Archive for August 2014
Extremely Clever Parenting Hacks
Posted August 29, 2014
on:Parenting Around the World
Posted August 22, 2014
on:So I recently read an article about ‘Incredible Lessons in Parenting from around the World‘ and I have to admit it was pretty interesting. We are so used to what is classed as ‘normal’ parenting wherever we are that you sort of forget other people do it differently. Some of the things on the list are almost funny but then I’m sure if we did some of them in the Western world it would cause a stir and most likely get a parent in trouble. It was numbers 4 and 6 that really got me thinking. They are both about giving their children a lot independence and trusting them (and other people) to behave as we hope they would. I can’t imagine (and I’m sure a lot of other parents couldn’t either) letting my four year old go out and ride the subway or train by themselves. If we saw an unaccompanied child of that age out alone it wouldn’t be long before they were picked up by the police or some concerned passer-by but that is what is considered normal in Japan for instance.
Nowadays children don’t have as much freedom to run around the streets as we used to as things have changed. It’s even quite unusual to see children allowed to visit the playground by themselves, yet in some places they roam free around the city or are left in the street while their parents go about their business, though that probably leads to them being pretty independent grown-ups pretty fast. It’s just very interesting to see how the world’s attitudes to these things differ so much depending where you are and what you are used to.
…I have to say that number 2 on the list – training babies to pee on command – would be very helpful indeed!
Having a child who eats everything would also be wonderful (number 9), meal times would be much easier!
Crafty Monkeys!
Posted August 14, 2014
on:- In: crafts | Play | Playgrounds | Summer
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So we have reached the halfway point of the summer holidays in the UK and exhausted many of the local attractions for children. It is important, especially during the summer holidays to make an effort to do some new, fun things with children without the pressure of the classroom. We’ve had a busy few weeks (and not a lot of blogging time) and so wanted to take a day trip out somewhere. All phones, computers, televisions and tablets were turned off and we headed out, not that the weather has been particularly good this week, what with hurricane Bertha! I wanted to do something different and creative (although was fairly certain a playground would be involved at some point, and sure enough it was)!
So we headed up to Penrith where I had heard good things about Crafty Monkeys – a craft studio for all ages. Unsurprisingly, being the school holidays it was quite busy when we arrived but with no time restraints we were happy to wait our turns. It was great fun! We painted a dinosaur, a mug and tried mosaicing (not quite as successfully though, it proved to require more patience than first thought) It was a great experience and all the kids there were loving being allowed to get messy and creative.
After we got cleaned up, I was begged to find a playground. Unfortunately it’s not until they get a bit older that they realise mums aren’t capable of just magicing a playground out of thin air. Luckily though, after asking another mum at Crafty Monkeys, I found out there was a playground not too far away, just outside of the city.
This was in fact the Great Salkeld play area. It had quite a lot to offer including slides, swings, a wobbly bridge, a small timber climbing frame with ropes and ladders as well as a big play area in the middle for basketball etc. It was a big area where the equipment isn’t too crammed together which I prefer as more space means more running around which means a tired out child at the end of it! The favourite piece of equipment was the wobbly bridge which, although met with some hesitation to begin with, was responsible for a lot of laughs.