Baby Name Trends, What to Avoid

Besides Christmas, December means endless lists summarising the year that was and we begin the reflection with a look at popular baby names.  Personally I’d want to know in order to avoid them, just like fashion trends sometimes it’s best to go off piste although perhaps not as much as Gwyneth Paltrow!

Reflecting the diversity of Britain, Muhammad shot to the number one spot as the most popular baby name, perhaps Wills and Kate can consider it for little No.2 next year? I’m a Muslim and this is the

The Amazing Sally Bollywood

If there are no little people in your family you won’t know about the amazing Sally Bollywood, a cartoon series that is a delight to watch!  There is a cracking soundtrack, wacky but believable kitsch interiors and excellent plots.

Sally has her own detective agency that she runs in her basement along with best pal and techie, Doowee and they get cases from their school friends

Dear Diary

Not another one!!

Dear Diary

I’m in my 30s and single.  Yeah, I’m ‘looking for lurve’ but I’m not in the slightest desperate and I’m happy enjoying my life with my friends and family.

Recently, in Delhi,  I have been approached by so many married men, one married to a very dear friend of mine, that have tried to kiss me and one even propose to me! Despite being already married.  Another married man thought nothing of sharing his sick fantasy – he wanted another two children with me besides his others.  Not with me mate!

Wax Off

 

 

Did I miss something? Poetic?

Ok, I’ve tried to avoid it and ignore it and hope it just went away but I am now forced to join the pubic hair debate that is rocking the nation (well, it is if you read leftie papers).

Like the 30-something journos I am gutted that 92% of 8-16 year olds have seen hard core porn. Hard core! And apparently the effect of this on our children’s minds is that they feel pubic hair is gross and girls need to be bare “down there”.

Not So Great Britain

The Philpott case sends shivers up us all. There were several programmes on yesterday that went over the case (the couple and their friend having been found guilty of manslaughter) and I was moved to tears watching one of them. I guess it was worse because I was with my baby nephew and we were curled up on the sofa together.

You’ll know the case facts but at the risk of going all Daily Mail, how on earth were 11 children allowed to live in a 3 bedroom house?

I Only Need 8 Medium Chocolate Eggs This Year

One of my darling nieces who is five years old made that statement contrary to her mother who said that my niece’s teeth were in a bad state and she wasn’t getting any.  I know who will win that battle…!

Lindt bunnies are the cutest Easter treat to give to loved ones this weekend and you know their mini size bunnies are only about £0.30 but get a guaranteed smile and squee from the receiver.

My niece might be able to sit inside this chocolate egg by luxury chocolate company

Child’s Play

These scary child mannequins are in every local shopping market in Delhi.  Of course these little monsters wouldn’t make it

That’s Not My Baby

I visited a friend in Delhi today who has just given birth and, being British, found the differences in procedures and norms quite fascinating.  My dear friend was in a private hospital and is recovering well, however, when I arrived at the hospital I wasn’t allowed to take in the flowers I had just spend an hour selecting and directing how the arrangement should be done and when I walked into her room, NO BABY!

In India babies are kept

Judges, Not Mothers, Know Best

A woman, Sally Roberts, started a nationwide missing persons hunt for running away with her son, aged 7, as she did not want him to undergo surgery to remove a tumor on his brain.  The decision was finally given to a judge who ruled in the favour of the medical team and advised that her son be given the operation as soon as possible.

I have a seven year old niece and can only imagine the trauma the mother is going through.  It must be so incredibly

Pet Library

For those who can’t take full time responsibility for a pet but want a companion

Panorama On Newsnight?

Last night’s BBC Panorama on Jimmy Saville has left me slightly shaken. I cannot quite figure out what the agenda was behind this programme but the outcome was to clear the BBC of any wrong doing’s in not airing the BBC Newsnight report in November 2011.

Are the BBC along with other institutions not to be held accountable for 5 decades of abuse by one of its employees under its guardianship and roof?

Don’t Take Sweets From Strangers

Do you remember learning not to take sweets from strangers? It was taught to my sister and me in primary school. What is a stranger? A grown-up that you don’t know. Would you take a sweetie from a stranger? NO! I would go and find a grown-up that I know and shout mummy if I couldn’t see anyone I knew.  Simple.

