Archive for the ‘Children’ Category
- In: Children | Play | Play eqipment
- Leave a Comment
We have had a bit of family illness to contend with recently and my son has dealt with it like a super hero. I promised him that I would take him to LEGO Land Windsor and that we would stay in the resort hotel. To be perfectly honest staying in the resort hotel is incredibly expensive, for the same amount you could probably stay in a cheaper hotel for three days.
We had an early start on the morning of our expedition and many different trains to catch but we managed to get to LEGO Land in one piece. The outside of the hotel did have a wow factor and was so child orientated that nobody needed to nag their children to stand still and wait while you checked in. The greatest attraction in the reception area was a large sand pit full of LEGO, tearing Alistair away from that proved to be quite difficult and we hadn’t even entered the park. We couldn’t go to our room until three o’clock so we spent the next three hours exploring the park.
It was a bit disorientating entering the park from the hotel because you are essentially entering it from the back into the quiet part. We wandered towards the Viking area and went on the spinning log ride. Most of our time was spent wandering around and squirting water on the people doing the wet rides. We had some doughnuts and a drink then went to the shop to buy a big LEGO cube storage box. We were both a bit tired and relieved to get back to the hotel so that we could enter our room.
The floor our room was on was fantastic and kitted out like an Indiana Jones set. Our room definitely had the wow factor and the children’s bedroom bit was everything a little adventurer could hope for. The carpet had pictures of scorpions, spiders and bugs on it and the walls were decorated with Egyptian hieroglyphs and Lego sculptures. The adult side of the room was near the window and looked like a luxury hotel room with a really comfortable double bed. There were two televisions so the children can watch Lego TV and the adults can watch Midsummer Murders.
On the side was a set of clues instructing the child to count four objects so that the answers could form the combination of a safe. We were hopeless at counting and eventually managed to unlock the safe to reveal a Lego car. We spent an hour resting and snacking on our packed lunch before getting ready to go into the hotel splash pool. It was great splashing about and extremely hot. We went to the restaurant for dinner and entertainment – the entertainers did a sterling job of playing Simon Says and setting Duplo building competitions.
Finally it was bed time and I was so stiff I could hardly walk. Alistair fell fast asleep without a fuss and I wasn’t long after him. We slept soundly until seven o’clock in time for a 7.30 breakfast. The breakfast selection was fantastic and you could eat as much as you wanted to. We didn’t have a cooked breakfast and Alistair could only manage a small bowl of cereal because he was so excited. We stayed in the lounge for a short while until we went upstairs to pack and check out of the hotel. After handing my rucksack in to be looked after we spent the next three hours enjoying the park.
Lego Land has been designed to accommodate children of all ages and abilities and the staff are really good with children. Before 12.30 a Lego driving licence was acquired, we saw sharks, we went on a train, we saw the Star Wars exhibition and models of all of the major cities in the world. We also had a play in one of the playgrounds which like the rest of the park had an inclusive playground design allowing all children to have the best time ever.
We spent the last half hour in the reception area playing with Lego and spending money in the shop until the Taxi arrived at one o’clock. We were taken straight to Slough Station and had a tiring but good journey home. It wasn’t until I looked in the mirror did I realise that I looked a complete mess. My eyes were swollen and starting to go black the next day to the shock of my friends who said that I looked as if I had been mugged. Anyway my son said that his holiday had been, ‘better than awesome’, which was all I wanted to hear.
- In: Children | Education
- Leave a Comment

Author Gill Jepson telling her stories about Furness Abbey in the abbey.
When looking at different cultures it is extremely interesting to notice the different ways in which we approach religion, morality, social structure, appearance and of course food. Fundamentally the needs of human beings are exactly the same but how they are provided is determined by those who rule our societies. Different belief systems tend to be the greatest determiner of how a country is run. One element of every culture, that is almost identical, is the act of storytelling.
Traditionally storytelling was used as a way for elders in a society to teach younger generations about the strife of life and the values of their community. Stories were passed down each generation like heirlooms changing and growing in each telling. Cavemen in France told stories about hunting and battles against enemies by drawing on cave walls. As communication got better and people could share ideas through a common language stories became the main entertainment in any society.
Pow Wow
Before electricity and the microchip revolutionised the world candle light or the flame from a camp fire was the only source of light groups of people had to gather round. The most striking image that comes to mind is that of the Native American Pow Wow. Tribes would sing songs and tell stories about the world around them to the flicker of warm protect flames. Without the use of technology and special effects it was up to the storyteller to keep their audience engaged.
