Baby Buzz September Issue

1 Baby Buzz Magazine l www.babybuzzmagazine.com

baby buzz

GET GROWING

FOOD & REVIEWS

EXCLUSIVE!!

GET CREATIVE

PARENTS IN BUSINESS

Brit Chic Quant A LineDress, Lether SeraphineChanging Bag, Hauck

Duett Pushchair,Tommee Tippee

Perfect Prep

MY BABY’S BRAINBABY BUZZ - THE ARTS

F r e e

MUM OF THE YEAR 2014



BACK TO SCHOOL!!I hope you all had a fantastic summer holiday!

Is it me, or has the last month fly by? Did you all have fun with your children, did you go away on holiday?Let me know your stories and we’ll feature some of the fun things you got up too in the next issue! We havesome amazing features lined up for you this month from questions and answers relating to sleep issues youare experiencing with your children to great reviews of the some of the latest products and technologyavailable on the market. We have our usual fabulous features including Dawn Isaac and the latestgardening project, Busy Bees Benefits and the latest benefit changes that will be affecting all families andalso an in depth breakdown of childcare options available to suit your requirements from experts MummySOS.

Send any questions to us at: [email protected] or visit www.babybuzzmagazine.com, ourfabulous new website launched just last month! We hope all your children are prepared for schoolwhether it’s nursery, primary or secondary school. Look out for our fabulous feature on the latest and bestgadgets and products your children should have for school! See you all in October.

Nickie, Editor and Mum

Baby Buzz Magazine Limited75 Telford RoadNew Southgate

LondonN11 2RL

Company No: 8234631

Meet the Team:

Nickie [email protected] 361 072707535 541 303

Cindy Evans

Emily Hewett, I am [email protected]

Dean Baxter, [email protected]

Baby Buzz Magazine ispublished monthly by: WarnerMidland Limited

The views expressed in thismagazine are not always those ofthe publishers. Neither thepublisher nor any other personassociated with the production andpublication of this magazine makesany guarantee, warranties orclaims as to the accuracy of any ofthe contents of this magazine. Weinclude and use products andservices that we believe to be of areputable standard but we advisereaders to make their ownjudgements. The publishers andmagazine will not be heldaccountable and or responsible forany loss caused by errors, loss ornegligence resulting from BabyBuzz Magazine Limited. We do notaccept responsibility for anyunsolicited material or photographspublished. Terms and Conditionsfor our competitions can be foundon our website at the time of beingpublished. No section of thismagazine is authorised for use orreproduction in any form withoutthe prior consent of the editor.

No purchase is necessary. Allprizes must be accepted asoffered. For products that havebeen reviewed and then given awayas part of a competition giveaway,it must be noted that there will beminimal wear and tear to that saidproduct. All prize details and pricesare correct at time of going to print.Winners shall be notified by emailafter the closing date with adelivery date to be agreed.

All rights reserved©

Editors Letter

CoverPhotographyby

:EveTudor,Your

LittleBear

www.yourlittlebear.co.u

k

COVER STORIES10 Educate Business - with Laura Morris11 Parents in Business - Inspirational stories19 Your Legal Rights - with Louise Taft, ProLegal20 The Childcare Challenge -Mummy SOS30 Mum of The Year Awards - Tesco 201434 Get Growing - with Gardening Consultant Dawn Isaac42 Harris + Hoole - The Story49 Mr Ma - The Joys of Summer Holidays

Family Focus8 The Buggy Network - Mixing business with bottles!22 Montessori Parenting - 10 tips for a happy home23 BusyBeesBenefits - Tax Free Childcare25 Daddy’s Little Secondary Citizen - by Elizabeth Katherine Hobson26 Bebe Jacobs - Best Parenting Tips29 Life with Pink Princesses by Jodie May-Smith40 A Sassy Mummy Indeed - Sassy Bloom41 Jodie Newman - Some perfect parents are better than others69 The Great British Walk to School - Start-rite70 Saturday Style Market - Spitalfield’s76 What’s On?

Health & Wellbeing28 Birth Your Way - Antenatal Courses, Where’s the Value?32 Baby Buzz - Health & Wellbeing - The Perks of being a Women’s

Health Physiotherapist, by Judith Landhausser34 Child Sleep Works - by child sleep expert, Maryanne Taylor36 It’s all Small Talk! - By Nicola Lathey & Tracey Blake47 Calming Colic - by Christian Bates48 Natural Birth - by Jani White, Naturechild

Get Creative65 Jo Jingles - Treat your children to some fantastic fun with

Ursula!66 Creation Station - Colour in Time68 Popdance Tots - Getting Fit the Fun Way

Food & Recipes41 Little Dish

News & Reviews21 The latest business gadgets - Sony & Vodafone50 Back to School - The Baby Buzz Favourites52 Hauck Exclusive - The Duett and Beta Highchair54 Baby Buzz Focus Group Reviews56 The Golf S 1.2 - Family Car Review57 Fabric Favours - Funky Fashion58 Mummy and Mummy-to-Be Must Haves59 Baby Must Haves53 Baby Buzz Focus Group Reviews

Competitions - Page 6Four Fabulous Prizes - Enter for your chance to win!

Contents Page

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[email protected]

www.pinkypirates.com


Welcome to the World …

Name: Elliott Stevens JonesD.O.B: 23.07.13Weight: 6lb 12oz

Parents: Chris and Paige Jones

Name: Saskia FrankelD.O.B: 01.08.13Weight: 8lbs 4oz

Parents: Lindsey Jenkinson and Andrew Frankel

Name: Sofia Andreia IoannouD.O.B: 04.08.13Weight: 8 lbs

Parents: Elena and Mario Ioannou

Name: Alexia Jean Whymark,D.O.B: 01.08.13Weight: 5lb 1oz

Parents: Christina and Ken Whymark.

Name: Harrison Sidney Lee FortuneD.O.B: 20.07.13Weight: 7lb 4oz

Parents: Leanne Schmitt and Gareth Fortune


competitions

FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN:

SIMPLY EMAIL THE ANSWER TO US AT:INFO�BABYBUZZMAGAZINE.COM

�INCLUDE: NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBER�COMPETITIONS

We have this stunning Leather Tote changing bag from Seraphine togive to one very lucky mum! This is the latest in the Seraphine rangeand is gorgeous!

For your chance to win, simply like the Facebook Page“SeraphineMaternity” and answer this simple question:

What is the email address to contact customer services on theSeraphine website?

We have a gorgeous Quant A-Linedress for the girls in pink.

For your chance to win, simply like theFacebook Page “BritChicSignature”andanswer this simple question:

Every once in a while there is a gadget created that not only makes lifeeasier for the parents who decide to formula feed but satisfies the techymad dad! We saw this amazing “baby milk preparation machine” at arecent Baby Show and had to have one to try out.

It cuts out the need for waiting for milk to cool down as the water comesout at the perfect temperature to feed your little one when they just don’twant to wait!

To win this amazing machine, please like the Facebook Page:tommeetippeeUK” and answer this simple question:

We have one of the latest in Hauck systems - theDuett to give away after running a full review thismonth. I’ve been a fan of Hauck since I launchedBaby Buzz Magazine and the price and quality con-sistently amazes me. One of the biggest things Irecommend to any parents to be is that travel sys-tems and buggies do not have to cost a fortune!

To win this amazing Duett, simply like the FacebookPage: “hauckfunforkidsUK” and answer this simplequestion:

What is the maximum age suitable for the Duett?



The Buggy Network

I'm really excited that I'm organising a conference for November butits hard work!!

I'm continuing meetings through the summer and even though loadsof people are away, its been a nice time for new-comers to take partin meetings when they aren't at full capacity. But it seems that somepeople are still afraid of the word Networking and that you will needto speak in Public!!

Wikipedia Says:Many Business people contend business networking is a more costeffective method of generating new business than advertising orpublic relations efforts. This is because business networking is a lowcost activity that involves more personal commitment than companymoney.

As an example a business network may agree to meet weekly ormonthly with the purpose of exchanging business leads and referralswith fellow members. To complement this activity, members oftenmeet outside this circle on their now time, and build their own121 relationships with the fellow members.

This isn't quite how I work networking at The Buggy Network but itsclose enough.

My version of networking, is that its all about meeting new peoplethat you wouldn't usually have access to before, due to where youlive or what your businesses actually are and getting to know eachother. In my network, we are yes about having the children with us,(which are a great ice breaker!!!) but we are about a relaxed way ofgetting to know each other and discussing our working lives not justbusinesses. Yes a recommendation for a job is amazing!!! Of coursebut its about a business support group as well as meeting people thatcan pass on your details to those they know when they need you!!

If you've been reading my articles then you knowmy crazy obsessionwith helping parents with their quests to TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!I want to help they with their knowledge in areas of business bysupplying social media workshops and a conference, (that is my starat the moment). But what else?? I've started thinking that maybe icould do more with this article. So why don't I help you here, just abit?

What have you been doing over the last few weeks? Whilst the kidshave been at home driving you nuts, as they are getting bored far too

soon in the day and lets face it its not only exhausting taking themout every day but its so expensive!!! Anyway, so get the kids back toschool, nursery or the child minder (or even in bed), then go andmake yourself a big cup of tea or coffee and take half an hour to putsome music on, the telly or just enjoy the silence.

Then get off your bum and take a piece of paper and divided into 12boxes. Mark each one with the name of the months of the year.Think about each month and what it is that you need to sell or do orget ready for, but be honest and realistic. If you are planing forChristmas then you are probably getting ready for it if not now thenover the next month or so. You may need help or advice aboutcertain services you provide that area seasonal or just general everyday things that you need to do as well! You may also need amassive piece of paper!! Not only are these boxes filled with thethings that you need to advertise with or for but they are the thingsthat you will need to network with!! If you provide a series ofproducts then you could push a different one in each of the differentmeetings.

Networking, even at The Buggy Network needs to be about youchoosing the right thing to advertise and talk about with your newfriends at the right time. Make it easier for those looking to help you,by giving them the right tools too without even them knowing it.Those seasonal changes or even a monthly ones, can make adifference to not only what you are selling but who too.

Now that The Buggy Network has expanded over the summer to newareas some older members are excited with newer members cominginto our groups, others can't join us in new areas due to theirbusiness being area specific. But regardless of where you are andwhat you do its great to write these things down. You may needseveral pieces of paper as your lists are long first time round. Keepthose first ones but write one as your simplest version for you to useweek to week or month to month. Don't over load yourself withthings to network keep it simple to, its easier for you to have funwith. Remember the kids are there too and it is a social gathering,but youmay also generally need help with something too thatmonthwhich will take up part of your time to speak, so maybe keep that inmind.

The Buggy Network has a lovely habit of helping parents with theirbusinesses which is why its soooo good.

I hope that has been helpful, I will happily be giving help each monthwith business bits and bobs just to heighten yournetworking experience or things that I've found helpful in businessthat is easy and simple to pass on over a coffee whilst you read. Iwill continue to work on my conference for November so I hope tomake it a great learning curve for us all, even me!!!

Enjoy your holidays.The Buggy Network.

THE BUGGY NETWORK

For more information, details of events or to join up, please visit:www.thebuggynetwork.com


Parents in Business

Welcome to our AllNew Parents

& Business FeatureWhen I launched BabyBuzz Magazine inDecember 2012, Iwanted to dosomething different.

There are other babyand child magazinesout there, but therearen’t any out therethat go from birth untilpre-teens or that cater

towards the businesses created by parents as a result of havingchildren. I’ve met the most amazing people whilst creating thissection and I will continue featuring it in the sincerest hope thatit gives a mum, dad, grandparent, or indeed anyone who has anidea, concept, light-bulb moment, the confidence to dosomething they wouldn’t normally do and create a successfulbusiness for themselves.

From September onwards we are going to be helping all thebudding entrepreneurs out there, who have that idea andaren’t sure how to proceed. We have advice from Louise Taft atBell & Pottinger, providing corporate and brand legal advice,

marketing advice from Laura Morris at EducateBusiness,networking intelligence from Eve Tudor at The Buggy Networkplus news and reviews of some of the latest products that canhelp you on your way.

I am always looking for businesses that have been created byparents for a variety of reasons, so if you or anyone you knowwould like to be a part of this feature, we charge a fee of £75.00for the full A4 page. This provides a great editorial into behindthe scenes and we’ve found that most of our readers really loveto find out who is behind a product, a brand or a service.

Needless to say, the businesses that do appear in the printedissues also appear on the website and all social media sites.

For more information, please contact me:

Nickie EvansEditor & Owner

Baby Buzz Magazine

Tel: 020 8361 0727Mob: 07944 240 321

Email: [email protected]

Are you in need of some inspiration or encouragement, is starting your own business the right thing to do?Read all about our fabulous businesses featured this month, plus legal advice, business and marketing advice and tax benefits to

help you along the way.


Parents in Business

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to wake up every day doing what you love?! Workdoesn’t have to be a daily battle!

Starting a business can be a very daunting time but don't let that put you off! Icome across so many people with great business ideas but they aren't sure how toput them into practice and the idea of pulling the ideas together can be frighteningto say the least. I have been self-employed for seven years now and even though ithas been a rollercoaster of a ride with up's and down's along the way it certainlyhas been thrilling to say the least. If you are thinking of starting a business, here area few top tips to get you going:

∙ Have you thought about what hours you can work and when? And itcan be done even if you are a mum or dad as you can fit the hoursaround to suit you! Working for yourself means you have the benefitof flexible working to be there for the school run etc.

∙ You may want to carry out some market research to evaluate yourbusiness. Try SurveyMonkey, which allows you to create your ownsurvey questions and answers. You can then easily share the link withfriends and family to collect the results.

∙ Having an online presence is huge nowadays so youmay want to think about having your ownwebsite. Depending on whatyou need there are a good amount of user-friendly platforms which allow you to create, build and edit your own website.If you are looking for something affordable and professional then check out www.create.net where packages start fromonly £2.99 per month and an additional option of having a full e-commerce website for an extra cost.

∙ Networking is a great way to connect with like‐minded individuals. I know that it can be daunting walking into a room ofpeople for the first time but just remember that they are or have been in the same boat as you at some point. Being aparent and starting your own business from home can be isolating so make sure you use networks like this for support andguidance. Look on www.findnetworkingevents.com for networking events in your area.

Next month I will be talking about what steps you need to do to build your business.

Written by Laura MorrisDirector of www.educatebusiness.co.uk - providing affordable business solutionsTwitter: @2businessmumFacebook: www.facebook.com/EducateBusinessCo-Director of www.networkingmummies.com - FREE networking events and affordable workshops for mums in business across the UKTwitter: @networkingmummyFacebook: www.facebook.com/NetworkingMummiesUK


Website: www.corporatebaby.comMobile: 07843 246730

Twitter: @corporatebabyFacebook: www.facebook.com/corporatebaby


Who is behind the Product?Lara Bishop, Corporate Baby

How did the company get started?Corporate Baby was originally started by a dear friend of mine CatherineHalliday-Taylor in 2006 and I took it over 2 years ago. Catherine approachedme because of my extensive knowledge of the corporate market andmarketing experience. She wanted someone who was passionate, ambi-tious and who would take Corporate Baby to the next level. Since then wehave grown rapidly and as well as having many new clients on board, wehave a very loyal client base too, some have been with us since the start.We are now being well recognised in the public market as a baby giftsupplier through the help of social media platforms such as Twitter, Face-book and Pinterest. We have just been awarded a 5 star rating by NurseryTrader for one of our nappy cakes.

What is the company about?Putting smiles on new parents’ and babies’ faces! We hear so many happystories as a result of a Corporate Baby box landing at their door. We offergorgeous baby products all wrapped up in great customer service! All ourgifts have been created with a lot of thought and made with lots of love.We are always there to answer any questions and often go the extra mileto help people. This is shown in the testimonials that we have received overthe many years.

What do you hope to achieve?To become one of the leading suppliers of baby gifts to corporate compa-nies and the public. You do not have to work for a corporate company tobuy from us! Anyone can! And personally, I hope to achieve stability for myfamily, so that my children can have the best in life and to make my familyproud.

What has been the highlight of starting your own company?One of the best things about running your own company is the great senseof achievement you feel and in the industry we are in, putting smiles onparents’ and babies’ faces is by far the best part! We love hearing fromrecipients of our gifts and have met many lovely people on our journey. Itis wonderful to watch a company grow year on year and we are very proudof what we have achieved to date. I know Catherine is proud too as I amvery much in contact with her.

What has been the downside of starting your own company?I would say the only downside is that running a company is all consuming!You have to put in a lot of time and money to achieve results but its wellworth it. I love being busy and running a business and household and beinga wife and mother to my two little girls is rather hectic but I would notchange it for the world.

What would your advice be to any parent wanting to start up their ownbusiness?Follow your heart, I did. I left a successful career in corporate life to runCorporate Baby and have never looked back! I had a great feeling about thecompany back in 2011 when Catherine approachedme about it and I am soglad I listened to my heart! Do a lot of research before you get started.Research your competition, your target market etc. Have your brandingprofessionally created and never stop marketing! The main thing……enjoyit! I love what I do and I enjoy every single minute!

Parents in Business


Who is behind the Product?Hi I’m Elvin, the E of E Moores Photography! Along with mywife Samantha we are a family run photography company,based in Braintree Essex.

How did the company get started?Wehave always had a keen interest in photography, but oftenlife gets in the way and the direction you end up in differsfrom your original goal. In 2012 we had a gorgeous baby boyand towards the end of 2012 our day to day workcommitments were under threat. Having taken some studiostyle images of our own son we had several requests fromfriends we hadmet on an antenatal course to capture imagesof their own children. As word spread, we saw our change inwork commitments as an opportunity to set up and developour own professional baby and family photography business.

What is the company about?EMoores Photography is about capturing those all importantfamily moments andmilestones, to treasure for a lifetime. Asparents ourselves we know only too well how precious thoseearly weeks, months and years with your family are and howquickly they pass by.We strive to capture your newborn, babyor family in a relaxed but fun environment and produce aproduct that is both beautiful for you to treasure but is alsoaffordable in today’s economic climate.

What do you hope to achieve?We want to provide parents with timeless images of theirbeautiful family. There are lots of photographers out therebut we aim to provide a bespoke service tailored to our clientsneeds, we are open to requests and each photo session wehold we aim to try something new to provide our clients witha range of styles of photography.

What has been the highlight of starting your own company?We genuinely enjoy every single photo session we hold; sureeach one presents new challenges like the eternal quest toget a newborn baby to sleep long enough to capture awonderful range of images, or the cleanup operation after afantastic messy cake smash session with a 1 year old!However, sharing that special timewith parents and providingimages that they love of their children gives us enormous jobsatisfaction.

What has been the downside of starting your own company?We knew that setting up a business would be hard work butwe didn’t realise just how many hours each day it requires!Once the website and Facebook pages are complete that’sjust the beginning, we have found that the real test is lettingpeople know you are there and what you are about. We havebeen very fortunate that our clients have been pleased withthe service we have provided and therefore have passed onrecommendations to their friends and family, this is thebiggest compliment that we can receive.

What would your advice be to any parent wanting to startup their own business?Setting up from scratch takes time, patience, and bundles ofenthusiasm, therefore doing something you enjoy is themostimportant thing. There are times when you feel up against it,particularly with a young family, but providing you enjoy whatyou do, this will keep you going through the difficult periods.

For more information, please visit or contact us at:

Our website: www.emooresphotography.co.ukOur Facebook page: www.facebook.com/emooresphotography

Our email address: [email protected] contact number: 07702 242 825

Parents in Business


Who am I?My name is Debra Phillips and I am an Independent Consultantwith Arbonne International. In the past I worked forDebenhams Head Office and also lived abroad before settlingdown to get married and bring up my children. I have foundmy ideal business and am pleased to share it!

Who is behind the Product?We have a top team of leading botanical scientists and acorporate team who are leaders in their field of health andwellness.

How did the company get started?The company got started 33 years ago by one man who had avision to create health/wellness and personal care productsthat were botanical, safe and beneficial for people to use - freeof chemicals and toxins.

What is the company about?The company is extremely dedicated to all that is good and arepassionate about ingredients. We are 100% vegan, glutenfree, hypoallergenic, pH correct, botanical, formulatedwithout parabens or mineral oils. Even our packaging isrecyclable, and our transportation is 96% carbon neutral.

What do you hope to achieve?Personally, I would love to get more safer and beneficialproducts into peoples homes and educate them about howharmful over time these chemical ladenskincare/shampoos/lotions/cosmetics can be to them andtheir families. I also recruit and teach other people who areinterested in doing the same thing.