I have to admit, I did grow up being terrified of these “strangers” with “sweeties” and the child-catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang didn’t help much.

Did you know this lesson is no longer taught to children?

Imaginary Friends

It’s a normal part of growing up but for the parents of children that have imaginary friends it can be quite creepy and even verge on frightening.

Mo Murray!

After Wimbledon tears and Olympic cheers, everyone’s favourite miserable Scot, Andy Murray sealed his place in British tennis history by winning the US Open.  It has been 76 years since a Brit won and it was truly wonderful news to wake up to.

One of the endearing stories to come out

First Day At School: Mother’s Words

Dear Diary,

I had heard about the jitters mother’s face when their first born starts primary school and how it is more emotional for them than for the child. I didn’t believe this for one moment, until it happened to me.

I was left feeling rejected, dejected and alone as my daughter happily skipped into her class exited to meet her new classmates. I hovered around waiting for her to come running back into my arms and make a great big scene about how she wants to stay at home, but she didn’t.

Etch A Sketch

Does everyone remember the Etch A Sketch? What a fabulous toy. My children have one and it goes everywhere. I was so pleased to see the Spanish basketball coach using one to convey strategy and tactics.

In the modern days of electronic tablets, the most common of which, the IPad, this was somewhat surprising. He was able to quickly draw and erase his messages to each of the players, making it all look as simple as child’s play.

The Spanish team beat Team GB whose coach decided to take them to the classroom by using a whiteboard. Not quite as cool.

Bunty

 

Times Of Oliver

A really sad story in the news today was research indicating that UK has a child hunger crisis. According to Net Mums and Kids Company, 1 million children live in homes without enough to eat. The forthcoming summer holidays is real problem for these families as children rely on free school dinners as their only meal of the day.

Hungry children is not an epidemic as it is in some developing countries but a 223% increase in the last 12 months due to the economic climate in the UK is frightening. I just cannot believe it.

Child Friendly Wedding

As a parent, it was delightful to attend a wedding that gave so much consideration to the entertainment of the children. Hosted in the heart of Essex countryside, Leez Priory provided an idyllic setting for a wedding that made me beam.

My Baby’s Almost Perfect Head

For the first time in twenty three years there is a baby in my family and it is of course lovely yada yada but I have been having amusing discussions with my mum and sister-in-law as they engage in their quest to mould the shape of my darling nephew’s cute little head!

He has, of course, a round head and they want to flatten it!

Spain’s Stolen Babies

Last year while I was driving I listened to a Radio 4 programme about new-born babies that were stolen from mothers and families in Spain deemed unfit to be parents while Spain was under the dictatorship of General Franco.  This story has come into the media spotlight once more as an 80 year old Spanish nun attended court on 12 April accused of being involved in alleged baby stealing.

It was heartbreaking listening to mothers

ADHD Drugs On Increase

Did you know that spending on ‘ADHD’ drugs in this country rose in 2010 to £31 million a year (a 65% increase in four years)? Drugs such ritinol, which are prescribed to manicly depressed people are being given to out of control young children. This is seriously worrying.

Celebrity Wife

Don’t you just love advice from celebrities?  You see, they are Human 2.0 they know how to be a better and wiser version of us so that they can pass their experience down to help us all out.  This time helpful advice is dished out from Gwyneth Paltrow

Smacking

Has anti-smacking laws created a lawless society? David Lammy MP certainly think so. In fact, in an article for the Guardian, he goes as far as to say that the riots last August are a result of working class parents not being able to physically discipline their children and doing so would prevent them from joining gangs and entering into knife crime.

How?

A is for Apple, D is for Sunshine

Last year a report highlighted an increase in rickets in the South Asian population and the need for raising greater awareness of vitamin D or exposing the skin to sunshine, the best way that vitamin D is produced and absorbed into the body.  However, the chief medical officer in England has now advised

McBooks From McDonald’s

I didn’t know the sad statistic that one in three children in the UK do not own a book.  Whether this is due to poverty or parents such as Victoria Beckham who famously does not read is unknown but help is coming from an unlikely corner: McDonald’s.

