nina_maniana

"I suppose my follow up question to you would be what distinguishes a happy child from a contented child? in the sense that most kids are ostensibly happy when they are watching tv and eating crisps but there is a gap between that and really living well which would set them on the path to contentment. What happens in that gap?" Good question and one I've not thought about before. Maybe I'd go for something like 'flourishing'? Broadly... having the opportunity to learn about the world and have lots of experiences so they can become the best version of themselves, whatever that may be. Finding a path in life, love and friendship that they want to be on and embracing it. Being supported enough to know that most failure isn't the end, but a learning experience. God I sound like a self help manual, but you get the jist!

I had same. Police not interested but actually the royal mail investigations team were great. I had to get in touch with the CEO's office direct and threaten to report to the press but when they got involved they looked at all the cases of mail theft and tracked back to a single rogue postie who had all the routes in common. Not rocket science I guess and a total pain to get someone to actually investigate but I had thought sorted... worrying if it's starting up again.

Thorniest parenting problem - realising I am raising two humans who are completely separate from myself, their own individuals with their own ideas and preferences. They often don't respond the way I would in certain situations so means discipline is a constant matter of trial and error. (I was a pretty focussed, obedient child. I have two boys who are... erm... not. And applying the 'foolproof' methods my parents used with me has got me nowhere). Ideal mum or dad would raise happy contented kids who turn into happy contented adults. End of. I have a feeling these parents come in all shapes and sizes.

I loved the mum and baby boxing classes at the mckenzie boxing gym on dog kennel hill (mind over matter). Baby loved it too, i would put him on a playmat and he?d watch and chat to the other babies. A very social fun class i made great friends and am in better shape now than i was pre kids ;-)

Reckon ?13 an hour net? We did ?14 in a similar situation but that was for a share for ?1 extra premium for the hassle of 2 sets of bosses.

A nanny will want around ?14 an hour net for a share. So that works out more like ?23 an hour gross for the employers.... split down the middle it's more like ?11/12 an hour. Still for wraparound probably the most practical option.

Would be interested to hear if the result is any good. I was utterly determined to keep my eldest sugar free up to the age of 2 and spent weeks trying every recipe I could for his first birthday cake and really, all were disgusting. Maybe not disgusting but they didn't taste like cake! Having thought on it at the time I decided to just make a regular carrot cake (naturally low in sugar), let the baby have a bit and then went back to sugar free for the next year. Nothing bad happened ;-)

DUCKS if you are OK with getting on a waitlist and waiting a while. They have the best forest school locally and the fees are in line with other nurseries despite the brand.

try 'lucy makes amazing cakes' (the actual company name). They're on facebook. Best value for price I've found locally.

Oh fair enough. I think they still don't bother to chase though, they just loudly threaten and their business is based around shaking as much money out of people as quickly as possible. I'd still ignore to be honest, and family members who have ignored have never seen any follow up.

Car parking fines are run by a private company and if memory serves correctly not actually enforceable. When my in laws got a fine from Sainsburys car park they just chucked it in the bin and never heard anything more on the matter.

There have been a lot of issues over the past few months with RM using temps, some of who have turned out to be thieves. This is well known in the area, and known by the Royal Mail also, as they have an ongoing investigation. I myself have had a number of items stolen (proved stolen, not just gone missing).

Peligoni club in Greece, though it will be hot. They specialise in getting secondary school age kids ganged up with others and doing sport, activities etc.

If your baby was born September the first thing I'd do is look on this forum for details of the autumn baby group (if August look for summer babies). There will be a whatsapp / facebook. The winter / spring / summer / autumn baby groups are started off on this forum, anyone can join and they are a great way of meeting other parents with babies the same age. I'm still the best of friends with other winter babies 2015 mums 3 years on. In terms of good stuff to do with a 3 month old, check out... Gymboree at Caf? G (google it) Rhyme time at either Dulwich library or Peckham library - various slots baby swimming? Loads of classes on at various warm hydrotherapy pools in the area Monkey music, loads of people rate it Heart beeps is a good baby sensory class, I think the version for little babies is called baby bells. Postnatal yoga with Michelle is very baby centric, built around nursery rhymes etc for the babies: https://www.michelemyoga.com/weekly-schedule.html Some classes are friendlier than others, just totally depends on the people who attend on the day. Some get taken over by NCT groups who only want to talk to each other, but don't give up. All that stuff should be sufficient to get you out and about and part you from your hard earned cash :-) Welcome to the neighbourhood!

Can anyone recommend a good kids party entertainer for a group of 2 and 3 year olds? I think they?re too little for a disco. Not lucy sparkles as we have a few of them in the diary already and would want someone different...

I just find it crazy the police won?t investigate. It?s surely just one or a few people who could easily be caught

I don?t send things either but unfortunately the banks do as standard

Sounds like the common thread more likely to be you... not to state the obvious but have you checked your house, cleaned out your fridge etc? Getting food poisoning from a restaurant is pretty unusual though it hapoens. When i had oyster poisoning it took 24 hours to kick in.

Has anyone else?s post started going missing since the closure of the silvester road sorting office? Over the past month I have had 2 debit cards not arrive (one of which was actually used a few times in Peckham before the bank stopped it), one credit card and some important legal documents all disappear. Local gossip is that there us a huge amount of criminal activity related to the Peckham sorting office and I wondered if anyone else has experienced the same. I have reported to the police who have advised they will be dropping the case without investigating (despite available CCTV etc), and have reported to the royal mail who claim they will investigate but... well who knows. Meanwhile not a single card or important document seems to make it through my letterbox unless it?s recorded delivery. Anyone know what we can do about this?

Hi, our built in freezer was accidentally left open one night last week and now the motor is really noisy, sounds at the end of its life... is there anyone who could fix it? We?d rather repair it even if it costs more than just buying a new one rather than contribute to landfill

Really? I don't mind if neighbors want to have the odd bonfire. It smells but so do lots of things.

Uber or addison lee are fine. Don't worry, the waters breaking thing is not as dramatic as it sounds. Top tip for travelling in labour: wear tena lady pants to catch any drips. They are crazy absorbent and will soak up your waters if they break. Sorry if TMI :-)

Pot luck. We found shares through here and a website called nannyshare.co.uk (I think it was). Hang in there.

Upland road his big gardens :-)

Gosh how dreadful. There were some blokes hanging out in a van outside my house a while back - seemed dodgy so I went out to ask them if they needed some help. They said they were tree surgeons and as it happened we needed a tree taking out so i asked for a price and he gave a price I was ok with. Then he pressed me to get the cash out on the spot, i said no it wasn't a good time but could do the next week. Then he refused to give me his number and said he'd put a card through the door which he never did... I thought it was odd at the time as I'd have been happy to pay, and had them down for fraudsters. Wonder if it's the same chaps.