October issue 14 final copy

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Helping you through pregnancy, birth and beyond

Issue 21 | October / November 2014

CELEBRITY FOCUS Baby Buzz meets leading paediatrician and TV personality Dr. Ranj from CBeebies ‘Get Well Soon’

GET SPOOKY Take a look at our special Halloween Feature

FEATURES

GARDENING GUIDE

Car seat safety – top tips from experts & the best on the market

Tips from award winning gardening consultant Dawn Isaac

PARENTS IN BUSINESS Helping with support, advice and knowledge

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Leading & Boutique Brands | Exclusive Offers | Expert Advice

Exclusive Advance Tickets Book Now & Save Up To 40% - Quote ‘BUZZ’

thebabyshow.co.uk Our Official Charity

Saving based on standard ticket price of £20. To book by phone call 0871 231 0844, calls cost 10p per minute from a BT landline, other networks may vary. Advance Booking Office closes 23/10/2014, £2 transaction fee applies per booking.

For more information on the products featured visit www.thebabyshow.co.uk.

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CONTENTS EDITORS LETTER 04

WELCOME TO THE WORLD

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ENTERPRISING MUMS

Wow, where did September go! Can you believe that there is only 3 months until Christmas! Sorry, couldn’t resist it!

Before we even get into Christmas though, we have Halloween festivites to enjoy! We have found some of the cutest and scariest costumes for your children (and parents if you so wish) to dress up in. Get prepared with sweets and treats to hand out to all the children about to knock on your door and remember to keep safe!

Remember safety when it comes to fireworks to, we always hear the horror stories after the events so don’t fall victim this year and teach your children the do’s and don’ts of fireworks, it’s always better to be safe than sorry!

We have a fabulous issue lined up for you all this month with a meet and greet interview with celebrity Dr Ranj from the hit CBeebies show Get Well Soon as well as two main features this month being SID’s (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and Car Seat Safety, something many of us take for granted. We have amazing competitions up for grabs including a family trip to Camp Beaumont in either the Kent or Isle of Wight Campus (it’s an all-inclusive trip for 1 child only excluding travel there and back). Don’t forget to visit our website to enter all the competitions currently available, competitions will close on the 1st October, so email me for your chance to win!

Big News: As from January, Baby Buzz Magazine will become a bi-monthly publication. It will also be bigger and more jam=packed with lots of information, editorials and celebrity interviews and top tips on travel, shopping essentials and so much more! Wishing you all a fabulous October.

Nickie xx Front Page Photography Credits: www.jonathanstocktonphotography.com

A warm welcome to gorgeous little ones born recently Finance - Getting your accounts in order

ROCKET LAWYER

Legal advice - Taking in a Lodger

PARENTS IN BUSINESS

Meet the parents behind the brand

THE DADS NETWORK

Cos Dad’s have babies too!

BABY BUZZ MEETS...

Dr Ranj from CBeebies ‘Get Well Soon’

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JM HERBALIST - Q&A

Your questions answered!

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MICHELLE ESHKERI - PARENT PARTNER I’m a baby - Get me out of here!

ALLERGY UK

Indoor Allergies - how to deal with them

Peter Andre & Emily MacDonagh Support the Flu Vaccine

OOLONG - ABI ADAMS

Self acceptance and all that goes with it!

CAR SEAT SAFETY

Top tips to keep your children safe and the latest products on the market.

22 FERTILITY HEALTH:

The 360 degree approach - Dr Geeta Nargund 24 HALLOWEEN

Keeping your family safe this halloween 78 REAL LIFE STORIES

Young Mum Loses 9 Stone and Gains a New Life

Providing women with the opportunity to train in something they feel passionate about

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BIRTH ROCKS ACADEMY

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BABY BUZZ PRODUCT REVIEWS

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GET GARDENING - WITH DAWN ISAAC

The latest products for parents and children including the best in family cars, baby essentials, fashion & lifestyle and books for the family.

