mumum

What is the best laundry service in the area of Dulwich/Sydenham that picks up and returns the clothes ironed? Is a laundry service more cost effective than having someone come in and do it?

Thanks

Anyone know when/if they are opening again? Thanks!

I suppose you mean working mums!? I work more or less full time, but my working hours are flexible enough to pick up at 3pm some days. My child has been there for a year. The kids can start their day at 8 am and stay until 4.30, but it might be different as they get older. The after school clubs list from reception onwards looks very inspiring: lego club, mandarin, football, ballet, etc, but why not call the school up for a list and times? In my opinion, DUCKS is incredibly supportive to working parents. A lot of parents seem to be teachers there and in the families I have met, many parents are both working. The teachers and staff at DUCKS make enormous efforts for the children there. It is a wonderful place. We have a nanny picking up once or twice a week to give me some longer days, and many parents have childminders, nannies, grannies (lucky ones!), and au-pairs picking up and also share pick ups.

Thanks all. We have a great nanny, just wondered if she was due a pay rise, especially as she drives her own car now, she only does a day a week, that's why she is ok with a bit of ironing etc, her role has always been partly mothers help. But sounds like we are paying her the going rate, it's been the same for almost 2 years though. I will just stick to one good rate for all hours.

What is the going rate around here for a good nanny with own car looking after 2 siblings, 2 school/nursery pick ups, driving, cooking, ironing, laundry (housework when kids are not around) but then some of the hours just babysitting (watching tv), and is it acceptable to have 2 different rates? Thank you.

Kids have grown out of a lot of toys and we are moving, is there somewhere to donate 2 big boxes of toys?

Thank you, yes that is a good idea! My 4 year old was actually in stitches with a friend trying to make the little one name different things. I think I have been too focused on my older child, as she started school and didn't realize my little one was suddenlly old enough to talk. The bilingual thing shouldn't slow her speech as such or disencourage her interest in naming the world around her, but I realize that it is not without some problems. I am expecting to say a word in my language and for her to repeat it in English, this is what my 4 year old used to do...so no wonder she is confused! I am confused! I am bilingual myself so couldn't imagine things different though. Thanks again for all the posts, we have so many things to start doing.

Thanks for all the posts, especially the article was interesting and also concluded bi-lingual children don't necessarily speak later, they may even speak earlier! But that there is a limit to how much vocabulary they can store in their head. I am going to do sing and sign with her and have her assessed. I think she struggles mostly with pronunciation, seems to roll up her tongue an awful lot! Also will start talking to her more...have been too busy screaming at my 4-year old...

Our 21 month old child hardly speaks, and doesn?t seem interested in repeating words or language. She "is" bilingual in theory. Our older child is bilingual and was speaking a lot more at this age. What are the best local classes to do for speech development and has anyone got experience with local speech therapy? And bilingual speech development? I don?t think the bilingualism is really the problem though, I have heard it is a myth that bilingual children have slower speech development. Just wondering if I can do some more things to help her. Any tips greatly appreciated.

Hi, we are considering ducks nursery for our youngest child (yes, we have been on the waiting list for 2 years). I am just wondering how it compares to herne hill school and nelly's? I quite like the idea of a continuous place from 2 to 7 years and the beautiful setting. Any experiences shared would be most valued. Thank you.

Our little girl started reception at shs this year. It wasn't our first choice, and we had some doubts. But she absolutely loves it, and is very happy when I pick her up, even after a long day. I haven't actually seen her so happy anywhere. She has in the short time there achieved two big milestones (for her) and has become much better behaved at home. She is pushed well within her capability, which i find really clever, as it makes her feel excited and empowered, not just overwhelmed. I was always impressed when looking around schools with how confident, happy, and independent the shs girls seemed, and how quiet and concentrated the reception children were there. I have been impressed with the teachers and structure of the school so far, and find it spatious, airy and light. I thought some other schools were really dark and chaotic in comparison. Also, there are only 10 girls in her class! I like the idea of a man being head teacher in a girls school, primary education seems so dominated by women. I think he will make some positive changes and improvements to the school.

Can anyone recommend a party entertainer for a girl turning 4? Thanks....

Can anyone recommend swimming lessons locally to East Dulwcih-Dulwich for a nearly 4 year old, ideally a holiday intensive course (considering the one in St Dunstans, thanks to the person who posted that) but wonder if there is something nearer? Could also be private one to one tuition. Thank you!

Simply childcare is the best, they send out a list of questions and all the info you need when you hire a nanny. You can even phone them and talk to them and they are so helpful. Even with putting up your ad and talking through any problems along the way. To me it was very important how the nanny spoke about her previous family and her charges and how her relationship was (is) with them. The nanny needs to be a person who can form a genuine loving bond with your child and must be truly excited about looking after your little baby (I can?t believe my luck! What a fun job!). A trial period is also good, then you can see how they treat the baby and how they function in your house and routine and how you get on with them. You need to feel comfortable, and with such a young baby there is a lot of sleeping where light housework like ironing, dishwasher can be done. She needs to take being a nanny seriously and take some professional pride in it. Later on, it is very useful if the nanny knows the area and playgroups, is sociable and has a group of nanny friends for play dates. But that can come with time. There are many strange people out there, and different nannies suit different families, and sometimes even a friend?s nanny won?t suit your family. There are many lovely nannies too, hope you find one soon.

thanks everyone, will try buggypitstop.