What has been the highlight of starting your own company?The challenge! The ability to stay at home as this is an internetbased business and manage all the other aspects of my life atthe same time. In my business you work for yourself butdefinitely not by yourself. We have great team spirit amongstother consultants with their own businesses so I have made alot of new friends.

What has been the downside of starting your own company?So far I haven't got one (that must be good!)

What would your advice be to any parent wanting to start uptheir own business?Just jump in! Life is too short - There are many companies likemine which offer very low start up opportunities, so you don'tneed to find capital or take out a loan to have your ownbusiness - all you need to bring to the table is commitment,drive and want to be successful. There is no ceiling to whatyou can earn and As an Independent Consultant, like myselfwith Arbonne International, your business is supported by theHome Office that provides the product, admin and marketingsupport. They take care of all the back end business and youare free to focus on income producing activity without theheadache of anything else.

For more information, please contact:

Mobile: 07968 165446Facebook: www.facebook.com/purebeautyproducts.myarbonne

Email: [email protected]: www.purebeautyproducts.myarbonne.co.uk

Parents in Business


Who is behind the Product?BodyCon Personal Training & Nutrition provides specialist Pregnancy and Post Natal exercisesessions in a one-to-one and group format, as well as nutritional therapy, and strength and fitnesstraining for the general population. My aim is to provide a service for women from pregnancy intothe post-natal period and way beyond, and I am behind the company, the idea and everythinginvolved with BodyCon.

How did the company get started?I graduated from the world renowned Institute for Optimum Nutrition in Nutritional Therapy backin 2006. I practiced from a clinic in central London until I stopped work when my youngest son wasborn. After a couple of years at home with the boys I was keen to get back to work and the worldof nutrition, and thought about setting up a Nutritional Therapy clinic here in Enfield. However,having been with two very energetic children, I had become used to being active for much of thetime, and the idea of sitting in a clinic all day was no longer very appealing – I just didn’t think I coulddo it. I knew that I wanted to stay in the field of nutrition and health but I needed something more,something that would fit in with my desire to be moving and active during working hours. PersonalTraining is an obvious fit, and having been sporty most of my life it seemed the natural progressionfor me. I began my journey of fitness training and education, and BodyCon Personal Training &Nutrition was born!

What is the company about?Likemany businesses, BodyCon has developed over time. Initially, I wanted to help anyone whowastrying to get and stay active, fit and healthy. I trained men and women of all ages and fitness levels,and really enjoyed working with lots of different types of people. However I soon began workingwith new mums who needed help, so I got the best training and education I could for trainingpregnant and post natal women, and decided to focus on helping those two groups.

So today, BodyCon Personal Training & Nutrition is about providing a service that will help womento safely stay fit during pregnancy; a service that will support them with health and fitness adviceduring the initial post-birth phase when exercise may not be appropriate; and a service that moveswith them into the post natal phase when exercise requirements are highly specific and individualto each newmum. I’m all about empowering women to take back control of their health and fitness,their bodies and their confidence after the life-changing experiences of pregnancy, labour andchild-birth.

What do you hope to achieve?I am passionate about women’s health and frustrated by the lack of information and supportavailable for women about health, fitness and exercise during and after pregnancy. I’ve lost countof the amount of times I have heard stories of women visiting a health professional with apregnancy/labour/birth-related health concern only to be told “You’ve had a baby, what do youexpect?” I feel this lets women down massively, at a time when they need help the most. I hope tomake a real difference to women, to help themmaintain their fitness during pregnancy which couldmake labour shorter and easier and which will help them regain their fitness after the baby is born.I hope that through working with me, new mums will be able to achieve the results they want(weight loss, flatter tummy, tone up, more energy, strong pelvic floor etc.) in a way that supportstheir body, their new lifestyle and their needs, and which doesn’t push them to exhaustion or addto their stress!

What has been the highlight of starting your own company?Getting back to work after being a stay-at-home mum has been wonderful. I loved being a full-timemum to my boys, but I also love work, helping other people and staying fit. Starting my ownbusiness has given me something outside of the family to nurture and develop, and it has helped togrow my own confidence which took a big dive after being out of the world of work for some time.Being a mum can be isolating and lonely at times, and you wonder what you have to offer. Havingmy own business has enabledme to rediscovermy passions and skills in a way that also helps others.What more could you ask for?

What has been the downside of starting your own company?Without a doubt, spending less time with the children. But this happens naturally as they grow, andnow I try to ensure quality not always quantity. It’s hard at times, but I knowmy kids are happy, andthey love what I do. Also social media means that you are always available so it sometimes feels I’mworking 24/7!

What would your advice be to any parent wanting to start up their own business?Sit down with your family and significant others and really try to understand and plan for how abusiness will affect everyone. How will you cope if a child is off school poorly? Who will be able tocover your work or look after your child? How will your new role affect your ability to take ondomestic chores? You might not have time for cleaning or ironing so how will that be dealt with?What about school holidays – how will you manage childcare? Making sure that everyone involvedunderstands that running a business can significantly change family life and how can go a long wayto preventing stress and strain as your family does its best to adjust to your new role. Then GO FORIT!


Denise ChesterBodyCon Personal Training & NutritionWeb: www.bodyconpt.co.ukMob: 07811 954739Email: [email protected]: https://www.facebook.com/BodyConPTTwitter: https://twitter.com/bodyconpt

Parents in Business


Who is behind the Product?Me, Jennifer David, although Debutots itself was initially founded by twolovely ladies (now both mums) in 2003. I’m a mother of three (8, 6 and3 years old) and a franchisee of Debutots, running classes, clubs, partiesand holiday camps in North London as well as storytelling workshops forparents. In my ‘previous life’ I was very close to qualifying as a solicitor!I’d finished a Law Degree and a year at Law School, was just about tostart my training contract at a city law firm, when I decided to go todrama school instead. After training for 4 years there in acting, directingand teaching I then gained lots of professional acting and teachingexperience before having my first child in 2004.

How did the company get started?I came across it when searching for franchises in 2007, as I was lookingto run a family-friendly business. I was concerned that I didn’t have thetime to start a business from scratch (as my children were then aged 10months and 2 years old) so a franchise seemed like an ideal option.When I met the founders and experienced a Debutots class I knew it wasperfect for me. I’ve always loved working with children, and to combinethat with stories and drama and the chance to run my own business wasliterally a perfect match. 6 years on and I’ve not looked back once!

What is the company about?We offer unique interactive and storytelling classes to children agedbetween 6 months and 7 years. We believe learning should be aboutdoing, and learning should be about fun. The classes we remember fromour childhood are the ones where we were actively involved in making,creating, experimenting and discovering. We also believe in the value ofplay: pretending, imagining and cooperating with others. And we allknow about the joy of stories we each experienced as a child ... ofadventuring in our minds to different lands with all sorts of wonderfulcharacters.

Debutots brings fictional tales to life. We combine learning and play tocreate unique weekly group adventures. Our classes empower childrenwith confidence, creativity and a love of language. At a time whenthey're learning about everything ... Debutots makes it fun.

What do you hope to achieve?I aim to keep steadily growing my business, at a pace that suits me andmy family. It’s great to be consistently adding more and more classes,reaching more and more children, nurseries and schools, parents,teachers, etc. I also plan to keep recruiting more practitioners, as it feelsamazing to be providing job opportunities for others. Some of mypractitioners are also mothers with children of school ages – it’s an idealjob for them as so many of our classes are within school hours, andnearly always during term times only.

What has been the highlight of starting your own company?Being able to work the hours I choose, being able to take the children toschool/nursery and pick them up, plus having the school holidays free tospend with my children. I feel like I’ve got my cake and I can eat it! I cando a job I love, but I don’t feel like I’ve sacrificed any time with mychildren along the way.

What has been the downside of starting your own company?Working at night, doing all the admin! Things will change though inSeptember as my youngest starts nursery every morning, and evenmore the following year when she starts school, as it’ll free up timeduring the day to work.

Whatwould your advice be to any parent wanting to start up their ownbusiness?Go for it! If you enjoy what you do, and you consistently put 100% intoit, there’s no reason whatsoever why you shouldn’t succeed. It’s hardwork, but incredibly fulfilling at the same time.

Full contact details:Jennifer David020 8442 2380

[email protected]://www.debutots.co.uk/franchisees/finchley-hampstead-muswellhill.html

Parents in Business


Who is behind the company?Michelle Eshkeri is the CEO & founder of Birth-Your Way. Michelle worked infinance for more than 20 years before deciding to retrain as an antenatalteacher.

How did the company get started?Just before Michelle’s elder son Alex was born in 2003, she and partner Peterattended an NCT antenatal course to prepare for the birth and early parenting.Although the information provided at the course was very useful, the best thingthey gained was a support group which was invaluable after the birth. Michellebecame actively involved in volunteering for the NCT between 2003 and 2008and when an opportunity to change career became available in 2011, Michelledecided to take the time to retrain with the University of Bedfordshire and theNCT to become a qualified antenatal teacher. The concept for Birth-Your Waywas born in 2012 and since qualifying in July this year Michelle has been activelysetting up the company.

What is the company about?Birth-Your Way is all about enabling women and their partners to achieve thebirth and early parenting experience THEY want. It’s not about preaching toparents about what they should and shouldn’t do. We aim to help our clientsmake choices, be prepared and get support for labour, birth and the first fewweeks of parenthood. We provide NCT courses, private group courses andtailored 1-2-1 sessions for first time parents and those having subsequentbabies. Our facilitators are qualified antenatal teachers who have completed aDiploma in Higher Education, studying for between 2-3 years.We offer impartial,non-judgemental evidence-based information, an opportunity to exploreconcerns around birth and parenting in a comfortable, supportive environmentand most important of all, our parents leave our courses with an on-goingsupport network which can be invaluable in the first few months after the birth.

What do you hope to achieve?I would like to grow Birth-Your Way in my local area (Cockfosters, Hadley Wood& Barnet) over the coming year and spend time increasing the awareness of thebenefits of antenatal courses to the community in these areas. I plan to run freeevening and weekend taster sessions and talks with the help of other NCTpractitioners with the aim of increasing the uptake of NCT antenatal courses. Forthe private side of my business, I am beginning to work with other privatehealthcare providers such as GPs, midwives and complementary healththerapists to offer antenatal education services to their clients. I would likeBirth-Your Way to become the company which local parents and healthcaregivers recommend when parents ask about antenatal courses.

What has been the highlight of starting your own company?Creating a brand has been fun. Of course, it’s only just at the start, but I do hopethat Birth-Your Way can become a recognisable brand in antenatal education inmy local area. I am enjoying networking with other local businesses, both inrelated and unrelated fields and it’s been exciting building my own website too.Knowing that I am responsible for everything is an exciting challenge and it’sgreat to be able to do things without having to consult anyone else if I don’t wantto.

What has been the downside of starting your own company?Having loads of ideas for ways to grow the business, but not really having enoughtime to get them all off the ground. I have had to choose between severalservices which I would like to provide, as I cannot work on them all at the sametime. I also have a part-time job analysing the media which I hope to scale downwhen Birth-Your Way takes off. I’m studying a Humanities degree with the OpenUniversity and I am a parent governor at my boys’ school, so it has been hard tobe spread across several different activities. I don’t sleep much!

What would your advice be to any parent wanting to start up their ownbusiness?Do your market research before investing too much money. Join local businessnetworks, real and virtual, to help you reach a wider audience and become partof the local community. I’ve just joined Love Your Doorstep, a successfulbusiness community website. I’m hoping that this and my many othernetworking opportunities will help to increase awareness of my services.

To find out more about our antenatal courses,contact Birth-Your Way:

m: 07789 928530e: [email protected]:www.birth-yourway.co.uk

f: www.facebook.com/Birth-YourWayUKt: @BirthYourWayUK

Parents in Business


Parents in Business

Who is behind the Product/Service?My name is Maryanne Taylor, and I am originally from Dublin, Ireland. I now live in NorthLondon with my husband and three children, aged 10, 7 and 2. Through my own experiencesas a mum, and the ups and downs that arose with regard to sleep, I developed a keen interestin the subject of sleep and decided that this was an area in which I would like to work.

How did the company get started?Having had babies who were not great sleepers, and a baby with severe reflux which causedsignificant sleep problems, I understood first-hand how a lack of sleep can affect parents andindeed the whole family. Sleep is an essential part of health and well being for children (andadults), and as someone who likes to research things in great detail, I was fascinated by whatI read. So much so, that I decided to train as a sleep consultant in order to make my career inhelping other tired families get the sleep they need. When pregnant with my 3rd child in2010, I finishedmy training, got certified as a Child Sleep Consultant and that year, both a littlebaby girl and Child Sleep Works were born!

What is the company about?At Child Sleep Works, we very much recognise the need to help tired families get their child’ssleep on track (or back on track). There is so much information available on children’s sleep- in books, online, and from well-meaning family and friends - that it can become hugelyoverwhelming, especially when parents are already exhausted. We help parents make senseof all the conflicting information available and decide on the best approach for their child andthemselves. As well as providing clear, personalised sleep programmes, Child Sleep Worksalso provides support to families at an exhausting and sometimes difficult time in their lives,and be an understanding and empathetic ear.

We at Child Sleep Works very much recognise that each family’s preferences andrequirements are different when it comes to helping their child sleep well, and what works forone family does not necessarily work for another. We therefore take great care to ensure thatour families are providedwith a plan that suits them specifically and one they feel comfortableto carry out.

Child SleepWorks also runsmany talks andworkshops on children’s sleep at which we provideclear, concise information on how to encourage good sleep habits for children. Lots of tipsand suggestions are discussed, and people leave these talks armed with many strategies forhelping their child sleep well.

What do you hope to achieve?I hope to be able to help as many families as possible get their child’s sleep on track. Foranyone who has ever experienced lack of sleep, they will understand the huge impact this canhave on families. Being able to give parents the tools they need to help their child sleep wellat night is hugely rewarding for me. As well as helping individual families, I also want to reachas many people as possible with my talks and workshops and help them make sense of all theconflicting information available in order to decide what approaches would work best for theirchild.

What has been the highlight of starting your own company?The highlight has undoubtedly been the amazing positive feedback from the families I haveworked with as their child starts to sleep better, and the difference that has made to theirchild and their family life. Seeing how I have made a difference in their lives is an unbeatablefeeling!

Having started the company at the same time as having a new baby (not to mention two olderchildren) was challenging at times, but also gave me plenty of opportunity to put the theoryinto practice myself. On occasion, being able to experience some of what my families weregoing through at the same time as them, allowed me to have an on-the-spot insight into whatthey were going through.

Also, the flexibility of having my own business has given me the opportunity to be availablefor my children and a presence in their lives which I may not have otherwise been able to be.

What has been the downside of starting your own company?The challenge has been juggling my family life with my work, especially as my work ofteninvolves evenings and weekends. It is so important for me for my families to feel supportedand at times I have found that finding the balance between the needs of my family and myclients is not so easy.

What would your advice be to any parent wanting to start up their own business?Do it! Do the research, be prepared, but don’t spend too long weighing up the pros and consas you will never be 100% sure that this is the right time. Also, don’t get put off by thecompetition. There is generally enough work to go round and considering the competitionmay put you off. There is always space in any market for good people.

For more information, please contact Maryanne atChild Sleep Works on:

Tel: 07760 252 750Email: [email protected]: www.childsleepworks.co.uk

Come and visit our facebook page for lots of tipsand funny perspectives on children’s sleep and

keep updated with Child Sleep Works on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/childsleepworks


What made you want to become an author?I was amusician for many years, then when I found outmy wife was expecting our first child, I decided I reallywanted to write something for him.

What has been the hardest part of your career?I guess initially it was getting published, but what hasbeen far harder is sustaining a career, and it issomething I have struggled with for a longtime

What do you have planned for the future?I have a new book out this month, 'Things You neverKnew About Dinosaurs' andwill be doing lots of eventsto promote that, then I have another book coming outin January 2014 called 'Princess Stay Awake'. I'm goingback into the studio with my band, Burnthouse, in theautumn to record a single, so pretty busy over the next12 months!

What has been the highlight of writing your ownstories?Being able to read the finished books to my ownchildren at bedtime, it's really special

What has been the downside?Like all creative industries, there is a lot of politics andnonsense that goes on behind the scenes, But I try andkeep out of it!

What would your advice be to any parent wanting tofollow in your footsteps?Go for it, I got really lucky, just keep writing and honingyour craft and just get out there and sell yourself.

For more information please visit:

http://www.gilespaleyphillips.blogspot.co.ukhttps://twitter.com/eliistender10

https://www.facebook.com/groups/gilespaleyphillips/

To buy your copy, please go to:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Things-never-dinosaurs-

Meadowside-Picture/dp/1472319842

For all the budding authors out there……Parents in Business


There’s a lot to think about when you firstfind out you’re going to have a baby. One ofthe biggest worries is how the baby willaffect your position at work. Many womenfear that taking maternity leave may puttheir job at risk and are worried theiremployer will look at them differently whenthey are pregnant. When having a baby, it’sessential you’re aware of your rights –employers aren’t allowed to put anyone at adisadvantage because of pregnancy. Havinga baby should not mean you’re at adisadvantage at work and if you feel this isthe case it’s important to assert your rights.

In this regular column I will talk about what rights mothers have at workbefore, during and after pregnancy. In future columns I will talk aboutmaternity leave and mothers’ rights to fair treatment on their return towork, but I will start at the very beginning, when you first find out you’repregnant.

There are three key rights women have at work during their pregnancy:

● paid leave for antenatal appointments;● ensuring your job remains safe for you and your unborn child

throughout the pregnancy;● the right not to suffer unfavourable treatment, a detriment or

from being dismissed because of your pregnancy or pregnancyrelated illness.

Ante-natal appointmentsYou are entitled to reasonable paid time off for ante-natalappointments. These include medical appointments and parentingclasses if this has been recommended by your midwife. Your employeris entitled to ask you to make arrangements outside working hours butif this is impossible, any time off must be paid at your normal rate ofpay. You should not be asked to make up the time. I’ve advised womenwhose employers object to the number or timing of ante natalappointments. As long as you provide evidence of the appointment(except in respect of the first appointment where you have noappointment card or letter), your employer must grant you paid leaveto attend.

SafetyWhen you are pregnant, risks that you would ordinarily take could beharmful to you or your baby, meaning that your normal course of workmay no longer be safe. Your employer has a duty to carry out a riskassessment where any processes or working conditions could cause riskto you or your baby’s health and safety. If it is assessed as unsafe for youto continue in your usual job, your employer is obliged to alter yourworking conditions or hours of work. For example, theymight move youfrom night to day shifts or specify that you should not carry outparticular aspects of your role, such as lifting. The duty might extend toredeploying you to a different role. You should not lose basic pay as aresult of any changes. If it is not possible to change your role or redeployyou, you should be suspended on full pay.

Unfavourable treatmentThe Equality Act 2010 protects you from unfair treatment,discrimination or dismissal while pregnant. This covers things likechanges to your role, reducing your hours without your consent ortreating days off due to pregnancy related illness as a disciplinary issue.

Despite these rights, outright pregnancy discrimination is still common.Many of my clients tell me their employers’ attitudes towards themchanged once they announced their pregnancy. They say theiremployers think they are no longer committed to their work, won’treturn after maternity leave or will only want to work part time. Anumber of employers respond by raising performance concerns out ofthe blue or suddenly announcing their role is redundant. Sometimescomplaints are ignored on the basis that an employee is pregnant – oneof my clients who complained about something her manager had saidto her was told her memory must have been affected by her pregnancy.

All of this means many women are wary about telling their employerthey are pregnant. But there are some important points to bear in mindwhen making a decision:

● Your right to maternity leave depends on you notifying youremployer when you are 25 weeks pregnant;

● Has your employer guessed that you are pregnant? If youhaven’t told them, it can be very difficult to prove that anyunfavourable treatment was because of your pregnancy;

● Do you need time off for ante natal appointments? If so, youmight consider telling one manager or HR but asking them tokeep it confidential until you are ready for it to be publicknowledge;

● Will you need adjustments to your role for health and safetyreasons? Youmight want to speak to the relevant manager, HRor health and safety manager in confidence to arrange this.

Anyone experiencing problems at work because they are pregnantshould get something in writing as soon as possible: an email is usuallybest. If your employer has an HR department, get in touch with them aswell as speaking to your line manager. If things aren’t resolvedinternally, get legal advice. Too many women are still beingdiscriminated against when they becomemothers – but there’s no needto be afraid to take a stand.

