"Change The Page": Do We Need Graphic Images On Newspapers' Front Pages?

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I don't approve of violent toys, I won't allow them in my house.

The Boy was given some Playmobil pirate toys for his 4th birthday and I removed the swords, guns and canons before they were passed to him.

Am I over-reacting? Some may think so and that boys will be boys, I disagree.

I read a recent post about how we should allow children (boys in particular) to play with guns and swords as it allows them to process what they've seen in real-life or on the television. Why would my son see these? I don't have non-children's television on around him (apart from The One Show occasionally) and actually he doesn't like any form of malevolence or bad behaviour and asks me to turn it over.

I especially don't have the news on when he's around, and in fact why would I want to watch it anyway? It is full of death and destruction, wars, violence or critical analyse of a celebrity. Hardly the world I want to show my son, not what I want him to grow up in.

I can control that, yet what I can't control is what he sees in a supermarket or newsagent. I can't control the bloody images of dictators hanging or mutilated in death. I can't control the tabloids showing a man with blood-drenched clothes and a machete in his hand who has just beheaded another human being. And I can't control the thought processes that are then inflicted on my child and the nightmares that he then suffers.

Why is is necessary to show such graphic images?

OneDad3Girls has created an e-petition to ask the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to force change. To stop Newspapers from being allowed to print graphic images that can easily be seen by young eyes. To protect our young.

Please sign it here, it takes 20 seconds.

An Interview With Alex Winters (LolliBop 2013)

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At what age do children develop the tendency to hero-worship?

Because The Boy is there, and I can think of worse people in the world to hero-worship than Alex Winters from CBeebies. It started when we were invited to a Cardiff City football match which had him compering the backstage children's entertainment, it developed when we saw him at LolliBop last year, was further compounded when we snatched a quick hello at the celebration of Cardiff City reaching the Premier League last month, and culminated when he sent a birthday e-mail to The Boy last week.

LolliBop 2012

Quite frankly, The Boy is not the only one to hero-worship him!

It takes a genuine and special kind of person to go to that much effort to make one little boy happy. That's why we're over the moon to be returning to the LolliBop children's festival this year as official LolliBop bloggers, where Alex will be returning to host all the action on the LolliLive stage at LolliBop 2013.

Last week, I posed one or two questions to the popular CBeebies presenter (or Mr. CBeebies as I call him) and here's the answer, along with one or two others from the other LolliBop bloggers.

  • Hi Alex, how did you became involved with children's television? Also, do you have any intention of developing your own show as other presenters have, or do you prefer being the consistent face in the links?

My background is drama and theatre studies and I have always fancied being on children's television.  I love being around kids and making them laugh so when I was told that CBeebies were publicly advertising for presenters, I thought I'd give it a go.  My wife had a lot of belief in me and really encouraged me to go for it because I wasn't really sure that I would ever get such a job, after all I was just Alex from Cardiff.  I'm sure everyone thinks that but here I am and loving it.

As for developing a show, I would love to do that.  That's all down to the producers and the controller of the channel so we'll see!

  • What are you most looking forward to about LolliBop?

As the returning compere of the LolliBop Main Stage, I cannot wait to get on there and entertain the crowds.  The past two years have been so much fun and have made me laugh so much!!  This year I'll be bringing new games, jokes, dances and daft fun so be prepared for more fun than ever!

  • What was your favourite TV show when you were a kid?

Ooooh, tough question that as I remember being in love with so many.  Here goes… Mr Ben, Button Moon, Jamie & The Magic Torch and Blue Peter.  There are so many others I could mention too.  PLAYSCHOOL of course!

  • You're a dad ­ and you bring your kids to Lolli ­ what's your top tip?

My children LOVE coming to LolliBop.  They ask me and their mum "How long is it until Lollibop" for 11 months of the year!!!  My advice?  Prepare to let your hair down.  If you've got any!  Join in and have fun, you won't regret it and your children will love you forever!

LolliBop this year takes place on August 16th, 17th & 18th in its new home; Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.

Ticket information is available here, hurry while Early Bird ticket prices are still available and have a fabulous day out with entertainment for everyone!

lollibop

LolliBop 2013

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LolliBop 2013

I'm over the moon to announce that we've been chosen as an official ambassador family for the LolliBop, the excellent children's festival held in London during the middle of the Summer holidays!

We went to LolliBop last year and had a fabulous time discovering the many different parts to the festival in the beautiful Regent's Park. This year however, LolliBop have relocated to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which is very exciting for me as we didn't go to the Olympics and it will be great to explore the area.

LolliBop 2013

  • LolliBop Live (central stage) is­ playing host to some of the biggest names in children's entertainment, with live music and performances from stars of stage and screen. This will be compered by Alex Winters and will see acts like:
    • LolliBop favourites Dick and Dom return with their special mix of madcap games, songs, jokes and a foam pie or twoŠ;
    • Sid Sloane and Andy Day will be hosting their very own Big Birthday Bash so expect lots of energetic songs and silliness and plenty of audience participation;
    • two of The Boy's favourites Peppa Pig and Poppy Cat will be appearing for the first time;
    • The Go! Go! Go! Show are bringing brand new pop songs, catchy, easy-to-learn dance moves and loads of laughs;
    • Sing and dance along with the adorable Cloudbabies mini show;
    • The Diary of a Wimpy Kid will also be there with its own brand of wacky humour and interview clips from the author.
  • Lollipalladiam is a live theatre tent showcasing performances from pioneering and internationally renowned companies and artists. Last year saw shows by 'The Gruffalo' and 'Mister Maker' amongst many others, this year it features Spooked, from the critically acclaimed Broken Rose Performing Arts.  Spooked promises a hilarious and spectacular blend of dance, theatre and spoken word featuring skeletons Molly, Jinny and Charlie.
  • The LolliBop Kitchen where creative little cooks will have the chance to learn new skills from live demonstrations and interactive workshops.
  • Lolli Stops ­ – Enjoy crafts from puppet making, and customised fashion workshops, to balloon modelling, and graffiti painting, there is a something to make and do around every corner.
  • Tween Town will host a number of activities including street dance, hula-hoop, and beat-box workshops.
  • Imagination Stations – A hub of creativity with lots of mess and mayhem thrown in! From clay modeling, puppet making, customised fashion workshops, balloon modeling, graffiti painting, face painting and much more.
  • Science Zone – Make a rocket, hold a dry ice cube, or get messy with gooey slime in the LolliBop lab – brimming with exploding experiments for pint sized guests to try! London's Science Museum will also be attending with live demonstrations and interactive activities.
  • Discovery Zone – will host a number of educational, interactive and hands on activities where kids can learn a new skill like beatboxing in one of the many workshops.
  • Run wild and have fun in the LolliSports area.  With activities including retro favorites like swingball, hula-hoop and frisbee to football tournaments and sports day style races.
  • The Lolli Promenade will be situated on the River Lea! A real river running through the new home, so why not relax and enjoy an ice lolly at the Lolli Promenade which also features beach hut crafts and bandstands.
  • Fun Kids is a radio station for Tweens, pre-schoolers and their families and broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio across London and the South East and online/through mobiles at funkidslive.com.
  • Skylanders will also be appearing providing LolliBoppers with the opportunity to be among the first in the UK to play Skylanders SWAP Force, which introduces the new play pattern of dynamic swapability, before it hits the shops in October.
  • The pre-school 3ft and under is also making a comeback but this time is it within the brand new Itsy Bitsy Zone.  Activities for babies and toddlers will include soft play, baby massage, storytelling, mini discos and much more along with the Enchanted Forest and The Village Green with live music, craft stalls and street theatre, making it an ideal spot for a picnic.
  • Not forgetting: the Mr Men and Little Miss Village Green Event; Shaun the Sheep's Championsheeps; the life-size Transformer Optimus Prime Truck, along with the Transformers Station Experience showcasing the new Beast Hunters toys, viewings of the cartoon series Transformers Prime and free green screen pictures; and the amazing wildlife showcase with National Geographic Kids Animal Man
  • Extensive covered buggy parks, baby changing and breast-feeding areas will be available.

For more information and tickets, see here.

LolliBop 2012

As a LolliBop Blogger I will receive free entry into the festival for my family, my endorsement of this festival is honest and unbiased and based on past experiences.

