Related Posts
Dry Skin Baby Blues – the Organic Solution
With the onset of the wintry weather, it would be great of the only thing us mums had to worry about was kitting out our little ones in warm clothes, putting up the Christmas tree and – constantly – replacing lost gloves.
Unfortunately as the temperature quickly dropped I was having to contend with my little girl’s dry skin which was driving her crazy and her constant complaints about having ‘itchy legs’.
On the look out for a solution I came across Dry Skin Baby Lotion by Green People’s Organic Babies, part of their No Scent Range. The fact that it doesn’t contain any chemicals or perfumes is a total bonus, and I have to admit that I’m one of these parents who appreciate organic products, believing there’s a better chance your little one won’t have any adverse reaction to the product.
Certified Organic, 100 per cent free of Parabens and Lanolin, with ingredients that help to soothe and moisturise your little one’s skin – Hemp Seed oil, Aloe Vera, Apricot oil and Marigold – I was almost sold before I’d tried it! But after using the product for a couple of weeks I would definitely recommend it. With a price tag of £9.45 for 150ml it’s not cheap, but luckily a little goes a long way, so I believe it’s worth the money. Plus I no longer have to listen to my daughter’s complaints about ‘itchy legs’!
www.greenpeople.co.uk
Sainsbury’s enters the baby food market
As any parent knows, weaning your child onto solids is not an easy path!
With my little one now 11 months, it’s a trauma/joy/drama (delete as appropriate) we’re currently enduring.
So I was interested to hear that leading supermarket Sainsbury’s has entered the baby food market with their own branded goods.
Strapping my boy into his sling, we jumped on the tube and headed into central London to road test the Little Ones range.
Developed with the help of registered nutritionist (and mum!) Fiona Wilcock, the range appears well thought out and, competing with other popular baby food brands, uses organic products up until those created for children over a year old.
So far the dishes have been a hit with my boy, who gobbled up a portion of the Beef Casserole. The next day he also enjoyed the Lamb and Chickpea Tagine with Prune and Couscous.
There are also classics like Spaghetti Bolognese, fruit and vegetable purees and breakfast cereals.
Like any mum, I want the best for my child and in a perfect world it would be home cooked meals three times a day – but, in reality very few of us have the time or energy!
Instead I don’t beat myself up about giving them the odd ready meal every now and again, so it’s good to see the range is also reasonably priced with products starting from 70p.
There are already 50 items in the range which also caters for toddlers up to three-years-old, with another 14 launching over the summer.
How do you get kids to eat vegetables? #EatinFullColour at the Bird’s Eye First Plates Restaurant
How do you deal with getting your kids to eat vegetables?
An easy life or forever a struggle?
Mine is the latter, so I was intrigued when we got an invitation to the Bird’s Eye First Plates Restaurant.
Here little ones were encouraged to #eatinfullcolour with a range of veg based dishes which included pea cake (yep, and it was actually quite nice!).
It was interesting to see the dynamic as all the kids sat together happily – mostly – trying out lots of different vegetables.
Us parents were lucky enough to get tips on how to get more veg in their tummies from TV child psychologist, Dr Elizabeth Kilbey, as seen on Channel 4’s The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds.
She told me: ‘Don’t be deterred by them saying ‘I don’t like that’.
‘If they like particular colours try pairing them up, association helps.’
And even, gasp, making eating veggies fun!
For example, Dr Kilbey added: ‘Can we have a snack of every single colour today? Can we build a rainbow of the food we eat today?’
Research by Bird’s Eye to mark their Eat in Full Colour campaign shows that children are actually becoming more adventurous with their food, with 4-9 year olds naming sprouts and spinach as their favourite vegetables.
Almost a third (32 per cent) of parents say their children would eat just about ANY type of vegetable served – and only 29 per cent struggle to get their kids to eat their greens. Unfortunately I’m in that 29 percent!
But I was given some hope to keep trying after the event, adding more colour to ALL of our plates and trying new vegetables.
Click to see footage from the event (my daughter even has a speaking part!).
Alesha Dixon announced as judge of Explore Learning Writers’ Awards 2019
I’m a huge fan of Alesha Dixon – she’s definitely on my list of favourite celebs to chat to – so I was pleased to hear she’s been announced as judge for the Explore Learning Writers’ Awards 2019.
This is a chance for budding young authors across the UK to have their work recognised.
Open to children aged from four to 14, youngsters are encouraged to write a 500 word story with the winner bagging a trip to Disneyland Paris for their family and £500 worth of books for their school library.
To top it off, Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha will surprise them at their school with the news.
Mum Alesha is herself a published author and will this year release the third instalment in her children’s book series, Lightning Girl.
The comp opens March 11 when this year’s theme will also be announced.
Explore Learning will be running a number of free creative writing workshops with schools and libraries across the UK to inspire kids to take part.
The closing date for entries is Sunday May 5.
For more info visit www.explorelearning.co.uk/youngwriters