For more information see our website:www.employmentadvice4u.co.uk/parental-rights-at-work

Alternatively, please contact me for a “no obligation” chat if you areexperiencing problems at work:

020 7743 [email protected]

Your Legal Rights


An Introduction to Childcare

Alexandra Zetter owns and runsMummy SOS Ltd, alongsidestudying for her degree inchildcare management. Shecurrently holds a Level 3 NationalVocational Qualification inChildren’s Care, Learning andDevelopment, and a Level 4Certificate in Playwork.

Alex is a member of the BritishAssociation of ProfessionalNannies and the ProfessionalAssociation for Childcare and EarlyYears, as well as being involvedwith policy initiatives, such asthose put forward by the Familyand Childcare Trust and theDepartment for Education.

___________________________________________________

Childcare is simple to define: it is all about caring for children. So whatmakes childcare such a challenge?

Changing childcareAs society continues to evolve, so must the services available. Thecommunity and structure of the family have changed, transforming theway childcare is delivered. It is now less common for people to havefamily members close-by, who they can turn to for help. People need aprofessional childcare industry that they can rely on to look after theirchildren. Childcare is now recognised as being important as evidenced byincreased backing by governments in recent years.

All parents should be aware of the childcare available to them, asregardless of their situation, every parent will, at some stage, need aform of childcare, and this is ok! Childcare services may often be aimedat working parents, but it is important that ‘stay at home’ mums anddads also have access to such provision.

Being a parent is a full time job, but for most, it is but one of their manyroles; providing support for parents by caring for their children, is therole of the childcare practitioner.

It is important for parents to have time to themselves, to maintainbalance across the various roles they play. For mothers who feel guiltyabout taking time out, it is worth reflecting that taking a couple of hoursfor themselves can enrich the parent-child relationship overall. Similarly,practitioners give the child their full attention so mums can get jobs canget done without a little helper, or spend quality time with siblings.

Parents in work need to know that children are being looked after byproperly qualified professionals who can provide childcare that suitstheir working schedule. While parents who wish to return to full-timework need adequate childcare, it is also important that those who chosenot to, do not face restriction because of a lack of flexible childcareoptions.

So what are your childcare options?There are different types of childcare to match these differing needs.These can be broadly divided into the following categories:

Family and Friendsa personal acquaintance with whom no money exchanges hands

Babysitters - generally provide evening care in the child’s home whilstparents are out

Au Pairs -main role is housework and should only provide mother’s help,not have sole charge

Mother’s Help - general assistance for parents including looking after thechildren with the parent present

Nannies - generally provide sole charge care in the child’s home duringthe day throughout the working week and regular babysitting, may livein or out, often belong to an agency

Childminders - generally provide care in their own homes for severalchildren from different families, during the day throughout the workingweek

Nurseries - a group setting providing care for children aged 0 – 5 during‘normal’ working hours

Pre-schools - a group setting providing care for children aged 2 – 5 usuallyfor 3 hours in the morning on week days during term time

Daycares/ Creches - generally provide care for children whilst the parentremains onsite, such as at a gym

Parent and Toddler Groups - ctivity or general play sessions whereparents must remain with their child throughout, often organisedthrough local libraries and Children’s Centre

Where I fit inWhen I began to work in childcare three years ago, I felt that there was acategory missing: flexible childcare. Services would be easily accessibleto parents, as and when they needed them. So I started Mummy SOS,uniquely flexible childcare services. I wanted to offer parents the optionfor childcare that would revolve around them.

In respond to demand, Mummy SOS has expanded rapidly over the pastfew years. Our success has been driven by a determination to providechildcare exactly when and where it is needed. In my role as ManagingDirector of Mummy SOS Ltd, I have the privilege of a wide range ofinteractions within the childcare sector. I am a childcare practitioner, abusiness manager, a student, an employer (and a proud Godmother!) Asa member of professional childcare organisations my attendance atindustry events keeps me up to date with developments in the sector.

Through this series, I hope to provide guidance for parents on thechildcare options available, how to match them to your needs, your childas a unique individual and how this links to what we might expect to seein the future from currently evolving policy initiatives.

If you have any questions about any of the information in thispiece, or would like further information, please do get in touch!

[email protected] 053 512

www.mummy-sos.com


Feature

The Sony Xperia Z is the lightest, slimmest tablet on themarket with the addedbonus of being both water and dust resistant. A definite bonus for the family.It is a device designed to take on the iPad with a quality screen and innovativefeatures .

The 16GB Wi-Fi-only model will set you back £399, the 32GB Wi-Fi versioncosts £449 and the 16GB LTE/4G model is priced at £499.

4G-ready Sony Xperia Tablet Z, £99 on Vodafone Mobile Broadband price plansfor £31 per month (including 4GB of UK data and 2GB of BT Openzone Wi-Fiaccess)

The Sony Xperia Tablet Z doesn't try too hard. It's a simple black rectangle. Highgloss glass on the front made from toughened, scratch-resistant glass and onthe back of the tablet, a matt-style polycarbonate. Aside from the standby,power buttons and volume buttons on the side, there are no others. Allnavigation is done via the screen's software buttons. This is currently thethinnest tablet on the market - and it really shows. The other thing you'll noticeis just how light it is. This is a tablet you can comfortably take into the bath andnot worry about (provided you make sure the waterproof plugs are in thesockets). For watching movies in the bath or at the bus stop in the rain, you'llbe fine. We're not totally sold on the dust resistance though. Yes, it means thatdust won't get in beneath the screen but the Sony Xperia Tablet Z has a ridge allthe way around the edge that seems to attract lint. You can clear it with a blowor a blast from a vacuum but it'll just come back. And don't get us started onfingerprints - this is a magnet for them.

The Sony Xperia Tablet Z sports a Full HD display and photos and videos pop outof the screen brilliantly. We did notice that the screen isn't as responsive aswe'd have liked. When browsing the web it bounced all over the place at times,and we want something amazing - really amazing - in a tablet that costs thismuch. If your little’uns are movie fans, a microSD card slot is another big bonushere. It means that you can buy a 16GBmodel and easily bump your storage upby an extra 64GB without breaking the bank. The included keyboard is one ofthe best we've ever used on a tablet. Charging is done via a micro USB connec-tion, which means you can use any other chargers you have lying around thehouse too, though you have to have a wall socket, since it won't charge off alaptop. We won't lie, the act of charging is a pain. For one thing, you have totake the waterproof cover out each time (this is the downside of having awaterproof tablet) - unless you're using the pricey official dock with chargingcontacts - and although high quality and secure, we can't help but wonder howlong they will last. Add to that, this is not a quick charging device. The SonyXperia Tablet Z takes forever to charge up. We found it's definitely an all-nightjob. Apple has the edge on tablets when it comes to newbies for the simplereason that iOS is such an easy operating system to learn. But Android really isclosing the gap. While we don’t think a Sony Xperia Tablet Z is suitable forabsolute beginners, if you have even the slightest bit of experience when itcomes to using a tablet, you'll find the Sony Xperia Tablet Z intuitive and userfriendly.

Surfing the web is likely to be what you'll use the Sony Xperia Z for most often.The tablet excels in some ways. It's light to hold, the screen is razor sharp andit's ultra-portable. But it falls down on the basic principle of web browsing.Loading pages is not particularly fun. It's not that it can't load web pagesproperly or that things don't look right. Our issue was that it's too sluggish. We'dtry to swipe up and notice we couldn't because a page was still loading, whereother browsers would still enable us to pan around in the interim. And thishappened on loads of websites. When pages do load, they look great zoomedout or in. Tap to zoom works brilliantly. Loading times vary, depending on yourbrowser.

One other omission is flash. Yes, we know Google has dropped it and Adobe nolonger supports it on Android but when you do a lot of browsing, which you will

on a tablet, you'll inevitably land on a huge number of websites that still requireit. You can still load Flash onto your tablet manually but if you're not tootech-savvy it can be confusing. The Sony Xperia Z offers amazing audio viaheadphones and the inbuilt speakers have a 3D surround sound mode. It won'trival the cinema experience but it's very, very impressive for a tablet and makeswatching and listening to media a real pleasure.

If you're reading this section because you plan on buying the Sony Xperia TabletZ to use as a camera, then our best advice is don’t. Taking photos outdoors onthe Sony Xperia Tablet Z isn't ideal in any way, because the glossy screen reflectssunlight and makes it difficult to view in bright, outdoor light. The camera onthe back is an 8.1MP job, with another 2.2MP unit on the front. This is by nomeans a camera replacement. If it were, Sony would have included a flash.Which it doesn't. Shooting in anything but amazing light yields pretty poorresults, as does shooting in the dark, since you have no help in the form of aflash or LED light. Your best bet is to stick to using the front camera for Skypevideo calls. That works well enough as advertised.

The Sony Xperia Tablet Z is also adept at shooting Full HD video (1080p at 30fps)on both the front and back cameras. Again, you'll need perfect lighting here anda memory card, because those files are huge. We found that videos shot indecent light still looked quite grainy, and going between really strong light topoor light didn't seem to be something it could cope that well with. The SonyXperia Tablet Z's front-facing camera is passable. Yes it's pricey, but this is apremium product from Sony. The screen response could definitely be improvedbut the Sony Xperia Tablet Z genuinely deserves consideration when you're inthe market for a new top-end gadget. Sony has taken the best of Android andfused it with its own innovation to make a really great device and one we thinkwould be great for family use.

The latest technology foryour family…

The Sony Xperia Z Tablet

Vodafone SmartMiniThe Vodafone Smart Mini was tested by Mia (12) whose first response uponseeing the phone was a joyful squeal of, “yay, it’s pink!”. She had the phone upand running on her own, in no time at all, had located her favourite games andwas on the internet and searching the app store for new ones and so a thumbsup was given for user friendly-ness.

A good inexpensive (£50 on a Pay As You Go tariff) smartphone with internetaccess, an average quality camera and a reasonably sturdy but pretty exteriorwith the option to add an SD card for extra storage. Battery life isn’t fabulous butby no means terrible. The phone is also available in black and white.

This is a great phone for kids and cash-strapped teenagers – solid enough tosurvive in a schoolbag, flexible enough to domost of what you could with a muchhigher-end model, and cheap enough that it’s not the end of the world if it’s lostor destroyed-in-action.

For more information on either of these products, please visit:www.sonymobile.comwww.vodafone.co.uk


Features

Do you wonder how to get your child to listen toyou, do what they’re asked and still retain theirnatural spontaneity and inquisitive nature? Wouldyou like your child to confide in you, respect yourfamily boundaries and make good choicesthroughout their life? These 10 tips will help youdevelop a mutually trusting, happy and lovingrelationship – starting right now!

1. Have faith in your child.Your child is born with 7 million years of human evolution insidethem. They will naturally develop to become a happy, caring andindependent adult. All you have to do is show them lots of love andbe patient with their efforts. Sit back and watch before rushing in to‘help’ them solve problems. Offer them opportunities to be involvedwith your family life. Show them how to do things and then watchhow they put their best efforts in to be successful.

2. Allow your child time to do things at their own pace.Your child is capable of doing all kinds of wonderful things – but theirworld is much slower-paced than our adult world. They have aspecial, absorbent mind that takes in everything they experienceincluding language, movement, feelings and sensorial impressions.With all this going on, it’s no wonder they think and act slowly!Adults filter out most of what we experience but your child doesn’t.Demonstrate things using exaggerated slowness and you’ll see howyour child focuses their attention on you, and is keen to have theirturn afterwards. Leave more time than you need before you go out,so they can get ready at their natural pace.

3. Believe what you are saying and your child will listen to you.Your child knows when you are being serious or when you’re playingaround by your facial expression, body language and tone of voice.If you want them to listen to you and do as you ask, don’t behesitant or doubt yourself. You can be firm and still be kind. Practisehaving a neutral facial expression (no smiling) and a calm, low voice.Look your child directly in the eyes and gently say what you wantthem to do. Have faith that they will listen, and they usually will!

4. Be consistent, speak clearly and choose your words carefully.The child’s brain is programmed to make secure connections whenthings are repeated. If you have gentle, firm, consistent limits yourchild will respond positively to them. If you keep changing yourmind about whether things are ok one day but not the next, yourchild’s brain can’t make strong connections and this results innegative behaviour. Ask yourself if you’re being fair? When you’refaced with unwanted behaviour, you can say “No, we don’t do that”or “This behaviour is not acceptable”. Be honest and giveboundaries clearly, then move on to another activity and don’tdwell on their unwanted behaviour. It’s in the past and it must staythere.

5. Give your child a choice between two options to avoid arguments.Children love to make choices. You can solve many arguments bygiving your child two options that would be acceptable to you. Forexample, “Would you like to put your shoes on by yourself or shallI help you?” or “Are you going to wear the blue or red sockstoday?”. Sometimes you may find yourself in a yes / no battle ofwills. You can redirect their thoughts with a choice because theyreally love to think, and they’ll feel responsible and respected.Interestingly, the more small choices you give your child whenthey’re young, the better they’ll be at making important choices asan adult.

6. Model the behaviour you want your child to imitate.You are your child’s guide for development - they absorb andimitate everything you do. If you speak calmly, so will your child. Ifyou shout and smack, they will either copy this or retreat insidethemselves. Show that you can stay calm in challenging situations.If you want your child not to hit others, give them encouragemente.g. “Use your words – what are you trying to say?” Try yourutmost to control your frustration when they are testing limits.Limit-testing is developmentally important and when you stick tolimits you’ll see your child is very happy afterwards!

7. Prepare your child beforehand – tell them how you expect themto behave.As long as you explain in advance, you can tell your child how youexpect them to behave in any situation and expect them to do asthey’ve been told. This is really helpful if they will need to be extraquiet in a library, eat meals quicker, or get ready to come homewithout a fuss after a playdate.

8. Include your child in purposeful, practical activities within thehome each day.If you involve your child with household tasks while they are youngthey’ll be happy to continue as they get older. Purposeful, practicaldaily activities like cleaning, cooking and tidying lets even thesmallest toddler feel useful, helpful and capable. They developindependence, coordination, confidence, and all-round goodcharacter!

9. Limit screen time, especially for 0-6 year olds.TV and DVDs massively limit your child’s natural creativity andconcentration. Images move so fast that your child’s brain can’tkeep up and so it goes into a slow mode - similar to sleeping. If youwant your child to develop concentration and creative thinking, banor significantly limit screen time – you’ll be amazed by the changesin their attitude and imagination.

10. Spend quality time with your child every day - away from the TVand iPad.Set aside some time every day to do something with your child thatthey like doing. How about making something beautiful, cooking,reading, going for walks, playing sports, board games or cards,dancing, gardening or looking through old photos?

By: Rochelle Cutler, Montessori Parentingwww.montessori-parenting.com

Call: 07950995771Email: [email protected]


Tax-free Childcare –What Do You Think?In previous money-saving articles in BabyBuzz, Busy Bees Benefits reported that theGovernment is proposing a new way ofhelping parents with the cost of childcare.The new scheme is designed to makechildcare more affordable and toencourage parents who are put offworking because of high childcare costs toget back into employment. Until 14October, you have the chance to tell theGovernment what you think about thenew scheme. Many families will be betteroff under Tax-free Childcare. The power to

make savings will be put directly in the hands of parents and you will beable to choose your own scheme provider. The full consultation is a bigdocument, so to help you get to grips with what the scheme means foryou, here is a quick summary:

What is Tax-free Childcare?The Tax-free Childcare scheme is a proposed Government subsidyscheme. Parents will pay 80% of their childcare bill and the Governmentwill top it up with the remaining 20%. So, for a childcare bill of £100, theparent will pay £80 and the government will pay £20.

Tax… eek! Sounds complicated!The scheme is called Tax-free Childcare because 20% is equal to thecurrent basic rate of income tax, but otherwise it has nothing to do withtax.

Phew! So how much can I save?Families which qualify for the scheme can save a maximum each year of£1,200 per child. The top-up will be limited to childcare costs up to£6,000 per child (£4,800 from parents and £1,200 from Government).

Who can get Tax-free Childcare?The Tax-free Childcare scheme will only be open to families where bothparents work or the lone parent works. After the Tax-free Childcarescheme starts, two-parent families where only one parent works willreceive no support for childcare unless they are already using a ChildcareVoucher scheme (see below).

How old will my child have to be?The Tax-free Childcare scheme will only be available to those whosechildren are born in or after September 2010 and are therefore aged 5and under.

What about older children?The scheme will grow over time, increasing by one year each year untilit includes all children under 12. In the September following the child’s11 birthday, parents will no longer be able to claim. The rules will bedifferent for families with disabled children, who will be able to claimuntil the child is 16.

I’m self employed. Can I get Tax-free Childcare?Yes, provided you meet the other criteria.

I’m on low wages. Can I get Tax-free Childcare?Yes, although other forms of Government support may be worth moreto you.

I am not the child’s parent but I am their main carer. Will I get tax-freeChildcare?Yes, if you have taken on primary responsibility for raising a child, andlive with the child.

I cannot work as I am a full time carer? Will I get Tax-free Childcare?Where one member of a couple is in work, and the other is either afull-time carer receiving Carer’s Allowance, or a contributoryEmployment and Support Allowance, the couple will get Tax-FreeChildcare.

What if I’m sick and can’t work for a while?If you are not in work for a short time you will be allowed to continue toclaim Tax-free Childcare as long as you stay in employment and continueto receive income. Unpaid ‘sick leave will not qualify.

What if I’m on maternity, paternity or adoption leave?If you are on ‘parental’ leave such as maternity, paternity and adoptionleave, you may continue to claim as long as you stay in employment andcontinue to receive income. Unpaid ‘parental’ leave will not qualify.

Can I use it to pay family or friends when they look after my child?No. The Tax-free Childcare scheme will only be able to be used to pay forregistered childcare.

I currently get Childcare Vouchers. What will happen to the ChildcareVoucher scheme?The Childcare Voucher scheme will close to new joiners when Tax-freeChildcare is introduced. It is expected to continue for existing users forat least five years after the Tax-free Childcare scheme is in place. If youchange your employer after autumn 2015, you will not be able to joinanother Childcare Voucher scheme.

I want to join a Childcare Voucher scheme. Can I?Yes. Your employer can offer Childcare Vouchers to new joiners until theTax-free Childcare scheme starts. Some parents will be better off underthe Childcare Voucher scheme and should join a scheme as soon aspossible in order to maintain their right to the maximum amount ofsupport.

What do I do now?The details above could change, depending on what people say in theconsultation. Your views are important and could make a big differenceto your pocket over the coming years. There are regular news storiesabout howmuch it costs to raise a child from birth to adulthood. Parentsneed to do everything they can to make family life affordable.

To give your views in the Government’s parentconsultation, visit:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/tax-free-childcare-consultation

Busy Bees Benefits hopes to be a provider of the Tax-free Childcarescheme. If you would like more information about Tax-free Childcare,visit www.taxfreechildcarescheme.com. For more information aboutChildcare Vouchers, visit www.busybeesbenefits.com

Busy Bees takes the position that the level of support should be higherwhen the scheme is launched, and that to continue to providemeaningful support, it will need to keep pace with rising costs.

You can sign an e-petition to support this proposal by visiting here:http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/48405

Busy Bee Benefits



In 2006 The World Economic Forum set up the Global GenderGap Index to measure and compare gender inequality incountries across the globe based on economic, political,education and health criteria. Back then the United Kingdomranked 9th. By 2012 we had slipped back to 18thposition. Legally women in the UK have never been in a strongerposition but time and again research shows that we areperpetuating our own subjugation- and we're starting at homewith our children.

Research conducted by PKTMNY (a website that allows parents topay money into accounts for their children whilst providing thelatter with Pre-paid Visa cards and attempting to encourage bothto adopt sensible financial habits) shows that on average boys do2 hours less of chores than their female counterparts whilst, inhouseholds where their chores are compensated, they make andsave more money. PKTMNY found "significant divides based ongender, age and the nature of the task being undertaken by eachchild" concluding that boys and girls work was segregated withgirls being responsible for repetitive daily chores (dishes, laundry,cleaning) inside the home and boys taking on more sporadic,heavy and often outdoor work (lawn mowing, maintainance)which is not only valued more but also (being visible toneighbours) more likely to lead to offers of more work.

It is not only in practice that we are training our children to acceptgender divides in the workforce, the pay gap (which currentlystands at women earning 20% less than men), the devaluation ofdomestic work and the prevailing belief that men's carreersshould be prioritised over women's. Sigmund Freud suggestedthat biology determines gender identity through identificationwith the mother or father- and children are presented withsupporting examples continuously. It still tends to be motherswhose carreers are put on hold to bring up baby- and not only

because their incomes are more likely to be supplementarybut also because fathers are consistently excluded fromtaking on positive caring roles by public service providers andsociety at large. Where both parents work mothers still, onaverage, spend twice the amount of time on housework thanfathers and, when a child is sick, it is more likely that it will bemum who takes time off work. In addition to this there arefew men in early years education (prevented by low pay andstigma) with a growing presence in Key Stage 2 and beyondas well as in deputy and headmaster positions propoundingthe myth of their innate superiority.

