nunheadmum

I hear they have changed the opening hours at the Peckham Rye 1 o'clock club? Anyone know what they are now - and why the change? It's been shut the past two Mondays when I've gone down.

Good thread! My mum was a total disciplinarian - no questions, do as she said. But she did talk about things too, in appropriate circumstances. I did grow up with total deference to authority which I don't think was necessarily healthy - but that may have been my nature as much as nurture. As for my own kids, I think I'm trying to be more liberal but I want them to realise that there are times when - e.g. if a particular voice comes into play - things aren't up for discussion and I want them to do as I say. My 3yr old has been particularly trying of late and cheeky and when I start trying to explain something, she's putting on this glazed over look, more like 3 going on 14! And there are times when I can tell she's heading towards meltdown and I tend to push the discipline to bring on the tantrum and get it over with. Never sure if I'm doing it right or sending mixed messages that leave them totally confused or quite what....guess I'll find out in 20 years or so!

Thanks for the comments. I have been trying to focus on the sounds and praising for them rather than forcing the issue on the right letter but I wasn't quite sure if that was right or not. And the idea of the games Trinity is a good one - if I can get myself organised to do it. On the actual reading, is it worth getting the readers that you can buy. My daughter is great at remembering stories and my worry is that with simple readers, she would remember the words rather than read them. I bought a couple of the Janet & John books (for myself - they transported me right back to my first days at school, it was wierd!) and my daughter loves them but I laid off them for a bit as I thought it would be better to keep them for when she can start to read the words. But is there a point where remembering becomes reading?

Don't worry, i'm not trying to hothouse my toddler but my 3.5yr old is showing a real interest in letters and words. She's always been into her letters and numbers and nursery do stuff with her and as she seemed into it we got the Jolly Phonics DVD which she loves - but I try to respond to her interest, not push her. But over the last two weeks she's started by herself (when stuck in the car for 5 hours) saying words and trying to work out what letter they start with and then, the past few days, which they end with. When she's not sure she's been asking us - but because she's picking random words which are in her head, they aren't always the simple letter sounds she knows and I'm not sure how to respond. For example, at the cafe on the Rye today, she said 'circus, that starts with saucy s' - so should I say 'yes that's right' as the sound is right or yes, it sounds like saucy s but is actually a c or...? My worry is that I say something that confuses her and puts her off or contradicts how she should learn it. Can anyone give guidance about how to approach this at such a young age? Are there any good books - the stuff I've found on the Jolly Learning website seems to presume it's being taught rather than learning along the way? I really don't care if she learns to read now or at school, I'm sure she'll get there at some point. But if she is interested in it, I don't want to stifle it by ignoring her interest or worse, do something that gives her problems later down the line.

We used a Bunny Clock with our little one and it worked a treat. There are 2 pictures - one of bunny asleep and one awake. At night the light goes on behind bunny asleep and then at the time you set, the light comes on behind bunny awake. Little ones can understand that they stay in bed till bunny wakes up. (I think it says it's suitable from 2.5 yrs.) Looks like they may have brought out a cow version too according to this - but sure it works the same. http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/detailfash.php?type=FASH&code=A6802&proddesc=Kidsleep+Clock&supercategory=&branch=&wcategory=&catdesc=&treecode=TRE00009 It worked great with our toddler except that now she runs into our room every morning shouting 'Bunny's awake' with such glee!!

Garry, thanks for the update. Glad to hear that more is planned. Can you update us on what activities currently happen when at the playground/indoor area and for what ages? It's sometimes open when I pass on my way to the swings and my 3 year old wants to go in but I'm never sure if sessions are suitable for her or not. It's never that clear what is happening. I'm sure more folk would use it (and therefore be able to feed back into future developments) if they knew what was on when. Thanks!

My daughter got a lovely Peter Rabbit bowl which she's actually used loads. It's quite heavy too so has withstood toddler hands. But it means that when we do put it away as a keepsake, it should mean more to her as she'll hopefully remember using it. Nicer I thought than something that looks nice but won't be used. Another idea my sister got was a CD that has songs with her name in it. (Silver Ballon I think it was called.) The idea is meant to be that it helps little ones learn their name and then they like being in the song. Unfortunately I keep forgetting to put it on so can't really comment on whether it matches the concept in reality!

A bit further out but my sister sings the praises of Mrs Anne Martin on Pepys Road www.pepysroad.com or 020 7639 1060. It's right on the 484 route so about 10 mins by bus.

We had the same question with our DD1 at 3.25yrs. Her nappy was occasionally dry in the morning but not consistently. One night she said she didn't want a nappy on and daddy went along with it (much to my annoyance, I knew better, I thought!). We'd 2 or 3 nights of waking with a wet bed in the morning but she was clearly doing it just before she got up as she wasn't waking in the night and things were very wet in the morning. It didn't take long though - a matter of days - before she learned to hold it in till she got up. A potty in her room helped abd a couple of days of going in the moment we heard her wake to get her onto the potty double quick. But within a week or so it was fine. I would be tempted to go with your son if he shows interest. If it doesn't work out then at least he has a reason why he has to wear nappies.

I really like my 1st daughter right now at almost 3.5 - you can have a reasoned conversation about things and see her little brain working things out. Listening to the conversations she has with herself too is priceless. Things feel a little more 2-way at this age and sometimes she does seem to appreciate that you just need a bit of mummy-time. But then my 14mth old is so sweet too as her personality develops. I think you can appreciate the changes more with the second - it doesn't feel quite so much like a state of permanent blind panic!