Multi Media Storytelling
As society has become more sophisticated, storytelling is presented in the form of; films, plays, computer games, songs and television programmes. I haven’t included books because I am concentrating on the performance side of storytelling. It doesn’t really matter how good special effects are, if the story is weak then the film will flop. Stories have maintained their durability due to people retelling them over and over again.
Encourages Anticipation
Being able to communicate and anticipate are two very important skills in life. Without these skills our lives would exist very much in the present and we would be very vulnerable to the trouble and strife of life. Retelling stories helps children to structure sentences while they are speaking and get their message across. Being able to think ahead and consider the implications of any decisions you may make is an extremely valuable skill to learn. Just being able to sequence a story will help you deal with maths problems.
Written Stories
Eventually people started to write down stories so that they would not be lost by the passage of time. At first reading and writing was a pleasure that only religious figures and insanely rich people could enjoy. The introduction of the printing press in the 15th century eventually led to more people having access to books and eventually the existence of schools. Reading is generally a private activity where one person can immerse themselves into a fantasy world from the safety of their arm chair, while storytelling is very public and involves lots of people.
Storytelling Chair
Schools are very keen to reignite the concept of storytelling because of the many factors I have mentioned above. As well as storytelling areas in the classroom schools have installed storytelling chairs in the playground. Sometimes the storytelling chair is surrounded by little seats or benches so that everyone can gather around and enjoy stories being told like our ancestors told them.
Storytelling is always going to be with us and the history of storytelling is one huge story in itself.
- In: Children | Play | Play eqipment | School
- Leave a Comment
The Spring term is the shortest one in the year but probably the most intense. Teachers of year two and six will be psyching themselves up for the SATs that can now determine whether a school is good or not. My son has finally reached the age where testing will play a major part of his school life and he will be expected to perform to his best abilities to prove that he has been taught correctly. He will participate in writing, reading and maths tests and will face an onslaught of practice tests until he has to do the real ones.
I am all for assessment and how it informs planning for his further learning but I hate the way that it is also a test for the teachers. There are many things that teachers do that are not accounted for in the test so their true worth is not represented in the results. The tests don’t take into account the non academic strengths a child may have and we get so tunnel visioned about what children can do in the test that all of the other important life skills are forgotten.
GCSEs and A levels are understandably stressful because they are transitional and the better you do the greater your career choices but with SATs there are no obvious benefits for the child. Motivating a child to do a test that has no reward seems to be cruel and unnecessary and the pressure is too great at such a young age. I really don’t like the concept of a child perceiving themselves as a success or a failure at such a young age.
My son is looking forward to going back to school to see his friends and play on the playground equipment in the play area next to the school. He loves learning and finds learning opportunities everywhere left to his own devices he has learnt how to follow instructions to build Lego sets, figured out how to build a computer game, how to look after a puppy, that adults are only human and that he loves performing. He sets himself challenges and gets so excited when he achieves them, his first words were, ‘I did it’.
I don’t want vigorous testing to destroy that thirst for knowledge and a curiosity to learn. I feel nervous about the tests in the same way I did when I let him have the MMR vaccine.
- In: Children | Exercise | Health | Play eqipment
- Leave a Comment
Toddlers do it, puppies do it and crazy adults playing drinking games do it – we all love spinning around in circles until we get dizzy. My son used to purposely run round in circles saying he was trying to make himself dizzy before collapsing onto the sofa. Another favourite activity is spinning on an office chair and we have all had great fun making playground roundabouts go faster and faster.
Why do we like spinning? Being the peculiar creatures we are – we just like the giddy feeling spinning causes. As well as causing the state of the brain to temporarily change, spinning stimulates part of the brain that trains the body how to balance – this is called vestibular stimulation. The same part of the brain is trained through swinging, hanging upside down and rocking.
Children are completely unaware that so many scientific things are happening to their brains when they spin because they just do it for pure enjoyment. When your toddler decides that it it is is time for vestibular stimulation make sure that you encourage them to do it where they cannot get hurt or break your favourite vase. There are a number of ways you can get into a spin and have extra fun at the same time:-
- Roll down banking – choose one that is not too steep without too many obstacles in the way.
- Go on a playground roundabout – they are really safe now and some even have space for wheelchairs.
- Go on a fairground ride like the carousel or the waltzers if you are extra daring.
