Comments (7)

By Little Mummy, April 30, 2007 11:28 am

Following on from ‘Socially Recognised Mothering Standards – Pregnancy, Birth & Newborn‘.

9. One should purchase the most expensive pram and swan about like a modern ‘Yummy Mummy’ during the entire first year.

10. One should lavish the child with gifts and expensive clothes, but the child should not become ‘spoiled’ in the toddler years to follow.

11. Under no circumstances should you accept ‘hand me down’ or ‘gently used’ clothing or equipment. Everything must be purchased new, at great expense to one’s pocket and the environment.

12. One must decide whether they will become a ‘SAHM’ a ‘WAHM’ or a ‘Career Mum’. Neither choice will end in complete happiness and one must always express guilt. Choices are;

Guilt for staying at home: Not contributing to the homestead coffers.

Guilt for working at home: Not spending enough time with child.

Guilt for working: Leaving the child in childcare (guilt expression levels can directly correlate with your daycare fees, a general rule of thumb is: the higher the fees the less guilt required).

13. One should enrol their child in a variety of activities which should include something physical (gymnastics?), something musical (percussion?) and something academical (spanish?). This ‘regime’ should begin any time from six months but not after the child’s first birthday. One should always brag about their child’s accomplishments especially to those parents who don’t give two hoots that your 9 month old can count to ten in three languages.

14. Amongst other things your general duties should include the following;

Feed the baby (homemade only)
Change the baby
Clothe the baby (matching outfits at all times)
Play with the baby
Read with baby
Wean baby
Teach baby to walk
Give baby massage
Take baby to aforementioned activities

All must carried out in a timely fashion, with patience, whilst simultaneously working, sleeping, have some ‘me’ time, keeping the home gleaming, keeping partner happy.

One must not admit to feeling even a little frazzled.

15. One most throw a large birthday bash to celebrate the first year. Clowns, outside caterers, unicyclists, magicians may all feature. Guest numbers should be in the hundreds, the cost should break four figures. Oh, and don’t forget the bl**dy party bags!!

Just a bit of fun, but a bit of truth too, please add your own!

Comments (1)

By Little Mummy, April 30, 2007 9:00 am

Welcome back from the weekend, we went out for a chinese with the family on Saturday night, I ate way too much! Erin was well behaved (if a little hyper) considering she is teething.

Manicmama who has just given birth to her third, posts Labour Bag Essentials (and she should know).

There’s been a lot of hype recently surrounding a book entitled The 4-Hour Workweek, I intend to read it myself soon, in the meantime Trent at the The Simple Dollar has a good honest sounding review, even with the constructive criticism it has whetted my appetite, perhaps I’ll win his giveaway competition!

The Carnival of Family Life is available for your viewing pleasure at Parenting Toddlers (which is certainly something I seem to be doing more of!)

Comments (3)

By Little Mummy, April 29, 2007 1:34 am

What is it about parenting and public transport that doesn’t mix?

The day before yesterday, I took the bus down to the village, I’d like to say that this was in an effort to be more green, alas, it was more to do with hubby’s 4.45am start time (he needed the car), who just so happens to be a bus driver and was caught up in my frustrations.

Anyway, so I’m on the bus, after an hour or so of waiting. Don’t get me wrong the buses are frequent, every five minutes in fact, however, somebody thought it would be a good idea to only have ONE space for a pram or wheelchair and barely any room to fold your pram, so with a quota of one pram/wheelchair per bus it can take some time!

Anyway, so I’m on the bus (finally), which was really an achievement in itself as many of the buses drivers (who seem to be of the older generation) don’t like to find the button and press it, so that the bus lowers, and we parents with buggies can board.

Anyway, so I’m on the bus (just about), the bus driver pulls away before Erin is safely ‘stowed’ away with the pram brake on. Tut Tut. We were coming over the hill towards home when I pressed the blue buzzer (to let the driver know a pram or wheelchair would like to get off), I pressed the buzzer in plenty of time. The driver stopped to let other passengers off, and then begun to drive as I was still in the gangway. I held on for dear life, before the driver innocently asks “did you want THIS stop” to which I replied “Yes, please”, he asked the same question again, to which I gave the same reply. I have an underlying belief that (some) bus drivers want to make parents with buggies as uncomfortable as possible so we choose not to use the service and in turn make their job that little bit easier.

