The slowest trike crash in the park – and my son is jubilant | Séamas O’Reilly
1 DAY AGO - First he goes missing, next he’s barrelling downhill. It was different in my dayFor all the Expand
1 DAY AGO - First he goes missing, next he’s barrelling downhill. It was different in my dayFor all the stresses and travails of parenting – without which, this column would be sorely depleted – I’m frequently reminded of how easy I have it compared to others. Having come from a family of 11, I’m aware how much easier it is having just one child, even in those moments where my heart is in my mouth and beating itself to death. Last week I took my son to the park so he could have a little run around on his favourite mode of transportation, a weird little trike we got him a few months ago. I say ‘run-around’, but it’s more of a ‘crawl around’ as his trike is an odd, pedal-less contraption, powered by the tiny feet of its driver, which pad him inch by inch along the pavement, at the speed of those marathon runners who collapse just before the finish and have to be helped over the line by their rivals. What it lacks in speed, it more than makes up for in its ability to occupy him for ungodly amounts Collapse
Pensioners are already suffering': responses to the summer statement
2 DAYS AGO - A single mother, a business owner and a pensioner react to Rishi Sunak’s attempt to revive the UK Expand
2 DAYS AGO - A single mother, a business owner and a pensioner react to Rishi Sunak’s attempt to revive the UK economySummer statement: chancellor’s key points at a glanceAnalysis: Sunak tries to kickstart UK’s economyAfter three months staying home in Kendal, Cumbria, 71-year-old Evelyn Morgan has returned to work as a carer for disabled people. The grandmother of eight was relieved there was no mention of scrapping the triple-lock pension in Rishi Sunak’s summer statement. Related: Summer statement 2020: the chancellor's key points at a glance Continue reading... Collapse
Easy millionaire’s shortbread recipe
4 DAYS AGO - Last weekend was Jon’s birthday*, and as everyone knows that the way to a man’s heart Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Last weekend was Jon’s birthday*, and as everyone knows that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and I needed some blog content, I thought I’d make him a TREAT. Thoughtful no? I’ve never made millionaire’s shortbread before, and I only had one afternoon to do it in, but it’s one of his favourites and so I thought I’d give it a bash. TOP TIP: you really need more than one afternoon if you want to make proper millionaire’s shortbread where the caramel doesn’t ooze out of the sides as soon as you try to cut it. Still, everyone knows it’s the thought that counts, and I kept some back to give them longer in the fridge so they’d look good in photos, so really it was…
The post Easy millionaire’s shortbread recipe appeared first on Slummy single mummy.
Easy millionaire’s shortbread recipe was first posted on July 9, 2020 at 4:27 pm. Collapse
A short rant about buckets
6 DAYS AGO - Over the last few weeks, two buckets have appeared, separately, in my front garden. The first was Expand
6 DAYS AGO - Over the last few weeks, two buckets have appeared, separately, in my front garden. The first was a rather fancy Avengers bucket. The second, a couple of weeks later, was more of a traditional seaside style – a castle shape in a jaunty blue, set off with a contrasting yellow handle. Neither belonged to me and neither have been claimed. What I really want to understand is the HOW and the WHY of this bucket situation. I’m a good 20 miles away from the nearest beach, and I don’t live near a park or sandpit, so what is a bucket doing near my front garden in the first place? How does a bucket arrive in a quiet, residential cul-de-sac unless it is brought there by a specific person for a…
The post A short rant about buckets appeared first on Slummy single mummy.