Interview With A Four Year Old

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Last year, Emma from A Matter Of Choice had a fabulous idea to interview her three year old son Leo, then to repeat the interview every birthday and see how the answers changed with age.

We took part in this great idea and last year's interview was a real insight into the randomness of my three year old son's mind. This year… well… yes.

Let's just say that he gets distracted easily, shall we?

Cousins (Flashback Friday)

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As The Boy nears his fourth birthday I've been reflecting on my little bundle and how he has grown. This was him in July 2009 meeting one of his cousins (my brother's daughter) for the first time; it was her first cuddle with him.

Fiery cousin & The Boy 1

It seems quite opportunistic to post this now, as my brother has just popped over for something and told me that she was mortified to discover that I had fuzzed out her face in the last batch of photos I'd put up of her. At the time I'd done it because I wanted to maintain her privacy and not assume I could post about her in an identifiable way. However, as she's now seven and a half years old (and has her own ideas about these things), I have permission to post away as she was proud to see herself mentioned.

So this post is for you, my little chick-a-dee!

Fiery cousin and The Boy 2

Here are the same cousins five weeks ago. This was the day she fiercely turned around to another child and declared that The Boy could stand where she told him to, "because he's my cousin!"

That's why I call her Fiery Cousin.

—

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The One Where I Pretend To Be A Barista!

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In my twitter 'bio' is the phrase 'full-time coffee-worshipper', and some days this is more true than others. Like last Tuesday when I had a house full of mess from my mum's birthday party the day before, a table full of ironing in preparation for our holiday the next day, and two suitcases which were, quite frankly, taunting me with their emptiness. I knew from the moment I awoke that the day was going to be sponsored by caffeine.

Therefore when the doorbell rang at 8.55, at around about the time I was holding my head in one hand and reaching to turn the kettle on with another, the courier which handed me this parcel was almost enveloped in the biggest hug of gratitude ever.

Tassimo T20 coffee maker

Isn't it wonderful?

Now this is not the first Tassimo that we have owned, I'll be honest. We had one when they first came out but after about five years we had a child and needed the surface space for the steriliser and other baby paraphenalia. On its move up to the attic it suffered from a drop and refused to work again in protest. Receiving the e-mail from Tassimo inviting me to receive one of their newer models to review was like a gift from God, especially last Tuesday!

The model we received is the Tassimo T20 and it is a very funky looking machine indeed, vastly improved in design from the first one we had which was bulky and cumbersome. This takes up only two-thirds of the space of the previous model, is far quieter and heats up significantly faster. It also has a nifty on and off switch on the machine, a huge improvement!

In the package from Tassimo was a pack of Earl Grey tea and a pack of Kenco 100% Colombian coffee, along with some drizzles and chocolate pretty bits to embellish the drink. As it was definitely a coffee day, I set about experimenting to see what I could come up with.

Tassimo T20

Using the machine is so easy! Each T-Pod has a barcode on it which is individual to the type of drink it is, this informs the Tassimo machine how much hot water to put through the T-Pod and also whether to let the T-Pod infuse with a few drops of hot water first of all. Put the T-Pod in, press the cover down, give the button a jab and it does the rest itself.

I actually poured the milk in carefully half way through the cycle; experience has taught me that if you put it in at the beginning then the sugar (which should also be put in at the beginning) doesn't dissolve properly, and if you put it in at the end then the wonderful froth from the Tassimo is lost. I also put in a teaspoon of the chocolate drops at the beginning of the cycle which melted into the hot coffee as it came out of the machine. This added a lovely mocha flavour to the drink.

I then drizzled caramel and chocolate sauce over the top of the froth, before carefully (so as not to break the surface tension of the froth and drizzle) placing a few chocolate drops and some chocolate popping candy on the top.

Et voila!

I give you the caramel mochacino; TBaM style!

Tassimo T20

And not an expensive coffee house in sight!

What do you think?

—

I was sent a Tassimo T20 to help me create this recipe as part of an ongoing project. My opinions, and love of coffee, is honest and unbiased.

