A survey found that nine out of ten mums had bought three or more second hand items to save money, with 300% more parents buying seconds this year compared to last year.

Prams, pushchairs and cots topped the list. A quarter of mums said everything they’d bought was second hand.

One couple surveyed had saved up £1,500 which they estimated would just about cover the cost of pushchair, cot, car seat, clothing, a month’s worth of nappies and feeding equipment. By buying second hand, the couple managed to reduce this amount to only £575.

Is there still a stigma attached to buying baby essentials second hand? Presumably it’s not putting anyone off actually doing it.

Given the relatively short lifespan many products have, even though they get a lot of use during that time, it makes sense to hand or sell on goods to others who can make use of them. So long as they’re still in good working order and are clean, safe and hygienic, it’s a good thing.

It’s great to buy new things, or have them bought for you, but parents with extended family and friend networks may also find generosity offers them free hand-me-downs.

Reusing equipment is also a lot greener, too.

Photo by Comsic Kitty

Some mornings, it’s enough worry to even get the children and adults out of the house with the right kit in time for school and work.

Yet new research confirms that families who find time to eat breakfast together are not only strengthened as a unit, but their kids could well do better in school and be more emotionally stable and socially developed.

We’ve already reported on how important it is for families to eat together but this usually focuses on the evening meal.

How can you make breakfast a shared, and stress-free, experience?

Nutella, who sponsored the survey, offers child psychologist Laverne Antrobus’ five tips for a great family breakfast:

1. It’s all in the preparation: Get the children involved, help them to lay the table or, if old enough, make the toast and pour out drinks
2. Variety is key: Allowing more choice, and giving children foods they like, will minimise disagreements and maintain focus on spending quality time together. Also try to give them something that sets them up for the morning ahead so a low sugar cereal on one day and then on another wholegrain toast with a hazelnut based spread like nutella.
3. Give yourself a goal: Set targets that are realistic and can be achieved; think about how many times a week eating together is possible given everyone’s schedule
4. Don’t get distracted: Even if you can’t sit down all together every time avoid the daily distractions and noise of the TV & radio, it will allow you to focus on the conversation you are having
5. Eyes and ears: Listen to what they are saying, ask open-ended questions and give them the opportunity to use this time to find out what’s on their mind.

More advice? Visit the Wake Up To Nutella web site.

Do you have any tips for a great family breakfast? Leave a comment below.

Ironically, the research was carried out by a web site encouraging online flirting. Of the 2,600 who took part, all of whom said they had a spouse or full-time partner, about the same number of men and women answered the question “Would you consider flirting online as cheating?” with a resounding “No!”

Many see this as harmless entertainment, but I’m not convinced.

Several years ago the phenomenon of online flirting was being studied, and Nathan Tabor wrote a great article titled Adultery is killing the American family which touches on how Internet usage can affect a relationship.

And do you remember the recent report of a Second Life affair which split a couple up?

Harmless fun or something more sinister?

I realise that there are such things as “open” relationships, and that flirting and eyeing other people up even when romantically involved with someone is often thought acceptable, but I’m a little concerned that 70% of Brits think absolutely nothing of doing it.

There’s something insidious about doing it online, too, because of the increased perception of anonymity.

Relationships really need all the help they can get, and I’m not at all convinced this developing trend will encourage healthy couples.

What do you think?

Photo by believekevin

The clock has both analogue and digital clocks, so a child learns to tell the time in two different ways at the same time.

There’s also a Teach Me Time game which puts a random time on the analogue clock and asks the child to say what time it is.

The alarm clock also features a dual-coloured night-light which glows green when it’s “OK to wake” and glows a soft yellow colour throughout bedtime.

Available in three different colours for £39.99.

Buy the Teach Me Time! Talking Alarm Clock & Nightlight

Lutley Primary School from Halesowen has won the national competition for schoolchildren which aims to generate interest in the environment and raise awareness of the need for sustainable energy sources.

This year, 341 entries from 17,500 children aged between 7-11 were received.

The wining project was the brainchild of 30 pupils aged between nine and 11 years, who created an oasis in the school grounds. In 2007, the children planted a vegetable garden and they have since harvested and shared the produce with their classmates. After this success, the pupils obtained a grant which was used to build a covered outdoor classroom made from home-made cob bricks (a mixture of clay and straw). The children have also planted trees in the school grounds and created a wildlife garden with a pond and beautiful dragonfly mosaic.

The winners were announced at the national finals held at London Zoo in Regent’s Park.

All students in the winning group receive an all expenses paid Environmental Discovery Course with the YPTE, which comprises a four-night environment adventure exploring the British countryside.

