Related Posts
Little Bird by Jools Oliver at Mothercare – review
What’s that I hear you say? Another celebrity trying her hand at designing?
Well, yes – but in a good way. This time around the one doing the designing is Jools, the wife of celeb chef Jamie Oliver and as the mother of four kids, you’d hope she’d have a pretty idea of what makes for a good baby and toddler clothing range…
And thankfully she does, both myself and my two year old daughter instantly fell in love with the samples we were given to test out – a vivid yellow cardigan, some ribbed tights (one pink, one navy blue), a pink and purple striped top and a beautiful vintage style white shirt.
Jools follows in the footsteps of fellow celebrity mum Myleene Klass, who has also put her name to collections at the high street retailer, but if my memory serves me correctly the Little Bird range is slightly more affordable than Klass’ Baby K collection.
The pictured pink/purple top is about £8, the shirt £13. A cardigan from the range is about £15. There wasn’t a piece that I didn’t like, but my note with the tights would be that as my little one has been blessed with long legs, I’d probably go up a size from the age 2-3 I was given to try out.
The quality is that which you would expect from Mothercare, with words and phrases like ‘eclectic mix of traditional prints and vintage novelty’ and ‘a timeless look’ to describe the range for little ones aged up to five years, these elements have helped create a hit with customers, with pieces flying out of stores.
I’m sure Jools will be glad to hear that it’s also a thumbs up from The Media Mummy!
So chips DON’T count as one of your five-a-day..?
IT was interesting to read details of a new survey which discovered only 10% of children are getting their five-a-day and that 1 in 10 parents think chips count as one of their children’s five-a-day.
Look, I’m the last to sit here to shame anyone on their parenting skills – particularly as my response to reading that was ‘aren’t potatoes vegetables?!?’ (FYI, they are classed as a starchy food, LOL.)
The research helpfully carried out by children’s fruit snack supermarket brand Fruit Bowl, also noted that 1/3 of parents think fruit yogurts count, while 1/5 parents mistakenly believe a strawberry milkshake contributes – I mean #desperatetimes, right?
I personally battle to get my kids to eat most vegetables, so its interesting that less than half of parents know that tinned veg, frozen fruit and sweet potatoes count towards the recommended daily amount.
Additionally 4 in 10 parents think their child gets only 2-3 portions each day.
FIVE unexpected foods that DO count towards our five-a-day:
Baked Beans
Guacamole
Onions
Hummus
Spaghetti Hoops
FIVE foods that DON’T count towards our five-a-day:
Onion rings
Ketchup
Potatoes
Vegetable Crisps
Pickled Gherkins
Nutritional Therapist, Filomena Komodromou has shared her tips to get children eating fruits and vegetables;
- Think colour – chop up some crunchy crudités such as carrots, pepper, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, radish, celery and serve with hummus or cream cheese for a healthy filling snack
- Get them to help in the kitchen – even toddlers can help too. Peeling, chopping or grating can be done quite safely by children supervised by an adult.
- Blend it up! Homemade smoothies are a great way of getting their five-a-day and sneaking in some veg too.
- Add mashed banana or grated apple/pear to porridge
- Make frozen fruit lollies or banana pancakes
Susanne Fraser, Marketing Manager of Fruit Bowl, added: “Here at Fruit Bowl we are a team of parents and know firsthand how difficult it can be to make sure our children get their five-a-day, every day, and we know it’s a struggle that lots of other parents have. By conducting this survey, we aim to highlight this and also show busy parents that there are easy solutions, tips and tricks they can use to give their children five-a-day.”
Fruit Bowl create everyday fruit snacks and treats – many of which contribute towards your 5 a day. #bonus
Available at Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, The Co-Op, Asda, Waitrose and on Ocado.
Fruit Bowl’s #5in5Challenge and Sneaky Vegetable Recipes
I KNOW I’m not the first parent and I certainly won’t be the last to struggle with getting their child to consume their recommended five-a-day fruit and veg intake!
I truly believe that half of parenting is trying to think of ingenious ways to sneak vegetables into meals – the craftier, the better.
This January, children’s snack brand Fruit Bowl has stepped in to help with their #5in5Challenge – and it involves stickers!
Any purchase from their site in January would have included a free #5in5Challenge 5 A Day Chart designed to help parents encourage little one to enjoy their five portions, every day for five days.
My three-year-old always equates stickers with fun, so he was more than happy to rise to the challenge. It also helped that he’s a fan of a range of Fruit Bowl snacks – especially the Strawberry Peelers.
To top it off Fruit Bowl also teamed up with BBC’s Masterchef semi-finalist, Theo Michaels, to create a week’s worth of child-friendly recipes using his new meal planning service, FiveDinners.
The recipes are designed to take the hassle out of mealtimes for parents and provide children with at least two of their five a day, every day.
Working Mums Must Plan, says Kate Garraway (Tickety Toc Toy Launch)
With the start of the summer holidays, I don’t envy the working mum who has to somehow juggle full-time work with young children looking to be kept animated for seven days each week – luckily, with my little one still at the age of three I can find some comfort in the regular opening hours of the nursery!
And so, the launch of Tickety Toc’s very first toy range could not have come at a better time – and to top it off, taking place in the toy heaven that is Hamleys on Regent Street.
Tommy and Tallulah, stars of the show which screens on both Nick Jr and Channel 5’s Milkshake, were there in all their (bigger than) life-sized glory to greet the VIP testers, who included Denise Van Outen joined by husband Lee Mead and their daughter Betsy.
Other VIPs enjoying a day out with the family included Tamzin Outhwaite, John Sergeant, Laila Rouass, Lauren Crace, Charlie Condou, Shaun Dooley and Luisa Zissman.
The children were all smiles as they joined in with the activities and dancing led by Channel 5’s Milkshake! presenters Kemi and Olivia.
While the obvious point of conversation was the fact that Van Outen and Mead were pictured out together for the first time in months, helping to put to bed rumours of marriage problems – I took the opportunity to chat to TV presenter Kate Garraway and see if she had any tips about the joys of juggling.
Mum to Darcey, seven, and William, three, 45 year old Garraway gave a wry smile when I asked for her words of wisdom.
‘Like alot of parents out there these days I do rely on my own parents – their grandparents – who help to look after the children when I’m working, but when it comes to summer, everyone, even my parents want to take their holidays, so I’d definitely advise people to plan, so no-one gets left in the lurch’.
The Tickety Toc toy range is available from a range of retailers including Argos, Smyths and Amazon and include talking Tommy and Tallulahs, a Clockhouse playset, and a musical Pufferty train, with prices ranging from £6.99 to £30.