Bishberro

We went this morning and completely agree with the above comments. Within 10 mins my son was soaked from drinking/running under the tap so now everytime we go, I'm going to have to bring a change of clothes. There's hardly anything in the new area for toddlers and what is there is really odd. Plus there's no fence so toddlers constantly running off and dogs were running all over it. What a waste of cash.

I went there today and one of the staff said it was open everyday during the holidays from 10.30am until 4pm.

Hi jenny - I would phone Bugaboo customer services up directly. The number is on their website. We had a broken brake on our Bugaboo Cameleon and it was a year over warranty but they were great and sent us a new chassis in a few days. We then had to post the old one back but it was all free. Def worth a try.

Hi - I was recently in the same position so you have my sympathies. Just wanted to say that you're often entitled to free legal advice through your house insurance. I'd never even noticed this and we don't have a particularly fancy policy but we were covered and they had a helpline you could ring. Might be a good starting point.

Sorry for the dull question but just wondered if anyone has a rubber floor in their kitchen and would they recommend it with kids? We're getting a new kitchen and am struggling over what to do with the floor. I'm fed up of constantly sweeping/hoovering slate tiles and lighter coloured tiles would be even worse I'm assuming. I like the idea of rubber as in it's a soft landing and warm to walk on but I'm worried it will make it look like a Fitness First.

I've always found Selfridges to be good and they stock loads of different ranges so there's plenty to choose from.

Sorry for the poo-related thread but bizarrely both my kids (9 months and just turned 3) seem to be horribly constipated. I'm not sure why as they haven't had any changes in their diet and I'm trying to give them extra fluids because of the weather. I've banned bananas and given them loads of other fruit, fresh orange juice for the toddler and veg etc but nothing is working. They're both having real difficulty pooing and what does come out is a few tiny, hard balls (sorry TMI). What could it be and what can I do to get things moving again as it's been about 5 days now? Poor 3 year old is complaining of tummy ache all the time. I've tried giving him prunes but he was having none of it.

Hi - Just a Thought. I live in Honor Oak and as far as I know, the Ackroyd Children's Centre has a great reputation and it's v small so you're very lucky to have got in. I know people whose children have been there since the baby unit and they're very happy with it. With regards to Stillness, I've been round it recently and know several people whose kids go there and they're very happy with it. It's a large school (3 class intake) and the current head is quite a character (you'll see what I mean if you meet her) but it's rumoured that she's retiring soon anyway. I would call them up and go for a tour round. I got a nice feeling about it, the pupils all seemed happy, the facilities were good and I would be more than happy if my son got in there. SE23 is great for primary schools - Stillness and Dalmain are both good and of course Fairlawn but you have to live practically next door to get into it. I would def call both schools up and go for a look round. You could always talk to a few parents on the way in/out.

Just wondered if anyone knew of any special events - egg hunts etc on over the Easter weekend locally? I know there's normally stuff on at the various castles in Kent etc but we didn't want to trek too far. We have family down and needed something to entertain toddlers.

I think there was even a designated breast feeding room when I was there last. That was however about 2.5 years ago. It was near the loos and the soft play downstairs.

God it's so confusing and I haven't even done it yet! Quick question for mums that have done this before. If I put my first choice as a church school which has a one class intake and is further away than my local community school then I put that community school as second choice, do I risk not getting in the community school as well? We're very near the community school which is a three class intake but wouldn't want to miss out on a place as I think we're unlikely to get a place at the church school. But it seems silly putting the church school as second as then there would be no chance of getting in if you see what I mean. Church school is still nearby but with sibling places, there are hardly any places each year. I'd be very happy to get either but already wondering how to play it.

Hi - I'm not sure if Julie delivers anymore but you can now buy her Mrs Tinks meals in Franklins farm shop and SMBs on Lorship Lane if that's a quicker option for you.

Hi - we've done an annual holiday to Cornwall with the grandparents for the past few years. All of these places are great - Court Farm cottages, Bosinver Farm and Tredethick and totally geared up for kids. If you're after a hotel Bedruthen Steps is great and The Rosevine is lovely but a bit pricey.

I agree with summer mum, for the first few months do whatever it takes to get you through and try not to feel guilty (which is impossible). For me, it was (and still is) lots of cbeebies/dvds especially when I was breastfeeding or settling the baby to sleep as it was the only way to ensure the toddler stayed in one room and didn't get up to mischief. The worst time is the early evening and 8 months on, I don't think even now I have a good bed/bath routine. The oldest one stays downstairs watching Peppa Pig while I bath the baby, running back down every now and then to check he's not playing with knives as he refuses to have a bath with his baby brother. One of my friends uses a portable dvd player so toddler watches a dvd in the bedroom while she feeds/settles the baby in the bedroom next door. In the first few weeks I did anything to get by - baby in a bouncer chair/sling while I bathed and read stories to the eldest and then when the baby did have a proper bed time, I often had to leave him to cry if I was seeing to his older brother. I didn't let him get really upset as I couldn't bear it but if it was just moaning/whingey cries I'd leave him and he soon learned to settle himself. You're a lot less precious with your second as you know what you're doing. I found the first three months very hard - like an endurance test that never seemed to end. Then around the three/four month mark I suddenly realised things had got a lot easier. It's still full on and you never have a minute but I get a lot more enjoyment out of them now and there are some lovely moments when I feel so lucky having two.

