My husband says that our morning school run is more like a catwalk show and he has never known parents look so glamorous driving their "chelsea tractors" for what is essentially a taxi service for a small person. Whereas my best friends children go to a school where it has been known for children to be delivered to school on an actual tractor, complete with wellington boots.

Darren from www.motofx.co.uk said: ‘The look of your car can say a lot about a person, if you feel your car doesn’t show your personality fully, then consider a repaint or a wrap to give your vehicle a new lease on life.’ It really is funny how people can make judgements based on the car you drive or how you arrive to school each morning.

We live about 7 miles away from my children's school so walking to school isn't really an option, not in this weather or these heels for that matter, and unfortunately there is no local bus service for the girls, so we rely on the car to get us to where we need to be. My husband has always been a biker, so has no real interest in cars, other than making sure they get him from A-B but I spend a lot of time driving the girls from one place to another so I have to admit that I do like a car that has some creature comforts in it but what does that say about me? Apparently a lot! I entertained myself by taking a car personality quiz and was shocked at the results.

How does it know my shopping habits?

Do we really sterotype ourselves with the cars that we buy? 

Do you think people make a judgement of you based on the car you drive?

Do you want to know what the personality quiz says about you?

Just click below and come back and let us know the results because I am genuinely intrigued to see how accurate it is for everyone else! 

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Christmas is the only day of the year you’re allowed chocolate for breakfast - why else would we stuff the toes of our children’s stockings with chocolate coins? Many parents will testify that excessive sweets and chocolate can have a detrimental effect on their children’s health and behaviour. You don’t want to limit the fun of indulging over Christmas however few days of splurging should not turn into a fortnight’s binge. We’re not talking about diets for kids, but we are starting a new year of healthy eating, so here are our top tips on how you can get the entire family back into a healthy way of eating after Christmas.

Buy Less

Supermarkets are savvy and drop the prices of tubs of chocs in October and November so that we start stocking up early and then we still buy more in the sales ..... because it is just too good to leave at that price. Don't! Limit the amount of junk coming into your house and you’ll have an easier time getting rid of it afterwards. My kids always get spoiled by school, Santa, and relatives. They bring half a year’s worth of junk food into the house in the space of week, so I don’t need to buy them any more.

Exercise Control

Don’t make the mistake of letting kids keep their goodies in their bedrooms where you can’t see what they’re eating. It can lead to them guzzling in between meals, having massive sugar crashes, and picking at their plate because they weren’t hungry. Try storing their chocolate in the kitchen, somewhere it is out of sight but where you can see (or hear) when they are helping themselves and can stop them if it’s inappropriate.

Two Days, not Two Weeks

Research carried out into children’s eating habits found that they eat nearly four times their recommended daily calorie intake on Christmas Day, which is quite a shocking fact when you consider it. Give your kids one or two days where they can scoff sweets but then bring things back to normal. Dilute the influence of the sugar they are ingesting by making meals vegetable rich, and giving them water or milk to drink instead of sugary, fizzy pop. 

Get Active

All those extra calories children ingested over Christmas need to go somewhere. Channel the energy in a positive way through family walks or other physical activities. You don’t have to go outside - playing Twister, dancing around the sitting room, or even pillow fights will have the same effect.

Moderation is Key

Ditch the feast-or-famine mentality about Christmas eating. Lead by example - if they see you gorging non stop for a week before going on a strict diet you end in disappointment after ten days, your children will assume that an all-or-nothing approach is normal.

No one is telling you to be a food-Scrooge, but you’re not doing your child any favours by encouraging - or even allowing - them to eat their body weight in Quality Streets. Reign back on the amount you bring into the house, keep an eye on what they’re eating, and gradually bring their diet back to normal once Christmas (not the Christmas holidays) is over. 

Mu husband is always telling me that eating shouldn't be about diets and cheat days, it should be a healthy way of eating EVERY day, so how do you manage to get your children eating healthily? We would love to hear your tips for keeping your family healthy.

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Last weekend my husband had to physically drag me out of bed on Sunday morning for our daughters swimming lesson and according to many experts, the earlier you start your child in the water the better (although I am guessing this means in age rather than the time of the morning). 

There are genuinely few activities that are quite as life enhancing as a morning (or afternoon) in the swimming pool. It’s one of the cheapest ways to get plenty of health and psychological benefits and is also a great way for children and parents to socialise. Swimming delivers a complete activity package that provides great fun and important physical exercise, something we could all do with little bit more of (especially after the Christmas excess). I know I have said it before, but it really is great for both children and parents, can improve bonding, develop self-confidence, improve health conditions and provides an ideal opportunity for mums and dads to destress and relax in safe surroundings.