The gender gap is very clear in education where girls dobetter at every stage of the National Curriculum and wherepost GCSE students begin to divide into preordained channelswith girls tending to choose arts and humanities and boys:science and technology. What is less clear is the extent towhich nature and nurture play in all of this. However fromthe very earliest opportunities girls and boys are treateddifferently by even the most earnest of modern liberalparents which can only serve to reinforce values and traitsnormative to gender. It has been shown that parents

respond to the cries of baby girls sooner than those of baby boys,that they cuddle them more and that they are more likely toencourage boys to try new and risky activities (such as learning towalk and explore) and girls in quiet and motherly activities.

Girls are consistently complimented on their cuteness andclothes which, when repeated indefinitely, elevates both to anunhealthy importance in their minds whereas boys are morelikely to be complimented on their achievements ("What a bigboy you are, walking!"). Common insults too uphold genderdivergence with boys maligned for "throwing like a girl" and girlsbemoaned as tomboys. Even more prevalent and insidious is thetendency when gossiping about adult women to concentrate ontheir appearance and age ("fat old cow") which adds furthersupport to the notion that these are their fundamentalcharacteristics.

At a summit on gender equality UNICEF labelled "Early childhoodcare key to gender equality" with their spokeswoman, ErmaManoncourt, stating that "What young children learn now andwhat happens to them now will influence them for the rest oftheir life. The early years are the most determinant of the child'spsychosocial and cognitive development". Which is why enoughstress cannot be placed on the importance of analysing andmodifying our interactions with our children from the verystart. We have been brought up with archaic assumptions aboutgender that are so ingrained that in most instances we fail evento acknowledge them but they play a real part in our life chancesand satisfaction. It is only through real vigilance that we can hopeto spare our children the same fate.

Written by Elizabeth Katherine HobsonTwitter: ElizabethHobso6

Blog: http://elizabethkhobson.wordpress.com/

Features

Daddy’s Little Secondary Citizen


1. Start putting in place rules and boundaries when they are young – it gets harder when they’re older

2. Sticks and stones… and names WILL hurt you. Don’t label your kids the stupid one, or tell them they’re lazy. If youthink that and whatever they do they can’t prove it otherwise, they’ll BE that.

3. Teach your kids to be resilient – life will knock them even if you’ve tried to over protect them. Help them towithstandlife’s knocks

4. Praise your children as if it’s a running commentary of praise (so be specific) “Well done for doing…, that’s so helpful”

5. Don’t use all those expressions such as“You’re amazing” “You’re such a great kid” They won’t believe you and itdoesn’t teach them what behaviour you’re pleased with and want them to copy.

6. Surround yourselves with family, friends and community. Children learn by being surrounded by good role modelsaround them that come from outside of the family and well as within. They need people apart from parents andteachers who they can trust and talk to.

7. You are your child’s teacher and trainer as well as parent. So break down teachable skills into tiny steps and teacheach step rather than assuming they can’t do it until they’re much older.

8. Set expectations for your kids and let them know what they are. How can your kids assume they should behave in acertain way if you haven’t communicated your expectations to them?

9. Kids need to develop independence long before they leave home so what are you doing NOW for your kids whichthey could be doing for themselves? Teach them self reliance.

10. Remember to sometimes just BE as a family. Don’t over plan every waking moment. Just be together (not in separaterooms) but just talking, relaxing, chilling. Build the relationships between you and the family.

Feature

Bebe [email protected]

www.facebook.com/bebeparentcoachM: 07939 880 856


Features


People often ask 'Why should I attend an antenatal course?' Theyperceive courses to be expensive and may find it hard to see the valuein a course. Antenatal education should be a right, not a luxury, butwith NHS provision being cut, more and more people are finding thatthey are left without adequate access to affordable antenataleducation.

Aside from the NHS, which tends to provide limited education that isoften geared around hospital policies and procedures, there are anumber of other alternatives on offer privately. NHS often does notprovide any education for fathers or partners and sessions are mostlikely to be held during the day.

The largest provider of antenatal education in the UK is the NationalChildbirth Trust (NCT) - see http://www.nct.org.uk, one of whose aimsis tomake antenatal education available to asmany parents as possible.

Other private providers include companies such as Lazy Daisy, whichoffers breathing and relaxation classes and independent antenatalpractitioners and midwives, whose courses may be similar in contentand length to the NCT, but whose prices may vary considerably.

Benefits of longer courses - Getting support.A longer, more expensive antenatal course has a number of benefitsover NHS classes or simply reading books or the Internet.

The biggest of these is the support group which develops out of thecourse. Courses are typically run with 6-8 pregnant women and theirbirth partners in comfortable, private venues. The facilitator will give alot of thought to how the group is bonding over a number of weeks,with the aim of ensuring that by the end of the course, the clients feelpart of a group which can be self-supporting in the weeks leading up tothe birth and in the postnatal period.

It is difficult to put a price on the value of such a support group, but itis very clear from talking to parents who have attended courses andbuilt a support network that this aspect is most highly valued,especially in the first weeks and months of parenthood. Some groupsmeet weekly after the birth of their babies and it is quite common forgroups to becoming long term friends, meeting up regularly as theirchildren grow up, begin school and even go out to work or leave home.Such support after the birth is not available from attending an NHSantenatal session where it is much less likely that you will continue tosee or socialise with other people who attended on the same day asyou.

Private and NCT antenatal courses often include information whichempowers parents to seek appropriate external support when theyneed it most. During the early weeks of parenthood, tiredness can havea huge impact on people's ability to judge how they are coping. Parentsand babies may be struggling with one of more aspects of their newlives, such as feeding, sleeping or general health. An example of this ismental health wellbeing. Courses often include invaluable informationfor both the woman and her partner on how to spot the signs ofpostnatal depression, which is thought to affect up to 10-15% ofmothers [1] and as many as 10% of fathers [2]. Knowing about the risks,symptoms and where to go for help can reduce the chance of theproblem being ignored in the early weeks and becoming a longer termissue.

By attending antenatal courses together, the woman gains thecommitment and support of her birthing partner towards the birth shewants. Many courses provide time for discussion about the role of thebirth partner, enabling them to consider how best they can support thewoman and themselves during a time of immense emotions andchange.

In addition, antenatal educators also often provide postnatal support,by way of a post-birth reunion to bring the group full circle. In somecases, educators are available to clients for telephone, email and textsupport as well once the course has finished.

Whilst it is certainly true that much of the information you can learnduring an antenatal course is available for free on the Internet or inbooks, it is generally accepted that many men do not prepare forparenthood by reading and tend to be kinaesthetic or visual learners -they learn best by doing and seeing. Antenatal courses which adopt anactive approach to learning, with practise sessions, demonstrationsand participative discussions will be much more engaging for men andothers who prefer to get involved rather than simply read bythemselves.

In next month’s article, we'll consider a second benefitfrom attending antenatal courses - Making Choices.

[1] Lee, D, Yip, A, Leung, T and Chung, T, 2004, Ethnoepidemiology of postnataldepression, The British Journal of Psychiatry 184; 34-40

[2] Paulson, J.F., & Bazemore, S.D., (2010). Prenatal and postpartum depression in fathersand its association with maternal depression: a meta-analysis. Journal of the AmericanMedical Association, 303(19), 1961-1969.

This article was written byMichelle Eshkeri, CEO &founder of Birth-Your Way, aBarnet-based company whichprovides private and NCTgroup courses as well astailored individual birth andparenting coaching sessions.

For more information, [email protected] orvisit

http://www.birth-yourway.co.ukhttp://www.facebook.com/Birth-YourWayUK

For more information on NCT antenatal courses, visithttp://www.nct.org.uk

Antenatal Courses: Where's the value?Feature

Getting Support..


Feature

During pregnancy you get inundated withleaflets, information and advice. Breast orbottle? Travel system or pushchair?Vaccinations? Home birth or hospital birth? Opena savings account for the new arrival? Havebounty photos? Buy the new state of the art cot?Co-sleep or cot sleep? The list is endless, butthere’s one thing that has only recently left mefeeling deprived, nappies.

I naturally used disposable nappies with my first daughter (P1). It wasquite clear that everyone used disposables and cloth nappies weresomething your grandparents used many moons ago. I was frequentlytold horror stories about soaking nappies in a bucket for days, thehorrible stench they produced, they would take ages to dry and weretricky to fold up and put together with safety pins. It was something Iwas very glad I didn’t have to do and in all honesty I thought clothnappies had stopped being produced long before I was born.

Back in May I was approached by a company to review a cloth nappy.This prompted me to do some research of my own. I was amazed tofind that there are many companies, types and reasons to use clothnappies. It was not what I’d expected to find and I was utterly shockedat the reality.

Everywhere we go there’s offers and enticing images of babies wearingdisposable nappies or mothers using disposable wipes. Where are theadverts for cloth nappies? Where are the leaflets and facts about clothnappies when we attend our antenatal classes or visit our midwife?

I went into a leading baby and child shop recently and purposely wentlooking for cloth nappies. I was pleased to find some, but verydisappointed when the only type was the very old fashioned terrytoweling. The type that everyone cringes about and remises on thepast. In my opinion it’s clearly the lack of availability that helps swayour decisions on nappies.

As a young mother it always feels like I’m being watched over morethan an average aged mother would. Not only do I breastfeed butwhen I dig inside my changing bag and pull out my wipes bag and clothnappy I feel the eyes burning onme. I’ve had somany people ask aboutmy cloth nappies. I’m no expert but I’m absolutely addicted to themand if I can persuade someone that they aren’t as bad as everyone

thinks then that gives me warmthinside. Quite frankly there is notenough advertisement of clothnappies. Recycling is encouraged, yetdisposables are so easy to buy and gethold of, cloth nappies are not! Peopleneed to know the facts alongwith everyother bit of information we receivewhen we are pregnant.

I’ll start with disposable nappies. Onaverage, from birth to potty training,your baby will use 6,000 nappies whichcosts roughly £7 for a pack of 24. Now I

don’t need a calculator to realize that’s a lot of money going straightinto the bin, literally. When you think of the environmental side ofdisposables, it takes somewhere between 250 – 500 years for just onemeasly nappy to completely decompose. Disposables quite clearlyhave advantages though or they wouldn’t be doing so well for the past65 years. They are discreet under clothing, they are absorbent andeasily disposed of with little effort.

Moving on to cloth nappies. A good start up, about 20 nappies, whichwill last the whole duration of nappy wearing costs roughly £200.That’s saving you a whopping amount of money! It will cost you £80 towash your nappies for a period of two years, slightly more if you chooseto tumble dry them. You can also save even more money if you usewashable wipes as well. I personally think the savings of cloth nappyseal the deal, but we have to remember the fantastic advantage theyhave to the environment too.

There are hundreds of colours and designs to choose from. There arefour main types of cloth nappy; Fitted, pocket, all-in-one and flat, sothere will always be a nappy for every parent and every baby. Clothwearing becomes slightly addictive, you end up choosing colours tomatch every outfit and every season or even Christmas nappies!

It’s a fashion accessory all of its own whilst having fantastic benefits foryour baby too. A lot of non-cloth users worry about the bulkiness ofcloth or the way the baby ends up sporting a frog leg position, well thisis actually a good thing. Cloth nappies help to develop correct hipposition and provide an amazing cushion for those moments oflearning to walk. Cloth nappies are also chemical free so are safer andsofter on your beautiful baby’s skin.

When you know all this it really makes you wonder why the majority ofparents choose to use disposable nappies and throw their preciousmoney away?

Written By:Jodie May-Smith

[email protected]://lifewithpinkprincesses.co.ukhttp://www.facebook.com/lifewithpinkprincesseshttp://www.twitter.com/lwpprincesses


Tesco are asking the public to nominate mums for theirMum of the Year Awards 2014.

The family-friendly supermarket is looking for mumswho make a difference in their community and toother people by their work, their passion and by justbeing a great mum. The public are being asked tosend in details of mums who raise money for charity,help in the local area, support their families in difficulttimes and generally give back to others.

Speaking in her role as Celebrity Ambassador, Denisevan Outen said, ”Mums are so important and are ourcountry’s true unsung heroes. There are so manymumsacross the UK who are inspirational, courageous andselfless and most have no idea how special they are.”

Winners of the 2013 award included:

Margaret Aspinall from Liverpoolwas Campaigning Mum of theYear. Margaret lost her son in theHillsborough tragedy and hasspent the last twenty four yearscampaigning for the truth as partof the Hillsborough FamiliesSupport Group.

Anna Kennedy from Uxbridge was theAchieving Mum of the Year. Sheremortgaged her house to set up aschool for autistic children after hertwo autistic sons were turned awayfrom mainstream and specialisteducation.

Ann Maxwell from Midlothian was theCharitable Mum of the Year. Ann set up achildren’s epilepsy charity after her middle sonwas diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome, asevere form of epilepsy. She has raised over £7million despite suffering from cancer.

Mireille Williams from Bristol was theCommunity Mum of the Year. Mireillesaved her son’s preschool fromclosure by rallying her localcommunity and turning the schoolinto a viable charitable business,saving seven jobs along the way.

Kate Hardcastle from Huddersfieldwas the Enterprising Mum of the Year.She created a community group tohelp lesser-known charities raiseawareness and staff in her owncompany are paid to volunteer oneday a week.

Claire Lomas from MeltonMowbray was the CourageousMum of the Year. Claire, despitebeing paralysed from the chestdown after a riding accident,spent 16 days walking the LondonMarathon in a robotic suit andraised over £200,000 for spinalinjury charities.

And Melanie C, the Celebrity Mum ofthe Year 2013, who has global fameand girl power but still finds time tosupport a host of charities, said "I was sohonoured to be awarded TescoCelebrity Mum of the Year this year,and so incredibly humbled to meet theother amazing mums. It's was awonderful afternoon and so inspiring tohear everybody's stories. All of uswinners have stayed in touch andcontinued to support each other and

our causes. If you know a super special mum who needs tobe recognised for the fantastic things she does thennominate her today."

The mums attended a glitzy, star-studded luncheonevent at London’s iconic hotel, The Savoy, as part of athree-day trip that also involved quality time withDavid Cameron at 10 Downing Street.

Nominations for the 2014 awards must be submitted by11.55pm on Friday 13 September 2013.

Winners will again be invited to attend a glamorouscelebrity ceremony in London in March next year.

To nominate someone for an award or for moreinformation on the Tesco Mum of the Year Awards2014, please visit www.tescomagazine.com

Feature

Get nominatingnow for yourMum of The

Year!



Health & Wellbeing

The Baby Buzz Guide toHealth & Wellbeing

Patients ask me quite often how I could possibly choose a joblike this! And yes, I would probably ask that same question. Butsometimes in life you do the unexpected; I never thought thatlooking at women’s pelvic floors could actually turn into a really`uplifting´ job.

Women that come to see me usually have the sort of issues youmight have seen on TV under “embarrassing problems” and areoften related to their pelvic floor.

When your pelvic floor has stopped doing its job well, you mayexperience stress incontinence. This is a leakage of urineoccurring when the bladder experiences stress e.g. whencoughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting or even just when movingabruptly. It also can contribute to “your bits falling out” or inmore medical terms your bladder, bowel and/or uterus movingdownwards into the vagina, which is then called prolapse.

So these are two really important jobs that your pelvic floordoes for you: it keeps you continent and stops everything fromfalling out!

You might think, as we all do, that thiscould never become a problem for you.Unfortunately there are some factors thatcontribute massively to this and one ofthem is being pregnant and the other oneis child birth! This should not really be along term problem, just as someone whohas broken their leg will usually be able towalk and run again after someconvalescence time and rehabilitation oftheir leg muscles.

But do we really rehabilitate our pelvicfloor muscles after child birth? Even I didnot think about my pelvic floor then, as Iwas busy with being a new mum, havingso many new things to focus on, being sooverwhelmed with the love anddedication towards my child that my ownneeds took a backseat. I was convincedthat MY pelvic floor muscles would be

okay and recover by themselves!

This is our downfall and why I am writing this article. I am trulygrateful to BabyBuzz for offering to publish it.

Please girls, do not ignore your pelvic floor muscles! Ever!Especially not if you are a mum; no matter whether you havehad a Caesarean or vaginal delivery; if you had an assisteddelivery (ventouse or forceps) then you really need to workextra hard, as those can be quite traumatic on the pelvic floor.Being pregnant in itself is stress on the pelvic floor, as the extraweight and the baby press down on it. If you have a toddlerwhilst you are pregnant, it is extra stressful for your muscles, asyou might carry your toddler on top of all this extra weight!

Pelvic Floor Exercises:Now the question is: how do I do pelvic floor exercises? Theunlucky situation is that only 60% of us know how to do aneffective pelvic floor contraction. If you are unsure whether youare doing it right, try to stop your urine flow midstream. This isnot an exercise! Only a one off test!!

The Perks of being a Women’s Health Physiotherapistby Judith Landhausser HCPC, MCSP, MACPWH, PG Dip (Women’s Health)


Health & Wellbeing

If it stops then this means that you can activate your pelvicfloor.

If it doesn’t stop then it could be a wrong contraction or thecontraction is not strong enough to stop the flow. If the flowgets stronger while you are trying to stop it, then you areactually straining the pelvic floor, which is the wrongmovementaltogether!

Once you are reassured that you are contracting your pelvicfloor correctly, you should aim to do 10 pelvic floor contractionsin a row. Aim to hold them for 10 seconds and each with a 4second break between. Follow these with 10 short (1 secondbut strong) pelvic floor squeezes, ensuring you relax yourmuscles after every contraction. Ideally repeat that sequence2-3 times a day.

Please DONOT do this while you are emptying your bladder, buteither afterwards or at another time while you are dressed! Itcan be done in lying down, sitting, or standing, or in any otherposition.

Whilst you breastfeed or bottle feed, might be a good time,whilst in the play ground waiting for your child to come out ofnursery, school or extra-curricular activities might be a goodtime too, commuters can definitely do it on the train. I alwaysdo mine at night, when I am taking my son to bed, which helpsme stay awake, while I wait for him to go to sleep.

People nearby should not be aware that you are contractingyour pelvic floor! If they are then either you are doing it wrongor are using your big muscle groups to help. If you struggle tokeep your facial expression relaxed, then pretend you arechecking your phone or something similar.

The knackAnother very important point is that whenever you feel asneeze or a cough coming or when you lift something, contractyour pelvic floor muscles beforehand and try to hold them tightduring the activity. This will a) strengthen your pelvic floorduring your daily activities b) help with leaking problems ifthere are any, and c) support your pelvic organs, when pressureis coming down onto them. You teach your kids to cover theirmouth whenever they cough or sneeze and eventually they dothat without being bugged about it. So I want you to focus onthis technique until it just happens without you needing to thinkabout it.

So, to conclude, if you recognise that you have a problem withstress incontinence or a prolapsed, then I strongly advise you todo these exercises religiously.

If you are unsure if you are doing them correctly, seek help. TheACPWH (Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Women’sHealth) keeps a list of physiotherapists qualified to deal withcontinence and women’s health issues. They are happy toinform you where you can find the nearest women’s healthphysiotherapist.

Often it takes just one visit to get reassurance and to havesomeone check that your pelvic floor does what it is meant todo, sometimes it takes a couple of visits, with a second timeensuring that you are making progress. Some women needmore input, but mostly it is quite straightforward. Of courseyou can always consult your GP or Obstetrician/Gynaecologistas well.

Nowwhy do I find my job uplifting? I can create an environmentwhere women that have issues with their bladder(incontinence, urgency, frequency), vagina (pain duringintercourse, prolapse) or bowel (incontinence) can talk freelyabout their despair, about the problems they are facing thatthey would like to tackle. Not all those problems can be solvedwith physiotherapy alone, but we can achieve quite a lot formost of our patients. It is a pleasure to see women leaving afterthe treatment with an understanding why they have theseproblems and with the knowledge that they can helpthemselves; it makes them feel empowered and moreconfident.

For me the nicest thing in my job is giving women the ability tomake a difference in their lives.

