• It can be done regardless of the weather
• It is great exercise
• It costs very little
• It is something that we can all do as a family
• The girls learn a new skill
• It is a great confidence booster

Like any parent I encourage the girls to be active, whether this is playing a game of football in the park or playing on the wii so the fact that they enjoy going swimming is fantastic. Even when they were babies the girls have always loved playing with water, particularly Holly who now cries when she has to get out of the pool.

Another advantage of swimming is that they learn water safety but they learn through play so it reinforces the fact that water can be fun as long as you follow the safety guidelines. It also teaches them about diet and exercise, which is becoming a very popular topic, especially due to the rise in obesity. So as you can see there are lots of advantages to swimming, so why not see when your local pool have public swimming sessions and see for yourself.

This was the question was on leaflets posted through doors in the south London borough of Lambeth. Before this starts a mass panic Local councils are under a statutory obligation to provide every child with a primary school place. However some are starting to raise concerns about a potential shortfall in the number of primary school places arounds England.

In Lambeth, the demand for primary school places has increased by 40% over 2 years. This has been attributed to a rising birth rate and the recession as better off parents are opting not to go private. As a result it is estimated that schools will have run out of primary school places by 2015.

In Brixton parents believe the prospect of five-year olds having to stay at home is no exaggeration. With these figures parents are becoming increasingly worried. With the current system parents submit a form to their LEA (Local Education Authority) stating your first choice for the school you wish your child to attend, but if this shortage of places becomes a reality then it is going to be a case of children having to either go further afield to find a place. Alternatively will there be any spaces at all?

Some parents have claimed that it’s happening already, some are getting into their fifth or sixth choice and some not getting into any of the schools chosen on their application forms. Some parents are having to travel great distances to take their children to school; in some cases this is not really feasible.
The Office for National Statistics figures show it was 63.7 live births per 1,000 women of childbearing age in 2009, compared with 54.7 in 2001. Primary school numbers have been falling for the past decade, however they are set to rise by 14% according to The Department for Education.

Others claim that the estimated rise will vary significantly with influencing factors being:

• Movement between areas
• Economic Changes
• Migration
• The Make-up of the population.

It is expected that London, the east and south-east are expected to feel the squeeze the most. Metropolitan boroughs throughout the country are likely to face pressure too. It is thought that these areas need to find several thousand extra school places within the next four years. The new housing developments that are cropping up all over the country will place an extra burden on local facilities. Parents are saying that the Government needs to provide the finances to develop existing schools and build new schools.

The Department for Education claim that £800m has been allocated this year for local authorities to spend on precisely this problem. They argue that the issue has been ignored for too long, accusing Labour of “wasting vast sums” on bureaucracy in its Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme of secondary school rebuilds. They also point out that despite a 60% cut to education capital spending over the next four years; the coalition is still spending more per year on school building work than the previous government did in its first two terms.

A government-commissioned review of school building recommended this April that a better system be put in place to prioritise schools’ building needs and to develop standardised designs that could be built more cheaply. But Lambeth says it needs more money now. It has received £52m over the past five years, but is asking for £50m over the next two.

My fiance wants to get married abroad which is by no means cheap as there is a lot of red tape to accompany the marriage should you decide to persue this route in order to ensure that your marriage is legally recognised in the UK. The best place to find out the legal requirements when considering a marriage abroad is to speak to your local travel agent. This avoids having to make an awful lot of rather expensive phone calls or trawling the internet to find all the information. The cost for a wedding abroad is approximately £5,000. This price is including everything except the reception, however in some countries this can be alot higher.

In order to plan the wedding you want without having any last minute dramas the best advice I can give you is to collect prices and ideas that you like and put them all in a scrap book that way all the things are in 1 place thus making it easier to find what you are looking for. Another thing that may help is the following link to a wedding checklist: Printable wedding checklist. Another link that maybe helpful is the following to money saving expert, Money Saving tips for a wedding

• Getting them to try new things, regardless of whether I like them or not.
• Allowing them items of an ethnic origin
• Refusing to use smacking as a form of discipline

and the list goes on. It doesn’t seem to matter what I do I get accused of being a hippy parent; the latest 2 are using washable nappies and the fact that I tend to go to the local health shop and buy things like vanilla pods and various other things because Holly got hold of 1 ages ago and enjoyed chewing on it so have been buying them for her since.

To be honest as long as the child(ren) are happy and healthy what does it matter? The answer to this question should be nothing but because it seems odd or because it is different to the style of someone else it is criticised. News Flash everyone is different and you have to accept that regardless of whether or not you agree.

• CEX – They will accept all cds, dvds and games and will also allow you to trade unwanted consoles, phones and laptops.
• ASDA – At the moment they only allow you to trade in games and these are only for cash on a gift card
• HMV – Again only accept games but offer cash or vouchers
• Music Magpie – Despite the name these guys accept cds, dvds and games
• eBay – You put the items you want to sell on and then they do the rest.
• Game – These guys allow you to trade games only
• Fat Brain – These guys accept old books

Using a combination of CEX, ASDA and Music Magpie I have generated a total of over £300! This I used to get a DS to help ease the boredom when I’m in hospital and paid for the food shopping for 1 whole month. It was really easy and definately worth having a sort out and getting rid of your old/unwanted games, cds and dvds.

Another way that you can make money is to check out peopleperhour.com or have a look at the online surveys such as global test market or lightspeed panel.

• Your local children’s centre
• The Library
• Your Health Visitor

These sessions are suitable for children up to the age of 11 but there are activities arranged at the leisure centre whilst these may not be free but these are suitable for children aged 5+.

The activities include things like vegetable printing, smoothie making, drama and stories. At the stay and play sessions in my local area the session lasts for 1hr30 and during that time the children had access to painting and smoothie making as well as a wide range of toys. Towards the end of the session the children were able to taste the smoothies they had made and then they had a story in which the children were able to participate.

These are definately worth checking out if you are struggling to entertain your little monkeys.

Granted it was a little tricky trying to work out how to assemble the base with no instructions but I managed it. So if you want a bargain purchase the display model, it may have a few imperfections but it will be reduced in most cases.

There are three basic types of cloth nappies: the flat nappy (terries, prefolds and muslins); the fitted (shaped) nappy; and the all-in-one. Flat and fitted nappies are part of a two-part system and require a wrap. All in ones have their wrap attached as part of the nappy.

Terries are the “old fashioned” cotton terry towelling squares which are available in different sizes, thicknesses and absorbencies. Prefolds are made of several layers of ordinary cotton sewn into three panels – with the central panel having most layers. And muslins are simply muslin squares which are commonly used as burp cloths, dribble bibs and general factotums of baby wear. Flat nappies require some (simple) folding. Terries are then fastened with pins or nappy nippas, and prefolds are simply fixed into a wrap, which holds them in place. Flat nappies are the most economical and most versatile of all the nappies – the cheapest to buy; the easiest to care for; and they can be used for a variety of mopping up and cleaning jobs in years to come!

Fitted nappies are shaped to fit round your baby without folding – just like a disposable, and so are easier to use than flat nappies. There are two types of fitted nappy. The first is a nappy which is sized to fit your baby at different stages of development, so that as your baby grows you will need to buy the next size up. The second type is a one-size fits all nappy, which will last your baby from birth to potty. Either type of fitted nappy can be fixed in place with either poppers, velcro, the wrap or a combination of these.

Wraps are the waterproof layer of the system. They are all shaped to fit over a nappy, and they all come in different sizes. It is important that the wrap fits well at the legs and waist, and so there is no such thing as a birth to potty wrap, unfortunately! However, because you don’t need a clean wrap every time you change a nappy, you will find that four or five wraps in each size will be sufficient – although you may want more of the first size if you are going to breastfeed, as breastfed poo is quite runny and gets onto the wrap very easily, no matter how hard you try! Always change the wrap if you get poo on it, or it is very wet. Different manufacturers’ wraps use different sizing systems, and have different amounts of adjustment.

All-in-ones are basically the same idea as disposable nappies, only washable. They consist of an absorbent terry or cotton inner, with an integral plastic, waterproof backing. Because the backing limits the speed of drying, they are the slowest drying nappy, and you may want to buy more to allow for this if these are your main nappy type. They also tend to be the most expensive to buy, and the plastic tends to wear out more rapidly than in wraps, presumably because they remain wet for longer. I would recommend using them occasionally for days out rather than as the main nappy system.

There are as many different factors to consider when buying nappies as there are babies to buy them for, but here are a few ideas which might be helpful:

Terries and prefolds are the least expensive and quickest to dry. All in ones are the most expensive to buy, and slowest to dry. Absorbency varies from nappy to nappy, but in all cases can be increased by using a booster, or another nappy. Generally speaking, I find terry towelling is more absorbent than plain cotton or cotton flannel, as the loops present a greater surface area to the water, and allows it to be soaked up more quickly.

If your baby is very wriggly, consider buying nappies and wraps which fasten with velcro – much easier to cope with on a determined escapee. If your baby can undo velcro, consider terries (pins or nappy nippas) or nappies and wraps which fasten with poppers (which can be harder to undo!). For a breastfed newborn with runny poo, a fitted nappy or a terry nappy will be the most efficient at catching the poo. For terries and prefolds, folding can be initially daunting, but soon becomes second nature.

Whatever you choose, you will need to buy enough nappies to meet your needs. Expect a newborn to need changing 10 to 12 times a day, dropping to 6-8 times when older, depending on their wetting pattern – which you will come to know! The number of nappies you will need will depend on your washing cycle – fewer if you intend to wash each day, more if you only want to wash every two to three days. Remember, you will also need four or five wraps per size and perhaps more for a breastfed newborn.

You may want to experiment with different types of nappy before making a final decision. In this case, you might want to take advantage of the hire scheme, to try the nappies in your own home before you commit to buying them. If you would prefer to experiment with your own nappies, please feel free to order only one or two of each type, or to put together a sample pack of nappies and wraps, selected from what is available. All nappies will be supplied with full washing and care instructions and, where applicable, folding instructions.

You also have disposables these are single use and can be easier to some extent as you don’t need to worry about washing them, although the cost is initially high with reusable nappies it is more expensive to use disposables. At the end of the day it’s what fits best with your lifestyle and your baby.

The number of families that qualify has increased since the increase in unemployment due to the recession The Trust urge any parent to check with their school or local council and start claiming what’s theirs. There appears to be some confusion with parents who work part time thinking that they don’t qualify. It has also been suggested that parents might not want their children to feel stigmatised by being identified as coming from a low-income family.

There are plans to overcome this by changing the system in order to make it impossible for the peers to tell who has what. It is worth stressing that there is no shame in accepting what it rightfully yours if you are entitled to it