Whether it is leaving for school on a morning or making a quick trip to the shops, kids slow the process down.  We love them but sometimes the smaller members of the household can turn a simple four item shop into an hour long ordeal.  Or you constantly find yourself running late on a morning and never have enough time.  It is one of the less ideal things about having kids but how can we parents deal with these little obstacles in a positive way?

The morning routine

Most parents will admit that the morning routine is probably the biggest source of frustration for them.  You find yourself moving around the house like a whirlwind, throwing together lunches, prompting the kids to eat their breakfast, getting yourself organised and there’s never enough time!

To get control of that morning routine, one of the first things to do it take a harsh look at it.  Do you give yourself enough time for everything that needs to be done?  Do you need to slice 15 minutes off your sleep time to allow yourself more time to get organised? Also, look at jobs you can do the night before – preparing lunches might be one or packing the kids school bags with their PE kits and other essentials. 

A ‘drop zone’ near the door is another popular idea – everything that needs to go out of the door with you and the kids is deposited here.  This can be bags, shoes, jackets, your handbag or anything else that you end up hunting around for on a morning.

Going shopping

As kids age, the process of going shopping with them changes but doesn’t always get easier!  As young kids, they want to investigate everything then they want you to buy everything and finally they hate going shopping and complain all the time. 

At the first stage, you can involve them in the process while satisfying their curiosity.  Let them help you pick which of the apples to buy or select a bag of crisps that they want to eat later.  Make sure you leave more time for the trip than in pre-child days so you can satisfy their curiosity about what this is or why people buy that item.

As they get older, give them tasks while shopping.  One idea is to put them in charge of the discount vouchers and coupons and make the whole process a bit of a treasure hunt – find the item in that picture so we can get it cheaper.  You can even send them off to buy things if they are confident enough and this makes them feel part of the process.

Get them involved

Let’s face it, while there are ways to ease the slow down that happens when you have kids, you never eliminate it entirely.  So why not embrace that everything will take a little longer?  Get the kids involved in whatever you are doing, whether it is shopping, cooking or even a spot of DIY. Here are 5 DIY jobs that you can do with your kids  

Leave a little more time and spark their interest in what you are doing – you never know where it might lead.

Tweet

Asthma can be hard work at any time of the year for sufferers but come winter, it gets even more difficult.  The cold, dry air can be painful on the lungs and make doing the simplest task outside more arduous.  Aside from the cold, dry air the other big problem for asthma sufferers in winter is the high number of respiratory and sinus infections that hang around.  Nearly every child in school has a cold and half of the workplace, meaning avoiding those bugs can be hard work.  

Night time is always worse and symptoms such as coughing can increase as the airways work less effectively at night and airflow may be more limited, so if like us, asthma symptoms are more affected at night time, here are some top tips for making life a little easier for you and your child.

Banish the bed bugs

Buying an anti allergy pillow can help an asthma sufferer as you may have heard them being "allergic to dust" when in fact, it's the droppings of house dust mites which cause the problems. These tiny creatures live in the dust that builds up around homes in carpets, soft toys, bedding, cushions and furnishings, for example. They're invisible to the naked eye and 90 per cent of people with asthma are sensitive to them.

Make the bed "asthma friendly"

The natural process your child’s body uses to control inflammation (including inflammation in their airways) tends to switch off while they’re asleep. Asthma UK recommend propping a child up in bed so whilst a DIY solution is okay to use in an "emergency", the Acosy Little Bed Mattress Elevation Wedge is a specially designed wedge of white 100% British “NURSERY GRADE” cot safe FOAM. The purpose of the wedge is to elevate the head end of your mattress allowing your baby or child to sleep comfortably in a gentle elevated position. By placing the Wedge either under or on top of the cot mattress may promote better airflow to the chest and upper respiratory tract, it slides comfortably underneath and is a quick fix solution. 

The airways work less effectively at night and airflow may be more limited, so asthma symptoms may affect your child more if it’s not well managed but the elevation from the Little Bed Mattress Elevation Wedge can also help assist drainage from nasal and ear passages during periods of General Congestion.

I have spent many evenings sat upright in bed with my daughter against me as so many previous hospital visits have told us that keeping her upright will help her airways but while she sleeps, I obviously don't. Wherease the Acosy Bed Wedge is, I am quite sure, considerably more comfortable than me and everyone gets a much better nights sleep. 