Now, I’m not one to complain without having a solution (!), The Buggy Bus. A bus with predominantly space for parents with buggies that would run perhaps once an hour, I think a lot of parents would just ditch the usual service and wait for this one. Oh, and there would be a super friendly driver that loves kids and has infinite patience (am I asking too much now?).

Comments (7)

By Little Mummy, April 27, 2007 11:17 pm

Socially recognised mothering standards eh? Yeah, you know, all that stuff that as a mother you are expected to do and the unsaid standards you are expected to keep [at all times].

1. One should work until they drop (literally) before beginning maternity leave, you should be so tired you can barely stand up and proceed to give birth the very next day. You should brag to other mothers about said martyrdom.

2. One should have a natural birth which should involve rose petals, water and classical music. Screaming, pain, gore, and pain relief should definitely not feature. One should ALWAYS brag though, if they had a difficult birth and much pain was endured (without pain relief).

3. One should breastfeed their newborn cherub the moment it exits the birth canal, even if they are utterly exhausted and all they want is a nice warm shower. Under no cicumstances should you either accept or ask for the ‘F’ word. (formula)

4. If one has had a Caesarean (which must never be elective) one must bounce right out of bed after only a few hours and proceed with normal daily life as if no major surgery has been undertaken, one must always listen to the nurses when they say you CAN get out of bed, and always ingnore one’s inner voice telling them they are about to pass out.

5. Once home with the newborn one should take to mothering with gusto and confidence, receiving visitors, whilst simultaneously breastfeeding, writing thank you cards for copious amounts of gifts and cooking homemade suppers.

6. One should resume normal sexual activity, preferably, within the week.

7. One should ‘find’ her figure and return to the size 10 skinny jeans within the fortnight. One should ALWAYS brag to her not-so-fortunate friends.

8. One’s beautiful bouncing baby should be ‘sleeping through’ any time before six weeks to qualify for bragging rights.

Just a bit of fun, but a bit of truth too, please add your own!

Comments (2)

By Little Mummy, April 27, 2007 6:38 am

This week has seen a broken oven, some terrible teething and the news that Alex’ contract is changing which should see an end to the 14 hour days woohoo!

Meantime in the rest of the world;

The latest report confirms that British teenagers lack creativity. No real surprise when you consider that most teenagers spend eight hours a day studying for exams (just don’t get me started!).

Scribbit’s son has a cool book safe. This would make a good weekend craft project for boys and girls!

Littlemummy Retro: This is one from Christmas, I can’t believe how much Erin has grown!! V-Tech Sort & Soar Rocket: Toy Review

Comments (0)

By Little Mummy, April 27, 2007 1:13 am

Sorry, no photo this time, camera batteries were out, which is a shame because this was Fun (with a capital F).

Erin was given these paint wands by her Aunty, they are really, really good. You simply leave them in water for 20 seconds the first time (the next time they should work quicker) and paint away. Erin was able to have full control of the painting experience without my worrying about her ‘overdoing’ it with the paint, the thin handle and weight make them suprisingly easy for her to use. Kids from one (with supervision) through to primary school age could have fun with these.

On an arty level the paint colour is very good when it gets going, they are great for normal painting but I can feel a canvas coming out for Erin to make a masterpiece for her room!

More Activities Here (Don’t forget you can receive littlemummy updates via email, just input your email address in the box to the right – strictly no spam!)

Comments (9)

By Little Mummy, April 24, 2007 3:40 am

I have been asked to take a look at the BabySock and give my opinions (I’m pretty good at that!).

I have been paid a small fee to do this, however, it’s the kind of site/product/business I like to champion. Why?

I’m fascinated by Mums, who, through the journey of motherhood come up with products and ideas that help other mums, or help them to support their family and still spend lots of quality time with the kiddies (somethingelse I champion!).