A short rant about buckets was first posted on July 7, 2020 at 2:21 pm. Collapse
My four miscarriages: why is losing a pregnancy so shrouded in mystery? – podcast
7 DAYS AGO - After losing four pregnancies, Jennie Agg set out to unravel the science of miscarriage. Then, a Expand
7 DAYS AGO - After losing four pregnancies, Jennie Agg set out to unravel the science of miscarriage. Then, a few months in, she found out she was pregnant again – just as the coronavirus pandemic hit• Read the text version here Continue reading... Collapse
The naughty step is becoming a regular haunt for our two-year-old
05/07/2020 - The adorable boy’s misdeeds are increasing in frequencyMy son is spending more and more time on Expand
05/07/2020 - The adorable boy’s misdeeds are increasing in frequencyMy son is spending more and more time on the stairs these days, specifically the bottom step facing the sitting room. Termed, optimistically, his ‘thinking step’, it’s become a sort of purgatory for him, a place to sit and reflect on his misdeeds. And these are increasing in frequency. Since he turned two, his gallop towards independence has brought a sizeable uptick in his vocabulary, sense of self and a passion for hitting his adoring parents.This last pastime has become one of his favourite sources of entertainment. To his mind there is literally nothing funnier than a well-placed slap on my horrified face, or a deft smack to his mother’s forehead. Often the only thing that makes him pause is his own convulsive laughter, which forces him to take a breath, before cracking straight back on with his campaign of assault.To his mind there is literally nothing funnier than a well-placed slap on my horrified face Continue reading... Collapse
Single-mothers' group calls for end to unfair prices at UK attractions
05/07/2020 - Zoos, theme parks and gardens guilty of discriminatory and unfair ticket prices, say campaignersA Expand
05/07/2020 - Zoos, theme parks and gardens guilty of discriminatory and unfair ticket prices, say campaignersA group of solo mothers is calling on zoos, tourist attractions, royal gardens and theme parks to change their pricing to take into account different-sized families and end what they believe is a single-parent premium.Research carried out by the group of single parents reveals that memberships for some of Britain’s most popular attractions are far higher per person for single-parent families than for two-parent families. Continue reading... Collapse
My half-sister has rejected my parents. Who is really to blame?
03/07/2020 - You have cast yourself as a rescuer, says Annalisa Barbieri, but it’s not your job to make Expand
03/07/2020 - You have cast yourself as a rescuer, says Annalisa Barbieri, but it’s not your job to make everything OKI’m in my 20s, and the child of two people who had previous marriages and children. Growing up, both my parents shared custody with their former partners; at weekends, the house would be full. I believed as a child that this was a blissfully happy family. I was very close with all of my half-siblings and particularly close to one of them. When I was of primary school age, my parents told me that this sister wouldn’t be coming over because she had decided she didn’t want anything more to do with us. After that I only saw her once. I was devastated. Related: Should I give my brother financial advice or mind my own business? Continue reading... Collapse
Women's careers will suffer most if UK childcare sector collapses, say experts
02/07/2020 - Fawcett Society flags economic imperative of supporting childcare sector in letter to Rishi Sunak Expand
02/07/2020 - Fawcett Society flags economic imperative of supporting childcare sector in letter to Rishi Sunak The childcare sector is facing unprecedented financial challenges due to a sharp fall in income from parents and social distancing putting limits on their capacity, MPs and business leaders have warned. Related: UK society regressing back to 1950s for many women, warn experts Continue reading... Collapse
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How to make sure your teenager doesn’t fall behind in their GCSEs during lockdown
2 DAYS AGO - Advertisement feature in association with Nightingale Tuition If you have kids approaching GCSEs Expand
2 DAYS AGO - Advertisement feature in association with Nightingale Tuition If you have kids approaching GCSEs who have been struggling in lockdown then read on as I have an hour of free tuition to give to everybody! It’s one of those fun, little known facts about me that when I was doing my degree, I earned extra money doing private one-to-one maths tuition. Bee was a toddler at the time, and I can’t remember exactly what she did while I was teaching small children about fractions through the medium of Lego, but private tuition brought in much needed extra cash for me at a time when I was cooking by candlelight because I couldn’t afford to replace the striplight in my kitchen. Private tuition was a very different thing back then of course –…
