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HANDS up who usually gives up the battle when it comes to brushing their little one’s teeth?

I mean, who would have thought it could be so difficult when this human being you created is less than half the size of you….

Therefore when I got an invitation to an event which sounded like it could make brushing your teeth – gasp – fun, I couldn’t resist.

So on Thursday we wore white coats and played at being dentists at the Foreo Mikro Dentist event in Central London.

Obviously there was a ball pit involved, but I also received tips from Harley Street Dentist Dr Mark Hughes on oral hygiene for both my kids – even for my one year old, who I learnt can also use their specially designed sonic electric toothbrushes.

The silicone toothbrush head is soft enough for his gums AND can also help with the dreaded itchy gums caused by teething – the Mikro brush has two settings, brush and massage mode.

He’s 18 months and it seems like the majority of his teeth have decided to come at the same time, so anything that soothes the pain is a God send.

Other pluses include a looong battery life, as well as a happy or sad face to encourage little ones to brush for the recommended two minutes.

We’ll see how it goes, but so far, so good. I mean, at least he’s not running away every time I bring out the toothbrush now… In fact it’s the opposite – he’s now dashing off whenever I try to take it off him!

Find out more at www.foreo.com/issa-mikro

WHENEVER we go to playgroups, at some point my toddler will make a beeline for the pretend kitchen areas.

He loves the role play of making me a cup of tea or something to eat! So it was great to try out the Hape Pop-up Toaster Set at home.

It definitely came at the right time for us as we were stuck in the house as my son had a viral infection. #funtimes
So it was a great distraction for him as we pretended to make breakfast together. Sometimes I was lucky enough to be served breakfast on the sofa!

The classic wooden set comprises of seven pieces including a toaster that pops up two slices of bread, a plate, knife, butter and honey pot.

I absolutely adore wooden playsets, for me they’ll always have the edge over mass produced plastic toys – although don’t get me wrong, you’ll still find lots of plastic toys in my home too!
Made to last, they’re the sort of thing you pass down from child to child.

Toys like this are great for your little one’s imagination  – it makes you realise how much they actually watch you while you’re at work in the kitchen!

The Hape Kitchen and Food range also includes a Tea Set for Two and even a Coffee Machine – very millennial!

Available to purchase from Hape’s Amazon store.

AS a parent in the age of technology, it won’t be long before you’re debating how much ‘screen time’ to allow your child.

For some parents it’s not a real issue, while others prefer to limit the amount of time their little one spends in front of a screen to the bare minimum – each to their own.

But when choosing WHAT they watch it helps that it’s both fun AND educational, which is what the launch of Learning Time with Timmy seems to have achieved.

Created by Aardman – the Oscar-winning animation studio behind classics Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep – in partnership with the British Council, the interactive online series is aimed at making learning English fun.

And while my boy has just turned one, he took an interest to the preview episodes we were shown, in particular trying to join in with the animal noises and the dance at the end of each episode with Timmy the sheep. It also helped that there was popcorn – and a giant-sized Timmy in the auditorium…

The episodes are also short enough to deal with a toddler’s attention span!

You can watch the series on YouTube at www.youtube.com/LearningTimeWithTimmy

Well, if you’re Meg Mathews that is! Best known for being the ex wife of Noel Gallagher, the multi-talented blogger, scarves and interior designer, is also mum to their 12 year old daughter Anais.

Chatting to Meg at her launch of her range for furniture and home accessories store, Dwell, the 46 year old was more than happy to share her secret.

Over a glass of champagne at the Tottenham Court Road store, she said ‘Monday to Thursday I know Anais is at boarding school – she loves it. No-one worries about what they look like and walk around in their pyjamas, ripped Converse trainers and limp hair!

‘I grew up in boarding school and loved it, lots of happy memories – so I didn’t think of doing anything different for Anais. I went to school with [director] Guy Ritchie and I’m still best friends with his sister.’

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against boarding schools – it’s definitely an individual’s decision – and it seems to be working for Meg…

She went on, ‘During the day I don’t really have schedule – I make lots of lists and rush around till everything’s done!’