Social and Parental Bonding

New and challenging environments are brilliant for parents and children. The swimming pool is a place of great excitement for kids with plenty of opportunity to splash around and play with other children. Not only that, swimming brings an important opportunity for mum and dad to develop stronger bonds of trust and love with natural skin-to-skin contact as well as bunches of fun.

Great for Physical and Mental Health

Swimming is perfect for both your physical health and your state of mind. There’s nothing more natural than teaching your kid how to love and trust water, from the time you step into the baby area to that momentous occasion when you take them into the big pool for the first time. According to a lot of research, swimming is one of the top activities that creates a better overall sense of well-being. Parents love it just as much as the kids.

Better Breathing and Coordination

Learning to swim comes with all sorts of value added extras. I have blogged about my daughters asthma previously but children with breathing problems such as asthma actually find swimming makes a big difference – you might think the opposite but actually the warm humid air can often make breathing a lot easier. Swimming also helps to develop coordination and build muscle strength without being high impact and is one exercise that your children probably won’t moan about as they grow older. (My oldest daughter is testament to this as she is now part of a swimming club)

Boosting Confidence for Later Lessons

How early you get your baby or toddler involved with baby swimming lessons could have long term effects on building their confidence. Toddlers are usually happy to splash around in the water and if you keep it up until they are ready to swim properly then learning to do the crawl or the breaststroke should be breeze. Getting in the swimming pool not only benefits the kids, it’s good for parents too. 

 Did you know ....?

A study back in 2009 found toddlers that went into the swimming pool early developed better motor coordination and had improved balance over those that didn’t go in the water?

Another German research project showed that toddlers who were introduced to water at a young age exhibited more intelligence and better social skills later on.

If you need any other reasons to get your kids in the water as soon as possible, then how about the absolute fun you can have splashing around in the pool? We are planning a swimming birthday party for later in the year, so we hope that everyone else is as enthusiastic as we are about swimming!!

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Well, it’s practically all over. The presents have been ripped open, boxes played with, chocolates eaten, cuddly toys hugged tight and fought over. The New Year celebrations have come and gone, heads have cleared and the future beckons. Before you can get back to normal, of course, it’s time to deal with those pesky decorations.

Time to return your home to normal.

After all the festivities, it’s tempting to throw them all in one box, lug it up to the loft and forget about decorations for another year so if you really want Christmas 2016 to be the occasion you spent three hours unravelling the lights, then go right ahead.

A little time and preparation now can make next year a breeze and also help you keep control of all those trimmings. If you’re like me, your collection can grow, from bespoke baubles and oversized glittering beads to a crazy singing reindeer.

Sometimes it’s a good idea to declutter, throwing out the old and in with the new, as the saying goes. To do this you have to show a good deal of resolve but it can also be a pretty cathartic process. It can also make sure you stay in control of your Christmas decorations.

• Sort your trimmings into like for like piles (stars, baubles, tinsel, lights etc).
• Decide which you are going to keep and the things that have seen better days and need to be let go.
• Keep your baubles for the tree in one box, your more intricate decorations for the mantlepiece in another.
• Make sure your lights are wound properly (if you don’t have something ready-made then how about an old strip of stiff card?).
• Dismantle your Christmas tree carefully and repackage it properly rather than throwing it in the box.
• If you had a real tree, then take it down to the recycling depot before the pine needles start to fall off.
• Throw away/recycle any decorations that have lost their sparkle or have seen better days.

The end of the Christmas period is also a great time to declutter other parts of your house. You don’t have to stop with the decorations. In many Eastern cultures, New Year is the perfect time to get rid of unwanted clutter. Why not try these simple tips?

• For each gift you got this year, why not get rid of two old ones in exchange. Got a new shirt or blouse, throw a couple into the charity shop sack. What about those DVDs? Try giving away the ones you don’t really watch anymore.
• Paper recycling can be fun. If you aren’t going to be using that Christmas paper again next year, then make sure you put it in the recycling. But don’t just stop there. What about those old newspapers and magazines that can go too? How about all those books which could be given to the local second hand shop?

Houses, especially with children in them, can quickly be overwhelmed with stuff and Christmas is the ideal time to get the family involved in reducing all that clutter. Get hubby to sort out his collection of unused sport equipment, the kids to tidy up and give away the toys and games they are no longer interested in, while you go through everything from the closets to the kitchen.

Once everything is put away and the house is suddenly tidier than you’ve ever seen it, the new year ahead will seem so much brighter. And those properly sorted Christmas trimmings can go up in the loft or into the store cupboard, all set for next December when the festivities begin again. 

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