I’ve been talking to a few people this week about their endeavours to have children and I’m very struck by how increasingly common it is for couples to experience difficulty conceiving. Read the rest of this entry »
2012 has meant a change personally for me in how I work. At the end of 2011, my fantastic and wonderful nanny had to go into hospital unexpectedly. To cut a long story short, she is doing really well, but it will be a long road to recovery before she can fully return to work. Read the rest of this entry »
In the news this week, the topic of nutrition for the under 5s has been brought to the fore. It’s being suggested that some parents may be feeding their young children a diet that is ‘inappropriate for under five year olds’ and more suited to older children and adults. Read the rest of this entry »
I am completely tone deaf. I am the one who you wish you weren’t sitting next to at a wedding, because I can’t sing a note, but it doesn’t stop me from belting out a tune.
I now think that I may have passed on this defunct gene to at least one of my sons, but like me it doesn’t curb their enthusiasm for singing as loud as possible. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, here we are. Another Christmas over and done with. The cards have been put into the recycling bin (or if you’re really keen, cut up into present tags for next year), mountains of wrapping paper and evidence of your over indulgence have all been carted away in bags and boxes, clinking and clunking as they went and the fading tinsel and baubles now drooping sadly from bald, needleless branches are packed away for another year. Read the rest of this entry »
Ah, the school Nativity! Nerves jangling, emotions running high, and that’s just the parents! What is it that gets us parents so worked up? In my case it’s not even new territory. I’ve done it all before – in style. Read the rest of this entry »
I seem to have this conversation with many mums at this time of year. Do you let your children decorate the tree themselves or just “help out”? Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve all heard it said many times before: “The beauty of being a grandparent is that you get all the fun and none of the stress!” After all, they’ve already raised their family, now it’s their turn to relax and enjoy life with their extended family.
Increasingly however, grandparents are finding themselves becoming ad-hoc childcarers, regularly left in sole charge of their grandchildren whilst mum and dad are out at work. Read the rest of this entry »
Nannies are often seen as a luxury item for a household, but nowadays with both parents often working long hours they become a bit of a necessity. When we first took over Tinies in 2000, our London branches would place most of the nannies with families where the mum didn’t work but wanted time to herself – labelled by the press as the “ladies who lunch” brigade. Now our clients are pretty much all working mums and dads who have to have childcare as a necessity.
There is however a number of families who have school age children and manage to struggle on during term time without childcare. They rely on school buses, school clubs, family and friends to juggle the care.
However, come the school holidays, all those juggling balls come crashing down. Read the rest of this entry »
My two boys go to the same school. There are obvious advantages to this:
