Baby Clues
Information & advice on dealing with babies

As a parent I know how hard it is to keep a child entertained, especially when money is tight. So here are a few ideas to keep your little one busy without making a massive dent in your wallet:

• Baking – you can make all kinds of things; fairy cakes, crispy cakes and cheese straws.
• Painting, Drawing and Sticking -you can either let them just use water in the garden on a fence or paving slabs or use paint on paper, supermarkets and stationary stores sell all you will need for your little ones to create masterpieces to put on your fridge.
• Playdough – it’s great fun for them and you can use it as a stress relief, here is a recipe to make your own
• Have a few friends round – simple you can relax and catch up with your friends and your child has someone to play with

If you fancy venturing out there are a few ideas ontrips out on a budgetother options include visiting your local library, many of them do story time for toddlers and some organise activities such as treasure hunts or craft sessions.

Another thing I do with my toddler is taking her on nature walks, which is essentially a walk where you point out things like butterflies or other animals and different plants I take a carrier bag with us and some paper and wax crayons. We collect things like acorns, pine cones, leaves etc. The paper as you have probably already guessed is to do wax rubbings, my daughter loves it and we use the things we’ve collected to make collages or we make Christmas tree decorations out of pine cones.

I also take my daughter to indoor play areas these are not usually very expensive and will allow your child to burn off energy when the weather isn’t great. I also take my daughter to a farm, this can be expensive but it depends on the farm, we found one near us that is only £1 per person and if you pay an extra £1 you get a bucket of feed for the animals.

Generally speaking there is plenty of things that you can do without it costing the earth, alot of the things I do with my daughter I found from researching my local area on the internet or talking to other mums or things I enjoyed as a child. It is basically a case of trial and error. If you are new to an area you wont necessarily know anyone there so it may be worth looking for mother and toddler groups or playgroups. When I first moved I found that my health visitor was a great source of information with regards to which groups were good in my local area. The important thing to remember when entertaining your child is to have fun.

As most parents know juggling your professional and personal life isn’t easy but here are a few things that may life a little easier.

All working parents have the right to work flexible hours in order to ensure that their children are properly looked after. Many working parents in the United Kingdom have to work long hours and indeed in some instances two jobs to be able to provide a stable financial back drop against which to bring up their children. So with this in mind the government have introduced legislation that enables both parents to work a set number of hours (agreeable with their employer) in a slightly less formal structure. This could allow a parent to work part-time hours during the course of a week starting at 9am and finishing at 3pm; alternatively flexible working arrangements may allow for a parent to come into work later on a morning to allow transporting their children to school or a child minder.

Maternity Leave also known as Statutory Maternity Pay can be paid for up to thirty nine weeks after the birth of the baby. As a working parent a mother is entitled to maternity leave and statutory maternity pay if she has been in constant employment with the same company or organisation for twenty six weeks prior to the fifteenth week of her pregnancy.

In the last few years the legislation controlling the rights of fathers has changed to ensure that fathers can have paid leave to spend with their children after they are born. This is referred to as paternity leave and is paid at the same rates as maternity pay although only for one to two weeks. A father can spend one to two weeks at home with his newborn child if he is the child’s biological father or married to the child’s mother.

Although adoptive leave is right of any parent it is not always paid for and will only be paid for if there are already arrangements and agreements in place with your employer. As with maternity and paternity leave you must be employed by your current employer for twenty six weeks prior to becoming the child’s adoptive parent. An adoptive parent is entitled to up to thirty nine weeks leave which is paid at a flat rate known as Statutory Adoptive Pay. In order to qualify for adoptive leave you must notify your employer well in advance that you are being matched to a child for adoption. This allows them to make the necessary arrangements but also if their terms and conditions state you are entitled to Statutory Adoptive Pay.

In addition to these laws if you are entitled to Working Tax Credits you can claim up to 80% of the childcare costs providing that your childcare provider is registered (most nurseries, playgroups and after school clubs are registered) if you are unsure if your daycare provider is registered just ask them.
All of the aforementioned rights are afforded to working parents in the United Kingdom and if you are an expectant mother or proud father-to-be then you should investigate the terms and conditions of your employment and enquire as to whether or not these working rights are supported by your employer.

If however you are not sure then you should contact your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau who will be able to help you find out what you are entitled to and will also be able to help with understanding the terms and conditions of your contract of employment.

Your local office of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will also be able to assist you with advice on benefits and additional monies for low income families.

I know it sounds obvious but a good way to save money is to only buy what you need; you’d be surprised how many people don’t do this.
I tend to have a clear out once every 2 months, anything which I no longer need either gets thrown away, or sent to charity shops; however if you have the time you can either sell them on ebay or at car boot sales. After clearing out you can see exactly what you need, trust me it works and saves you alot of money especially when it comes to children’s clothes and toys.

Another way is for celebrations such as birthdays if people ask what you want; tell them what you need. For my daughter’s birthday people asked what I wanted them to get so said clothes in the next size, as she had nearly outgrown the current size.

When me and my partner moved in together, worked out how much money we had coming in and then our outgoings (we used excel but the old fashioned pen and paper is just as good) this means we know how much money we have left after bills this usually pays for our social life, any unexpected bills or gets saved for holidays etc.

I would recommend this to anyone, as you can avoid getting into loads of debt and it also means that you can recognise any problems and deal with them. Thus making the most of your money

I know that many people probably already do this but doing your food shopping online can actually save you money because:

• You don’t impulse buy
• You can see exactly how much you are spending, so don’t spend more than you had budgeted

Other benefits include saving time as you don’t have to travel to the supermarket then all the stuff there (the actual shopping and the queueing etc) also less stress.

Whether you still prefer the old fashioned way or shopping online here are some handy hints:

• Make a meal plan for the week, it reduces the amount of waste food
• Make a list and stick to it

Sick of being stuck indoors with your child?
Here are a few ideas:

• Going swimming
• Going to the park
• Going to local groups e.g Jolly Babies (see music with Joan for more details)

If you’re looking to spend a little more:

• Day trip to the seaside
• Trip to local attractions e.g Gulliver’s Kingdom

hey who said going out had to be expensive?

It’s a given that having children is expensive however; there are a few ways to save money:

• Buy in Bulk
• Shop in Sales
• Accept second hand items

Ok here’s why
Buying in bulk – not sure if anyone is familiar with economies of scale but basically it means that the price per unit is cheaper.
You can either buy multipacks of items such as wet wipes (£5 for 4 packs), Nappies (£11.99 for 88) or buy things when on offer like buy one get one free.

Shopping in sales – basically it’s a well known fact that sales are cheap and you can usually grab a bargain, so given that children grow so quick their clothes never fit for very long; why spend lots on clothes if you don’t have to? I cheat I wait for the sales then buy the next size up and sometimes several sizes too big.

Accept second hand – I’m not suggesting accept everything second hand; but if money is tight second hand stuff, toys,clothes bedding etc can be a lifesaver, as long as it’s in good condition.
Here are a few things I wouldn’t recommend getting second hand:
Cot mattress
Breast Pump
Dummies
Teats
Underwear