankfully it didn't look too bad by this morning and after a good night's sleep back home she was more in the mood to let me take a look. I managed to get the worst bits out so hopefully that'll suffice. But will file the info in the 'useful to know' bit of being a mummy as I suspect it's only time before it'll be needed again. And will try to convince the wild child that crocs aren't the work of the devil but a good way to prevent things like this happening again! Although it was nice to see her running around, being free.

My 4 year old has got splinters in her foot (from running round barefoot in forest). If I can't get them out myself I may need to seek help tomorrow. Where is most appropriate to go - Lister Walk-in at Peckham, Small injuries at Guys or A&E at Kings. Wouldn't normally consider A&E but given her age, I wonder if others would struggle given her age and trying to divert her while they do something painful / tickly. Do Guys have a kids section? Don't want to drag her there just to be told to take her to Kings.

At 3, I'd say getting a light bike is probably most important - heavy ones are harder to handle. But as KatDew says, don't be surprised if he goes back to his balance bike. Kids often get put off if they can't do things straight away. Now he's bigger, he may manage the bike better and hence enjoy it more. And they really do help with the transition to proper bikes in my experience - saves a lot of sore backs for parents!

But what got me is that my daughter couldn't even make out a difference between what she was saying and the correct way. (She's otherwise very good with her phonics and working out sounds.) And she knew how to spell it - even though she was saying it wrong. It certainly isn't a conscious decision to say it that way on her part. She may have heard it from the workers at her nursery (who are Afro-Carribean) but was only there 3 days a week so got more input from us than them and we never use it. And while some of the kids in her class may use it, I've seldom if ever heard it from the parents I speak to, whose kids make up the majority of her friends. It just made me wonder if there was any known reason as to how kids process the sounds or something like that. I don't want to dwell on it too much if it's one of those known steps that they make (like writing backwards etc). It's not so much that I don't want her to use it - I appreciate the pressures to fit in etc - but I do want her to appreciate the difference and that there are times when it's not appropriate to speak that way.

Is there any phonic reason why kids round here say 'aks' rather than ask? My 6 year old is saying it even though neither myself nor her dad do and most of the kids she's friends with have parents who don't say it. I just tried to tackle her on it (gently as I would other grammatical or word issues at that age) but she honestly couldn't hear the difference between the two and knew exactly how to spell the word. As I'm not from these parts - I probably have plenty of my own coloquialisms - it just REALLY grates on me. Does it come out in the wash later on? Can you do anything to fight it?

Ok, I'm totally confused as to how this works. Had a horror week in terms of what I've eaten - visitors last weekend meant lots of wine/beer, a croissant a day over the (extended) weekend. Couldn't bring myself to count for fear of how many I'd have clocked up. Haven't run for 2 weeks due to injury / no hot water. Decided to keep to my weigh in day to try and get back on track.......and I've lost 2.5 pounds. HOW?? My worry is that it's all muscle as I've not been running. Either way, I'm starting the school hols feeling good and determined to get back on track! Guess the moral of the story is don't give up just because you go off track for a few days. All is not lost.

If further afield is ok, how about the Royal Festival Hall? Lots of nooks and crannies for the kids to explore, bars for the parents if needed, outside options if the weather improves....

Sillywoman - not sure you'd escape in the Hebrides....it was a Scottish school that I saw my friends kids dressed up for. Though one would like to think that you can escape it somewhere.

Molly, I suspect there are so many others walking along that stretch that it wouldn't really be her on her own. And as you have the little one too, you'll be around. Maybe she could start next term meeting a friend and walking on ahead while you're behind to keep a gentle eye on her? I think the roads are probably the biggest issue in terms of building their confidence. But you're lucky that you don't really have any of the big ones to deal with. Maybe start also letting her make the decisions when you're together about when to cross, so she starts really applying the skills, not just knowing what she 'should' do.

I saw a photo the other day of a friend's daughter going off to her primary prom (in Scotland!) and couldn't believe how grown up she looked. And her mum is definitely not one to try and make her girls grow up too fast but I guess it's hard to stop it for such a 'special occasion' when all her friends are doing it. But it just seemed wrong to see a 12 year old looking like a 20 year old. She looked beautiful but it just wasn't right. I do wonder who has fuelled the concept? Those who make the money out of servicing the market I suspect. I'm joining Tiddles with my knitting......

Sometimes it's good to be Scottish.......I'm just happy that at least it's not wet AND cold. There is a bit of sun!! Downside is, I'll be the one grumbling when it's 25 degrees and everyone else is in their element!

I think that was the jist of the discussion, Ruth. I think that would be my thinking anyway - sometimes discussions outwith the direct age group of my kids can be of interest. Also, where would you draw the line for any split? Once your kids are at school, you could say that a lot of the baby stuff is of lesser interest. A few years into primary, you may be out of touch with what your school is really like for those starting to look at schools etc, etc.

Both my girls can put on tights with no problems but that's down to nursery, not my teaching. I'll ask them for any tips. We usually buy Next school tights which seem to work.