If you have any questions you can e-mail me [email protected] or you can see me for anappointment at:

● 148 Harley Street, London W1G for appointments call07710 438125

● Sutherland House Natural Health Centre, 1a AshbourneAvenue, Temple Fortune NW11 0DP for appointmentscall 07710 438125

● BMI The Kings Oak Hospital, Chase Farm (North Side),The Ridgeway, Enfield EN2 8SD for appointments call020 8370 9515

● 999 Medical Centre, 999 Finchley Road, Temple FortuneNW11 7HB for appointments call 020 8458 9939

We are also holding an Open Day at Sutherland House onSunday 20 October 2013, 1-5 pm where I (and loads of otherpractitioners from all kinds of background) will be available toanswer questions throughout the afternoon.

Wishing you all the very best with your pelvic floor exerciseprogramme.

If you have any questions regarding this feature, please do nothesitate to contact us at:

[email protected].


Health & Wellbeing

Your sleep questions answered…Case Study One

I have a one year old daughter who has never slept through the nightmainly due to heath issues since birth such as reflux disease and asthmaand up until she was 9months old she used to wake up on average 15 timesa night. We were advised to give her a dummy to help her produce moresaliva and thus alleviate the pain from the reflux and she still has a dummynow for bedtime and naps. These conditions have been under control andmanaged with medication for the last few months but yet she still does notsleep through although now she only wakes up 2-3 times a night so amassive improvement.

She goes to bed about 7pm and wakes up at 6am. The times that she wakesup in between are around 10/11pm, 1/2am and 4am roughly. When shewakes up she cries until I come into the room but all I need to do is to rubher back until she goes back to sleep which usually takes about 10 minutesand I have to do this each time. If I do not go in straight away then hercrying will escalate and then we will end up being awake for an hour ratherthan ten minutes per time. The interesting thing is that she will only do thisif I am home and does not seem to do it if only my husband is looking afterher or if she is staying away overnight at family or friends. She is very clingyto me and only wants to be with me if I am in eye or earshot however outof sight out of mind so she is fine if I am away. I have tried to send myhusband in during the night but once she realises it is not me she screamsthe place down until I come in. I am not sure what to do so that she willsleep through the night? Kind regards, Sam

________________________________________________

Hi Sam,

It sounds like your little girl is looking for reassurance from you during thenight and has gotten into a pattern of relying on this brief reassurance fromyou in order to settle back to sleep. At 1 year of age, her sleep patterns willresemble adult sleep patterns in that she sleeps in sleep cycles, and inbetween these sleep cycles she has partial awakenings. It is at these partialawakenings that she is looking for reassurance from you and needs thisinteraction, albeit brief, in order to settle back into the next sleep cycle.

The key to encouraging her to settle herself during these wake ups at night,is to work on her settling independently at bedtime. One technique youmay want to consider is the gradual retreat approach, a step-by-stepprocess whereby you initially sit in the room as she goes to sleep and overa period of approximately 2 weeks, you slowly move yourself out of theroom as she gets more confident at settling herself. You do the same ateach of her wake ups throughout the night.

Another option to consider would be the timed checks approach, which isalso constant reassurance but without sitting in the room with her. Thismethod would involve you leaving the room for a short period of time,going back in briefly to reassure her, leaving again for the same period oftime and continuing this back and forth until she falls asleep.

It is essential that whatever approach you choose is one that feels right forher, and indeed for you. The more consistent you are around sleep, bothat bedtime and for nighttime wake ups, the easier the process will be.

Good luck!Maryanne, Child Sleep Workswww.childsleepworks.co.uk

Case Study TwoI have a 10 month old who is up 2-4 times a night he's my 3rd andso far none of my tricks are working.

He is habit waking at 3am & up until 5am and is still demanding milkin the night even though he eats lots during the day. Kind regards,Marian Constantinou-Ioannou

__________________________________________

Dear Marian,

That sounds so exhausting, especially with 2 other children to con-sider too.

A few things you may want to consider. One is his daytime sleepschedule, which can have a significant impact on night-time sleep.At his age, he will need around 3 hours of daytime sleep in total,spread over 2 naps. How he settles at bedtime is also key in encour-aging solid night-time sleep. Making sure that he is not overtired atbedtime will help in making the transition to sleep an easier proc-ess. Try and stick a maximum gap of 4 hours between the end of hisafternoon sleep and bedtime in order to avoid him getting over-tired. A structured, predictable and soothing bedtime routine,leading up to bedtime will help him wind down and make it easierfor him to settle to sleep.

I also suggest you work on breaking his association with milk andsleep. Make sure that he does not feed until he is fully asleep atbedtime. If this is happening, then move the milk to an earlier partof the bedtime routine. There are a few options to stopping themilk at night – one is to reduce the amount he drinks every fewnights or to go cold turkey and cut out the milk completely. Youmay need to use a sleep training technique to encourage him to goback to sleep at night without the need for milk. There are manydifferent approaches and it is important that you find the approachthat feels right for you, and for him and one that you feel that youcan remain most consistent with.

Good luck!Maryanne, Child Sleep Workswww.childsleepworks.co.uk

For more information, please contact Maryanne at ChildSleep Works on:

Tel: 07760 252 750Email: [email protected]: www.childsleepworks.co.uk

Come and visit our facebook page for lots of tips and funny per-spectives on children’s sleep and keep updated with Child Sleep

Works on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/childsleepworks



Feature

We constantly hear about techniques or things we should orshouldn’t do in order to help our babies develop. What isactually beneficial and what is just myth?

We were sent the latest in educational books from topspeech and language therapist Nicola Lathey andexperienced national newspaper journalist and mother oftwo, Tracey Blake called Small Talk. Each month I will followa series of games and recommendations as written anddescribed for my 24 month old and I’ll let you know how weget on. For this issue, we give you a brief introduction to thebook and the writers and some of the games and activitiesyou can do with your children, let us know how you get on?

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Oxford-based speech therapist Nicola Lathey and journalistand Princes Risborough resident Tracey Blake have written abook called Small Talk: Simple ways to boost your child’sspeech and language skills from birth. It’s full of fun games toencourage your baby or toddler along the way to becominga confident, chatty child and here they share their tips, tricksand advice with Baby Buzz readers…

Say What You SeeIf you want to do one thing to boost your child’s speech it’sthe Say What You See Technique.

It’s all about learning through play and you give a gentlerunning commentary of what your child is doing, and what is

happening, at that moment in time. Itinvolves following your child’s lead,observing him closely to see what he isinterested in, and commenting and thenpausing to give space for the child torespond.

This powerful technique helps your childbecome involved in what he’s doing and linkwhat he hears to what he is doing orthinking. Next time he repeats the action orplay sequence he will hear your voice in hishead, almost like a scratched record and,eventually, want to say it for himself.

Getting the most out of story timeA bedtime story should be read from a veryearly age – from birth, in fact. For veryyoung babies, it’s best to simply point outone or two single words that relate to the

pictures on the page. As you ‘tune in’ to the level of yourchild’s language and thought, you will be able to modify yourstorytelling accordingly – first reading out a word from eachpage, then a line from each page, then the whole story. Useyour baby’s finger to point to the pictures you are talkingabout as it encourages the child to look at the same thing youare looking at.

Snap to itPhoto albums can work just as well as storybooks. Initially,simply name the people in the pictures, then add moredetail. For example, first you might say ‘Mummy’, then thismight become ‘Mummy swimming’ and finally ‘Mummy’sswimming in the sea on holiday last summer’.

Please see Page 22 for a series of games and techniques totry with your family.

To purchase your copy of Small Talk, please visit:

www.amazon.co.ukwww.waterstones.co.uk

Small Talk: Simple ways to boost your child’s speech andlanguage skills from birth by Nicola Lathey and Tracey Blakeis available now at Waterstones or from Amazon.


See below a fabulous range of activities and gamesto enjoy with your children. We would love for youto send us your comments on how they worked foryou.

Send all emails to: [email protected]

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Give reasons to communicateMothers often try to pre-empt their baby’severy need, but by doing this your child nolonger has a reason to communicate withyou. Here’s a list of reasons why a baby mighttry to communicate, once you understandthese you can begin to encourage them toexpress their needs – through gesture,babbling, words or eventualy sentences!

Responding to someone (saying hi or bye)Asking for more (another biscuit!)Protesting/refusing (No!’/‘Go away.’)Getting attention – ‘Muuuummy!’Making comments – ‘Look!’/‘Big bus.’Giving information – ‘Me fall down.’Seeking information – ‘What’sthat?’/‘Where’s Daddy gone?’Thinking and planning – ‘After tea’/‘Bathtime.’And sharing ideas – ‘Let’s go park!’/‘I likesweeties.’

Anticipation gamesEncourage your baby or toddler to interact with you byplaying anticipation games, where you are anticipating aresponse from him and he is anticipating a word or an actionfrom you.

Peek-a-boo is our favourite. Trail a muslin briefly over yourface, so your baby can see your face and then youmomentarily disappear. As your face is covered, startsaying, ‘Peek-aaaa . . .’ then pop out and say, ‘boo!’ Babiesoften find this hilarious and will give lots of smiles. You canthen try trailing the fabric over baby’s face and use the sameroutine – encourage your baby to pull it off. Once he getsthe hang of it you can make the game more interactive byleaving a long pause after saying ‘Peeka-. . . (pause)’ for yourbaby to make an excited movement or a noise (and thenyou say ‘boo’) – the baby’s noise should eventually becomea ‘boo’.

The key to this technique is in establishing a routine – sorepeat, repeat, repeat until your child knows what to expectand when to play his part.

Container playToddlers love ‘container play’ and all you need is acouple of old ice cream tubs or large tupperwares (lunchboxes work well too) and some objects to play with. Trya small range of objects that fit within a certain categoryor set, for example, vehicles, clothes, snacks, toys oranimals.

Interestingly, when words are learnt within theirparticular set, they are stored better in the languagecentre in the brain (a bit like a filing cabinet in yourbrain). This then makes it easier for a toddler to retrievethem in order to say the words when they are needed.Name each item as you pull it out of the bag and thenthrow it theatrically into a large container (kids will lovethe noise of is bashing and crashing in) – continue untilthe bag is empty then enthusiastically start all overagain.

Feature


Health & Wellbeing

Cold weather and central heating can play havoc with your skin; so keep your skin looking great heading into the colder season with top tips fromfacial therapist and Bravura London founder (www.bravuralondon.com), Amanda Elias.

1. If normally oily or combination skin is getting a little dry, don’t use products designed for dry skin, this will only cause breakouts. Insteadtry using a more nourishing moisturiser that is suitable for your skin type and try changing from a cleansing wash to a cream cleanser.

2. Central heating takes moisture out from the air; try leaving a dish of water near your radiators which will act as a humidifier to helpreplace the moisture that’s lost- you can also add a few drops of aromatherapy oils to fragrance your room.

3. Don’t forget your SPF! Even in the winter UVA is present in the atmosphere and it’s this UVA that causes premature ageing. Just becausethe sun isn’t shining brightly, that’s not to say your skin doesn’t need protection.

4. Use AHAs such as glycolic acid or lactic acid to exfoliate your skin rather than a scrub. Using a scrub on the face can dry out the skin.AHAs help to exfoliate by dissolving the glue that holds on the dead skin cells, leaving the skin instantly fresher and healthier withoutyou having to scrub at your skin.

5. Don’t forget the children; their skin can also become dry this time of year, especially if they suffer with eczema, so use an appropriatemoisturiser for their skin or a gentle, non comedogenic oil such as jojoba or avocado oil.

6. Humectants bind moisture to the skin; look out for ingredients such as Hyaluronic Acid, Glycerine, Lactic Acid, Aloe Vera and Urea inyour moisturiser.

7. In the cold weather, our bodies crave hot baths and showers, unfortunately the hot water can dry out your skin leaving it itchy. Opt fora warm but not hot shower or bath then wrap up in a nice, fluffy bathrobe to warm up.

8. If your skin is dry, try adding a cupful or oats to your bath to sooth the skin, for less mess, put the oats in to the foot of an old pair ofclean tights, tie and cut the rest of the tights, you can save them to make more oatmeal bags for the bath.

9. Omega oils containing EPA are wonderful for helping to keep the skin and hair in peak condition. DHA keeps the brain functioningproperly while the EPA in the oil helps by regulating oil production and acting as an anti-inflammatory. However, there are concernsthat Omega 6 can actually make conditions such as acne worse so it’s best to buy a product that contains only Omega 3.

10. Don’t forget the skin on your body and feet, because we’re covered up we tend to stop looking after the bits that aren’t shown, we thenpanic when the sun comes out, scrubbing and moisturising to make our legs and feet look healthy enough to show off. Treat yourselfto some gorgeous smelling products, then choose a day to exfoliate and moisturise from head to toe, snuggle up in your bathrobe andgo to bed early with a good book (ahhh bliss).

Shortly after qualifying as aBeauty Therapist, Amandaopened her own beauty andmake-up salon in Wales beforefreelancing as a professionalmake-up artist. Beauty already inthe blood, Amanda’s interest inSkincare was sparked further byskin problems of her own, whichled her to discover the benefits ofAHA and BHAs for troubled skins.

With a vision to make an effective yet simple treatment safe andaccessible to everyone rather than just those who could afford to payfor salon treatments, Bravura London was founded in 2003 as the FIRSTcompany in the UK to supply chemical peels for use at home. Followingthe launch, fiancée Ryan Heslop left his job to work alongside Amandaas the brand’s director, taking the family-run business to new,flourishing heights.

AMum of three and facial expert, Amanda prides herself on the quality,effectiveness and competitive pricing of Bravura London’s products andtheir dedication to providing trustworthy advice to customers. www.bravuralondon.com


A few comments from some happy customers:

“Really practical course, pitched at the right level and very interactive”Sarah Parkins (Mum of 2)

“This class is just excellent, having it n my own home, with my friends and our babieswas not only fun, but so beneficial: the best money I’ve spent”Emma Soloman (Mummy of 3 month baby)

I found this course extremely informative, professional and easy to follow. Thank You”J McHernan (Mum of 2, aged 1 and 3)

“Really helpful course, with practial advice. This course is specific and to the point”J Robinson (Mum of 2)

“Really good to give you knowledge of CPR and anidea of how hard it is to do. Great focus on children”Julie Ainscough (Mummy of 3 & 9 months)

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In April 2012, at 29 weekspregnant, Hollie wasadmitted into hospitalafter passing out severaltimes during thepregnancy and sufferingfrom extensivebreathlessness which lefther almost bed ridden.After passing out severaltimes over one weekend,she was referred to acardiologist. Duringexamination she lay therethinking she would be told

everything was fine and not to worry. What she was told wasquite different “You are in a critical condition, and need to beadmitted into hospital right away. Your baby may have to bedelivered tonight”

After being admitted intoWatford General Hospital and thentransferred into the Critical Care unit at HammersmithHospital, Hollie was diagnosed with rare and potentially fatalheart condition, Arterial Pulmonary Hypertension, acondition which leads to extremely high blood pressure inthe artery between the heart and lungs. It is especiallydangerous during pregnancy and patients are told never toattempt to have children due to the high risks to bothmother and baby.

She was told by doctors that she had a 50/50 chance ofsurvival.

The mother of one added: “I was terrified. How do you getyour head around being told to get your life in order and tellyour friends and family?

“Luckily the baby was already at a stage where she would beviable - but all I could think was that I was going to be leavingmy husband behind alone with our new baby.”After being in hospital for 4 weeks and on continuous drugsto try and decrease the size of Hollies heart, via a large tubein her neck which lead straight to the heart, Hollies daughterGabriella was born via Caesarian Section.

Hollie then spent the next 10 days in Intensive Care whilstGabriella was taken to Queen Charlotte Hospital Special Careunit. They only saw each other for about an hour each day.

Whilst in Intensive Care Hollie received a box from friends,containing a selection of presents for herself and forGabriella when she was home. She thought it was such alovely touch and that, combined with the overwhelmingchoice of products on the market, gave her the inspiration tolaunch Sassy Bloom.

There is always a need to findthe perfect baby gift,something a bit different andHollie strongly believes that shehas created something special,a monthly box subscriptioncontaining a selection of topbaby products personalisedtowards a baby’s age and stageof development.Customers can sign up for one,three, six, or 12months, costingfrom £25 per month. A SassyBloom gift keeps the magic of anew baby alive, long after thevisitors have left. Whethermum wants to treat herself,dads’ want to surprise theirpartner each month (withoutany effort), or friends andfamily want to show they’re still thinking about the newaddition after the initial excitement has subsided – SassyBloom is perfect.

A ‘Sassy box’, promises to hand pick the very best, tried andtested baby products and deliver them straight to mums’door. Each month, as baby continues to blossom, the SassyBloom stork will hand deliver a specially tailored box filledwith the latest age-appropriate products. Having teamed upwith leading brands such as Hipp Organic, Mam, Lansinoh,Baby Einstein, Tomy as well as exclusive products new to theUK, parents can expect to receive an ideal selection of childrearing and infant goodies, whether it’s to aid development,a practical solution or a tasty treat. Sassy Bloom has thoughtof everything, simply so you don’t have to!

Sassy Bloom is currently offering customers the chance towin a 12 month subscription as well as 5 single monthlyboxes. To enter please visit www.sassybloom.com

Feature

A Sassy Mummy Indeed…


Exclusive

I am the perfectparent. Okay, I mayhave to qualify that.I have the PerfectParent, inside myhead. I would like tothink it she dying toget out, but I fearshe may just bedying.

Little by little, as Istumble across theobstacle course thatis bringing up twochildren, slightly outof breath and a tadfearful that I may

not quite make it across the next hurdle, my Perfect Parent isslowly crumbling. In the face of such mediocrity, confronted bysnot-smeared jumpers and eye bags that seem to touch my jawbone, there is little room left for perfection.

I know that my Perfect Parent is the model of parentaldiscipline. Because in my head, I set out to be firm but fair. Mychildren should understand that when I say 'no', I will only say itonce and I mean it, and we will all harmoniously move on fromthe request to buy that bit of plastic tat from the shop withoutissue, back chat or tantrum. The perfect parent inside does say'no' only once. It is the parent on the outside that has to say it afurther eight more times before having to drag a small child outof the shop whilst bending to whisper-shout in his ear that if hedoesn't stop whinging and pretend-crying about the crappywater pistol, he will be in Big Trouble. I know for a fact that thePerfect Parent never has to whisper-shout, that thing I do inpublic when I want to shout at my son, but to do so withonlookers would be the ultimate admission of my motheringmediocrity, so resort to whispering as loudly as I can right nextto his ear. I know that every time I do it, the Perfect Parentcringes at my parental ineptitude, before a little bit of hershrivels up and dies.

Which brings me to shouting in general. The Perfect Parentwould not shout. Because we all know that shouting is just youadmitting that you have lost. Both the argument and the plot.But hey, that doesn't stop me. Take the other night, putting myfour year old to bed. He suddenly decided, for no particularreason other than everything was going to bit too swimmingly,to refuse to get into bed.

"Come on, into bed please. Now." I keep my tone as light as myirritation will allow, trying hard to convince myself that this is

not going to end badly and that under utterly no circumstancesam I going to lose my temper. Shouting? Not today, thank you.I will be calm personified: how hard can it be? A few minuteslater, and it transpires, it has become very hard. He is stillrefusing to get into bed, I have confiscated his favourite toy andall I can think about is going downstairs for a glass of wine.Already, the Perfect Parent is impatiently tapping her foot androlling her eyes in the face of my incompetence. Finally, my sontakes a tiny step. And then another. Steps so small that I cancount progress by individual carpet tufts. Technically, he is nowobeying my request. In reality, he isn't. And then it happens. Ishout. And the Perfect Parent curls into a ball and a tear rollsdown her flawless, pale cheek.

And then there is the whole education thing. A motherinformed me recently that she plays language tapes to her fouryear old daughter and what marvellous progress she wasmaking. I do not do things like this with my kids. On hearing this,my Perfect Parent threw me a disgusted look, which I dulyignored as I was too busy trying not to blow a big, fat raspberryat the uber-mother who has a bi-lingual child. My son is learningstuff under my tutelage. He can sing the Spiderman theme tune,for goodness sake. But the perfect parent would also take theirchildren on a range of exciting, educational and inspiringactivities when they are all together for the day. Me, I choosethe local soft play area every week. Because a) I get a sit down,b) with a coffee c) with friends and d) my son runs off with hisfriend and leaves us in peace for a bit.

I think we all probably have the Perfect Parent inside of us, theparent we dream of being when we are first expecting a child,when the delights of dealing with your offspring have yet to bemade a reality and you can see no earthly reason why youwould not always be consistent with your discipline and canconfidently vow never to use confectionery as a legitimate wayto persuade your child to get into the bloody car right now. It'sjust that some Perfect Parents are better hidden than others.Mine is currently lying under a pile of rubble, so deeply buriedno one can hear her scream. Certainly not above my bloodyshouting, they can't.___________________________________________________

Read more from Jodie Newman on her weekly blog,Mothering Frights:

www.motheringfrights.wordpress.com

and get Womb with a View, her debut book abouther experience of pregnancy and motherhood, from:

www.jodienewman.co.uk.