- Spin around when you are dancing, spread your arms out for more balance.
- Go Zorbing – this is a spinning activity for grown ups but try it if you dare.
And for those of you who are curious about what the drinking game is (and what your teenage sons maybe up to) here is a video clip of what I am talking about.
- In: Children | Parenting
- Leave a Comment
Being a parent is a constant learning curve – you think you have got the hang of it and then your child reaches another stage of development and everything goes lopsided again. When children are very young this happens almost every six
months starting with the disruption when weaning begins. We do get a reprieve, sort of, between the ages of six and eleven where your child is emotionally balanced and satisfied with just being loved, cared for and getting toys they want. However the hormonal changes that occur during adolescence can suddenly change a contented happy children into one who needs to rebel against everything they once accepted willingly. Rebellion is a natural part of growing up because it is an evolutionary attempt to do things differently from your parents so that you can improve your lot in life.
As parents we have to understand that teenagers are going through another milestone and although they are not dinky and cute wearing nappies, they still need us to protect them. During puberty a child’s body transforms into an adult body but their brains are still not fully developed. Teenagers are very vulnerable at this stage because the image they portray is far more mature than the child inside. An adolescent child becomes a pack animal that likes to trawl the streets at night looking for excitement, they would rather hang out in the cold with their mates than stay at home with their boring parents. The only real way that we can ensure teenagers’ safety is by providing safe places for them to go without telling them to go there.
In January this year Playdale playgrounds Ltd wrote an article about Teenage shelters. Playdale reported that Thames Valley Police found that appropriately located teenage shelters resulted in a reduction of graffiti and crime in the vicinity of the shelter. Although a teenage shelter is not a total solution to teenage crime it can allow teenagers to hang out safely away from street corners. Teenage shelters located near sports fields can actively encourage teenagers to follow local sporting events and, if it is not too uncool, may inspire them to take up a sport.
Ideally (and I say that without any experience) we need to fortify our children with lots of interests and hobbies so that they are not inclined to hang out aimlessly. However the results of puberty are unpredictable and your little cutie may turn into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle when their hormones start raging.
I have got about five years to go before the first strains of adolescence strikes and I dread the battle of wills and the conflict, which is inevitable. I will be buying teenager books – just like baby books and hope that there is a proper instruction manual!
Do your Children Have #nowhere2play API to Study Decline in Children’s Play Facilities
Posted September 3, 2015
on:- In: Children | Exercise | Health | Outdoors | Play eqipment | Playgrounds
- Leave a Comment
The Association Of Play Industries (API) have become greatly concerned with the lack of play facilities for children, particularly in urban areas, and are conducting a survey to find out from parents the state of play facilities in their area. The campaign is called #nowhere2play and is supported by Playdale Playgrounds Ltd who are experts in designing play equipment and installing it all over the world.
Do your children have public spaces to play in? Even in the countryside we are seeing green patches of land being swallowed up by housing estates and school playgrounds sold off to building companies. Is your local playground somewhere where you and your children like to meet friends and have fun or has it become dilapidated and rarely used. The Association Of Play Industries (API) have become greatly concerned with the lack of play facilities for children, particularly in urban areas, and are conducting a survey to find out from parents the state of play facilities in their area. The campaign is called #nowhere2play and is supported by Playdale Playgrounds Ltd who are experts in designing play equipment and installing it all over the world.
We are pretty lucky in this part of Cumbria, as there are plenty of places for children to play, and the majority of playgrounds are well resourced and maintained by committees. In Carlisle funding cuts meant that the council considered bulldozing unused playgrounds down, leaving spaces for imaginative play. This article in metro.co.uk explains their intentions. I am not sure if they followed through with this plan or were stopped in their tracks. To be fair the council were only considering removing playgrounds that were rarely used anyway as opposed to ones that were the meeting place of children in particular areas.
Are playgrounds used less these days because we are reluctant to let our children wander from our sight when they are playground age? There are significantly more cars than there used to be, causing us to be more overprotective than we may have been in the past. We are in an age where we fear strangers hanging around our children and allowing them to go and play out of our sight in a playground where there is no one to protect them scary. Children don’t really gain independence until they are in the upper juniors or starting secondary school, depending on how sensible they are.
As the population of the UK increases we find our selves in a space paradox, we will have more families so we need more houses, we will have more children so we need play areas but the houses have been built on the land that was once a playground. If children don’t get the opportunity to play outside they become obese and cost the NHS milions so what do we do?