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How to make sure your teenager doesn’t fall behind in their GCSEs during lockdown was first posted Collapse
Mum asks mother-in-law to buy grandson a book - but it doesn't end way she hoped
3 DAYS AGO - A parenting blogger's amusing post about her mother-in-law's gift giving habits has gone viral Expand
3 DAYS AGO - A parenting blogger's amusing post about her mother-in-law's gift giving habits has gone viral after she complained about the way the older woman never seemed to buy what was requested Collapse
The pelvic mesh scandal makes it clear: doctors must declare any funding | Margaret McCartney
4 DAYS AGO - We need a public register to show if healthcare professionals are in the pay of industry – or more Expand
4 DAYS AGO - We need a public register to show if healthcare professionals are in the pay of industry – or more patients will sufferIt was never “just women’s problems”. After decades of having their suffering dismissed, many patients will have been relieved about the publication of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review yesterday. Led by Julia Cumberlege, the review has spent two years investigating three medical interventions: pelvic mesh, used in prolapse surgery, which resulted in chronic, life-changing pain for many women; Primodos, a hormonal pregnancy test, used up until 1978; and sodium valproate, an epilepsy treatment. The latter two have both been linked with birth defects. Related: Denial of women's concerns contributed to decades of medical scandals, says inquiry Continue reading... Collapse
Being childfree: four women on why they chose not to have kids – video
6 DAYS AGO - As part of the Guardian's Childfree series, four women discuss why having children isn't for them Expand
6 DAYS AGO - As part of the Guardian's Childfree series, four women discuss why having children isn't for them – and how others perceive them as a result. 'There's no wrong way to be a woman,' says Sabrina, 25 Continue reading... Collapse
Can I have two biscuits? The best of kids interrupting television interviews
7 DAYS AGO - As two interviews featuring impromptu appearances from children go viral on the same day, we take Expand
7 DAYS AGO - As two interviews featuring impromptu appearances from children go viral on the same day, we take a look at some memorable others One thing – among many – that the coronavirus lockdowns have brought into focus is the issue of work-life balance. With schools closed and movement limited, many of us who would usually be in offices are at home, as are kids who would usually be at school or nursery.This has proved a recipe for stress; the humiliation of not being able to answer year 6 maths questions; even more spillages and bickering than usual; and, happily, an even greater respect for teachers. It has also resulted in a fair amount of uplifting television moments, as the often pedestrian talking-heads segments of news pieces have been transformed by miniature humans who will not let a webcam and a live link come between their need for a biscuit (or two).We’ve decided on a shelf for the unicorn. Thanks to all for kind words normalising the work-parent balance that so many are juggling Collapse
‘Seeing the trees being ripped down is really hard’: meet a father and son protesting against HS2
05/07/2020 - The controversial HS2 route slices through some of England’s most precious woodland. But standing Expand
05/07/2020 - The controversial HS2 route slices through some of England’s most precious woodland. But standing in its way are father and son Larch and Seb Maxey. They explain why living 30ft off the ground in precarious treehouses has brought them closer togetherAttach it to the edge,” instructs Seb. “What I recommend you do is…” replies Larch. As they pass each other tools and hold up timber, tacks and a tarpaulin, Larch and Seb Maxey look like any other father and son spending lockdown on a DIY project together.The difference is that they are 30ft up an ash tree, building a treehouse in a wood surrounded by the thunder of the construction of the high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham. As the ash sways, Larch, who is 47 but looks younger, and Seb, 19, work carefully and harmoniously, balanced on a 2m sq platform of flooring joists, ingeniously suspended using cheap blue “polyprop” rope. This homespun operation is a last attempt to halt the massive engineering juggernaut that is HS2, Collapse
My partner’s abusive ex is twisting their daughter against her | Dear Mariella
05/07/2020 - You need to safeguard this child, says Mariella, as well as encourage her mother to open up to her Expand
