24 June 2016 5:27 PM
23 June 2016 4:28 PM
Monty's in poll position
Despite the shock of Monty not waking us up til 7.45am (he doesn't half pick his moments!) we miraculously managed to get out the house 25 mins later to vote mid-school run. The children thought it was pretty exciting but inexplicably Monty still says he's off to Australia - follow me on Instagram @smalltalktime to see the video I took in the car en route to vote!
22 June 2016 10:31 PM
Talk to your children about voting!
Tomorrow is a really big day. Take the opportunity to have a chat with your children about voting and what it means. We've had some hilarious comments from Minnie and Monty about Britain and Europe, and what might happen. 'Will we still be able to go to Spain on holiday?' was a big concern for Minnie, while Monty seemed to think he had lived in Australia before and would just go back there.
My point is that even if they don't really understand what you are saying it's good for them to get used to the words and talk around the subject a bit. It has certainly got our two's imaginations fired up!
I am toying with the idea of taking the children into the polling station with me and then dropping them to my mum's afterwards, but I fear Monty might cause chaos by storming the private booths when people are agonising over where to put their cross or knocking over a voting bin or something. I just think it's a historical moment and it'll be cool to tell them in years to come that they were involved. i will see how brave I feel in the morning!
Happy voting!
Brother and sister selfie...
Whisper it but this morning went inexplicably well - even though Monty was a bit coldie and didn't wake up til 7.30am, we were out of the house by 8am and I don't think I even had to raise my voice. Minnie and Monty didn't fight either - here they are playing with my phone and taking a selfie!
Perhaps it was just my turn for some good luck. Monday was a shocker of a morning. Not only was I feeling totally exhausted despite having just had a weekend but I was running late (as usual) and it was chucking it down with rain so I decided it was better to use my last minute in the house looking for my umbrella than searching for my keys. Sam should be home when I got in so keys weren't essential. Or so I thought. Til I slammed the door and realised instantly that my travel card was in the small bag I'd taken out on Friday night. but I couldn't get back in. I had to buy a replacement ticket which I'd then have to claim back.
When I got home that evening the season ticket wasn't where I thought it was and I started to get worried. I spent quite a while searching.... only to find it at the bottom of my work handbag where it had apparently be all along. Grrr!
20 June 2016 8:56 PM
Gird your stomachs, I'm going to talk about poo...
So I may have mentioned before that Monty is quite into being independent and wiping his own bottom at the moment. Bless him, he does try but this often means he makes quite a mess and uses a LOT of toilet roll.
Some of the delightfully stomach-churning comments we've had in the past few days are, 'My poo surprised me a bit so I didn't quite get to the toilet in time and there's some in my pants and a bit on the floor'; 'I've tried to do it myself but there's just so much of it' and 'The problem is it's a very sticky one mummy'.
Armed with lots of antibacterial wipes and handwash I am trying to encourage him though, because I know that he ideally needs to be managing to do this by himself by the time he reaches school in September - this is one of the guidelines of what primary schools expect.
Wanting to check if other mums were having similar issues I've done a bit of straw polling about this recently. One friend said that her 8-yro always asks her to wipe his bum at home but an astonishing amount revealed that their children will not do a number two at school. They hold it in and will only go at home. I was shocked and rather saddened by this. Surely this indicates that something is wrong in the way we are teaching them to do this? Parents, nurseries, nannies, childminders, pre-schools and schools should all be helping children gain their confidence in this area. But it sounds like instead we are making them paranoid and reluctant to do the deed at all at school.
If you have similar issues with your children I'd love to hear about it - send me a comment. And this week I am going to try and track down some experts who can advise on how to go about this in the best possible way....
19 June 2016 9:17 PM
Happy Father's Day all you dads!
This is going out to all the dads out there, wishing you a very happy father's day. To all my friends who are now dads, to James who is a brilliant daddy to Minnie and Monty, to my dear old Dad who made it out for a lovely lunch today but hasn't been so well of late, to those missing their dads who are no longer with us. And, finally, to Jo Cox's widow Brendan Cox who is now, tragically, a single father. His statement about her shocking murder is so courageous and inspiring that I have pasted it below. Thinking of him and his children today.