From now until 7th February

Bollywood V Disney

I never thought that Bollywood would win in my house as neither me or my husband watch modern Bollywood movies.

 

Chicken Pox Parties

My two daughters have chicken pox and I was asked if I was going to host a party. At first I thought they were joking, but these events really take place.

Parents throw parties so that other children can catch the virus. The reason is that Chicken Pox is less serious as a child than an adult and the earlier you suffer from this vile infection the better it is.

 

Cry Baby

Perhaps all you yummy mummies out there won’t appreciate this post but I have to say there is nothing worse than being stuck on a long-haul flight with your crying brat.

Respect

Oxford Dictionary definition: a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements

Asian definition: Do as your elder tells you.

The Stolen Baby Scandal

Spain has a dirty secret that has finally been exposed and investigated: over the course of five decades the country’s government, in collaboration with the doctors and nurses and the Catholic Church, stole new born babies from families regarded as unfit in order to sell them to apparently more deserving families.

Did You Hear The One About The Smoking Baby?

Sadly this is not a sick joke. Yes, this Indonesian toddler smokes 2 packets of cigarettes per day and he is not alone.  If you didn’t hate tobacco companies enough already I think this would do it.

Obviously he is too young to buy his own fags

Kids Week

If you have children, live in or around London and haven’t taken advantage of this offer, then it is worth thinking about. Kids Week is to encourage more children to visit the theatre and for every adult ticket bought, a child goes free.

Theatre tickets are quite expensive so I found this offer a fantastic saving. My 3 year old loves the theatre and cannot wait to see The Tiger Who Came To Tea.

Anorexia At The Age Of Five

Anorexia is an awful eating disorder as an adult so I cannot imagine what it is like for a five years old. Yesterday’s Independent reported that children as young as five were receiving treatment for Anorexia and the figures showed some alarming trends in young children today, especially girls. Image conscious celebrities, internal messages in magazines and peer pressure on children were blamed for the disorder. I can see these reasons could be influential for an teenager or an adult, but I have difficulty relating them to a five years old? Therefore, I am led to wonder how much of the disorder in children so young is caused by the environment in which they are growing up?

Empty Nest Syndrome

The summer before your child goes to university comes the realisation that life is going to change forever.  Recently, I have encountered a number of mothers coming to terms with their first born leaving home. They are filled with fear, vulnerability,  sadness and loneliness. Strangely, it is like they are preparing to grieve.

I’m Every Woman

Dear Diary,

The pleasures of “me time”, that I once relished as a single woman, are now reduced to stolen moments of drinking a cup of tea in peace, blow drying my hair without someone asking me to do something or indulging in a home face mask when the kids have gone to bed.

Botox Babe

An eight year old girl in the US was given Botox by her mother to make her look prettier in child beauty pageants. The full story can be read on BBC News

The Pink Stinks Campaign

Looking around our house, every other toy is pink. Going through my daughters’ wardrobe, there is a high content of pink. The pink pages stare at me from the toy catalogues. There are pink cups, plates and bowls in the kitchen. Despite our efforts to stay away from pink, we are buried in pink stuff!!! I totally understand what British social enterprise, Pink Stinks, is going on about. Their campaign challenges the culture of pink to overhaul the gender stereotypes.

Are Our Children Lazy?

BBC London had a phone in today discussing whether our children are lazy. This was supported by research suggesting that one in six children cannot swim and one in ten cannot ride a bike. The study found British children were more than twice as likely to spend their free time watching television (79 per cent) than playing sport (34 per cent).

The study apparently surveyed 1500 children. This surely cannot be representative of British children to make such a brash statement that our children are lazy.

Plastic Fantastic

A seven-year-old has had plastic surgery in the USA (where else!).  When I first heard the news I was horrified .. then it transpired that all she had done was have her ears pinned back – check out the result below.

Her parents’ motive was to prevent their child from being bullied.

Nip And Tuck For God

Dear Diary,

My little nephew had his circumcision last week.  I know that boys in many religions and cultures go through this process but I feel it’s wrong.

I know that health benefits are cited and of course God