Tassimo Badge

 

Room For Improvement

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When we moved into our house eight years ago, one of the things that appealed to use was the outbuildings which had been converted into a wet room, with back garden access. We had it changed into a utility room and toilet, and the 'back porch' (as I call it) was a vital pathway through from the garden to the 'washroom' after gardening. I also knew that once we had a child that it would be an essential as it would enable him to run through without worrying about getting the carpet dirty.

So we painted the back porch the same colour as the kitchen (a burnt terracotta), laid some tiles, hung up a row of coat hooks and that was the job done!

Until a month or so ago when a blogging friend came to visit for the first time and I realised what an absolute mess it was and how embarrassed I was of the dumping ground for wellies, macs, seed trays, frisbees, trowels, and general things to go down to the shed.

Room for Improvement

About a week ago, I received an e-mail from Money Supermarket asking me if I'd like to take part in their Room For Improvement competition, where they would give me £50 to improve a room or area of the house. The 'back porch' screamed at me, begging me to make it feel loved and not like the ugly sister to the rest of the house, so I accepted, received the £50 and set off to Ikea for some goodies.

I bought:

  • While on holiday I nabbed a chalkboard, a paper lampshade and some craft skeleton leaves from a cheap touristy shop, which totalled £7.75. And from the cheerful chappy at the market on Saturday I spent £5.00 on a door mat to help keep the floor a little cleaner!
  • 2 x photos = 24p

Total Spend = £49.87!

Room for improvement

Here it is, a before and after comparison:

room for improvement

What do you think?

Alternative Holiday Destinations (Featured Post)

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Before we had The Boy, we would regularly throughout the year spend long weekends visiting European cities and experiencing all the wonderful culture and history that makes up the patchwork quilt of mankind. Barcelona and Prague were our favourites and we visited those three times each, and at the time of falling pregnant we were investigating Copenhagen or Madrid. However, since having The Boy we've yet to make it abroad, and when we finally do get on a plane to have a holiday in warmer climes, our budget is going to be vastly different to previous trips.

With the financial issues that Britain has been experiencing for the past few years, many travellers are experiencing unfavourable deals on the Euro, Dollar and Pound Sterling; whereas Sterling used to actually be worth quite a bit in another currency, British travellers are really having to expand their budgets to experience anything like the holiday they would have five or even ten years ago.

With that in mind, the Post Office have put together a comparative guide: the Travel Money Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer. This barometer compares eight key lifestyle expenditures that travellers will often encounter while on their holiday, before applying this formula to 42 separate places across the globe. These costs were include things like the price of a cup of coffee, a bottle of beer, and a three course meal for two adults, and make perfect sense to me. It's good to find out the different costs per country for exactly the same items. It seems Spain and Sri Lanka are two of the best places to visit to get the best value for your money (£36 for the eight items) while Australia was the worst, costing £145! Maybe I should point that out to my brother who is about to emigrate there?

Other countries which scored well on this barometer were the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Portugal, Hungary and Turkey. Having been to Bulgaria five years ago and witnessed the cost of living out there, it doesn't surprise me that it comes out so favourably as an alternative holiday destination; it has all the culture of any other European city, but is relatively untainted by tourism. Veliko Tarnovo remains one of the most beautiful places I've been to.

Teletext Holidays have created a guide to alternative (and cheaper) places to visit to ensure your travel budget isn't blown just getting to the destination, let alone eating or enjoying the touristy bits while there. Many of the popular European cities (including Barcelona) are now ridiculously expensive to visit. The first time we went to Prague we had a bowl of gnocchi, two pizzas and two steins of beer for £8 in total. The last time we went, the equivalent meal would have cost us nearly £30.

Therefore instead of visiting:

  • Florence, try Pisa! It's one hour from Florence via train, cheaper to fly into and the accommodation is cheaper. And what's not to love about the tower?
  • Paris, try Lille! One hour's drive from Calais and home to a UNESCO-protected cathedral.
  • Vienna, try Sibiu! The Romanian city is deep in the heart of Transylvannia, at the foot of the Carpathian mountains, with pastel-coloured buildings and cobbled streets.
  • Barcelona, try Lisbon! The Portugese city is a much cheaper alternative to Barcelona, yet with identical geographical features and attractions.

