(Please!) Sleep Baby Sleep – review

IT seems us girls have never had it so good as Disney’s latest offering portrays yet another feisty ‘princess’ showing us just how she handles things.

Don’t get me wrong, Moana is also great viewing for the boys but as a mum to an easily influenced little girl, this trend is certainly something that has my backing.

Without giving too much away, the animation sees a young Hawaiian girl embark on an adventure to find a demigod and save her people from a curse.

With music, great one liners and tears (mine!), my daughter absolutely loved it. And so it seems Disney may have yet another hit on their hands.

X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger voices Moana’s mother, but the real stars of the film are Auli’i Cravalho as Moana and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as demigod Maui, whose interaction had the audience in stitches.

Check out the clip below for a little taster – you’re welcome..!

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.

Do you have a daughter who at times struggles with loving her curls wholeheartedly?

I would definitely recommend this lovely little book called Curly Kids Rock 👌🏾

Written by Lemoy Majen, it’s full of simple affirmations even the youngest of children can relate to.

And the book, complete with joyfully bright illustrations by Ann Pomelova, is not just specifically about afro hair either 😊

It’s a big thing for me to make sure my daughter loves her hair and she told me that the words were ‘great to hear if I’m ever feeling down about myself’.

Head over to Amazon where you can pick up a copy.

My last preview screening was just me and my daughter, this time around I ventured into London’s West End with a new addition – my eight-month-old baby boy.

My first trip up West with the two of them and luckily it was well worth it AND we all survived fairly unscathed!

Coco is a heartfelt take on the Mexican Day of the Dead which sees a young boy – aspiring musician Miguel – reunited with his family on ‘the other side’.

Family, death, living life to the fullest and the importance of being remembered are all themes explored in the film.

So, it obviously helps if you’ve had the whole death and dying chat with your little ones…

As well as lots of laughs, there were some sad moments for my seven-year-old (and me, can’t lie!) which I guess is to be expected from the subject material, but overall she really enjoyed the film.

I would also say it caters for all ages – as the music had my baby boy bouncing up and down in my lap!

Just to add – there will be obvious comparisons to 2014’s animation The Book of Life but rest assured Coco, whilst also taking place of the Day of the Dead, is definitely a completely different story!

In cinemas January 19.