You can follow Mothering Frights at @motheringfright for more wordsabout parenthood, sometimes even put in the right order.

By Jodie Newman


Exclusive

Who is behind the H+H’s product?Harris+Hoole is run by me and my siblings Andrew andLaura. Our coffee is the result of our experience foundingTaylor St Baristas and it’s looked after by Andrew who isour resident coffee expert and was head judge at thisyear’s UK Barista Championships. Laura handles the lookand feel of our stores and she works to ensure each storeis a unique and comfortable place to hang out and I handlethe business side of things.

How did the company get started?Our dream is to bring high quality coffee to the British highstreet, but to realise our vision we needed financialsupport. We had a great opportunity to partner with Tescowho recognised our ambition and have taken a non-controlling stake in Harris+Hoole to help us grow.

What is the company about?At the heart of what we do is our passion for great coffee.We want to offer our customers the best coffee availablein a friendly and relaxing environment. All our stores alsowork hard to make sure they are contributing to their localcommunity. Our stores put on regular community events,offer space to local artists, host open-mic nights, supportlocal charities and even provide venues for yoga andpilates classes. We also look to stock products from localsuppliers wherever possible and have built some terrificrelationships with a range of small, local businesses.

We also believe the key to providing our customers with agreat experience is our people and that’s why we providesome of the best training in the industry to all our baristasto ensure they are all masters of their craft before theyserve a coffee to a customer. Our people are at the heartof our business and we want everyone involved inHarris+Hoole to feel part of our extended family.

What has been the highlight of starting the business?For me, our best achievement has been bringing newpeople into the fold who really buy in to who we are andwhat we do. Everyone in our business is dedicated toproviding better coffee and a better coffee experience andI’m really proud of that.

What has been the downside of starting the business?It’s been a great experience so far, but perhaps the mostdisheartening thing is being judged purely by association.We’re really proud of what we do and we hope peopleform their opinions about us having come in to see whatwe offer.

You have backing from one of themost influential brandsrecognised all over the world, Tesco, was this alwaysyour intention to approach them?

Our deal with Tesco is an unusual way of funding a start-upbusiness and it’s tough to obtain funding throughconventional channels, so it was great when we got anopportunity to speak to them. We were excited that Tescoshared our vision for the business and was prepared toback us.


Exclusive

Did you know that you needed someone as influential asthem to get the brand to where you are now?We knew that we would need to secure financial backingto grow as we wanted, but not necessarily through doinga deal with a retailer. Since we’ve beenworking with Tescothey’ve been a great partner and they have provided reallyhelpful support in some of our back office functions likeproperty and logistics while giving us space to grow andrun our business as we see fit.

You have broken into what is a fierce industry, whatmakes you different from the other baristas?The coffee industry in the UK is big and it’s growing so wefeel there’s plenty of room for a new player in the marketthat offers high-quality coffee in a great environment.We’re bringing artisanal quality coffee to the high streetfor the first time and we hope people will see what wemean when they try their first cup with us. We’re alsoworking hard to ensure all our stores are unique socustomers feel they are part of what we do and that theirlocal store is in keeping with their area.

Would you change anything about Harris + Hoole?Not at all! We’ve got a great team here and we’re reallyhappy with our offer.

What do you want to achieve for Harris + Hoole in thefuture, hopes and aspirations?There’s certainly lots to do, but our main objective is tocontinue to grow and give more people a chance to try ourgreat tasting coffee. Our stores are already doing greatwork with their local communities to make the high streeta more exciting place to be and we want to continue thisin our second year. Our In Good Company scheme (whichoffers loyalty cards that can be filled up by localbusinesses) worked really well so far and we want toextend this to more stores. We’re also working hard onour app which launched in August and allows customers toorder ‘my usual’ whichever store they’re in. We’re goingto continue to develop the app and hope eventually toallow customers to pay for their coffee through theirphone.

Whatwould your advice be to anyonewanting to start uptheir own business?A business needs to have a heart, principles andsubstance. And it needs to deliver real value to itscustomers and its community. If you can tick all theseboxes, then success is sure to follow.

Southgate Tooley Street Twickenham Uxbridge Rickmansworth Walton-On-ThamesCrouch End London Wall St Margarets Ruislip Watford GuildfordBarnet Canon Street PinnerNorth Finchley OsterleyHighbury Imperial Wharf

Ealing

Amersham

www.harrisandhoole.co.uk


By Dawn Isaac, garden designer and writer specialising in children's gardening- www.dawn-isaac.com

Smart Growing

Gardening with Dawn Isaac

Reaping the HarvestAfter all your hard work this summer, it's now time to enjoy thebounty. This is probably themost exciting part of all for children- having the chance to taste all that they've grown. And best ofall, even the fussiest children who turn up their noses atanything green are often tempted to sample their own produce.

The first rule is - be alert. It's worth checking everyday,particularly with fruit, to see if crops are ready. In fact plantssuch as raspberries or peas and beans will produce bigger yieldsif they are regularly picked.

Children are always eager to help so why not give them theirown collecting container (preferably named) and let thempatrol the borders. It's worth accompanying them if you can asripe fruit can be very good at playing hide and seek.

And when you've harvested your fruit and veg, why not makesomething delicious with your produce? Milkshakes workbrilliantly as a way to use up fruit gluts, multi-coloured saladsare great to showcase all your different lettuce varieties andedible flowers and why not try some muffins and cakes withadded vegetable flavourings such as carrots or beetroot? Youcould even create a whole range of treats for a celebratorygarden picnic.

Of course the best way of all to enjoy your crops is straight fromthe garden. Raspberries, strawberries, carrots, salad leaves,peas, apples, plums - pick them when ripe, give them a quickwash if necessary, and munch on them raw.

And don't forget you can also harvest seeds. This will save youmoney next year as well as being the perfect way to showchildren a plant's life cycle.

The first thing to do is let one or two vegetables "run to seed"or "bolt". This is when the plant throws up a main shoot andflowers. When the flower has been pollinated, usually be bees,it will die off and from that spot the seeds will form. Some ofthe best ones to try are lettuce (with it's fluffy topped seedsdesigned to fly on the wind), radishes (with pods full of seeds),pot marigolds (with c-shaped, good-sized seeds) and beans(with pods that split open to fling out the seeds when ripe).

Homemade seed packets are also fun to make with children.You can create the packet itself from plain envelopes whichyou've decorated. Make sure you have included the name ofthe crop and some growing instructions. If you have lots youcould even gift some to friends and encourage them to getgrowing with you next year.

What to harvest this month:

AuberginesBeetrootSummer cabbageCalabreseSaladsChilliesTomatoes, cucumbers and courgettesPotatoes and sweetcornFrench and runner beansOnions, garlics and shallotsStrawberriesBlackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, raspberriesand gooseberriesPlums and damsonsEarly apples and pearsPumpkins and squash

www.dawn-isaac.com


Gardening with Dawn Isaac

September project: Ice BowlIf you want to have a really special tea outside, this is a great way to impressyour friends and family. Choose your favourite leaves or flowers and create aspectacular ice bowl. Not only is the bowl a lovely way to serve freshly pickedfruit, it will also keep it perfectly chilled.

You will need2 plastic bowls, one slightly larger than the other

small jugselection of flowers or leaves

towellarge stonessticky tack

crepe bandagesaluminum foil

1. Take the larger of the two plastic bowls and fill it with water sing the jug to a depthof about 5cm. Ask a grown up to put the bowl in the freezer for a few hours untilthe water has frozen solid.

2. Take the bowl out of the freezer when the water has frozen. Start wetting yourchosen flowers or leaves and then place them around the inside of the bowl. Thewetness will help them to stick to the sides.

3. When you have added your selection of flowers or leaves, put the second bowlside the first one and place both of them on top of a towel (this will help mop up anyspillages).

4. Put the large stones in the smaller bowl. This will help to keep the small bowlweighted down as the water freezes.

5. Take four equally sized lumps of sticky tack and place them around the edge ofthe larger bowl at even intervals. Mold them over the to of the rim so that they stayin place ad act as buffers to hold the smaller bowl at an equal distance on all sides.

6. Take two lengths of crepe bandage. Place the first under the two bowls and tie astightly as possible on the top. Do the same with the second bandage at right anglesto the first.

7. Pour in water using your small jug to fill up the gap between the two plastic bowls.Keep pouring carefully until the water level nearly reaches the top.

8. Ask a grown up to put the bowls back in the freezer carefully. You will have to bepatient now and leave your ice bowl to freeze overnight.

Next day, ask your grown-up to take the bowls out of the freezer. Stand them on atowel and leave them for a few minutes until you are able to loosen the bowls.

Carefully untie the bandages and take out your finished ice bowl. If you are not usingthe bowl straight away, then you can store it in the freezer wrapped in aluminumfoil.

This project is from Dawn's book - Garden Crafts for Children (CICO RRP £14.99)

www.dawn-isaac.com


Pebblehome interiors ltd

pebbleinblu Pebble Home Interiors


Features

Calming Colic by Christian BatesAs a lot of parents will know, having a baby can be a stressful and tryingtime. This can be pushed to the extreme limits if your little one suffersfrom Colic. What is Colic you might ask? Well, if you take thedescription directly from the NHS, it is this:

“Colic is a common, but poorly understood, condition thataffects babies. Themost common symptom of colic is excessiveand inconsolable crying in a baby that otherwise appears to behealthy and well-fed.”

I have been blessed that neither of my daughters suffered from this,but I have heard the horror stories of just how devastating it can be.We were contacted by Christian Bates, Osteopath & Naturopath whoopened his award winning clinic in Haywards Heath in 2008, where hetreats babies for colic and other birth traumas. It is his reputation withthe local midwives and health visitors and no doubt his in depthknowledge and expertise that has led to him being the maindestination of referrals.

If you search the internet, you only read what every parent dreads toread “the cause of colic is unknown” or “there is no cure for colic”.Christian sent us a copy of his book “Calming Colic, How to help the 10Causes of Colic” and I was amazed at the research that has beendetailed, from what colic is to the various birth traumas that can be acausing factor. The book pulls no punches and doesn’t claim to be aquick fix but certainly covers every possibility using case history’s.There are also numerous techniques on what you can do to helpyourself and your baby with additional dietary recommendations anddiaries to monitor the severity of colic your child is suffering from.


www.calmingcolic.comwww.facebook.com/CalmingColic

[email protected]


There is a really interesting debate going on amongst midwives andbirth supporters at the moment, asking what is the right word orphrase to describe ‘normal’ birth? But before we can answer that, wehave to ask, well, just what is a normal birth?

What is normal for one woman may not be normal for another. Doesnormal mean natural? Is natural everyone’s normal? Can a caesareanever be classed as normal? And what about the entire spectrum ofdifferent birth experiences in between? Just how should we classifywhat is normal? This was the question posed by midwife SheenaByrom OBE who set up a twitter debate to ask ‘what word should weuse to define vaginal birth without intervention?’ The key concern atthe heart of the discussion is the question “ if we use the word normal,will that promote disappointment in women who will then feel thatthey ‘failed’ to achieve a normal birth if they did need someintervention help to deliver their baby?”

In reading through the debate responses, the shining factor that keptcoming up was the recognition that it is the birth EXPERIENCE that ismost important, not how the baby was birthed.

My favourite comment in reading the transcript was ‘would we ask, didyou have a normal baby? Then why ask, did you have a normal birth??

The phrase which I was taught when I trained with Michel Odent wasthe idea that every woman has a capacity for ‘normal physiologic birth’.What I have always appreciated about this description is that I feel itencapsulates the fact that every woman is different, and that what isnormal for her is completely unique to her physiology, to the size andshape of her pelvis and her pelvic outlet, to the size and shape of herbaby, according to what position that baby is in according to the spaceand place where she is giving birth, according to the trust or fear shemay be experiencing, according to, according to, according to…

All the factors that affect birthing women are a complex of bothinternal and external influences that are driving what is a muchheightened hormonally mastered physiologic experience. It seems tome that it should not matter so much what happens in respect thevarious ways she may be helped in birthing that baby, BUT, it mattersin a most crucial way HOW that help is given.

We live in a culture where the current maternity services are geared totry and ensure the safest possible outcome, so there is a structure ofpolicies, protocols and procedures that are there to help guideline safepractice. Add to this the fact that we do have a midwifery crisis, andthat many of the hospital maternity units are working at way over thecapacity they were built for. This is part of the picture of why we see asignificant proportion of intervention labours.

Our modern women are also at their capacity, often working right upinto late pregnancy, often coming into their labours without muchreserve energies, often feeling concerned or fearful, which has adynamic influence on the chemistry of their labouring hormones,sometimes to the point of inhibiting the labours progress. This is partof the picture of why we see a significant proportion of interventionlabours.

I believe that when women describe that they are wanting to have a‘natural’ birth, that on a deeply essential level what this really means isthat they wish to come in to the place that is a normal part of birthing,whereby as they are handed their baby in that first moment that theywill experience a rush of such pure love and joy quickly followed by ahuge surge of triumph.

This is the most natural moment of a labour.

I believe that what makes a birth both natural and normal is to reachthis place of feeling this absolute sense of achievement, ofaccomplishment, a triumph of having endured the arduous process ofbirthing, and to have emerged with that precious wee babe in yourarms. It matters not what avenues that may need to take, whatmatters is that at each stage of the labour, from one step to the next,if you are making decisions and choices that you feel confident are theright way for your baby to be born, this is the process that will take youto that most natural and normal of places, whereby you feel that yourbirth was the right kind of birth for you.

We need to work together as a culture, both as birthing parents and asbirth providers and supporters to change this either/or attitude towhether an intervention is normal or not, and instead let us all focuson helping parents to have birthing experiences that will bring thatrush of joy and triumph in knowing that your child is safely deliveredand that you have been heroic in the attempt to bring this baby forth.

I do not wish to in any way diminish the fact that many women are notexperiencing this surge of triumph. We need to look carefully at howour maternity services are providing care and reflect on the myriad ofways that it is not being as well managed as it could and should be. It isconsistently heartening to be aware that there is dissatisfaction withinthe midwifery community, and please know that a great manywonderful midwives are doing their very best to help improve thecurrent culture.

We also need though to look at the expectation of mothers and fathersapproaching birth, and help to find a way forward out of this either/orlanguage and come to a place where we can begin to realise that anormal birth experience is whatever it may be that your particularphysiology requires, and that the most natural part of a labour is thatmoment when you first hold your child.

Website: www.naturechild.co.ukMobile: 07932 00 00 25


Feature

What is ‘Normal’ Birth?


Features

Of all the many splendid ways to start a summer holiday my leastfavourite is the “pack the car the night before and set off at dawn”approach. In fact I have so far managed to avoid this at all costs onboth, count them, the family holidays we have taken. So when weprepared for our “big holiday,” a trip to the old country, Ireland it wasdefinitely not going to involve leaving at dawn! Our original itinerary asdrawn up by my other half was cleverly constructed to give us aleisurely three and a half hour drive toWales, a couple of days with hersister and family then on the morning of our ferry crossing a quick oneand a half hours jaunt into Holyhead. Easy. At this point I should explainthat my other half has a Masters in itineraries. In fact I once describedall the different things we had seen and done on a visit to Paris shortlyafter weweremarried only to be called a liar as we had only been therefor a weekend and not the two weeks it would have taken to carry outthe itinerary I had described.

As I said, a Masters in it. First on our list was a Thomas Day Out inLlangollen. This is where a full size steam loco done up in the style andcolours of Thomas The Tank Engine steams up and down a section oftrack and gives people a chance to ride in the carriages. This was a treatfor monkey number one as one of his “things” is steam trains, which isvery common among children on the autistic spectrum. The fact that Iand my brother in law both get a kick out of it is a happy coincidenceand source of endless amusement to my wife. We were due to leaveLondon on Saturday afternoon, drive up to Wales and have the wholeday Sunday to enjoy Llangollen, Thomas and all the steamy delights.Unfortunately this is where it all fell apart. Monkey number one wasviolently ill and so we couldn’t leave on Saturday. This meant either weleave first thing Sunday morning or say goodbye to the fairly expensivefamily tickets we had bought in advance for Thomas. This put me in adreadful quandry, get up at dawn and drive four hours to wales versuswaste all the money we had paid in advance and try to quell thedisappointment of not seeing the steam trains. It should be noted thedisappointment would be mine alone as we have long since taken tokeeping major events like meeting Thomas The Tank Engine in real lifea secret in case they do not happen as having to listen to fourteenhours of “why can’t we see Thomas” is a bit much to take. In the endwe opted for the dreadedmorning departure.We arrived inWales onlyforty five minutes behind our original schedule so my wife was onlypartially agitated and the sight of Thomas puffing up the track as wewalked to the station soon made everyone forget their worries. Theday was wonderful and we were in a great frame of mind for the nextleg of our journey the next day.

To borrow heavily from the Thomas stories, then there was trouble.That night my wife was violently sick. Then I was violently sick. Thenmywife was violently sick. Then I, well you get the idea. For the first timein the ten years we have been married my wife and I were bothincapacitated through illness. Add to that the fact that in a few shorthours we were due to drive to Holyhead and get on board a boat, aboat for goodness sake, it was all looking a bit grim. Luckily we had paidan extra ten pounds on the booking for a flexibility option and that wasthe best ten pounds we ever spent! We changed the booking onlineand arranged to go the day after our original departure day, intestinespermitting. My wife’s sister and her family looked after us as wecrawled, groaned and shambled around like underpaid zombie extras

and eventually we started to feel a little more human. Tuesdaymorning arrived and with it the promise of sick free travel. We loadedup the car, again, and set off for Holyhead.

The drive and crossing were great with the ferry only taking two hoursas it was a very fancy Sea Cat. Only later did I learn that they arerenowned for breaking down. But as luck would have we got acrosssafe and sound and landed into Ireland ready to drive, drive, drive. Thejourney down toWest Cork was fairly uneventful andMonkey numberone and Monkey number two were very good, probably in large partdue to the portable DVD players they each had. Neither of which hadheadphones meaning that we in the front seats were treated to a radioplay which featured Nemo being found by Scooby Doo and the rest ofthe gang. I can not recommend highly enough the personalentertainment system for kids on a big drive. Even if you forget all yourluggage and money and tickets DO NOT forget the entertainmentsystem. We arrived at our destination and as with all holidays we letout a collective sigh as we shrugged off reality in favour of holiday life.

We stayed with an aunt of mine who gives self reliance a swift kick inthe backside and tells it to pull it’s socks up. In the 1950s she built herhouse, literally built it as in she made the blocks from scratch and thenlaid them! With the kids in their rooms and some of the many manythings we had crammed into the car and (borrowed) top box unpackedwe had a cup of tea and planned our visits. Visits to family, of which Ihave A LOT, visits to interesting guide book places, of which there area lot and general holiday loafing. In the eleven days we were on holidaywe managed to rack up one thousand four hundred and fifty miles ofdriving.

As with all good things our holiday came to an end and yet again I foundmyself being forced to utilise the “pack the car the night before and setoff at dawn” approach. This time though we set off at eight in themorning and a mere sixteen hours later arrived home in London! Thekids were amazing and did everything without too much complaintalthough the promise of chips was often mentioned to maintain order.Eventually to prevent a possible riot we paused briefly in Newport andhad our chips.

Finally we arrived home and needless to say the little ones wereabsolutely disgusted as they had decided that they wanted to goNana’s house rather than home. Which just goes to show that when itcomes to comfort and the warm feeling of being home there’s no placelike Nana’s, there’s no place like Nana’s.

Mr MaBy Lawrence McGrandles Jnr


Back to School

1 Courtesy of the fabulous micro-scooters is what we at Baby Buzz haveaffectionately nicknamed the “kiddy kit”. The set comprises of a micro-scooter,helmet, backpack and lunch bag What better way to get your little one to schoolin style! (for the complete set).. I wonder if there is one formy age …

2Vertbaudet are renowned for their stylish fashion and home-wares but they alsohave a great selection of back to school products and storage accessories to helpkeep your children organised. This set of three storage baskets are suitable foreveryone whether starting school or returning back to school and arefor the set.

3The Sistema Davina bottles have a unique Twist 'N' sip lockablecap which is leak-proof (but also provides a more hygienic wayto drink), and seeing as they are stored in your child’s lunch bagfor long periods of time this can only be a good thing! The Davinabottle is the perfect size for adults and children alike. Theribbed, curved body makes it easy to grip, they look funky andare lightweight. at Cargo Home Shop.