Where can I get my bugaboo repaired (handle broken), once there was a recommendation for a place on this site, but can't find it. Any tips much appreciated, thank you!

dear enjoy, thanks for posting your information here, very helpful. If you have time, can you please flesh out about the Herne Hill new head, what do you mean by "the vibe not being good at the end anymore and sharing this feeling with other people"? Where do Rosemead children end up after year 11, do they get into Alleyns or Japs and is an assessment at this age easier or less stressful than at 7? Who is the new head at Rosemead? Anyone able to throw Sydenham High into this comparison? (they have a new head too!) Thanks!

thanks, nappy lady!

thanks so much for info, everyone. Dear nappy lady, when is your next demo date, won?t make this month?s, and do you demo these brands? Just a bit wary because last time I bought nappies they looked good on the computer, but didn?t really work for me (it was probably me, not the nappies though!), but will look into those brands mentioned. I was hoping for a recommendation for a nappy laundry service, but seems not so common. Anyone, what does dry pailed mean?

I?m considering starting cloth nappies with my second baby. I started with my first child, but gave up after a couple of months. I bought some colourful nappies that were size "small" and when I tried again a few months later with my eldest, they were too small. I got so frustrated that I just gave my precious 12 nappies to the charity shop. I think I didn?t have enough nappies and maybe the model didn?t really suit me (outer shell that could only be washed at 30...got boiled though!) I also felt I spent so much time with the nappies, that I didn?t have much time with the baby. Now I?m thinking about a nappy washing service, are those still around and has anyone got experiences to share? Do they only come once a week (?), do you need some sort of giant specialist bucket, and do they provide this as well, or how do I store the dirty nappies if they have been rinsed out? Is it more expensive to do the nappy washing service (they provide the nappies, don?t they?) I wonder if it will feel strange to use communal nappies, and if they use lots of chemicals to wash them, and is there a recommended company in this area? Any advice would be appreciated!

In our very standard nanny contract, we must pay 3 days sick pay (which is "statutory"). Your contract sounds nuts. Some nanny contracts only have one day paid sick pay, as far as I have heard. Our nanny has never been ill more than 3 consecutive days, but if she had a doctor?s notice I would pay more days accordingly. We also have a clause saying that disciplinary measures can be taken for causing disruption to the household and unreliability in attendance and time keeping, which I think your nanny is doing (texting in the same day, excessive sick days and no doctor?s notice and you don?t even seem to be informed of what her illnesses are). It would be very unfair to dismiss someone by lying about your circumstances and without an honest confrontation and giving them a second chance. Maybe she can explain her health problems (she will need a doctor?s notice to do this though). If you lose your job due to the effect her absence has on your work, she will obviously loose her job too, so there are serious consequences for her here. I hope she is just going through a spell of bad health, which can sometimes happen if you are really run down (and nannying is an exhauting job where you are exposed to lots of bugs and vulnerable to illness), but only a doctor should be able to check if it is serious enough to skip work so much. Hopefully you can keep her and it was just a bad start.

wow. That could have been me and my daughter, but luckily it wasn?t. My daughter has also pooped in the street! (You never know what will come out!) But I did pick it up with a plastic bag I luckily had, which is better than many dog owners do. My daughter can now hold herself until we get somewhere with a toilet. Of course it is not socially acceptable to pee and poo in a street, but a child is learning about what is socially acceptable and growing to physically be able to do this, you are not born with it. You can?t really punish a 2 year old for needing a pee quickly!

Anyone with a girl at DCPS? I know there has been threads on this before, but they are quite short. I would like a bit more information, if possible. Has anyone got time to post their experiences or send me a PM, I would be forever grateful. We cannot agree on if we should take the space there.

It is a difficult decision for you, and both ways have pros and cons. It is kind of a decision to be made with your partner while thinking what is best for yourself and your child, is he the one doing bedtime, or is it a carer? The people at your job sound quite supportive and keen to keep you. I used to work 3 days a week for a short time and very quickly realized I had to be at work 4 days a week, and working at home didn?t really work, because nobody believed I was doing anything then. It is incredibly hard to do part time, because all schedules and everybody else is based on full time, and you have to constantly "prove" yourself against the full timers. However, in four days, you can get a lot done, and as you say, only miss one day at work. And your salary will make a lot more sense too. For me, leaving on time was the key issue. I would get in at 8 and leave at about 4.30, but even though I was a partner and in a boss role, I still found raised eyebrows crippling. I would be available online and on the phone on my day off and would often go in to oversee things, and work in the evenings at home. I have now resigned and work freelance, because my job (and my husbands situation in theory) allowed me to. Not because of the workload, but because of the attitude at work (no other parents there) and I really missed my daughter. Also my husband works very long hours, and I felt I had to be there for my daughter when he couldn?t, so she had more time with her parents (and I?m the one doing all housework too). I took a long break and am now only working 3 shortish days, and it has been fantastic. I am much more relaxed as a Mom, because now my time with my child is not a precious treat where I have to both do all the laundry, do conference calls and make sure she loves me more than the nanny (what an insecure mom!), but kind of everyday. But can?t say I get much done anymore and now I?m broke! But I have gained a lot of confidence as a mom and next month I am stepping up to 4 days working again, but as before it needn?t be forever.