Planning for the school holidays with 5 Minute Fun

HAVE you ever tried to talk to your children about the dangers of oversharing online?

Well, Vodafone UK and Andersen Press have joined forces to publish a lively retelling of the classic story of Goldilocks, this time giving it the title #Goldilocks A Hashtag Cautionary Tale.

And they haven’t cut any corners, getting among the best in the business to write and illustrate the tale – children’s author Jeanne Willis and celebrated illustrator Tony Willis (Gangsta Granny, Horrid Henry).

The book makes it soo much easier to explain the downfalls of sharing too much on social media and in a totally light-hearted manner.

We were treated to a reading of the story by Jeanne herself at the launch in London at Foyles bookstore. Plus, the children had a chance to take part in a drawing masterclass by Tony which my daughter loved.

My kids are still young and are nowhere close to having their own social media accounts but my eight year old daughter is very aware of things like Facebook and Instagram so it doesn’t hurt to educate her on the dangers.

Research shows nearly half (48%) of children are aware of social media by age seven, according to their parents. Plus a third (33%) say they have used or looked at social media by this age.

Best of all the book is available to download FOR FREE at  www.vodafone.co.uk/digitalparenting. The book also marks the launch of Vodafone’s new Digital Parenting website, which is simply billed as a go-to-guide for parents on the latest digital safety and wellbeing issues – something useful to have close to hand in this day and age.

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;

1. 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
2. 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.
3. Blend it up! Homemade smoothies are a great way of getting their five-a-day and sneaking in some veg too.
4. Add mashed banana or grated apple/pear to porridge
5. 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.

 

 

HOW’S your new year going so far? Still a few days left until the kids go back to school? Yeah, I feel you…

Well it may help to know that Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland is running a Family Fun Day on Sunday (January 6) where a number of activities are free for visitors. Every little helps right?

The little ones can get their faces painted for free, take part in balloon sculpting workshops and pick up some circus skills. There’s also a Santa Parade and Teletubbies meet and greet, as well as comedy performances and a magician entertaining the crowd.

And as the event is specifically aimed at children, the site is also alcohol-free for the day.

Visit the site for more information on exactly what’s available www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/family-fun-day

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.