Gardening fun for all the family!

81 COMPETITIONS

More amazing competitions to be won!

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Welcome to the World...

Jesse River Hawk Knight

Charlie Lennox Harrison-Chu.

D.O.B: 11 August 14 Weight: 8lb 12oz

D.O.B: 21 August 14 Weight: 6lbs 8oz

Parents: Anouska & Jamie Knight

Parents: Jessica Chu & Ben Harrison

Isaac Jacob Ewen D.O.B: 21 August 14 Weight: 5lb 3oz Parents: Helen & Mark Ewen

Eliza Sandra Joan Brigden

Lillie Sheila Evans D.O.B: 13 August 14 Weight: 8lb 13 oz Parents: Anna & Spencer Evans

Mabel Bonnie Beattie D.O.B: 31 August 14 Weight: 8lb 4oz Parents: Karen & Ben Beattie

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D.O.B: 16 September 14 Weight: 7lb 2oz Parents: Nancy Chambers & Kieran Brigden

BlakeWeston D.O.B: 23 August 14 Weight: 7lb 4oz Parents: Charlotte & Benjamin

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Parents In Business

Parents & Business The Parents & Business section focuses on exactly that, being a parent and running a business! There are so many businesses that are run by people who juggle parenting with work every day and so each month we sing their praises and give them a great big mention.

If you’d like to be featured in this section and give your business a shout out, contact me today: Photography by Venture Photography

Increasing numbers of parents are starting their own business. While going it alone can be exciting, new business owners can feel overwhelmed by the accounting and tax requirements of their new enterprise. This month, committee member Joanne Williams who runs her own business from home offering tax and accounting advice to small and growing businesses, gives us some top tips on how to get on the right financial track from the outset.

Business Structure: The best business structure for your business will depend upon your particular circumstances. A good starting point is to choose the least complicated and/or most tax efficient structure. Operating as a sole trader is the simplest approach – as soon as you start selling goods or services you need to register with HM Revenue and Customs (if you leave it too late you will face a fine). A limited company has potential tax advantages but it is more complicated and there are more onerous reporting requirements; as a separate legal structure you need to register with Companies House, file accounts

nickie@babybuzzmagazine.co.uk

and returns annually and submit tax computations to HMRC. A good idea is to prepare a forecast of your projected profits for the first 2 or 3 years of your business and if they are high enough consider setting up a limited company. If in doubt seek professional advice – it is better to get it right from the outset!

Get your recordkeeping right from the very beginning: You can’t run your business properly if you don’t know how much money have spent, what you have spent it on and how much profit you are making. Furthermore, HMRC require all businesses to retain “adequate business and accounting records” for 6 years. Maintaining accounting records is therefore imperative. Simply writing down a list of your transactions in a notebook or in a excel spreadsheet will help you understand how your business is doing.

Keep track of a) who owes you money so that you can chase late payers, b) who you need to pay so that you don’t get into difficulties with suppliers and c) stock that you hold. You might also

want to consider some sort of accounting software deciding on the size of your business. There are lots of options including very basic free packages and cloud based subscription packages.

Know what expenses are tax-deductible for your business: otherwise you might end up paying more tax then you legally need to! Examples of expenses that you can claim for are: costs of working from home if you are a soletrader, telephone and broadband, business mileage, business insurance, website hosting costs, advertising and marketing, legal and accounting fees and ongoing training costs. Make sure you keep good records of your expenses and keep all of your receipts (either original hard copies or electronic scanned versions). It will be much easier to complete your accounts and tax return than if your For more information on Enterprising Mums networking groups or to set up a networking group yourself, please visit www.enterprising-mums.co.uk or tweet us @enterprisemums

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Parents In Business

Author: Mark Edwards, General Manager Rocketlawyer, an online legal service providing families with easy-to-use, professional legal documents and affordable help from specialist lawyers.