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Once your little one starts schoolthey are going to need a littleworkspace of their own. Why notstart with this extremely afford-able option.

Can you believe the summer holidays are almost over? Whether you are preparing yourself (as well as your child) to starting school andgetting your children ready for school life or getting them ready for the start of a new year, there are lots to think about and plenty of thingsthat need to be bought ! From school bags to lunch boxes and accessories to stationery must haves, we’ve teamed up with IdeasNetworkto source the most practical, funkiest, fun and essential products to help you on your way…(there’s also something for the “older” child orperhaps even yourself with the stunning original Filofax!)…


Back to School5

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Have you had the “When can I have a mobile phone?” question yet. We’ve seen childrenfrom as young as eight being given the latest in handsets and ultimately they don’t lasttoo long or get looked after too well! So you’ve decided that yes, the time is right. Wellwhat do you go for? You want something reliable and hardwearing but won’t break thebank and won’t break in two minutes!. That’s where Vodafone comes in to play. Theyrecently launched the new Smart Mini for just £50.00. It isn’t super high tech but whatit does provide is a great smartphone that satisfies the parents needs and also the child.For more information, please visit:

A fun, compact size retro schoolbookdesign with a tactile matt cover that youcan write your name and details on. Nodiary is included, so it is ideal as anotebook or add your own choice ofdiary. Part of the Filofax File range.

You have to love the original Filofax!

Filofax is instantly recognisable anywhere you go butnow it’’s available with a colourful twist!.

The iconic design, created with a simple one-piece thickleather cover, slightly rounded corners and strap withgel popper cap, is worked with extra thick leather anduses traditional construction techniques. The personalorganisers are made by a UK factory who piece togetherthe components by hand, using thick thread to carefullystitch them together.

Get yours now, with (prices based onThe Original Filofax)

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Make keeping track of appointments or lessonsor social outings fun with a huge array ofdiaries and notepads from the Noteletts rangefrom Letts.

A bit of fun for the child or adult that wearsglasses. Keep them protected and scratch freewith this wooden glasses holder.

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Exclusive Reviews

Baby Buzz Magazine is always looking for products thatprovide style, comfort and most importantly great value formoney. When I first launched the magazine, I came face toface with so many products that I found myself bewildered,not knowing where to look first and, if I thought that, thenhow on earth did a new parent know what to get? Surethere are lists all over the internet and the Bounty Packsthat we all get, but they all differ and you ultimately end upbuying so many things you just don’t need.

Every week I have people ask me “What’s the best buggy / travel system / pushchairetc? And each time I say the same thing. It really depends on your budget and whatstyle you require. There are so many factors whether the parents are tall, small,double buggy, single etc.

At my very first baby show, I came across the Hauck brand and from then on I’vebeen an avid fan. Don’t get mewrong, I’m not a preacher that you have to buy Hauckbut I feel strongly about this particular brand, simply because you get a fantasticproduct at a fraction of the price you would pay for similar other branded products.This month we were given the privilege of reviewing two of the latest products thatHauck have launched. The first is the dual, four wheel pushchair, the Duett and thesecond is the Hauck Beta Highchair.

If you have bought or are considering purchasing a Hauck product, we would love toknow your reasons behind it and what you think of the product that you bought.Email your comments to us at [email protected].

PRODUCT SPECIFICATION:

Maximum number of children: TwoType of pushchair: Tandem (Inline)Converts to a single or double: YesMinimum age in seat: 6 Months+Carrycot available from birth: Yes seat unit convertsCar seat compatible with: Hauck Car Seat 0+Raincover included: NoSafety harness: 5 Point Safety HarnessSeating positions: Forward and Reverse

DUETT

What we thought:

The Duett is a tandem, double seat buggy. As with previous Hauckpushchair’s that we’ve reviewed, the assembly is extremely straight.Once the parts are taken of the box, it is a simple case of clicking thewheels, seats and canopy into place and “voila” you have a tandemsystem up and ready to go. The Duett is one of the most versatilepushchair’s on the market today as you can create many differentcombinations that can be tailored to suit your needs. The Duett issuitable from 6 months+, of course the car seat makes it suitable frombirth and the top push chair converts into a carry cot with a clever playwith the straps underneath. Our first impressions were great and so wedelved a little deeper…

What is the assembly like?The unit is very easy to put together and can be used as either a singleor double system, whilst being sleek and stylish. Great to have both seatunits and mattress for the carrycot included in the price.

Is it easy to handle?Extremely easy! For a double unit, manoeuvrability is very smooth. Weexpected it to weigh a fair bit more than some of the single travelsystems we have reviewed over the months, but it really isn’t that muchheavier yet feels sturdy.

What car seat is the Duett compatible with?The Hauck 0+ car seat is compatible with the Duett. No adapters areneeded as it simply clicks into place. The car seat is also one of the mostaffordable car seats on the market at just £79.99.

Is it cost effective?The Duett is a tandem unit and can be bought from as little as £240.00depending on which website you look at. You don’t get additional extrasbut considering howmuch you are saving, you can afford to be fussy andbuy these separately.

How practical is it?The unit is quite bulky and heavy but considering you are carrying twochildren, youwant the sturdiness to protect your cargo! The front wheelsare a little small and trying to tilt the pushchair back to get up on kerbsis a little hard and requires a little strength. Looking at the base seat youfeel that the child will be too close to the top seat unit but actually it isvery much a case of looks being deceiving and there is adequate room tosit comfortably. Perhaps the only concern would be the carrycot beingused facing towards the parent that the child belowwould be a little tighton space. Additionally if you are using the pushchair as a single unit youget an amazing amount of storage in the basket, this does diminish toabout 1/3 once the bottom seat is put into place.

Will the system fit into the boot of a standard family car?It will fit into most boot spaces, as long as the seats are taken out of theframe, but it is bulky and won’t leave a great deal of space for anythingelse.

What age is it suitable from?The pushchair is recommended from 6months but with the top seat unitconverting into a carrycot and the option of adding a car seat, then thiswould be suitable from birth also. This wouldn’t be practical from birthfor twins but if you have a toddler and a newborn this would be perfect.

Anything Else?The pushchair works on so many levels due to the flexibility of seatingoptions and coupled with the affordability makes it one of the bestdouble buggies on the market.

Baby Buzz Rating:4.8/5


Exclusive Reviews

Quite simply this is the definition of value for money! Whatother product can you buy that will cost less than £100 and willlast from 6 months to adulthood? Answer: Nothing!

I’ve seen a few products similar to this but at multiple times theprice. First impressions are excellent!

What is the assembly like?I am no DIY expert but I managed to put this together withrelative ease. I did have to read the instructions and refer backto them a few times, but in total it took me about 25 minutes toput together.

Is it easy to use?As a high chair it does everything it needs to do. With theaddition of the large, solid food tray, it also provides amplespace for reading a book or playing with toys.

Is it cost effective?I am yet to find a product that is as cost effective as the BetaHigh Chair, I couldn’t recommend this highly enough!

How practical is it?The high chair is tidy, compact and fits nicely in any room. Thehighchair comes with a food tray giving ample space for eatingfrom or indeed playing from but there is also a food bar thatallows a child to be integrated into meal times at the dinnertable. For the old child no bars are necessary and it transformsinto an adjustable, very funky looking, chair.

What age is it suitable from?The highchair is suitable from approximately 6 months.

Anything Else?I think it’s safe to say that the high chair is a firm favourite. Mylittle one loves it, whether it’s the novelty of having somethingnew to play with or just she feels nice and comfy in her chair,who knows. Hauck have also made a contribution toenvironmental protection with the Beta highchair: theprocessed wood comes from sustainably managed Europeanbeech wood cultivation.

Baby Buzz Rating:4.8/5

BETAPRODUCT SPECIFICATION:

Minimum age: 6 Months+Cleanable: YesMaximumWeight: 90kgs!Suitable for: Baby, Toddler, Child and AdultBase Material: WoodMeasurements: 58 x 48 x 78 cmHeight Adjustable: YesAccessories: Food tray, food bar, seat andback cushions

BABYBUZZMAGAZINE

** BEST BUY at£59.99**

Baby Buzz Rating:5/5


Focus Eachmonth we review an amazing selection of new and innovative products and clothing andthis month is no different! From trainers to hair cream and toys to milk machines…read whatwe thought and what “Baby Buzz Rating” we gave each product…

Would you like to join our Focus Group? Sign up now at [email protected]

News & Reviews

Editor: As a mum, I am always on the look out for wholesome, non-harmful products for my girls.You see so many products aimed at our children that have parabens and other harmfuladditives that seem to be hidden until you’ve either used half of the product or there’s asudden news flash. It was at a recent PR launch that we came across Hip Peas, who havelaunched a new line of hair care products all of which are made with non-toxic ingredientsand are fused with natural botanicals. As great as this is, it is ultimately in the test of aproduct as to how good it really is. We were sent the “Curl Tamer” and anyone who knowsmy oldest daughter can confirm that she has the most amazing tight corkscrew curls.Sadly, any parent will tell you that curls mean tangles and tangles mean “ouch”! The curltamer can be used on damp or dry hair and promises to enhance waves and curls to makethem silky, soft andmanageable. We have used the product for a couple of weeks now andwill happily continue to use it as it does exactly what it states on the packaging. Theproduct doesn’t leave the hair greasy or sticky and leaves a nice healthy bounce. Definitelyone to recommend to our readers and their curly haired little ones. Price: £13.95

If you would be interested in buying any of the products they have to offer, please visit:www.hip-peas.co.ukBaby Buzz Rating: 5/5

Baby Buzz Rating: 4/5

Editor: When it comes to fun we are always looking for new and innovative ideas and products andwere thrilled when we were sent the cutest little turtle as part of the Maya Original range.The products are a range of children based themes i.e. cup and ball, chicken and eggs,spindle tops, trains, sausage dog and so much more. The difference between these andother similar products is that the toys are all eco friendly. The products are produced by aprocess called Lacware. Lacware refers to wooden articles that are turned on the lathe andfinished with Lac (a non-toxic natural resin secreted by tiny insects which is found oncertain trees). The wood for making the toys comes fro non-forest and agricultural land inand around Channapatna, India. Usually the entire tree is not felled and the tree growsback. This is a perfectly safe wood that has been used by artisans traditionally.

When the box arrived we unpacked the cutest little turtle which is fantastic quality andhanded him to our littlest one. She instantly fell in love with him and he was dragged allover the house and even into her cot! The products range in price but are not expensivewith our little turtle, which is part of a set of 3 (Ma, Me & Pa) available from just £12.99.To see the full background behind this wonderful company and all the other productsavailable, please visit: www.mayaorganic.dk

Eve: We were given a pair of the newly launched Skribbies to try with my four year old son.When they were delivered there was a great deal of excitement!! You can imagine thehorror though of having two boys and only one pair of shoes, this was never going to be apleasant experience but we persevered and took them out of the box to have a look. Whenmy little one (who is just two) realised that the shoes weren’t for him he was devasted. Myolder son loved the fact that he could actually draw on his shoes, coupled with the fact thathe got a new set of pens and stickers to to go with them was just the best thing ever!! Wedrew elephants and dinosaurs on our trainers in different colours and we honestly just lovethem. We won't wear them when it rains as we don't want them dirty but we are veryhappy with our shoes and proud to wear our drawings and show them off to all! Hurrah!!Our only criticism “Please make smaller sizes!!”.

Nickie: Thank you Eve for such a fabulous review, we too love the concept of these trainers and100% agree with you that they should be made in smaller sizes. Many of the parents in myFocus Group spoke very positively about the product, but almost all of them had childrenwho would require smaller sizes. Prices start from £35.95 and are available in sizes fromJunior Size 10 to UK 3. There are a selection of colourways to suit boys and girls Pink/Red,Neon Yellow / Black and Blue/Navy.

We’ve given this 4/5 purely because many people have stated they would like a bigger sizerange, otherwise it’s brilliant!

Baby Buzz Rating: 4/5

** Baby Buzz Best Buy**

Www.hip-peas.co.uk

www.mayaorganic.dk

www.skribbies.com


News & Reviews

Editor: We all know that feeling, when our littlest one demands a feed and you have to quenchthat thirst, NOW! If you’ve decided to bottle feed or are combination feeding with bothbottle and breast then this could be the answer to your prayers! Tommee Tippee haverecently launched the “Perfect Prep”. This wonderful little gadget is the “espresso”machine for babies.

The machine provides an initial hot shot of water which kills any bacteria that may bepresent in the formula powder and helps dissolve the formula easily. Once the balance ofwater has been added to the hot shot, the feed will be ready to serve at body temperature,just like breast milk and this all happens in just 2 minutes. The “Perfect Prep” works withany brand of powdered formula milk and features an adjustable base for different bottleshapes & sizes. The “Perfect Prep” can be purchased online from £79.99 from a numberof retailers.

For further information on the “Perfect Prep” please visit: www.tomeetippee.co.uk

We also have one of these amazing gadgets to give away this month, so see page 6 andenter for your chance to win!

Editor: We are staying with Tommee Tippee for a little longer as, in tribute to the recent royal birthof Prince George, they have launched a “Limited Edition” range of baby bottles with twodesigns to choose from. Little Prince, which features a baby blue screw ring and palaceguards logo; and Little Princess, which features a pink screw ring and royal carriage logo.Both are available to buy individually or as a pair in a gift pack that includes a matchinglimited edition soother. The Limited Edition collection are only available fromMothercare,so get yours whilst you can! They are absolutely gorgeous!

We have a few to give out at our next Focus Group so keep an eye out for the nextscheduled meeting.

For more information, please visit: www.mothercare.com

Editor: This year we’ve attended a fair amount of shows and exhibitions and each time I’m moreand more amazed at the products that are being launched. When you see them you think“of course, that makes sense” or “what a fabulous idea, why didn’t I think of that?” This isone of those times.

The Babycup range of open drinking cups allows your baby or toddler to sip rather thansuck. Babycup's colourful mini cups are translucent so your child can see inside and areperfectly shrunken for little hands and little mouths. BPA & phthalates free, they arenon-toxic, dishwasher and steam steriliser safe. Babycup open baby cups have the thumbsup from dentists and orthodontists. Whilst at first they might look really small, they reallydo help small hands get to grips with handling a cup.

We asked a group of mums to try out the BabyCups and to give us their opinions.

Frances: At first glance, these looked just too small to work and I thought it would be treated as atoy, but the more my son used the cup, the more he adjusted really well to it. We give himthe cup at every mealtime to get him used to using a proper cup as opposed to his bottleor sippy cup and we are confident that when the time comes to give up his bottle and sippycup he will do so with ease (Mummy of 10 month old son)

Clare: We were very doubtful that this product would really work, but it really is very easy to useand more importantly to get used to, we’ve only been using it for a few weeks, but so farso good and we’ll continue to report how we get on (Mummy to daughter, 8 months).

Editor: For someone who lives in flip flops come rain or shine as much as I’m loathed to admit it,my feet suffer for it! My sister started using the Face & Body Rescue Cream on her feet andunbelievably there has been a noticeable difference almost immediately. I decided to giveit a go and see if it really could work on extremely dry feet and am amazed to say that thisstarts working instantly leaving my feet feeling soft and moisturised.

Wewill keep you posted next month with further reviews on this product from some of ourother parents, but if this is anything to go by, we are sure it will be fantastic for everyonewho uses it.

www.barefoot-botanicals.com

www.babycup.co.uk

www.mothercare.com

www.tomeetippee.co.uk


News & Reviews

Baby Buzz -Getting there in style…

One of the tasks we’ve set ourselves this year is to find some ofthe best, most affordable family cars on the market. We weredelighted to review one of the latest offerings from the VWrange - the new Golf S 1.2 litre TSI.

First impressions of the car are quite simply WOW! We had thevehicle delivered to us on a gorgeous sunny morning and thewhite pristine paint shone in the sunlight, instantly I wasintrigued. What surprised me the most, was that the carappeared a lot larger than I had envisaged and the interior gavemore than ample space with room left to spare. When you havetwo children and have to take numerous accessories on everyjourney, this is a very good thing.

The car was very easy to adjust to and felt extremely comforta-ble to handle.

Specifications:Engine capacity (litres / cc) 1.2 / 1197 (4 cylinders, 16 valves)Power output (PS @ rpm) 105@ 5,000Max torque (lbs ft/Nm@rpm)129 / 175@ 1,550-4,100Top speed (mph) 1190-62 mph (seconds) 10.2Fuel economy (mpg) Urban – 47.9; Extra-urban – 65.7;

Combined – 57.6CO2 emissions (g/km) 114Insurance group (1-50) 11 EWarranty 3 years / 60,000 miles; 3 years

paint; 12 years body protectionBreakdown assistance 1 year VW Assistance (UK & Europe)

The vehicle also qualifies for a £30 tax disc, and places itself comforta-bly in the group 11 insurance bracket.

What is it like?Fantastic! All of the standard features that build the Volkswagenreputation – comfort, refinement and usability are all clearly present inwhat is the basic model.

The vehicle comes with a wide range of features from ABS, hydraulicbrake assist, traction control, front and rear airbags, active head re-straints, engine immobiliser, remote central locking, battery regenera-tion, stop/start capability, semi-automatic air conditioning, dust andpollen filters, front electric windows, mis-fuel prevention device, blue-tooth telephone preparation, Composition Media system with 5.8 inchcolour touchscreen, Isofix child seat preparation - to name but a few!Installation of the car seats really emphasised howmuch space we hadin the rear of the Golf, with my youngest having ample room to move

without any restriction. The doors have secure locking ability to pre-vent the doors being opened by the child, which is a comfort.

Boot space is fantastic and easily held our buggy plus left more thanenough room for shopping, changing bags and anything else I couldpossibly want to add.

With the stop/start technology, on more than one occasion my oldestdaughter asked if the car was still switched on. I’ve since discovered anadditional feature on the latest models is the function of stopping atlights the car being kept in standstill mode until ready to accelerate.The car, when in motion, is smooth, quiet, an operates effortlessly.You can also expect great fuel consumption achieving anything from47.9 mpg to 65.7 mpg dependent on journey.

Would I Buy One?Without a shadow of a doubt! The basic model, which we reviewed,has more than adequate features, but there are additional extras i.e.alarm, alloy wheels, electric rear windows and parking sensors, but youdo get Bluetooth with audio streaming and a DAB radio here, packedinto a gorgeous shell.

The Golf is one of those cars that will never die!

OTR Price: £18,160.00


Funky Fashion

FUNKY FASHIONWITHFABRIC FAVOURS

Batman Vest£16.00

(6/12 months - 12/18 months)

Star Wars£16.00


Disney - Minnie Mouse T-Shirt£16.00

(5/6 yrs - 9/10 years)

Dr Who “Exterminate” T-Shirt£16.00 - Coming Soon!(3/4 yrs - 9/10 yrs)

Gruffalo’s PJ’s£24.00

(1/2 yrs, 3/4 yrs, 5/6 yrs)

Kids Company BabyGrow£18.00


Dr Seuss PJ’s£22.00

(1/2 yrs, 3/4 yrs, 5/6 yrs)

Gorrillaz T-Shirt£18.00

(1/2 yrs - 9/10 yrs)

Rolling Stones “Tongue” Vest£18.00

(0/6 - 12/18 months)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Vest£16.00


571 Finchley RoadHampsteadLondonNW3 7BN

020 7195 [email protected]


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The Carriwell Bra

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Special Mention

Septembers special mention..

This month we were generously supported in our quest to support a newmummy of twins who has had the most horrific year, by Inch Blue. If youhaven’t heard of Inch Blue before, let me give you a brief introduction.

“Inch Blue have created aworld of fun and adorable soft leather baby shoes.Inch Blue is a family run business with 3 kids, a dog, a cat and bees andwhilst based in South Wales on the edge of the Brecon Beacons, they areavailable to anyone and everyone via their simply fantastic website, show-casing an amazing array of stylish footwear and gifts.

If supplying some wonderful gifts for the new mummy wasn’t enough, theyalso sent us a couple of pairs to review, which will be featured in theOctober issue. Keep an eye out for our review of what already looks likehigh quality, gorgeous shoes.

To check them out for yourselves, please visit: www.inch-blue.com/uk


Food & Recipes

Apricots give this chicken casserole a subtle sweet flavour kids love.This dish is great on its own or served with lightly steamedmange toutor French beans.

Note: organic dried apricots do not contain sulphur dioxide (a chemi-cal that preserves colour) so the fruits are naturally darker and havenotes of caramel and molasses. In addition to being rich in vitamin A,dried apricots are a valuable source of iron and fibre.

