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- What should children eat?
- The single most important child safety measure since the invention of the car seat
- Why don’t children wear bicycle helmets?
- Who would think a grape could be harmful to a child?
- Can an escalator be dangerous to children ?
- Cerebral Palsy
- Can childs play be dangerous?
- Bronchiolitis - a surprisingly common disease
- The autopsy revealed that Kevin died from heroine
- Sophie Graham - The inquisitive little girl
- Childalert offer the Autism Spectrum
- Childalert support NAS in raising funds for Autism
- What is Separation Anxiety?
- Poor sight could be failing your children at school
- Coping with children with a nut allergy
- Siblings - the order does mean something
- Discipline / Firm Love
- Motivating Children or...how not to be a pushy parent
- Talk, talk and talk some more
- Will the job or the children come first most of the time?
- Drugs - The greatest fear of many parents PART 1
- Drugs - The greatest fear of many parents PART 2
- Is your school girl-friendly?
- I call this family to order!
- Discipline down the decades
- Is your school boy-friendly?
- Embarrassing parents take the biscuit
- Making bedtime easier
- Why am I so angry?
- School’s out – entertainment’s in
- Parents putting child road safety at risk
- Children’s rooms
- When and why do children feel stress?
- Does Your Child Have a Hidden Disability?
- But I waaaaaant it ?.. nowwwww!
- Parents urged to THINK! Safety when buying a bike
- Raising girls – 5 big questions
- Survey of London parents paints powerful picture
- What every child wish their parents knew
- Children and the mobile phone! - an addiction, a necessity or just fun?
- Mobile phones could threaten our children's health
- Teenage eating disorders could be triggered in the first few years of life
- Parents concerned about reported side effects of new meningitis vaccine
- Babies Bumps & Bears. National Sussex-based charity supports exciting new Brighton event
- Child safety at Christmas
- New obesity report points to podgier toddlers
- Positive thinking – and alternative therapies – could help you get pregnant
- Parents urged to protect babies from cat suffocation danger
- ‘Water baby’ classes being pioneered in Britain
- Disney withdraws from mobile merchandising deals
- Fear over MMR vaccine could lead to measles resurgence
- Alder Hey announces help line
- Mother of ‘abducted’ teenager blames internet
- Horses for courses - why a child’s position in the family influences future career choices
- The cause of Cot Death and how to prevent it
- Spott: Cot Deaths of Maori twins entirely preventable
- Choosing child care
- Child pop star teams up with minister to warn children of road safety dangers
- Crawlers launches new baby and toddler knee protection
- Kids Talk - extra security for children
- Community Alerts launches national registration campaign
- Home Childcare - Now more affordable than ever
- Nanny tax break for middle class excludes nannies
- Lead Test - home analysis services
- The device which turns your mobile phone into a baby monitor
- Help your child to succeed
All parents want their child to succeed, but few know how they can best help. The result is Help your child to succeed; the essential guide for parents, published recently and already a best seller through bookshops and schools ...continued
- Prince of Wales Arts & Kids Foundation competition
The Prince of Wales Arts & Kids Foundation have put together a fantastic competition for children aged 10-14 as part of their StoryQuest festival which starts on Thursday 30th September.
Children have the chance of having their story read out on BBC Radi
- Mum has paint removed from home after fears lead could harm children
A Worried mother is taking steps to have lead removed from her home after discovering it can reduce children's IQs by up to 30%...click headline for more
- New campaign asks you to 'give life, give hope' to those with fertility problems.
The Department of Health today launched a new campaign to raise public awareness about the need for egg and sperm donation. The campaign encourages men and women to donate sperm and eggs in order to ‘Give Life, Give Hope’ to the thousands of couples who h
- Warning: working long hours can damage your health!
It’s time to change the way we live and work
A new Working Families’ report shows that the way we work today means many parents don’t eat healthily or take regular exercise. Half of the parents surveyed for Time, Health and the Family: What Working Fam
- Dr Miriam Stoppard on child immunisation
New Research Highlights Mums’ Anxiety Around Immunisation
Younger mums are particularly susceptible to immunisation anxiety. Over half of younger mums worry about child immunisations, compared to just a third of mums aged over 45. Even more worryingly,
- Dr Miriam Stoppard on child immunisation
New Research Highlights Mums’ Anxiety Around Immunisation
Younger mums are particularly susceptible to immunisation anxiety. Over half of younger mums worry about child immunisations, compared to just a third of mums aged over 45. Even more worryingly,
- Dr Miriam Stoppard on child immunisation
New Research Highlights Mums’ Anxiety Around Immunisation
Younger mums are particularly susceptible to immunisation anxiety. Over half of younger mums worry about child immunisations, compared to just a third of mums aged over 45. Even more worryingly,
- Half Term Apple Crumble and Safety in the Kitchen
Child Friendly Apple Crumble
All you need is:
50g butter or margarine
100g plain flour
50g oats
25g sugar
2 eating apples
50g sultanas
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC or gas mark 5
2. Wash and dry yours and your child’s hands, plac
- Half Term Apple Crumble and Safety in the Kitchen
Child Friendly Apple Crumble
All you need is:
50g butter or margarine
100g plain flour
50g oats
25g sugar
2 eating apples
50g sultanas
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC or gas mark 5
2. Wash and dry yours and your child’s hands, plac
- Half Term Apple Crumble and Safety in the Kitchen
Child Friendly Apple Crumble
All you need is:
50g butter or margarine
100g plain flour
50g oats
25g sugar
2 eating apples
50g sultanas
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC or gas mark 5
2. Wash and dry yours and your child’s hands, plac
- Dads – ‘home safety heroes’ or ‘heads in the sand’?
