My daughter is now 3 and is into absolutely everything. Whilst she has been growing up, I have always been very conscious of being as neutral as possible when it comes to toys and games. She is a big fan of all things pink, princesses and ponies – toys that you would traditionally classify as ‘girls toys’, but at the same time, loves cars, paw patrol, trains and dinosaurs, toys that many would label as aimed at boys. I will always let her decide what she wants to play with, as for me toys should not be gender specific.
She recently started gymnastics classes after becoming besotted during the Olympics, but I am also considering a football class at weekends, as she loves a kick around with her Dad – and has a remarkably good first touch for someone so petite! 🙂
When I read about the FA’s recent initiative to get more girls interested in football, I nearly spat out my cereal. I understand the challenge. The FA has a target and are committed to double female participation in football by 2020. With the olympics being so popular, the U.K. has seen increase popularity in sports such as swimming and cycling – yet football numbers are remaining relatively static.
So what were there ideas to encourage girls to play?
– colourful bibs – which should be ‘clean and smell nice’
– stamps and prizes including pocket mirrors and pink wristbands
– mobile phone and social media breaks during training
No, I am not joking. These were actual suggestions from the FA and according to their ‘experts’ are based on case studies and research into girls who do not currently play.
I would love to know how many girls were actually surveyed as I find it hard to believe that a girl would be motivated to play in return for a chance to look at her reflection in a pocket mirror!!!
Contrary to being a positive initiative for girls in sport I personally find this incredibly insulting – stepping back in time in terms of gender equality and sexism.
Well here’s a newsflash to the FA – not all girls like pink. Guess what? Some boys like pink too! My daughter would much rather receive a football or work towards winning an inflatable goal to take home than a piece of plastic pink tat that would get thrown in the bin within the week. How about offering sport related prizes that reward children for getting fully encapsulated by the sport? Prizes for the best headers, best dribbling, best defence?? How about you encourage a passion in sport over and above a passion in social media!? Quite frankly absurd!!
What are your thoughts on this initiative? Do you have girls? Do they like football? What would motivate your girls to play?
Today is an exciting day – the day the Give Me Space campaign is launched. Something that ALL parents and parents to be should be aware of and be supporting!
I recently shared the great news that Tesco are beginning to clamp down on those who abuse Parent & Child spaces – which is great news – but this campaign goes even further to help keep our children and unborn children, safe in public places.
Watch my video to learn more about the Give Me Space Campaign #givemespace and how you can get involved!
To sign the petition, get your free car sticker, or to learn more about the campaign, visit the Give Me Space Campaign pages here:
It may seem like a bizarre question! In a very bold statement, one of the UK’s leading businesswomen, Lady Barbara Judge, has claimed long maternity breaks are bad for women and that those taking a year off work are at risk of losing their jobs. Having only took 12 days maternity leave after the birth of her child, Lady Judge claims that women taking long maternity breaks are teaching their employers to “manage without them” and as such, are more at risk of being let go if redundancy situations arise on their return – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/07/lady-barbara-judge-long-maternity-leave-is-bad-for-mothers/
This is something I read with interest – particularly as someone who has just commenced a 12 month maternity leave break. I love my job, I really really do, but in my opinion, you simply cannot get these precious moments with your children back. The moments where you watch your child do everything for the first time – first smile, first food, first steps! I was lucky enough to have 12 months off after Erin was born, and the second time around, although it will be a strain on our family financially, I feel honoured and blessed to be able to spend this time at home with my newborn and watch her grow up with her big sister. I am aware that many women don’t have this luxury and have to go back to work sooner either for financial reasons or because they worry their career will suffer as a result.
In the US, women are offered just 12 weeks maternity leave. Having spent the first 3 weeks of Neve’s life in hospital, I cannot even imagine returning to work when she was 3 months old or less.
That said, I did struggle a little on my return to the workplace and not due to my employer. I suffered largely with a bit of a confidence crisis. I had been “out of the loop” for 12 months, and felt a little like I had lost my touch. I doubted whether I was making the right decisions and felt I had to check I was on the right lines more regularly than I normally would, rebuilding relationships that had perhaps gone a little stagnant during my absence. It was tough, and it took a while for me to build my confidence back up. Part of this struggle wasn’t helped by the fact I did no keeping in touch days due to breastfeeding, and the fact my little madam refused to take a bottle. This time around, I am hoping to be able to go to the office a few times during my break at least, and have my laptop at home with me. Whilst I will resist the temptation to ‘work’, I am checking my emails once a week to keep in the loop of what is going on – even simple things like new starters, leavers, new customers etc – it all helps me feel connected with what is occurring within my organisation.
