Category: Reviews

1. 5 Reasons Why Education Quizzes are helping parents to learn too : Review

   Posted on 10:37pm Tuesday 21st Feb 2017

   Somehow is it half term again and last year we talked about Education Quizzes and how they can help your children keep their brains active over the holidays but what about us parents too?

   My mum keeps her brain active by doing countless word searches and sudoko puzzles but they are no contest for a child with a Year 7 maths problem. If I were to ask you what is the answer to 3 + 4 x 2 = ? If you do it on a calculator, the answer is 14 which may seem correct but is actually wrong! The correct answer is 11. Why? Because of BODMAS. BODMAS is just one of the things now taught in schools today that as parents, we might not be familiar with. (I wasn't and I got excellent GCSE maths grades too!)

   So as parents we always try and ensure that we are keeping up with our child's educational needs (although please don't ask me about algebra), so this is why Education Quizzes came up with the Parents 999 idea. The title comes from the fact that each article has 999 words and is also meant to be an emergency resource for parents who suddenly find that they have a problem to solve in relation to their school-age children!  

   

   So how does it help?

   1. It is a quick and easy way to brush up on your own educational skills

   2. It has an easy to use menu listing, so you can jump straight to the section you want.

   3. All the quizzes are free to play, so you can go over them as often as you like.

   4. There are a range of subjects to choose from, including cyber safety and bullying which can help parents to deal with new situations

   5. Children generally think they know it all ...... this helps us as parents to stay one step ahead, or at least try!!

    

   We have spent some time on the site and Education Quizzes asked for our honest opinions as to whether it really is a useful resource for parents. All of the statements noted above are true and for me personally the Parent Power sections relating to bullying and online safety were as important as the Subject Knowledge elements. I think it will be good for Education Quizzes to expand on these areas especially as some parents genuinely don't understand all the dangers that come with access to the internet. 

   I like the fact that the articles are no more than 999 words as many parents are short on time but I did find myself reading the article and not always taking the quiz afterwards. There is a "tally" of your score and you can go back and improve it next time. This part didn't really appeal to me but I can see how those of a competitive nature might want to review their own scores.

   At the moment there isn't a massive library of articles / quizzes in this section but Education Quizzes have said that they are adding a new one each week, so there will be regular new content available.

   The Education Quizzes website is a fantastic resource for children and with the parenting section now, it is a great support for parents too. Despite many parenting books claiming otherwise, being a parent doesn't come with a handbook but having free online resources like this one, helps make the educational parenting journey just a little bit easier.

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2. Should you buy an Electric JukeBox : The Honest Review

   Posted on 8:50am Tuesday 14th Feb 2017

   I am not usually known for my music prowess and some of my favourite artists over the years have been somewhat questionable but before Christmas we were sent an Electric Jukebox to review and I thought that it was something that would make me "cool" with the kids. 

   

   So if you are not familiar with the Electric Jukebox, I can tell you that it is Britain's first and only music streaming service and device, backed by Robbie Williams, Alesha Dixon, Stephen Fry and Sheryl Crow (Robbie Williams *may* have been one of those questionable artists I mentioned earlier but every girl loved Robbie didn't she??). The sales spiel tells me that I can turn my TV into the ultimate music machine, it comes with 29 million songs AND takes just 2 minute set-up. So what did I think?

   I have to admit that I struggled with the review, hence the reason why I am posting this in February rather than prior to Christmas, mainly due to the price tag for the Electric Jukebox being £169 upfront, with an annual fee of £52 which seems a lot for something that you can essentially already do through your phone.

   One of the big marketing messages with the Electric Jukebox is that it only takes 2 minutes to set up and surprisingly, it really does only take a couple of minutes. All you need to do is plug in, find the Wi-Fi and you are all ready to go, although I think the power cable could be a bit longer because not everyone has a free socket next to the TV.

   

   It has lots of neat little features like the easy navigation and voice control, although I think the whole thing would be dramatically improved if the voice control doubled up as a kareoke microphone. Because everyone loves kareoke. Don't they?

   I feel like this review has a definite negative tilt so as I am always looking for the positive in everything, I dug deep and found the things that we did like about the Electric Jukebox.