- Dads – ‘home safety heroes’ or ‘heads in the sand’?
- Calling all you Yummy Mummy's
"As a mum of three I ( Patsy Palmer) know how difficult it can be to juggle a hectic schedule, there's always so much to think about and get done, but I also think it is really important to try and make some time for yourself and have some fun.
"That
- Calling all you Yummy Mummy's
"As a mum of three I ( Patsy Palmer) know how difficult it can be to juggle a hectic schedule, there's always so much to think about and get done, but I also think it is really important to try and make some time for yourself and have some fun.
"That
- Calling all you Yummy Mummy's
"As a mum of three I ( Patsy Palmer) know how difficult it can be to juggle a hectic schedule, there's always so much to think about and get done, but I also think it is really important to try and make some time for yourself and have some fun.
"That
- Happy Mother's Day on Sunday 14th March
With Mother’s Day just around the corner, many will be looking to buy their mum something wonderful for that extra special day.
And don't they deserve it!
A recent survey of 1,500 people asked what they appreciated their mums doing for them on a
- Happy Mother's Day on Sunday 14th March
With Mother’s Day just around the corner, many will be looking to buy their mum something wonderful for that extra special day.
And don't they deserve it!
A recent survey of 1,500 people asked what they appreciated their mums doing for them on a
- Happy Mother's Day on Sunday 14th March
With Mother’s Day just around the corner, many will be looking to buy their mum something wonderful for that extra special day.
And don't they deserve it!
A recent survey of 1,500 people asked what they appreciated their mums doing for them on a
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I read somewhere once that humans crave stability and habit. When it comes to parenting, I'm not so sure. Things were just starting to get easy, stable, habitual - with a child of pre-school age able to communicate, listen to reason and (almost) wipe his own bottom. That is when my ovaries started to get itchy. Time to put the cat among the pigeons and have another go.
The pregnancy was pretty similar to the last - a terror of all things fried and lousy old nausea. I had less time to contemplate, plan and use my John Lewis account card. Last time I was terribly precious about buying everything new for the baby. This time, I was accepting of everything on offer from anyone who cared to offer it.
As the great day approached, I began to really think about what a second child would mean to us and the effect it would have on our neat family of three, not to mention my only and soon to become older child. I knew all the tips: the baby brings a present to the older child, refer to it as "his" or "her" baby, have you arms free to greet the older child upon your return, include them in every nappy change and so on. All good advice, but nothing you couldn't work out for yourself.
Here are some common concerns experienced by many as the family grows, and some thoughts to put them into perspective:
• Will I have enough time for them all? - No, not initially. This is not a time to be superparent and try to do it all alone. The greatest help in the early days is just that - help. Accept it from family and friends you can stand having around and send the ones you can't stand on errands on your behalf
• I will never love another child like I love my first. Actually, maternal or paternal love is easier the second time around, because you've already been there. It's a bit like the new found tolerance and affection so many of us develop towards other people's children, having had a few of our own. Experiential empathy is a great thing.
• What if the other child shows jealousy or worse, hurts the baby? It would be naïve to suggest this is unlikely and frankly if this is the case, a present from the baby to a vulnerable, dethroned youngster just isn't going to cut it. Good preventative measures are:
- making sure you spend some of the baby's sleeping time doing good one to one stuff with the older child.
- planning lots of exciting outings with their favourite people - babies can be rather boring to young children and they may actually want to get away for a while during which time you can cuddle the baby to your heart's content (or sneak in a nap)
- loving the baby in an inclusive rather than exclusive way and pointing out all the things that a baby cannot do that the older one can and could teach the baby in the future
- trying to observe important and familiar rituals for the older child, like bed time reading and cuddles, if possible, without the baby around
- and finally, if you are worried, never leaving the baby alone in the company of the older child (especially if you have just bought them a work bench or a doctor's kit!)
Here are some things about siblings and being a parent of more than one which may surprise you:
• The strength of love your older child may feel for the baby almost immediately. They are often distressed by their crying and are the first to tell you when the baby needs something. Watch out for those suffocating cuddles though!
• The fact that any night crying which distresses the hell out of you and wakes all the neighbours three post codes away fails to wake your slumbering toddler (especially amazing if you are used to one whose antennae can pick up a rustling sweet wrapper within seconds).
• Your calm acceptance of the sleeplessness and mania of the early months. Remember, you have learned that everything passes….sometimes too quickly.
As with most aspects of parenting, the good generally outweighs the bad, but you have to do it yourself to discover this. My two least favourite things about having two children are - one: the inability to finish anything I start (I know, I know, everything passes) and two: the way we often have to split up as a family, with one of us taking the older one to places while the other takes care of the baby's needs. I am looking forward to when we can do more as a unit again.
My favourite things about being part of the 'magic four' way outnumber the bad. I won't bore you with them all, but here are three.
1. the incredible love my son shows for his brother and the devotion by which the baby stares at his older idol
2. the fact that I am not as freaked out as I was the first time - I am actually enjoying the early weeks, sleep deprivation, throbbing nipples and all
3. being able to refer to "the boys" - it's just so cool!
People (like me) will tell you a lot about what it is like to expand your family. They may be right about some aspects and will certainly be wrong about others. One thing is for sure, once you go forward, you never look back….you won't have time!”
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