There is of course a risk that my employer will learn to ‘manage without me’, but I’d like to think not! 🙂 Now that I have two children, being lucky enough to have a part time role that works around my family is not something to be sniffed at. I also want to make my children proud of Mummy and what she does for a living! 🙂
What do you think of Lady Judge’s claims? How long did you take off on maternity leave and why?
Would you know how to save your child’s life if they stopped breathing?? Scarily, only one in four people in recent research said that they would know what to do. In this latest collaboration with Tesco’s, St John’s Ambulance aims to change this statistic ensure all parents know EXACTLY what to do in the event of an emergency, with the launch of the CPR Babygrow!
On Thursday 13th October, parents will be able to visit selected Tesco stores for free paediatric first aid demonstrations where they will be giving away limited-edition babygrows (while stocks last!). These super adorable 3-6 month old babygrows are not only bright, colourful and cute, but include visual instructions on how to carry out baby CPR. You can learn more about the campaign in the video below…
To find out more, CHECK HERE to see if your local store is involved.
We think this is an excellent idea, and something that every parent should know. Well done to everyone involved!
Disclosure – This is not a sponsored post, and I was not compensated in anyway for sharing details. Paediatric first aid is something that I am passionate about and campaigns like this can save lives!
We are giving a big cheer to Tesco this week as they announce that they cracking down on people who abuse mother and baby and disabled spaces – giving employees smartphones to record the evidence, and dishing out fines of up to £70 for people who park inappropriately park in marked bays.
As a mum of a toddler and now a newborn baby, there is nothing more frustrating that watching someone drive into a mother and baby space with no children in their car. In my experience, its usually someone in a posh four by four, who clearly wants a large space to avoid damaging their precious automobile, or on the flipside, someone who is clearly too lazy to walk the additional 2 or 3 metres to the supermarket entrance. I have, at times, got into a slanging match with those who I have seen, and at times, shouted at them to move out of the space when I have highlighted that its a parent space. 9 times out of 10 they move, usually denying all knowledge (clearly they cannot read!!!). Sometimes however they ignore me and waltz off into the store without a care in the world, and up until now, there wasn’t much the store could do about it!
These spaces have always caused a bit of a debate, as well as raised a few questions (Such as at what age does a child stop being a child? Can pregnant women park in them etc etc), but for me personally they are a massive help, and reduce the stress of trying to get children out the car without accidently hitting the door of the car next to you. Whilst I can understand people wanting to park in them when it is the only space left (rare I would say!!) I do not condone someone abusing the spaces “just because”.
For me personally, this is the 2nd initiative Tesco have introduced in recent months that is a positive step for parents (the first being free fruit for children to eat whilst we shop!)
I am currently 30 weeks pregnant with my second child, and therefore read with interest this morning various news articles stating that Pregnancy multivitamins are a waste of money. Manufacturers have responded saying that they believe the research conducted doesn’t take account of current UK diets, and that a claim that “most women don’t need them” is incorrect.
I will be the first to admit that my pregnancy diet has probably not been the healthiest. Whilst I would love to say I have been religiously eating my five a day, the reality is that in the first few months I didn’t want to each much at all, and from the 2nd trimester onwards, cake has been a pretty much staple part of my diet! (What can I say, I am weak). That said, I haven’t personally taken any additional multi-vitamins during my pregnancy.
The reason for this wasn’t financial, although the cost of some of these vitamins is significant, with some leading brands of pregnancy and “new mum” vitamins can costing between £15-20 a pack. The main reason I didn’t take any is that the tablets tend to be HUGE and I have real difficulty swallowing them (even at the age of 33!). What I have taken however is a folic acid and vitamin D supplement, but only in the first trimester of my pregnancy. These tend to be a lot smaller and relatively low in price. I bought a combined version which required one tablet a day.
Folic acid is recommended in early pregnancy to protect the baby against abnormalities called neural tube defects whilst the develop. Vitamin D is also recommended to help build healthy bones – again fairly crucial for a developing baby.
Whilst both of these elements can be gathered from diet they are not the kind of foods I personally eat on a regular basis and therefore the supplement felt like a wise idea. Folic acid for example can be found in lentils, nuts, citrus fruits, avocado and dark green vegetables such as broccoli or spinach. Foods rich in vitamin D include fatty fish like salmon, cheese, and more recently fortified cereals and dairy products.
With all the added cost of raising a baby, many mums to be will now be questioning whether the additional cost of vitamins is really required. We obviously want the best for our babies, and some will consider it money well spent. I for one will be ensuring that my diet (even with the cake!) remains as balanced as possible.
Hi, I’m Lucy, a thirty something mum of two from Birmingham. A memory maker, tradition keeper, stationery addict and Mr Men fanatic. HR Advisor by day and sleep deprived Mama by night!
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