Ingredients:150g chicken breast100g carrot100g sweet potato50g white potato (such as Desireé)30g organic dried apricots (such as Crazy Jacks)12g onion1 small garlic clove1/4 tsp (1.25ml) flat leaf parsley250ml fresh unsalted vegetable stock (click here for recipe)5ml extra virgin olive oil (or rapeseed oil)

Here’s what you do:Peel and finely chop onion and garlic.Heat oil in pan and add onion and finely chopped garlic; sauté onionand garlic on low heat until onion begins to soften and brown slightly.Chop chicken breast into bite size pieces and add to garlic and onionin pan.Stir thoroughly and cook for 5 minutes until chicken starts to brown.Peel and chop sweet potato, white potato and carrot into small cubesand add to pan. Stir thoroughly.Finely chop apricots.Add fresh unsalted vegetable stock and apricots to pan and bring tothe boil.Turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes.Add finely chopped flat leaf parsley and continue to cook at low heatfor further 5 minutes or until vegetables and chicken are tender andcooked through.

Makes 2 meals

TipsIf you prefer a thicker sauce, after finely chopping apricots, cover with100ml of boiling water. Leave to stand a few minutes and then pourmixture into a blender (or use hand blender) and puree until you havea thick, smooth sauce. Then add this mixture to the pan and continuewith recipe above.

Ingredients:1 tin of Tuna1 Pot of Little Dish Fresh Tomato and Veg sauce3 Potatoes4 stems of BroccoliHandful of fresh Spinach½ Pepper½ OnionHandful of Fresh BasilCrushed Black Pepper

(Total Cost of Ingredients: £4.89)

Here’s what you do:Preheat the oven to 180’CWash and peel the potatoes. Bring a pan of water to the boil.Chop the potatoes into cubes and place into the boiling water, powerboil for 8 - 10 minutes.Bring another pan of water to the boil and cook broccoli for 3 minutes.Drain both the potatoes and the broccoli.Chop and dice the onion, pepper, spinach and basil.Place the chopped onions, peppers, spinach and basil into a deepcasserole dish along with the broccoli and potatoes.Open the tin of tuna drain, empty the tuna into the casserole dish.Pour in 1 pot of Little Dish fresh Tomato & Veg sauce andmix through.Sprinkle some crushed black pepper over and stir through again. Placethe casserole dish into the over and cook for 20 minutes. Enjoy!.


Method:1. Preheat the oven to 200’C/400’F/Gas 6.2. Check the salmon carefully for bones, using your fingers to

feel for them. Give the salmon a quick rinse under coldwater, pat dry, then lay the fillets side by side in a lightlyoiled baking dish, skin-side down.

3. Combine the pesto, lemon juice and breadcrumbs in asmall bowl, then spread over the salmon. Bake for about15 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through. Test byinserting the tip of a knife into the flesh. When done, itwill have lost its transparency and look opaque allthrough.

Tip 1:Serve with rice, couscous or pasta and a green vegetable.

Tip 2:Fresh breadcrumbs are easily made with a grater or hand blender.

Simplicity: SimpleServes: 6-8 children or a family of 4Prep Time: 5 minutesCooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:4 x 125g (4 1/2 oz) salmon fillets145g (5 oz) fresh basil pesto1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste40g (1 1/2 oz) fresh breadcrumbs (1 slice brown bread)

Simplicity: StraightforwardServes: 6 children or a family of 4Prep Time: 25 minutesCooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:2 x 150g (5 oz) cooked skinless chicken breasts200g (7 oz) broccoli, chopped into florets200g (7 oz) short pasta, such as penne or fusilliKnob unsalted butter100g (3 1/2 oz) mushrooms, finely chopped1 garlic clove, crushed1-2 teaspoons dried herbs25g (1 oz) plain flour360ml (12 fl. oz) chicken stock with no added salt120ml (4 fl. oz) whole milk60g (2 oz) Gruyere cheese, gratedFreshly ground black pepper40g (1 1/2 oz) fresh breadcrumbs (1 slice of brown bread)2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Method:1. Preheat the oven to 220’C/425’F/Gas 7.2. Dice the cooked chicken breasts and set aside.3. Cook the broccoli in boiling water for 5 minutes; remove the

broccoli using a slotted spoon and set aside. Return the waterto the boil and cook the pasta for 10-12 minutes or according tothe directions on the packet. Drain and set aside.

4. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan over a mediumheat; add the mushrooms, garlic, herbs and saute for 4 minutes.Add the flour before gradually adding the chicken stock andmilk; give it a good stir with a whisk. Bring to the boil and cookfor 5 minutes, until thick, stirring from time to time. Add theGruyere, a pinch of pepper and stir well. Take the pan of theheat and stir in the cooked diced chicken.

5. Grease a casserole dish and put a layer of pasta on the bottom,roughly half. Put half the broccoli on top, followed by half thechicken mixture, then repeat with a second layer of each.Sprinkle the top with the breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan anbake for 15 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown.

Tip 1:Spaghetti or tagliatelle works well in this dish if you are making it forolder children or adults. Simply substitute 200g of long pasta for theshort pasta. Leftovers freeze well for up to 30 days.

Food & Recipes


Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180’C/350’F/Gas 4. Lightlygrease an 18-cm (7-inch) cake tin with butter.

2. In a bowl, beat the sugar and oil together with awooden spoon until smooth, then beat in the eggs,one at a time. Sift the flour, then add baking pow-der, mixed spice, orange juice and stir in well. Foldin the banana, carrots and sultanas or raisins.

3. Pour the mixture in the cake tin and bake for 40-45minutes, until the cake is well risen and firm to thetouch. Let the cake cool for a few minutes, thenturn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tip:If you fancy icing the cake - mix 200g of cold cream cheesewith 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat in 80g of sifted icingsugar. Use a knife to ice the cake.

Simplicity: StraightforwardMakes: 12 muffinsPrep Time: 10 minutesCooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:125g (4 1/2 oz) plain flour60g (2 1/4 oz) wholemeal flour60g (2 1/4 oz) rolled oats60g (2 1/4 oz) brown sugar3 teaspoons baking powder60g (2 1/4 oz) blueberries60g (2 1/4 oz) peeled and chopped apple2 medium eggs180ml (6 fl. oz) milk, plus a little extra if needed40g (1 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, melted

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190’C/375’F/Gas 5. Grease a12-hole muffin tin or line with paper cases.

2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.Add the fresh fruit and toss briefly so it gets a littlecoating of flour.

3. Beat the eggs, milk and melted butter together,then pour over the dry ingredients. Fold lightlytogether, adding a touch more milk if the mixturefeels a little dry. Don’t overbeat: the batter shouldbe lumpy and moist, not smooth.

4. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling eachhole/paper case about two-thirds full, and bakeuntil cooked in the middle, about 20 minutes.Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutesbefore taking the muffins out of the tin.

Tip:Also very good with raspberries and pears substituted forthe blueberries and apple

Simplicity: StraightforwardServes: 8-10 childrenPrep Time: 15 minutesCooking time: 45-50 minutes

Ingredients:Butter, for greasing100g (3 1/2 oz) light muscovado sugar150ml (5 fl. oz) sunflower oil2 large eggs125g (4 1/2 oz) wholemeal plain flour125g (4 1/2 oz) plain flour2 teaspoons baking powder1 teaspoon mixed spiceJuice of 1 orange, or 100 ml (3 fl. oz) orange juice2 ripe bananas, mashed125g (4 1/2 oz) carrots, grated60g (generous 2 oz) raisins or sultanas

Food & Recipes



Features

Get Creative - HertsFor the August issue we are pleased to re-visit Jo Jingles and also to introduce our new regular creative page provider, generouslyprovided by Creation Station. We aim to give you access to a range of fabulous babies & toddlers classes, arty days out and justplain fun groups to keep you occupied during school holidays. For Jo Jingles and Creation Station there are classes availableNationwide and should you be interested in attending one not within the area we have visited, please visit the respective websitesfor location details.

Have you tried Jo Jingles? If not, go and try it! The classes exhude fun and the childrenhave an absolutely amazing time! I attended a class run by the lovely Ursula and thechildren were mesmerised. She had them all dancing and clapping and singing andsmiling, what more could you ask for?? So what is Jo Jingles all about you might ask?Well quite simply it introduces music, singing and movement to our pre-schoolers. Thisisn’t anything like what you would imagine, nothing is regimented or made to feel likeour little ones are being bamboozled into doing something they simply don’t want to do.

I was introduced to Ursula, who runs the classes in Cheshunt, Ware, Hertford, Hod-desdon and surrounding areas and decided to take my little one along to see what it wasall about. I was amazed to see 17 children present. The atmosphere in the room wasvery much alive and the children were all very keento get started. With many yearsexperience working as a nursery nurse and teacher in Rome, Ursula is thrilled to berunning the Jo Jingles classes and brings a huge amount of exhuberance to the class.With a strong voice and commanding presence the children all warmed very much toher, and whilst my little girl was quite shy at first, within no time at all she was happy tobe jumping about and participating in everything going on. The group consists of variousactivities involving many accessories and props and the music is loud whilst not unbear-able and Ursula continues to make herself heard aiming clear instructions to thechildren. Whilst this all just sounds like the children are having fun, the children alsolearn various coordination skills through interactive play and repeating the movementsas shown by Ursula. Definitely something I would recommend taking your toddler to.

There are now over 100 Jo Jingles franchisees running classes in more than 600 centresthroughout the UK, Ireland and the company launched in Australia in October 2010 inPerth and Sydney. Jo Jingles classes are fun & educational, structured according to ageand introduce different educational themes each week. The aim is to give babies andtoddlers from 3 months to school-age a fun introduction to music through the use ofsongs, nursery rhymes, percussion instruments, movement and dance, sound games &stories.

ComeAlong andHave Some

Fun !

E-mail: [email protected]: www.jojingles.com/eastherts

Tel: 07815194303




Fun Time

There are many different groups for our childrento attend and that we’ve been invited to try butwe invited to attend the final session beforeschool broke up to see what made this group sodifferent.

We walked into the hall and were amazed at theextent of children present. The age ranges wereabout the same but it was the excitement that

you really noticed. The children were absolutely buzzing and eager forteacher Rachel to start. We were really pleased to see that as with anyadult dance class there was a very fun warm-up session and makingsure the children were familiar with the different dance techniquesthat would be used. This lasted for a very brief time and soon enoughthe children were good to go!

Who is behind the PopDance Tots concept?Sue created Popdance as she wanted to learn dance routines to Popmusic. There weren’t any classes around that Sue felt she could attendas a 38 year old who had no dance background or experience, and thatoffered the kind of thing she was looking for – an escape from busy life,children andmobile phones, where she could have fun in a relaxed andfriendly environment with like-minded people. So, working withamazing dance teachers Popdance was born.

Due to demand, Popdance quickly grew from one class in St. Albans tobecoming an international business in less than 3 years. Popdance hasproved so popular amongst adult and kids classes, they foundthemselves being asked for classes for pre-school children too. So inJanuary 2013, Popdance Tots was launched and there are now classesrun across the country.

These fun classes offer a fabulous opportunity for little ones to reallyenjoy and express themselves by moving to ”pop” music. It’s a greatintroduction to dance and develops their musicality and an

understanding of rhythm. Our Tots absolutely adore ”Popcorn”, thePopdance Tots teddy!

So who is Rachel, who heads up the PopDance class in St Albans?Rachel LeMoeligou is originally from Jersey in the Channel Islands. Shehas been dancing since the age of two, gaining experience in dance andteaching from Liz Robinson and Emma Jane Cole. She graduated fromThe Margaret Howard Theatre College with ISTD teachingqualifications and a diploma in musical theatre. Rachel is now afreelance dance teacher, working all over London and the surroundingareas. She has also performed at the London Palladium andchoreographed for shows at The Hackney Empire, Watford PalaceTheatre and Battersea Arts Centre. Rachel recently appeared on “SlaveTo Food” teaching Claire Richards from Steps a Popdance Stepsroutine. Rachel heads up the Popdance Teacher Sessions andchoreography alongside Lianne Cloot.

Is it really suitable for any child?Absolutely! I took along my daughterwho is just 2 years old and whilst Ithought perhaps she would be too youngto participate, she clearly proved mewrong and within minutes was runningall over the room along with the otherchildren.

This is a sure fire way to get your childactive but doing it whilst having a greatdeal with fun. The PopDance classes varyaccording to age so you are bound to findsomething suitable whatever your child.

For more information, or to find yournearest class, please visit:www.popdance.co.uk

Getting your children active with dance…

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Feature

Just before school ended for the summerholidays, you might have been made aware ofStart-rite’s latest campaign - ‘The Great BritishWalk to School’.

The British walk to school is in decline. Eight in 10 parents of primary schoolchildren walked to school, but now nearly a third drive, and more than one in fiveparents has never even considered walking their child to school*. Start-rite,which has been protecting the nation’s feet for over 200 years, is celebrating TheGreat BritishWalk to School to re-ignite enthusiasm for this much-loved tradition.This got off to a cracking start, with parents and children alike getting involved,all over the UK.

Start-rite asked parents and children, who walk to school, to film their journey during the last two weeks of school for inclusionin the #GBW2S film which has just been launched on facebook.com/startriteshoes. The aim of the film is to depict the hugevariety of experiences that British children enjoy every day during their walk to school. And the fun doesn’t stop there. Start-ritepresents a series of Great British Walk to School (#GBW2S) activities for children and parents to get involved. From 2ndSeptember, parents will be able to download the #GBW2S Fun Fact Pack and put their school on the map – quite literally – bysubmitting a photo of their walk for inclusion on the #GBW2S Map.

The #GBW2S Film gives a taster of what the #GBW2S Map will represent. Crowd-sourced by school walkers from all over thecountry, it depicts the huge variety of experiences that British children enjoy every day. People who share Start-rite’s enthusiasmfor walking can send the #GBW2S film to friends, to encourage more parents to consider changing their habits. You will soon beable to download the fun packs and watch our Great British heritage come to life through the eyes of our walking school childrenfrom this page.

To prompt more people to consider walking to school, Start-rite has taken a light-hearted look at the school ‘walk’ versus theschool ‘run’, with #WalkorDrive - a humorous insight into the trials and tribulations of those who drive, from the perspective of

500 parents polled across the UK. You can view the film now on Start-rite’s YouTube channelwww.youtube.com/startriteshoes.

‘The Great British Walk to School

For downloads and more information please go to:

www.start-rite.co.uk/greatbritishwalktoschool


Feature

Spitalfield’s“Saturday Style Market”

I’m always keen to support a local event, so was delighted to be told about the newSaturday Style Market, which takes please every Saturday at Spitalfields. I have alwaysloved the hustle and bustle of London but the thought of taking two children somewhatterrified me. I couldn’t have been more wrong! Whilst there aren’t lots and lots ofchildren’s wear stalls, what they do have is funky, unique and fun fashion for children andadults that you wouldn’t see anywhere else.

So what is it all about?Spitalfields is all about your own individuality. Choosing Your Own Style. At Spitalfields youwill find original designers, surprising finds, award winning eateries, affordable art and freeevents… The Saturday Style Market will run from 11am to 5pm every Saturday with originalclothing, accessories, homewares and ethical goods, coming from designersincluding, Edwyn UK, Amaya London, Reclaim Bags, Conquer, Kiwi Sumo and Bamboo Bay.

Worth Visiting?100%! The girls loved it and I found many unique and beautiful items that I wanted! Thestalls were so varied and eclectic but you would be sure to find something to suit everyoneand this will definitely be a place to re-visit soon! Spitalfields is also home to a tastyselection of eateries, including family focused Giraffe, locally sourced and healthy fast foodspecialists - Leon, Canteen who serve high quality British food and award winning GalvinRestaurant and its Café A Vin.

Around the market visitors will find a range of shops to meet every retail desire includingBenefit Cosmetics, Orlebar Brown, Montezuma’s chocolatiers, Bedales Wines andBolongaro Trevor.

Spitalfields E1 is so much more than just a market. It’s a destination and is fast becoming aday out for people in and around London. The full list of traders, events and furtherinformation can be found on the website:

www.spitalfields.co.uk


Feature

We visited Spitalfields to discover the hidden gems of childrens’fashion and in the process uncovered stalls full of heavenlydeliciousness and I just had to dedicate a paragraph or two tothese wonderful foodie folk.

Firstly let me introduce you to Flavourtown Bakery(www.flavourtownbakery.co.uk) whose stall was overloadedwith luscious cupcakes. Yes, I know that we’ve been told thatcupcakes have had their day (they haven’t by the way) but thesecupcakes not only looked beautiful but tasted utterlyscrumptious and the lovely chap serving us was a sweetheart,despite the pouring rain. We chose four cupcakes (SaltedCaramel, Badass Brownie, Snickers Champ and The Little Tart).They were all delicious but the Badass Brownie was myfavourite. It had a cheesecake layer. Cheesecake I tell you! Justheavenly.

We also discovered the delights of galeta (www. galeta.co.uk),a beautifully presented stall with immaculately sinful towers ofenormous cookies in a fabulous range of flavours served by aquietly spoken chap with a lovely smile. We chose four, to beenjoyed with a large cup of tea later that day. The chosen oneswere double chocolate, choc chip and hazelnut, and theyoungest member of our group chose one studded with

colourful mini milk chocolate eggs. Needless to say these werealso divine and just the way cookies are supposed to be, crispyaround the edges with slightly gooey chewy centres. I’mdrooling remembering them.

And finally, we came across a stall with piles of the largest ring,jam filled, custard filled doughnuts I think I’ve ever seen. Therewere mounds of beautiful brownies, enormous eclairs, platefulsof dainty Pasteis de Natas (traditional Portuguese custard tarts),and so much more. I’m horribly embarrassed to admit that Iwas so absorbed in the choosing of tempting morsels that Icompletely forgot to make a note of the name of the company.I’ve searched the internet but alas to no avail. Please searchthem out and try some of their goodies though. They were sogood in the naughtiest way possible.

There were other amazing looking foodie stalls but we’re savingthose for another rainy day.

Old Spitalfield’sDiscovering sugary goodness amongst the fashionistas…


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Designed by parents for parents, Treasured is a brand new safe and secure way to collate and share all of those special moments of your child’slife. Imagine having a shoebox full of your favourite photos, certificates and awards, clippings, homework and other memories. Now there isa place online to create your very own digital shoebox! Whether you want a private place to store your photos of them growing up, or youwant somewhere to document the memorable things they say and do, Treasured enables you to do this in an easy, organised and safe way.The app is free and simple to download. Once you are up and running, you are able to create memory boxes for each child or occasion, andstore within them photos, notes, and diary entries. What’s more Treasured enables you to share your chosen memory box with your closestfamily and friends, wherever they are in the world, and allows them to add in their memories, so you have one central memory box to keepforever! You will soon also be able to use all the contents of your “box” to create gifts such as calendars, memory books and photo albums.

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Keep a record of those special occasions and events, with an easy to use and flexible app that will allow you to collect memories from the daythey were born to their graduation and beyond – a collection of moments to keep forever!

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Horoscopes

August 23 - September 23This month you need to keep personalmatters private. There’s more going onbehind the scenes than you realise.Avoid arousing animosity or slander.

September 24 - October 23Have you been a bit distant lately with lovedones. Take some time out to spend with thefamily. Avoid neglecting those close to you.

October 24 - November 22Work looks good, a promotion maybe

coming your way. You’re sparkling whichmakes you very popular at the moment.

Avoid relying on others too much.

November 23 - December 21You may need to plan ahead for this month.There may be a chance of travel, with some

delays. Avoid upsets with the in laws.

December 22 - January 20Capricorns just love there independence.Create your visions and be inspired you are

on the right track.Avoid disclosing your assets.

January 21- February 19Relationships may seem strained this month.

Take a look at what may be lacking in your love life.Avoid being inconsiderate.

February 20 - March 20Time to improve your eating and work habits.

It will help put you back on top form.Avoid neglecting yourself.

March 21 - April 20Your love life gets a bit of a boost this month.

You may feel inspired to change your appearance.Avoid over spending.

April 21 - May 21You need some time off you have been workingtoo hard. Fine some time to chill with your familyand loved ones. Avoid letting others take up too

much of your energy.

May 22 - June 21You like a good old chin wag, try to stay out of thegossip. By keeping a mutual stand all will end well.

Avoid being displaying a negative attitude.

June 22 - July 22This month you will be sorting out your finances.We all like a bit of luxury go on spoil you a little.

Avoid being too impulsive.

July 23 – August 22You are a born leader, let your personalityand drive shine. Others will be drawn to

your positive attitude.Avoid becoming over emotional.



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Baby Buzz September Issue