Have to agree re ticket machines at London Bridge. Maybe I'm missing something but as far as I can see the only ticket machines are outside. This means that when you are rushing for a train, you have to buy a ticket BEFORE you know if the train is running, or waste time running in and out. I've wasted money a couple of times now - and following up on a refund for 2.40 seems like even more of a waste of resources. Why can't there be machines on the concourse?

Not sure about weather but I remember travelling around Italy a few years back in May/June and finding a lot of stuff wasn't open as it wasn't the holiday season for them. May just be worth checking what the area is like outwith the height of the season. Then again, with a 2 year old, you probably aren't planning on doing that much - but may be worth checking anyway.

I've heard of playgrounds in other London boroughs where they are now deliberately buidling them risky and putting up notices warning parents etc that they are built to allow kids to learn about risk and test their boundaries etc. It's a shame I think that it has to be so explicit and 'controlled'. But if others can do it, it makes me wonder why they can't do more for the 'adventure' playground.

Just hope the flower pickers stay away - saw some a couple of weeks ago helping themselves to a nice bunch of flowers!

Just tried this one from Sunday's observer food mag - marmite pasta. Cook pasta. Make sauce from a big knob of butter (50g for 4 kids), a teaspoon of marmite and some cooking water if needed. Mix with pasta and lots of parmesan. My 3yr old has been refusing to eat pasta for months now at home (eats fine at nursery!) but gobbled this one up tonight. May be better served with something as a little light on anything other than carbs.

One if you've got the car - went last weekend to Holmbush Farm in Horsham, between A24 and A23. A calmer version of Godstone Farm and better for younger kids I thought. There is a soft play but it says under 4 and it really is for under 4's. The usual selection of animals with tractor rides, feeding the animals, animal petting etc. A great outdoor play area with tree houses, sandpits, air cushion trampolines, an OK Corral complete with Teppee. A half decent cafe too and they don't mind you taking your coffees outside. It just seemed gentler than some similar places and my 3 year old LOVED it whereas Godstone Farm and Fisher Farm overwhelmed her a little.

I think this is a hard one because ultimately there are so many variables and mostly it'll depend on what kind of person your daughter is - which won't be clear really until she's a good bit older, by which time you won't know anyway whether it's because of or in spite of what you've chosen. It's that unknown element which makes parenting so hard (IMHO)! I'd probably go with keeping her in the school she's happy in and making sure she's given opportunity to be exposed to lots of different experiences outside of school with her parents etc. That way you'll get your own sense of what she really is like as a person and what might suit her. If her teacher is good, she may be able to recommend things you can do with her to stretch her, if the school doesn't have the resources to do it themselves. Hopefully then you'll know your daughter better and be able to help her make the right choice come secondary time - which I guess is more formative in terms of long term achievement.

I have to agree that turning a blind eye would have seemed the better approach. But I do wonder legally if you could turn a blind eye to office workers having a drink with a sociable picnic but move on a group of intoxicated heavy drinkers (if the two were at the same location or locations covered by the same rules). Surely the rules the council guy was enforcing were brought in because other laws didn't deal with the latter - but can you then chose who to apply them to? I wish you could but I suspect legally it may be difficult? (Not a lawyer so pure speculation on my part.)

Yes but the diagnosis of Swine Flu on the symptom checker seemed yesterday to depend on whether or not you've come into contact with a known case. If they're not testing every potential case of flu, how will they then be able to tell if it's swine flu or some other variant? It seems pretty academic anyway at this point - it's flu and the advice to stay off work/school, cover your mouth/nose etc, etc should stand whichever varient you have.

We had a similar experience with our first at Kings. I had a low lying placenta early on which they made sound like it could bleed at any time - in the end it moved up naturally as I got bigger and was well out the way and never caused any problems...but the fact they stressed so much what to do if it did bleed, got me worried. They also kept telling me that the baby was small - likewise I was getting scanned every 4 weeks up to about 34 wks then every 2. We seemed to keep getting the head honcho guy doing the scans too so we were convinced he must be right. I went out and bought small baby clothes thinking I didn't want the baby looking even smaller in too big clothes. The last scan was done by someone else who gave us quite a different reading - far more average. In the end she was a very healthy 6lb 15oz and I'd to send my mum out for bigger babygros! The moral of the story I think is that scanning doesn't seem to be an exact science and one scan (perhaps even one sonographer?) can produce skewed results. And I think in trying to give full information, (covering their backs in case of legal action?) they can sometimes seem to stress the negative more than necessary. I don't understand the exact details of what you were told but I would try not to worry and see what the next scan tells you. If anything does come up again, keep asking questions until they give you an answer you understand. Or maybe your midwife could help to explain more in the interim?

Bellenden Belle Wrote: > > Rubber-necking at such a tender age. > Bless. No, simple innocent awe at a helicopter in real life - ours certainly didn't comprehend really why it was there. And it was parked up doing nothing long enough for ours to finish lunch, go see it and get bored and decide an ice-cream was more appealing. Not quite such cynical rubber necking, I'd say. More the crew taking the chance to do some PR to pass the waiting time.

I felt bad about the reason for it being there but the kids loved the chance to see the helicopter land etc. Thought the crew were great, letting the kids get up close - I saw some sitting in the doorway. We had to leave before it took off but just hope there weren't any tears when it had to go!

When Chuggington first came to Cbeebies, my 3 year old loved singing the song 'F***ington, f***er, f***er, f***er, f***cking f***ington'. I'm sure she'd never heard the word in this house. (Honest guv!!)

Can you still park on Waterloo Bridge on a Sunday? I know we used to but my other half seems to think parking restrictions changed a while back and now it's much more restricted. Or maybe he just likes getting me to hike to his preferred parking spot!!

My husband brought back some scrummy croissants yesterday so don't think it's closed.