A bit from the about page;

“After moving to the Seattle area with her 6 month old, Robyn found that she wanted to go for walks anytime the rain would clear. The only problem was that her daughter would kick off her blanket. The blanket would get wet, dirty, or stuck in the wheel of the stroller. She started looking for a product that wouldn’t come off her baby. After several months, she realized that despite her lack of sewing skills, she would have to make her own. A few modifications and another baby later, BabySockâ„¢ was born in 2004. Robyn will proudly tell you that each BabySockâ„¢ is now made by professionals in the Pacific Northwest.”

Wonderful, how about a little picture Robyn? With such a personal story it helps other mums and dads relate to you on a parent to parent level.

A great little story, and as much as I love the ‘mumpreneur thing’ the product needs to be good too. There is no doubting the BabySock is a simple idea borne from a simple problem, we have a similar idea with a slightly different design here in the UK and it seems to do quite well. The price is nice too, at $29.99 it translates quite well in British pounds, although I’m not sure if that has a lot to do with the exchange rate?

Overall, a nice product that has it’s place in the market, however a few tweaks to the website would be good, as I mentioned a photo, and a larger variety of styles of BabySock perhaps with some funky patterns? could really take the product and brand from good to great (from a shopper’s perspective!). Part of the appeal of the BabySock needs to be the brand and I think some funkier designs could tip me over the edge into a purchase.

What does everyonelse think?

Comments (2)

By Little Mummy, April 24, 2007 12:02 am

I’ve been fascinated and curious about homeschooling for a while, how it works, and why some parents choose to abandon the state system altogether.

A blog I found just today and am currently delving into provided me with a link to this article from the Guardian.

School’s out, for ever

For all the pitfalls and complaints we have about the education system the crux of the problem can be found in the following two qoutes;

She added that, “Common to all families involved was their flexible approach to education … Children benefited from the freedom to develop their skills at their own speed.”

“The choice of subjects they cover may be dictated by, well, anything. A key principle seems to be that the boys learn from what life presents to them rather than their lives being organised around a pre-determined programme.”

The teachers we have are (for the most) great, the problem is that class numbers and lack of resources prevent the somewhat tailored, child-led learning that I seem to be championing so often here. More money equals more teachers, smaller class sizes and better resources. My recent meeting with a teacher really opened my eyes to the challenges faced with managing the entire education of over 20 children. Smaller classes could easily facilitate a more open curricular with learning that could be led as a group, although the group would all need to be at a similar standard for it to work at it’s best.

I guess it comes down to money because some parents are already buying this kind of education, for the rest of us we must either make do or do it ourselves.

Food for thought on a Monday morning. What are you thinking?

Comments (0)

By Little Mummy, April 23, 2007 12:14 pm

My new blog theme (thanks Dave) saw the death of the link blog, so here I am with the alternative, a quick roundup with some special link love (non bloggers – it means highlighting worthy articles and blogs in a bid to make friends!)

This article about the price of toys gives a thumbs up to long lasting, well made wooden toys that I very much agree with.

The Carnival of Family Life is at Digital Rich Daily, the alphabet theme really appeals to my love of all things educational. Nice one Rich!

I am stealing (sharing?) this next bit from The Simple Dollar, which is my greatest blog find of the year – high praise indeed!

Littlemummy Retro – Part 5 Authentic Education

Comments (1)

By Little Mummy, April 23, 2007 1:23 am

I finished reading this book a little while ago and to be honest I wasn’t going to bother doing a review because I didn’t really know what to say.

I wasn’t really sure what I got out of the book, although I’m in the perfect demographic that it should help – a worrier that carrys around a lot of emotional baggage. The byline is ‘How to Get Rid of Your Emotional Baggage and Live the Life You Want’, and as I read that byline again now I think perhaps I have gleaned more than I think.

The book teaches a ‘method’ of letting go of feelings that prevent you from reaching your potential and can be practised in all areas of your life. I found it quite eye-opening just how much I was carrying around that was needless and sapping me of energy that could be re-distributed to help achieve my dreams and ambitions.

I would say this book is worth a read if you are a worrier, you feel a bit ‘foggy’ in your life, or you are holding onto damaging feelings and thoughts from your past. If you can buy second hand do so, save trees and your pocket if it doesn’t hit the spot.

Buy The Sedona Method