05/07/2020 - You need to safeguard this child, says Mariella, as well as encourage her mother to open up to her – and seek professional helpThe dilemma I have been in a relationship with my partner for 10 years and she has a daughter in her mid-teens. My partner broke up with the father of their daughter due to gaslighting and physical abuse, including head-butting her and claiming it was by accident. Two years later I came on to the scene. I’ve never called him out about the abuse, and her daughter doesn’t know about it. The problem is that he has been manipulating his daughter for years. He buys her big gifts and gives her pocket money, but rarely gives my partner financial assistance. We have heard him saying negative things about my partner to his daughter.Her daughter can be nice, but often tells my partner that she prefers her father, and is rude and obnoxious. This is more than a teenager’s sniping. We find ourselves walking on eggshells – which was just like how my partner felt when Collapse
Experience: I didn’t leave my son’s hospital room for 47 days
03/07/2020 - Sunny bank holidays were especially hard – knowing people were enjoying clear blue skies when we Expand
03/07/2020 - Sunny bank holidays were especially hard – knowing people were enjoying clear blue skies when we couldn’t even feel fresh airIn January, just after our eldest son turned four, he was diagnosed with high-risk stage 4 neuroblastoma. It’s incredibly rare; only 100 children in the UK get it each year; our Olly was one of the unlucky ones. It was a shock. He was a fit and healthy boy who loved PE and riding his bike. He began a raft of tests, procedures and chemotherapy at Leeds General Infirmary, a 40-minute drive from our home in Ackworth. My wife Laura and I stopped working to focus on Olly.As coronavirus spread across the UK, we pulled our two-year-old, Alfie, out of nursery, and the four of us began shielding at home. It was an oddly peaceful time, but then came the next stage of Olly’s treatment: inpatient stem cell treatment and high-dose chemotherapy. Doctors told us that one of us would have to isolate fully with Olly in his hospital room for as long as the treatment lasted; the Collapse
I'm worried': parents react to England's school reopening plans
02/07/2020 - Two mothers describe their mixed feelings about sending their children back into Expand
02/07/2020 - Two mothers describe their mixed feelings about sending their children back into classroomsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageJane, 42, Derbyshire, has two children: a daughter in primary school and son in secondary.“It’s been really difficult to motivate my kids and keep them focused, because they’re surrounded by home comforts and distractions. I’m working from home, so I can’t be sat there helping them all the time. It’s caused quite a lot of frustration and arguments, I think we’ve fallen out every day over schoolwork. Related: English schools to open full time in September with few restrictions Continue reading... Collapse
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‘My son would be shaking, trying not to go online’: how the gambling industry got its claws into kids
2 DAYS AGO - As the NHS opens its first clinic for child addicts, families are counting the cost of Britain’s Expand
2 DAYS AGO - As the NHS opens its first clinic for child addicts, families are counting the cost of Britain’s high-stakes betting problemIn Jack Ritchie’s first term of sixth form, when he was 17, he started to spend his lunch breaks at the bookies down the road from his school in Sheffield, staking his dinner money at the fixed-odds betting terminals. It became a regular thing. No one ever asked for any proof of age.Early on, Jack had a big win. It was too much money to fit in his pocket; he had to ask the bookies to hold it for him until he could pick it up after school. “He came home with £1,000 in cash,” his mother, Liz, tells me, blinking in astonishment.Jack's distress came from the hold gambling had over his life and the feeling he could never escape itNobody saw it as a problem. There were no warning bells. It felt so normalised. It's a bit of fun, as the adverts sayHe lost in the order of £3,000. It’s not about the money. I think, in the end, it’s embarrassment and shame Continue Collapse
Sunak's jobs plan must be backed by childcare funding, say MPs
4 DAYS AGO - Chancellor declined to offer financial help to nurseries in summer statementCoronavirus – latest Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Chancellor declined to offer financial help to nurseries in summer statementCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMPs have issued a fresh plea to Rishi Sunak to offer more financial support to the struggling childcare sector, after he failed to take action in Wednesday’s summer statement.The chancellor declined to offer more financial help to nurseries and other providers in his “plan for jobs”, despite being urged to do so by business groups including the Institute of Directors, and the Conservative chairs of the equalities, education and liaison parliamentary committees. Related: Sunak's promises mean nothing with a government this incompetent | Polly Toynbee Continue reading... Collapse