The number of families choosing to take in a lodger has almost doubled in the past few years as people are looking for ways to earn extra money.

If you have older children who have flown the nest, whether it be for boarding school, university or on a gap year, leaving you with a spare room available, then taking in a lodger can be a tax efficient way to raise a bit of extra cash and give yourself some company. As long as you do your homework and get the details right, instead of gathering dust, that spare room could be earning you £4,250 a year tax-free if you opt into the government’s ‘Rent a Room’ scheme.

Whether it be friends or strangers, taking in a lodger needn’t be a daunting process – here are some top tips to make it as simple and profitable as possible: •

Taking In a lodger!

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When seeking a lodger, make the most of what your property has to offer, for example, free wi-fi and a garden are great features worth highlighting! There are lots of websites targeted at those looking for a spare room so use them to open up your search.

Once you have found a lodger, do check their proof of identity and request references from employers or previous landlords so you know they are who they say they are.

It will also give you the confidence that they will be able to meet the cost of the room each month.

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Do ensure that both parties are clear on where they stand from the start so misunderstandings don’t happen later down the line. Do this by creating a lodger agreement to cover every eventuality. The contract should cover key points such as how much rent they must pay and how often, the level of deposit (if any) required, areas of the home they can and cannot go, responsibilities on both sides and ending the agreement.

If you plan to let out your room fully furnished, do prepare a detailed inventory of all the items in the room. This is best way to set out the condition of all the items in the room before the lodger moves in and should avoid any dispute when the lodger moves out as to what damage

has been caused to items during their time at the property. Do be sure to include the condition of things such as curtains, carpets, windows and light fittings as well as the furniture.

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Taking in a lodger should be a simple process from the start, so use an affordable online legal service like www.rocketlawyer. co.uk where you can create essential documents for the purpose you require, such as a lodger agreement and inventory form. Better still, sign up to the one-week free trial and create all the documents you need free!

There is further information on the website to guide you through the process step-by-step too.

For more information, please visit us at: www.rocketlawyer.co.uk

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Parents In Business

Who is behind the product?

Me James, my business partner Mathew Carver and of course Milo & Hector! (my two sons) - they had a big say in the initial product and flavour ideas. They obviously loved eating loads of cookies and ice cream!

How did the company get started?

Both Mathew and I saw the idea in the US, namely a very cool brand called CoolHaus, and thought it would work well in the UK What is the company about?

Quite simply, the company is about fun and food, and the combination of the two. It has been a really fun business venture for both Mat and I which we hope will continue to evolve.

What do you hope to achieve?

Sharing our amazing ice cream sandwiches with an many people as possible!

What has been the highlight of starting your own company?

Both Mathew and I own a few businesses between us [Mathew owns ‘The Cheese Truck’ and works with Battersea Pies with James, James also owns Exeter Street Bakery] and whilst that always comes with a bit of a nightmare, I think it’s about the excitement of seeing something work and being enjoyed.

What has been the downside of starting up your own company?

Not having enough hours in the day!

What would your advice be to any parent wanting to start up their own business?

Always do what you are passionate in, and don’t be swayed by trends.

For more information, please contact: james@thisismission.com 07976 769 389 / 0207 845 7800 Twitter: https://twitter.com/miloandhectors

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Advertise with baby buzz from just ÂŁ115...

With over 9,000 views and and downloads online and a printed distribution of 5,000 throughout London, Hertfordshire and Essex, you can get your business seen from just ÂŁ115 for a half page advert!

For more details email nickie@babybuzzmagazine.com 8

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Parents In Business Who is behind the Product?

Husband and wife team Tom and Anna Lloyd are behind Buggi Lights. People have asked what it is like working together and we can honestly say it’s a lot of fun. We never imagined doing something like this – Tom trained as an accountant and I trained as a journalist so we weren’t obvious colleagues – but once we’d had the idea of putting lights on your pushchair and making them cute, and once we saw the reaction our first samples had, we knew we both had to get behind it.