The awards comprise four categories, each allowing group work on environmental topics in a diverse range of subjects including, Art, English, History and Mathematics as well as Science Technology and Geography. From the huge number of entries received, winners for each of the four categories; Totally Active, Totally Clued Up, Totally Creative and Totally Powered Up, were chosen from each of the five regions; Scotland, Wales, Central England, North and South England. The four winners from each region attended a regional final where the national finalists were selected by a panel of judges.

More information on the awards is available at TotalGreenSchoolAwards.org

Two of the buttons can be assigned to call mum or dad, while the middle one has arrow keys for moving around options. There’s a 1.5-inch colour screen which can display customised wallpapers, and there are also built-in games and ringtones.

Important features include an emergency button on the side of the phone, and the ability for parents to lock the phone to allow certain calls to be made or received.

The phone works on Pay-As-You-Go, so your child won’t rack up a huge phone bill.

If you think your younger child should own a mobile phone (half of under-10s in the UK do, apparently) then this might be worth considering. It’s likely that older kids and teenagers will want the latest, expensive, “grown-up” mainstream mobile phones.

The handset launch has been delayed but it’s expected to cost around £85 and you’ll find places to buy it at the Firefly Mobile Ireland web site.

(Via Tech Digest)

New research from Motors.co.uk suggests that dads will travel over 56,000 miles and spend six months of their life as a free taxi cab service to their children.

The poll of 973 fathers’ driving habits found that the average driving dad travels over 60 miles and spends an average of 3 hours every week ferrying their children to school, sports
clubs and social events.

Of course, the poll also decided to inject some sex appeal into proceedings by asking who dad’s ideal passenger would be. Joanna Lumley was voted the most desirable passenger by a quarter of driving dads, with Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole second most popular (16%).

UK fathers are secretly dreaming of being James Bond whilst on the school run, with most dads listing an Aston Martin as their ideal car.

With all this going on, it’s not surprising that a third of the kids interviewed said that they were embarrassed by their dad’s car (or is that just “dad”?) on the school run. Goes with the job, doesn’t it?

“The results of this survey show that the UK’s driving dads are spending more time than ever driving their children around with the average father spending six months of their lives on the school run. This Father’s Day, motors.co.uk is calling for all dads to have the day off to spend some quality time at home with their families without a car in sight,” said Katie Armitage, marketing manager for motors.co.uk.

It’s not surprising, therefore, that another survey has raised similar concerns.

The computer security firm Trend Micro interviewed over 1,000 British parents and teenagers and found out:

• that over half of parents claim not to have a clue what their children are doing online.
• only 3% of parents are actively monitoring their child’s Internet activities.
• 55% of parents said they wished their kids would spend more time learning than on social networks.
• Nearly three quarters of those surveyed said they were worried that under-18s would lose essential face-to-face and English language skills as a result.

“The best way for a parent to overcome their fears about technology and what their children are up to online is to take the time to have a look at the technology their children are using,” said Will Gardner, CEO, Childnet. “Better still, get them to guide you through it. A conversation on how to keep safe and look after others online is a must.”

“Social interaction online is evolving at a constant and rapid rate and the digital generation know all the tricks of the trade,” said Rik Ferguson, security expert at Trend Micro. “With the summer holidays fast approaching, parents should put simple but effective measures in place to ensure their kids do not fall victim to unnecessary dangers. Parents need to become more tech savvy first before they can start educating their kids on what’s right and wrong.”

Trend Micro’s ten online safety tips are:

1. Keep all computers in common areas.
2. Agree to time limits for using the Internet and all social devices.
3. Keep software security up-to-date.
4. Talk with your kids about entering personal information online.
5. Run a manual scan with your software security and check browser history.
6. Set profiles on social networking sites to private.
7. Encourage children to be respectful of others.
8. Teach children to have multiple passwords that are NOT associated with names, nicknames or commonly found information over the net.
9. Most importantly, keep informed about the latest outbreaks and dangers on the Internet.
10. Buy Trend Micro internet security 2009. The latest software has enhanced parental controls. This means that parents can better tailor controls depending on the particular family member. New functionalities include the ability to control the date and time each child can go on the Internet and also the option to specify categories of information (such as home addresses, telephone numbers, passwords, etc.) they do not wish to be sent from a computer.

The rise of high-definition TV formatting and Blu-ray has seen a change in home entertainment and we are now able to create a full cinema experience within the family home, which is a great bonus during the currently economic climate.

What is Blu-ray? Blu-ray is a high-definition disc format and DVD is a standard-definition format. The higher definition means that Blu-ray is a significant improvement over DVD in terms of picture and sound quality, delivering a whole new exciting way to experience movies, games and music. Blu-ray discs play through either a BD player or Playstation III enabling the highest quality viewing experience available to date.

This new technology often sounds intimidating, however it’s surprisingly simple to use! You don’t have to throw out the existing collection of DVDs as they still play on these machines and in fact the Blu-ray player will even enhance the quality of your DVDs. Price has also been a worry in the past but this is a another surprise, with BD players now starting at £80.00 and Blu-ray discs available nationwide.

