Before kids, I was adamant that Christmas shouldn’t start until December – the second week would be just fine thank you very much. Jingle Bells on the airwaves any earlier than that just felt wrong. Christmas was about nights out as much as nights in, about finding the perfect sparkly dress for the office party, ...
Tag: things
How to get your child to sleep through the night in just two-and-a-half years
I’m afraid to say it out loud, so I’ll whisper it: My baby is sleeping through the night. It’s been happening for a few months now, but saying it, or even thinking it, could tempt fate, so I’ve told myself it’s just a phase. But this morning I realised that I couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken ...
5 things I got completely wrong about starting school
When my first child started school two years ago, everyone said it would be a big change. I didn’t exactly disbelieve them, but really, I thought, how big could it possibly be? Unsurprisingly, I got it completely wrong. 1. School is just the next step after crèche, right? What I thought: She’s been in crèche for a couple of ...
5 things I haven’t learned at all about holidaying with kids
Every year, bright-eyed and innocent, I look forward to going away on holidays - to reading and relaxing and resting, and to getting lots of sleep and sun. And every year, I am yet again taken by surprise to find that the holiday isn’t quite the chilled out, easygoing, restful experience I expected. Here’s what ...
Ten things I’ve learned about parenting
12 signs my kids have taken over my house
It's messy here. Marker marks on walls, little piles of folded laundry waiting expectantly but in vain for someone to pick them up, a single toddler shoe sitting on the bottom step of the stairs. When exactly did the kids take over the house? The most obvious sign that the kids have taken over the house ...
24 practical tips for working parents: balancing work and home
Arriving home from work one evening last week, I realised that there was a big, weetabixy handprint encrusted on the back of my trousers. Just about toddler-hug height. There since before I left the house at 7am; visible all day at work. Morto, as they say. Oh well, no time to sit around hand-wringing; there was ...
Five things I thought I knew about parenting
"Take the path of least resistance" was the wise advice from Fiona Kennedy in this week's blog interview. This is certainly the path we took in our house this morning, which is how the two-year-old ended up in our bed at 5.15am watching Mickey Mouse on YouTube. If I'd had chocolate to hand, he'd have had ...
Seven tips for going back to work after maternity leave
No matter how much you enjoy your job, and certainly if you don't, returning to work after maternity leave is often daunting. Even if you feel "ready to go back" it's hard leaving the little person with creche or childminder. It's difficult the first time, and it's no less difficult after subsequent babies - not ...