How did the company get started?

It all started two years ago in the hazy, sleep deprived days after our son was born. Sam was a lively newborn who preferred – if at all possible – to remain awake.

I was one of those mums you see walking around in the late afternoon with a buggy, ashen faced and bewildered. Sam’s birthday is October 1st so I had pretty much the whole winter ahead of me and we never got out of the house until three or four o’clock, by which time the day was fading. We live in south London and I didn’t feel safe crossing the street with the black buggy in the dark, especially as I had to push it in front of me. I began with a bike light strapped to the basinet and so many people stopped me to ask where I got it that I realised there would be demand for specially made lights. It was Tom’s idea to make them ladybirds and we went from there.

What is the company about?

Providing good quality, reliable lights for parents who want to feel that bit safer when they are out and about with their children. Right from the beginning it has been important to us that the lights were fun and easy to use.

What do you hope to achieve?

We genuinely believe that pushchairs are safer with lights on - especially in the winter in this country.

People are driving faster and faster, the roads are busier and with school runs and late nursery pickups most people have no choice but to take pushchairs out after dusk. We aim for Buggi Lights to become a well known brand and for everyone to want lights on their buggies.

What has been the highlight of starting your own company?

Signing up to work with Hippychick was a big highlight – they now distribute Buggi Lights in the UK – and seeing our lights go up on the Mothercare website was amazing too. But probably the biggest highlight has been going to baby shows, meeting customers face to face and seeing their reactions to the lights. Ooh, and sitting down next someone with Buggi Lights on their pushchair in a café. That was fun.

What has been the downside of starting your own company?

Running Buggi Lights has been exciting and it is hard to think of a downside. The only part I have found really difficult has been leaving Sam. I know I would have had to leave him a lot more if I’d gone back to my job, but that hasn’t made being away from him any easier.

For more information please contact: Website: www.buggilights.com Email: hello@buggilights.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Buggi-Lights/319343711541617 Twitter: twitter.com/BuggiLights

What would your advice be to any parent wanting to start up their own business?

Enjoy it, because if you’re not you have to ask yourself why you are doing it. You are never really off duty and the road is a long one so you have to love it. At the risk of sounding clichéd, I would also say you have to trust your instincts – there are so many decisions to make and no one but you to make them. But if your inner voice is telling you to go for something, then do it!

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Parents In Business

For more information please contact: Website: www.sweetdreamers.co.uk Email: lynda@sweetdreamers.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/EwanTheDreamSheepUK Twitter: twitter.com/ewanandfriends

Who is behind the Product?

SweetDreamers, the brand behind the infamous and multi award winning ewan the dream sheep sleep aid, has just unveiled the newest member to its Dream Team. Introducing Russell, the dream sheepdog, who is taking the baton from ewan, as he em’barks’ on a mission to be the ultimate bedtime companion for toddlers. This issue, Baby Buzz speaks to Lynda Harding, the mum of six behind the much loved brand that offers parents the precious gift of sleep.

How did the company get started?

When my sixth child, Bradley was born, he cried constantly and it was a nightly struggle to settle him to sleep…a struggle that went on until he was two and a half years old! I tried everything to soothe him off to sleep, yet oddly enough I discovered that one of the most reliable ways was to dim the lights, switch on the vacuum cleaner and rock him while he was in his cot ... he would be asleep within minutes! Now that’s all well and good, but who wants to start vacuuming at 2am? So I scoured shops and the internet for any products that would replicate these conditions and quickly realised that there was nothing suitable out there. I was determined to invent a range of products that would not only help soothe restless babies and toddlers, but also promote the formation of a healthy sleep pattern, so everyone could benefit from a good night’s rest. For the next few years I researched the problem as deeply as possible, canvassing valuable input from sleep experts, university departments and medical professionals. I also consulted with the baby care industry and product design teams and, of course, surveyed many parents with young babies. At last, after a 7-year gestation, our SweetDreamers product range was born.

