Can I play too…?

This…this…beauty is 100% Joel’s creation.

There will be a post that details how this critter and its little friends were created but in the meantime, all that I ask is that you spare me a teeny tiny caption.

GO!

I wonder if there is anything about Frank that will make my talk interesting – The Frank Show

It’s show and tell time and our hero has been asked to talk about a member of his family, but the only person available is Grandad Frank and he’s boring, right?

The Frank Show, written and illustrated by David Mackintosh, perfectly captures the difficulty children can face in understanding the older generations. The rhythm of the words is very pleasing when read out loud and the closing pages bring the story to a delightful climax when Frank turns out to be a lot more that ‘just a grandad’.

The Frank Show is published by HarperCollins and priced £10.99.

Disclosure: We were sent a copy of The Frank Show free of charge for review. No other payment was received and all posts are 100% honest

Oh no, oh no! She’s crying, mummy! – JD, 4

Little Miss J is poorly. She’s only had 6oz of fluid when she’d normally have about 30oz. She’s only eaten quarter of a jar of pureed fruit when she’d normally have three little meals. She’s intermittently ferverish. She’s miserable. It’s looking likely she’s got chicken pox.

We’re managing to get Calpol doses into her by painstakingly dripping it onto her lips as we couldn’t find a syringe like the HV suggested. She doesn’t even want to breastfeed.

I just want to help her. She’s being pretty brave really and still managing to smile, bless her little cotton socks.

Days like this I don’t feel like blogging, but parenting isn’t all about fun.

How are you? Fancy a moan? What made you curse the heavens today?

I spy with my little eye something beginning with window *collapses with mirth* – JD, 4

Shall we have a bit of fun? It’s that time again – time to say what you see. Here’s my #ISpy and it’s something – or some things – beginning with W. Can you see them?

It’s for the Jubilee! – JD, 4

Will you be celebrating the Jubilee with some craft activities for kids? Here’s a template to create fun, easy Union Jack bunting:

1. Download the A4 Union Jack bunting template
2. Print off as many sheets as you like – you get 10 flags per sheet
3. Have fun colouring them in
4. Cut them out, leaving the tabs on along the top edges
5. Attach the flags to a length of string by folding the tabs over and securing with a little glue

Enjoy :)

On the Tree Fu Tom game you’ve got to have the webcam on – JD, 4

If you park your small person on the CBeebies website while you fold washing / change a nappy / claw back your sanity, you might want to double check you’re watching carefully.

Look at the image above from the start of the Tree Fu Tom game (which we otherwise love) – it’s accompanied by the voice of Tom asking:

“Would you like to turn your webcam on?”

“Click in the box next to allow to turn on your camera. If you get stuck, ask a grown up to help you”

Now I do think Tree Fu Tom is superb but “If you get stuck”? Really? Shouldn’t such young children ask a grownup for help rather than learning how to turn the camera on themselves? Or at the very least, shouldn’t they be taught that they must check with a grownup before turning the camera on?

Instead the game tells them a) to turn the camera on, b) how to turn it on, while c) implying that a grownup doesn’t need to be present unless they get stuck.

It’s the same with Num Tums:

“To play this game, you will need your webcam switched on.”

Now of course, preschoolers shouldn’t be using the internet unsupervised in any case, but the reality is that parents won’t always be sitting right alongside children as they play.

The CBeebies channel is a high quality channel and something of a haven – I’m not advocating parking a child in front of the TV all day, but with CBeebies you can let your child watch a couple of shows while you get on with housework, without the sudden need to go belting over to the telly because the children’s shows have finished and suddenly Grey’s Anatomy is on, complete with blood and gore (by the way, nice scheduling Channel 5!)

I think a lot of parents will view the CBeebies website the same way: a safe place to let your children explore with a little independence.

I don’t think for a second that there is any danger for a child using a webcam on the CBeebies website itself, but the whole practice of turning a camera on when instructed by a stranger isn’t something I would expect a four year to be taught.

On the plus side, the first time it happened I naturally had a chat with Joel all about internet safety and how he must never turn the camera on unless I’m watching the screen and he has checked with me that it’s ok. I just didn’t expect to have to have this chat already.

So there’s a lesson learned, but were you aware of this? And do you think it matters or is it just part of growing up?

Cool penguins! – JD, 4

Here’s me looking strange with the gorgeous Purple Mum. Got a caption? Can you beat JD’s?

(Thanks to Cybher for giving me permission to use this photo)

I think she needs a feed, mummy – JD, 4

As you probably know, I do a lot of reviews on this blog, which also means I get sent a lot of pitches, and not all of them are appropriate.

Take the email that said, “what better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than by being so drunk you can’t remember it?!” – it was for cocktails, I kind of take the whole mothering a newborn thing rather seriously so, y’know, not for me. I laughed and hit delete.

But some pitches make me really sad. In particular, pitches for products that promise to help hide breastfeeding. I don’t mean those products that help you cover up your deflated belly so that you feel more confident – all power to them – I mean those products that try to get you and your baby to cover up entirely.

Today I was sent images of a giant apron, so huge it basically covers you from neck to knee and you put your baby underneath it.

Babies need eye contact. Why should I put a barrier between us? Babies overheat. Why should I tuck them under cloth and dangerously cover their faces? Babies are human beings. Why should the sight of them eating be considered a source of shame?

Let’s get one thing absolutely straight: breastfeeding is eating. It’s not going to the toilet. It’s not sex. If you don’t like it, you’re a numpty.

I close my mouth when I chew, I put my hand to my mouth when I cough, I lift the material of my top discreetly when I breastfeed, but if you can see a bit of boob, or hear a slurp, that’s part of life. Get over it. And why are you staring anyway?!

Unless the day comes when we all start eating in individual cubicles in restaurants to hide the shame of mastication, you’ll never see me breastfeeding under a cape.

You smell nice, mummy – JD, 4

Oh, I like this product. It smells gorgeous, it’s a joy to use and it feels amazing. Plus it’s all natural and so far hasn’t caused me any eczema issues despite being scented.

Only problem? I like to slather this kind of scrub on with gay abandon, so if you’re like me it won’t last long. If you’re sensible and use it as intended, it’s probably not bad value at £30 a pot, given the luxury tag.

Disclosure: I was sent Neom Luxury Organics’ Real Luxury Organic Body Scrub for the purposes of this review. No payment was received. All reviews are 100% honest.