The weather is warming up in the UK at the moment, but if the need for warmth creeps back in in a week's time, maybe it's time to investigate a lesser known European city with value for money?

Featured post.

His First Pocket Money

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A few days ago I saw a discussion on Facebook about teaching children how to budget and the value of money. I entered into the debate and 'chatted' with Jen from Mum In The Madhouse (who has quite a few posts on this) about when to start giving The Boy pocket money. Personally I feel that at not quite four years old, he might be too young for it as a regular occurence but decided (upon discussion with Mr. TBaM) that we'd give him some holiday spending money in a little wallet. That way if he saw a little knick-knack or toy he fancied, he could make the decision on whether or not to buy it,  guided by us.

Today, we were in Pecorama in Devon and in the shop he started looking at a few little toys and asking, "Shall we buy this?". This was the perfect time to start teaching him that things cost money and that he has to make a decision on whether he really wants something or not. My mum spotted a little wallet on the shelf and I popped £2.00 inside. I then showed him the wallet and explained that we were going to give him some pocket money for him to choose what he'd like to buy. In his hand at the time he had a wind-up train, but was eyeing up a squidgy, spiky, gel thing. He could have bought either for the money. Then he spotted a flag which he could also have afforded.

He stood in the shop, desperately trying to decide, and I fought the desperate urge to just buy all three for him. It was hard.

I patiently explained he could choose to buy one, but he couldn't have all three. He walked away from the flag, and put the squidgy thing down, picked up the train and trotted off to the counter to pay for it with his wallet. The young girl behind the counter was incredibly patient and she spoke to him, talking him through each stage of the transaction (where I also paid for the wallet!) before handing him his change and helping him put it in his wallet, and giving him his receipt and train in a bag.

First pocket money

Look how proud of himself he is!

The Boy wouldn't let anyone else carry his bag, and is very excited that he might be able to buy something else tomorrow with some more pocket money. He has no concept that £1 is more than 20p yet, that's a bit sophisticated for a 3 year old. However, this is the first step on the way to teaching him about finances and budgeting.

My little baby is growing up!

Why I Love Pinterest (Pin It Forward)

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I'm a visual learner (technically a visual-kinaesthetic learner), which basically means that I learn and remember things better once I see them, especially if it involves pictures. As a result, the 'bookmarks' function on most browsers doesn't do it for me as I forget that I've put something there.

That's why I love Pinterest.

Pinterest is a web-based facility which allows users to create virtual 'boards' with items or ideas on it that they like (grouped into categories if they are that organised). For example I am busy browsing the web at the moment for ideas for The Boy's pirate birthday party, I've got a 'pin it' button on my browser and I click that when I see something I like. It saves on the 'Pirate' board I have and allows me to browse the ideas quickly, and then (because it saves the original site's URL in the picture) I can revisit it easily for more details. Far easier to use than 'Bookmarks'!

The other great thing about Pinterest is that other people can 'repin' your ideas onto their own boards, and as a blogger who often writes about craft or play ideas, then it's a great way to share my ideas around the 'Pin-o-sphere'.

Finally, I really enjoy the collaborative boards that can be created on Pinterest. I'm a member of several craft boards, but also run a few boards myself which help promote fun food for children, family days out or outdoor play. My favourite board at the moment is my 'Natural Childhood' board which has over twenty bloggers sharing ideas and prompts for outdoor play.

This month sees the Pinterest campaign 'Pin It Forward' kick off, involving 300 bloggers from a cross-section of interests. The campaign is designed to be the official launch of Pinterest in the UK, although I've been using it for around eighteen months now and have fifty-six boards as a result. As a part of the campaign, I have the honour of introducing another 'Pinner' to my readers, and it really is a pleasure to introduce Christine from Thinly Spread, and her Family Gardening collaborative board.

Thinly Spread was one of the first blogs that I started reading back in 2010, and Chris is a little bit of a blog-crush of mine, especially with her idyllic life with her Ransome-esque family in Somerset. Nip over and check out her wonderful boards full of country goodness for that wonderful feel-good inner glow.

Nip over to Pinterest now, and see what all the fuss is about!

Pin It Forward UK 2013

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