Just wondered if anyone could help me with this. I'm currently on maternity leave and was due back to work at the end of June. Since my wage went down to stat maternity pay and I'm now on nil pay, my company have still been paying my ?243 of childcare vouchers for me each month and were going to do that until I returned to work in June. However, now I've just been made redundant and officially leave the company at the end of March. As I would have had my vouchers paid until June which was when my mat leave ended, are the company still obliged to keep paying them for me until then even though I'm not officially employed there from the end of March? I would ask my HR department but as they've been complete arses over the whole redundancy thing, I wanted to approach them armed with the info already. Thanks

We're having a joint party for my son's 1st birthday and christening and just wondered if anyone can recommend a local printers or a place or person that does them. We're just after a really simple design to save me writing them all out by hand. Thanks.

In the past, I've steered away from using the cots hotels and apartments provide on holiday as i think I once read it was dangerous and also feared it was a bit disgusting if the mattress was stained with other children's sick etc. But now with a toddler (who still quite likes sleeping in a cot) and a baby, it's impossible to take two travel cots away on holiday with us so fear I will have to use the one provided in our room. I also hoped the baby might sleep better in a proper cot for a week rather than the rock hard travel cot. So is it that dodgy to use the cot the hotel provide as long as I use a mattress protector and fitted sheet?

Me and some mates have planned a much-needed night out away from partners and kids and are thinking of getting the East London line to Shoreditch. I'm so out of touch with where to go these days I wondered if anyone could recommend a good restaurant/bar we could go to on Saturday night. One of my friends is coming down especially for the weekend and didn't want to disappoint. I was thinking somewhere trendy but not too painfully trendy with nice cocktails etc

Hi - mummum, it might be worth contacting Bugaboo customer services directly and see if there's anything they can do. The brake on our chameleon snapped a few months ago and even though it's 3 years old and way past warranty, they sent us a new base within a few days, free of charge. They were really helpful. I had to provide proof of purchase (managed to get an old credit card statement from the bank which showed the John lewis transaction) and emailed pics of what had gone wrong. I got the number off the website. I'd try that first as all the buggy service places are quite expensive from what I could gather.

Yep, 'Sharing a Shell' is a hit in our house too. It's a Julia Donaldson one but a different illustrator to the Axel bloke who did the Gruffalo etc.

My 2.5 year old loves all the Julia Donaldson books (Gruffalo, Stick Man etc as mentioned previously), Giraffes Can't Dance, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Aliens Love Underpants. Also any of the Oliver Jeffers books are really nice. Simple stories and lovely illustrations. We have most of them - How to Catch a Star, Way Back Home and Lost and Found. I try and choose books by typing things he's interested in into Amazon and seeing what comes up - space, the moon, pirates, dinosaurs and any form of digger/car/truck are the current favourites.

Thanks for the replies. That's really reassured me. I'll definitely give it a go and see how he gets on.

I've realised the only way to fit any exercise in, is to do it during the day and have just discovered Bec Spa has a creche open to non members. But feeling a bit of a scaredy cat about leaving my 6 month old there. Just wondered if anyone has used the creche there and can confirm it's ok etc psrticularly for younger babies. I just thought I could try it for half an hour while I do a quick swim once a week and he's at an age where he doesn't really know I've gone.

Hi - thanks for all your suggestions. There's loads of good ideas there and I think he should push for a referral, won't do any harm anyway. I think the sunbed idea is a good one. He's always stayed away from them because of the cancer risk but it would help with short term relief. His skin is always so much better in summer when we've been on holiday. Molly, will also experiment with the amount of washing powder we use. At the minute we use non-bio liquitabs but will switch to a gel or powder so we can use less. It's scary how many people are suffering with the same thing.

It's not a child-related eczema question but people on here are so knowledgable thought someone was bound to be be able to help. My husband has always suffered from eczema all over his body but the past few months it seems to have got a lot worse probably as a result of cold weather mixed with heating, work stress, lack of sleep with 2 young kids and booze. He keeps going backwards and forwards to a variety of GPs who just keep prescribing him slightly stronger steroid cream and he uses oilatum (shampoo and shower gel), acqueous cream and double base. He doesn't use soap and we use non-bio washing powder. He's tried everything but nothing seems to be working, his skin is permanently itchy with open sores/scabs and his shirts and our sheets look like a crime scene with the amount of blood there is (pretty gross I know). He gets private health insurance with his job so do you think he could ask his GP for a referral or has anyone got any ideas about any "alternative" creams or therapies that could help him? I wasn't sure if accupuncture etc is used for eczema. Any advice would be appreciated.