I hate my baby's name but worry people will think I'm a bad mum if I change it
5 DAYS AGO - A new mum has revealed the struggle she's been facing over whether or not to change her baby's Expand
5 DAYS AGO - A new mum has revealed the struggle she's been facing over whether or not to change her baby's name - and what people might think if she goes through with it Collapse
003. Why does everything feel so nice?! – podcast
6 DAYS AGO - Sometimes changing your mind about something can lead you into a totally different life. Nat and Expand
6 DAYS AGO - Sometimes changing your mind about something can lead you into a totally different life. Nat and Emma are testament to this and, as they tell Leah Green this week, feel all the better for it. Headphones recommended Continue reading... Collapse
Are you a parent, or are you childfree? We want to hear from you
7 DAYS AGO - As Americans have fewer babies, tell us about what drove your decisionRead our Childfree series Expand
7 DAYS AGO - As Americans have fewer babies, tell us about what drove your decisionRead our Childfree series Continue reading... Collapse
Weird but true: lockdown has made many families happier
05/07/2020 - Almost a third of mothers tell a survey that despite home schooling and financial worries they Expand
05/07/2020 - Almost a third of mothers tell a survey that despite home schooling and financial worries they feel closer to their familiesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSome people may disagree, but a new study suggests that lockdown has strengthened many parents’ relationships with their children.The research, published by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex, finds that around a quarter of parents report that their relationship with their children has improved since the government introduced its stay-at-home policy. Less than 5% said it had become worse. The results are based on research for the Understanding Society Covid-19 survey, a nationally representative study that collected data from 5,500 parents. Related: The ultimate test of parenting is coming: the summer of boredom Continue reading... Collapse
‘I was wailing over the fence’: what single parents learned from lockdown
04/07/2020 - As Covid-19 hit, many solo parents found their support networks suddenly gone. How did they fare? Expand
04/07/2020 - As Covid-19 hit, many solo parents found their support networks suddenly gone. How did they fare? On day two of lockdown, bone tired after an anxiety-induced sleepless night, I sliced into my forefinger trying to cut through a frozen bagel. I cleaned the wound, dressed it as best I could, and prayed it would heal. It seemed to symbolise my deepest worries: I was going to have to get through this one alone.Like everyone, my concerns about Covid-19 were many – not least that I had a lingering chest infection – but as a solo parent, they were amplified. Who would look after my daughter if I got ill? How was I going to shop for groceries with a child in tow? How would I work as well as look after a child? Friends who suspected they’d had the virus spoke of exhaustion so deep they needed four-hour naps – and these were people with supportive partners. How would I cope alone?The thought of a single day without someone to see or somewhere to be used to fill me with low-level claustrophobiaI Collapse
The ultimate test of parenting is coming: the summer of boredom
03/07/2020 - My New York kids are about to get a taste of my British childhood. Will it prove to be fertile Expand
03/07/2020 - My New York kids are about to get a taste of my British childhood. Will it prove to be fertile soil for their imaginations?Camp is cancelled, there are no classes to attend, and we are looking down the barrel of a 1970s summer break. For my kids, for the next two months, it’s a choice between the park, the park, a trip to the supermarket, or the park. (I mean screens, too; but I’m trying not to think about that.) When I was their age, these options were standard. If you were very unlucky, you might get a week or two in a half-arsed summer play-scheme, where you were made to play rounders and do cutting and sticking. Beyond that, however, the summer was yours, and it delivered what is by today’s standards an outlandish luxury: boredom.After five years of raising kids in New York, it has taken some effort on my part to see things this way. The term “enrichment”, a word to strike fear into every parental heart, is the rat race of ballet, music, swimming lessons, summer camp, that murder Collapse
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