If your child’s asthma is affecting their sleep, it’s likely they will feel tired and lacking in energy, unable to play or concentrate at school, so a solution that helps everyone to sleep has to be a good one. We have been using the Acosy Bed Wedge for a couple of months now and have noticed a significant difference in the quality of my daughters sleeping, when a cold spell hits it doesn't completely eradicate the coughing but it definitely helps. 

A bed wedge doesn't just help a child with asthma sleep better, it gives us parents the peace of mind to get a restful nights sleep too!

Note: We were sent an Acosy Bed Wedge for the purpose of this post but all thoughts and experiencese are our own. 

Tweet

Everytime I look on social media, there is a parent talking about the new car seat rules that are coming into effect in December but WAIT, are they really coming into effect in December or is this an assumption or more media speculation? The proposals are to restrict the development of new backless booster seats and limit their use to taller children, above the height of 125cm.  

This changes only apply to new products and does not affect products that have already been regulated. Therefore, all existing backless booster seats, continue to be legal and safe per their usage instructions even after any changes in the regulations.(whenever the date might actually be).

We have been chatting with mifold, who manufacture the grab and go booster seat and are delighted to be able to share a bit more information about the regulatory requirements (oh and a fabulous chance to win one!) 

Overview

• Proposed changes to the European car seat laws do not appy to existing booster seats currently on sale in the market, including the mifold Grab-and-Go booster seat, or any existing child restraint system that is available for sale in the UK
• mifold meets or exceeds all relevant regulatory requirements and will continue to do so after any proposed changes for all children aged 4+, weighing between 15kg and 36kg irrespective of height.
• The schedule to implement new laws has been delayed again; the Department for Transport say that it will probably be later next year.
• If new laws are implemented, the mifold Grab-and-Go booster seat will continue to be sold and used for the safety of all children aged 4+, weighing between 15kg and 36kg irrespective of height throughout Europe with no new, additional restrictions.
• The European regulators are entrusted with monitoring the safety of children in cars. Their commitment to continue to license all existing booster seats for sale and continued use, without limitation, is their recognition that booster seats are a safe, well-established, practical, proven and cost effective method of restraining children in cars. 
• mifold is a safe belt positioning booster seat that is available all the time. Unlike traditional bulky booster seats, a child can always be safe with the innovative mifold belt positioning device - no matter whose car they are in.

Car safety is important to all parents and the mifold is mighty small and mighty strong. We are told that mifold is the most advanced, compact and portable booster seat in the world, although the thing that appeals to me the most is its compact nature, which is super handy for when we have playdates and family outings. Less bulky car seats means more room for school bags or picnic hampers!

So hopefully now with your mind put to rest, you will be even more excited to have the chance to win one. All you need to do is enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Terms & Conditions

The winners will be chosen at random by the random winner generator on Rafflecopter and notified within 7 working days by email
Mifold will make every effort to provide a choice of colour but this cannot be guaranteed
By entering this competition, you understand that your details may be retained for future mailings. You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.
There is no monetary equivalent.
Little Lilypad Co take no /responsibility for loss or damage in the despatch of prizes
If the prize is unclaimed within 7 days we reserve the right to redraw the winner.
End Date 30/01/2017 at 12am

Tweet

I have seen so many Facebook posts over the past few days of people who have taken their trees down and their house is "back to normal". I still have too many Christmas treats and chocolates in my house to accept that Christmas is actually over and after taking a number of hours to painstakingly decorate it, I want to enjoy it for as long as I can.

BUT and it is a big but, my Mum always had superstitions about leaving at least one decoration up until the 12th day after Christmas. Since Victorian times, tradition states that you should do it on Twelfth Night. (obviously not suggesting my Mum was around in Victorian times - hoping now that she isn't reading my blog this week). In real terms though, that’s January 5, with January 6, aka the Feast of the Epiphany, is the very last day on which you can take them down.

If you have a real tree, I am guessing that it may have gone to a tree recyling plant by this stage or you have a very glamorous looking twig in your lounge but the Twelfth Night represents the true end of the festive period. In those Victorian times and even before, families used to celebrate this date by eating even more cake, dancing and playing games. (sounds like my 2016 Christmas to be honest!!)

So if, like me, you are clinging onto the last bits of Christmas for a couple more days, light another cinnamon scented candle, drink a little more mulled wine, dance to cheesy music and eat a mince pie. The Victorians would have.

Tweet