   • Optional explicit lyric filter to protect your children from inappropriate songs
   • In comparison a Spotify or Apple music yearly subscription is £120 a year - Electric Jukebox is less than half this price - £52 per year for unlimited music streaming. That's £1 a week to be able to listen to all the music in the world! That's a good deal, if you compare to the cost of a CD of downloading MP3's.
   • The upfront cost of £169, includes the annual music pass. The remainder of the cost is for the hardware. With Electric Jukebox, you are getting everything you need to play music.
   • You do not get any adverts on Electric Jukebox. For anyone that regularly watches Youtube, you will appreciate that this is a definite plus point. 

   

   Overall, while it is expensive and not too everyones budget, it is a solid product that is simple to use and hopefully in time, with some hardware updates you may get a kareoke version. Although I suspect that my neighbours maybe living in hope that this is not any time soon.

   Disclaimer : It didn't actually make me any "cooler" with my kids either!

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3. How to help a child with Asthma sleep easier : Acosy Bed Wedge Review

   Posted on 8:57pm Saturday 14th Jan 2017

   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. 

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4. Hatton Adventure World : Enchanted Christmas Kingdom Review

   Posted on 9:43pm Monday 28th Nov 2016

   

   There is no escaping the fact that Christmas is looming and with a Santa experience available everywhere from the supermarket, school fetes or local garden centre, how do you choose the best place to go? We were invited along to Hatton Adventure World to experience their Enchanted Christmas Kingdom this year, so we gathered all the family up for a crisp November morning and set off in search of Santa and his reindeer.

   

   Christmas Shopping Markets

   Before you even step inside Hattion Adventure World, you get to walk through some fabulous Christmas market stalls that are just there for the festive season. The stalls change week on week and you don't need to pay entrance to the park to enjoy the shopping experience either. There was so many fabulous Christmas themed gifts from handmade plaques and personalised pictures through to our particular favourites of gorgeous scented soy candles from Wicks of Water Orton. There wasn't a cash machine working on site during our visit, so it is definitely worth making sure you have some cash available if you want to shop in the market area. 

   

   Zoobee's Christmas Cracker Show

   Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas at Hatton without Zoobee and his marvellous magic show. We have seen Zoobee a few times and every time is different and the Christmas Cracker Show doesn't disappoint. We won't tell you what happens as we don't want to ruin it but the jokes are as funny for the grown ups as much as the children!

   Farmyard Favourites

   No visit to Hatton Adventure World is complete without popping in to see (and feed) the farmyard animals and they have been given the festive treatment with tinsel and decorations around the farmyard too. The children love to feed the animals (but you need to double check as there are signs saying that not all the animals should be fed).

   

   Writing A Letter To Santa

   All children love to write their letters to Santa and if your little ones haven't done so already, they can sit on a toadstool and write their list in the Arts and Crafts tent area before taking a trip to see the big man!

   

   Christmas Decorations Making

   Hatton are all about children making memories and the Arts and Crafts area gives them a chance to make their own decoration to hang on your Christmas tree or personalise your own Christmas card or wreath. My girls loved this area and we actually went back again after we saw Santa as they wanted to make more things, after walking around for a few hours it was nice for us to sit down in the warm for half an hour or so too!

   

   Reindeer Quest 

   Ooh we forgot to mention that upon arrival you are told that elves have (carelessly) lost the reindeers and you are tasked with trying to find them. They are hiding around Hatton find all [12] of them and you get to win a Christmas thank you prize! (which is chocolate so that works for us). While we were hunting the reindeer locations we actually came across a real one ....

    

   One of the things I really liked about our day out at Hatton was that it wasn't overly crowded and as you are able to book a slot to see Santa, there are not huge queues (and bored children). The approach and entrance to the grotto is very twinkly and you could see the excitement building in the children's eyes. 

   

   Children don't sit on Santa's knee anymore but Hatton had provided a wooden chair to sit on next to Santa. My youngest was a little shy so I got the chance to sit next to him too!! Santa must see A LOT of children but he was so welcoming and engaging with the children, making them laugh and even raising a smile from the 11 year old!

   The look on the children's faces when they were told their key meant they could pick any present they wanted was only surpassed by their expression when they saw the toy workshop and all of its offerings.

   So overall, what did we think?

   Hatton Adventure World has enough to do to fill a whole day out, so if you are used to paying a couple of pounds for a quick visit to see Santa in a local grotto it may seem a little expensive. However the earlier you go, the cheaper it is with prices increasing up to £19.95 in Christmas week. The prices here are on the gate prices, and the website says there are discounts if you book online in advance.

   So what are you waiting for? Go ho ho ho .....

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