Full statement from Brendan Cox, Jo Cox's husband
"Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love.
I and Jo's friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo.
Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it everyday of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people.
She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her.
Hate doesn't have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous.
Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full."
15 June 2016 10:42 PM
Our Small Talk story books are finally out!
As regular readers will know, I'm pretty passionate about spreading the word that parents need to speak to their babies from birth. So I’m really proud to let you know that my Small Talk co-author, speech therapist extraordinaire Nicola Lathey, and I have two speech-boosting story books for babies being published by Campbell tomorrow (16 June).
Each page of At The Park http://amzn.to/1UwVaU3 and Bedtime http://amzn.to/1Uat72r is specially designed to encourage a baby to use a sound, a word or a sign. The illustrations by Ailie Busby are hearty and bold (the baby on the front of Bedtime reminds me of Monty!), and the text is catchy and repetitive so that the baby gets hooked in to the rhythm of the story and begins to join in. The parent models the words, sounds and signs which they want the baby to copy, and this immersion in communication gives the baby the very best possible start in life. (The amount of words a child utters by the age of two is a predictor for how well they will do at school and how successful they’ll be in life - quite simply, good talkers tend to become good readers).
Aimed at babies who are six to 18 months, I am particularly chuffed with the simple tips at the back for parents about how repetition, eye contact, making funny noises and playing games are all key to encouraging those all-important first words. Let's face it, we all enjoy being a bit silly and baby giggles are the best reward!
We hope you like them...
14 June 2016 6:10 PM
Morning mayhem
I am not quite sure how or why, but this morning span totally out of control. I whacked on some clothes but couldn't find my plain grey T-Shirt, enter mind I thought, I'll pop in this Net Flix top and change when I get back from the school and nursery run. I ran out of time and dashed for the train. Only to miss it and leave by diary and work pass on the table at home. I contemplated rushing back home to change before the next train arrived but was worried I might miss that one so I ended up turning it inside out so the writing was less obvious and hastily cutting out the labels in the work toilets. I have kept my denim jacket on all day to disguise it!
13 June 2016 5:31 PM
Five chances to win a kids' Morphsuit
If your children love dressing up as much as mine do they'll love the chance to pick a Morphsuit of their choice. We're giving away five kids character Morphsuits (worth around £20 each) so you can choose from anything from a glow-in-the-dark skeleton to a tiger design. To enter please Like and Share our Student Nannies Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/studentnannies/ and post your fave pic of your child in fancy dress with the hashtag #morphsuitcomp
Five winners will be drawn at 5pm on 20th June. Good luck!
12 June 2016 9:11 PM
How to throw a stress-free and fun Batman party...
Monty's Batman party for his 4th birthday was a batty bonanza. We only invited six children as we had it at home. We ordered pre-made goody bags and pimped them up with a few extra bits, bought capes and masks for all, found a Batman V Superman cake in Asda (thank the lord!) and went for old school games like an obstacle course, lucky dip and musical statues - to the Batman theme. Altogether now, Dan a Dan a Dan a Danna Batman!
Bat wanging didn't happen because the rubber bats didn't arrive from Amazon in time. But Minnie and her friend Laila ran the tattooing and face-painting station and that was a great hit. Plus it gave them a big responsibility and got them really involved in the little one's party.
I asked Monty, 'Did you enjoy your party?' He said, 'Not quite as much as I was expecting. I wanted my friends to stay all day!'
Small Talk
READ OUR OTHER BLOGS
Recent Posts
- No words. Shocked and horrified about what's happened....
- Monty's in poll position
- Talk to your children about voting!
- Brother and sister selfie...
- Gird your stomachs, I'm going to talk about poo...
- Happy Father's Day all you dads!
- Our Small Talk story books are finally out!
- Morning mayhem
- Five chances to win a kids' Morphsuit
- How to throw a stress-free and fun Batman party...
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