Margarine and Sugar

How to teach your kids about gratitude (oh and ourselves too). I now know why my Dad used to trot out the Margarine and Sugar story every time he felt we were showing ingratitude or a lack of appreciation. The story goes like this: “When he was a boy in the early 1950′s he and a friend had 70 miles to cycle home on the last day of their youth hosteling holiday. All they had to eat was half a tub of National margarine ( something to do with...

Blinking Blog

Blinking heck, how do you do this blogging thing? I feel mine is turning into a hotchpotch, no, a mess of stuff, so much for simple hu? I write whatever is in or on my mind and then have to decide what “category” to put it in, is there any point I wonder, trying to make this  FIT into anything remotely useful or sensible. I’m not sure I’m the sort of person who fits-in anyway, fits in a box, and I don’t even want to. My...

Better Breakfast Brigade

 Thanks to my CFS/ME I’ve been learning just how important it is to keep our blood sugars balanced. Feeding our children cereal, toast ( especially white bread) with jam, chocolate spread or marmalade or any other so-called breakfast option is doing them a disservice. I am tempted to say abusing them. Yes, strong words, but honestly we worry about them crossing roads, encountering drugs, stranger danger while “safe” at home we feed them the...

Why we need a break?

  We need a break so we can think straight, reflect, gather ourselves, plan and prepare, get things straightened out, remember who we are as well as a host of other reasons. But why do we have to get it by plugging our beautiful children into screens? Apart from fear of letting them go outside, which I’ve written about here, I think we’ve lost our communities, our village of friends, relatives and neighbors which we need to raise a child. Too...

Let Them Out or Keep Them Quiet?

  I have just read on a parenting support group that someone was thinking about getting an Ipod touch for their 4 year old. What?!!!!!! And get this, someone else said it’s great because it keeps them QUIET! What?!!!!!! What the heck is going on? Keep them quiet! Are we going back to the Victorian era where kids should be seen and not heard. I know kids can be hard going ,believe me, I’ve got twins, one of whom would test the patience of a...