So, is Blu-ray here to stay? It’s a resounding yes, as 3D TV is still a little way off the HD images that Blu-ray provides are second to none. I recently viewed Disney’s Enchanted on both DVD and Blu-ray, the difference was astounding and I was able to create the cinema experience from my very own living room with a little help from the kids.

The science bit, how does it work?

The Blu-ray Disc offers better video quality and to do this each disc needs to hold more information so it is burnt using a different laser to a DVD. As these discs can hold more content they also have an array of bonus features and many players now offer connection to the Internet. This enables you to download additional content or features about the program or movie you are viewing.

With Blu-ray sales predicted to exceed 15m in 2009 we have been quicker to switch to the format than we were to relinquish the VHS. Recent sales figures from Disney home entertainment show that 1 in 10 sales of Wall-E were purchased on Blu-ray rather than DVD.

It’s actually quite simple:

1. Make sure your TV is HD ready – check to see if there is an HD symbol on your TV as nearly half of all homes in the UK already have an HD TV.

2. Get a Blu-ray player. There are over 67 different players now available, prices starting from £80.00.

3. Connect your Blu-ray player to your HD TV with an HDMI cable – it should be in the box with your Blu-ray player.

4. Blu-ray not only looks better but it sounds better too. Enjoy this enhanced audio quality with a simple surround sound system.

5. Connect to the Internet through your Blu-ray player to download bonus features and games that you and the kids can enjoy (most modern Blu-ray players support this feature - look for ones that say “BD Live”).

For more information on family titles available on Blu-ray visit http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/bluray/

• Two out of five admitted to turning up late to a first date, or not showing up at all;
• 28% talked about their ex and past sexual experiences;
• 14% confessed to over-indulging in alcohol;
• 6% said they’d been chaperoned by a friend, their mother, or even a pet.

The top ten of bad dating behaviour is:

1. Entrances & Exits: On average, 30% of men and 48% of women admitted to turning up late for a first date, with one in ten women keeping the man waiting for 30 minutes or more. However, 12% of women and 6% of men admitted to taking advantage of their date’s absence at the bar or in the loo, and leaving without saying goodbye. Some dates never even got that far: a total of 5% of men and women said they had turned up to a date, not liked what they saw and then made a speedy exit.
2. The Ex: Most people know they shouldn’t talk about their ex on a first date, but for one in five men and women (27%) the urge has proved too great. In a similar vein, 12% of men and 6% of women admitted to talking about previous sexual experiences.
3. Drinking: A more disturbing set of statistics: 11% of men and 14% of women say they’ve drunk so much alcohol on a first date that they’ve felt they weren’t fully in control of themselves. 25% of men and 20% of women say they’ve drunk 9 units or more on a date. (The recommended weekly maximum intake is 21 units for men and 14 for women, with a two day break.)
4. Yours or mine? 30% of men and 20% of women admitted to going home with their date, with one in four men (26%) and one in five women (20%) claiming it led to sex.
5. The Bill: Credit-crunched Brits are now more likely to keep their hands firmly in their pockets, particularly if the date isn’t going well. One in four women (19%) and 4% of men say they’ve purposely not offered to contribute financially towards the evening, leaving it to their date to pick up the bill.
6. Lies and more lies: 8% of singles say they’ve lied about their age on a first date; 6% pretend that they’re not dating other people, 4% lie about their job and salary, 3% that they still live with their parents — and 2% have conveniently forgotten that they’re not in fact single.
7. What’s in a name? 10% of men and 3% of women say they’ve even forgotten their date’s name.
8. Three’s company: 5% of women and 3% of men say they’ve been chaperoned by a friend or even their mother – on a first date. 1% thought it acceptable to bring a pet, maybe named Gooseberry.
9. Arguments: With all these bad manners going on, maybe it’s surprising that just 3% of singles say they’ve (further) spoiled the evening by arguing.
10. Text, please! 4% of women and 2% of men say they’ve called or texted another potential date in the course of a first date.

Dr Victoria Lukats, psychiatrist and PARSHIP’s dating exert, commented, “For some, a first date can be more like negotiating through a minefield. People can feel under an enormous amount of pressure to make a good impression on a date. Dating faux pas can be put down to several factors, including bad manners, nerves, inexperience or lack of compatibility. Action can be taken to improve bad manners or to calm nerves. On the other hand, if two people have little in common or their personalities clash, it’s never going to be a match made in heaven — but there’s still no harm in behaving in a dignified manner.”

So what’s been your worst dating disaster? Can you even bear to share?

My worst one has to be the week-long visit to a girl I’d been communicating with long-distance. Neither of us had any transport and she lived in the middle of nowhere, so we were driven around (and mad) by either her mother or her ex-boyfriend. Not great.