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What is the company about?

Transforming sleep time into a happy, safe and rewarding experience for all.

What do you hope to achieve?

Our finished products have been meticulously designed and researched with the help of experts and after all this time, they really are a dream come true! I hope that our SweetDreamers sleep products will make a ‘Dream Come True’ for all our customers, especially if they have their own little Bradley to contend with.

What has been the highlight of starting your own company?

Being able to be my own boss and actually getting to see my ideas develop from a concept through to an physical product on the shelf - so exciting and rewarding.

What has been the downside of starting your own company?

Hours can be unbelievably long, especially when launching a new product - but it’s all worth it in the end and you don’t even tend to notice you’re burning the ‘midnight oil’ because you are so focussed. Juggling time between family and business can be challenging too.

What would your advice be to any parent wanting to start up their own business?

Research your potential market thoroughly, explore every avenue for funding, get all the help you can get from experts and always remember to double or even treble what you think everything is going to cost! Enjoy every minute of your journey!

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Parents In Business Who is behind the Product?

I personally select and research everything we sell. The collection is curated from all over the world, with one thing at the heart of it - happy kids with style. We love bold and colourful products that allow kids to have fun in everyday life.

How did the company get started?

The Dandy Kid launched and became a reality back in February 2014 when a friend offered me a space above her gallery. Since becoming a parent I’ve always been passionate about kids clothing, finding the right gifts, toys and home ware, so it has always really interested me. I’d always been keen to start my own business as well. My background is in youth marketing (alcohol brands, entertainment and music) which was brilliant fun before kids, but I wanted to be able to run my own agenda and work it around them, so it seemed like the natural next step. We launched the website in June, so it’s early days but the response we’ve had has been really overwhelming and encouraging.

What is the company about?

The Dandy Kid is all about ‘happy kids with style’. We believe that kids shouldn’t grow old before their time, and fun should be at the heart of everything they do. We have a large global collection of quality products and everything I select has a little ‘quirk’ about it.

What do you hope to achieve?

As I said it’s early days right now, we launched the website three months ago and the response has been great. We have some development plans in the pipeline for our own line of products as well. It’s very organic right now and we are learning so much as we grow.

What has been the highlight of starting your own company?

The lovely feedback we receive from customers never ceases to please and amaze me. From a comment on Instagram to a customer in the shop, it’s so rewarding when people actually understand what we are doing. We also won an award for best children’s shop within three months of opening which gave us a real boost, as well as that all-important recognition from within the industry.

For more information, please contact: Website: www.thedandykid.com Instagram: thedandykid Facebook: www.facebook.com/thedandykid Twitter: @thedandykid

What has been the downside of starting your own company?

Lack of time! I think starting your own business is pretty much like having an extra child. There is never enough time to do what you need to do, so you just have to try your best with the time you do have and think clearly and cleverly.

What would your advice be to any parent wanting to start up their own business?

Make sure you have a passion for what you are doing as you will be living and breathing it every day. If you don’t have it, don’t do it.

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Parents In Business Who is behind the Product?

Right now it’s just me, Eve Tudor and I’m the product. I find that people are buying into what I can do for them to help them with their business.

How did the company get started?

I started the company because I’d realised that I was doing it without thinking. I’d taken on someone that I guess I realised was a client because I wanted to get involved with a community project which turned into my being very visible in what I was doing and it was so much fun. More clients contacted me as they were enjoying what I was doing and I realised that this was a viable business so I very quickly set it up officially to keep going. I’ve not looked back.

What is the company about?

I like to think that the company is about helping people to help themselves. On the most basic level I either teach people how to use social media to help them run their own business or I do it for them as they simply don’t have the time to either learn it or do it themselves. Some people don’t want to know how to do it but realise its importance so ask me to help. Those that really want to learn how to do it themselves think that I empower them in a way. I teach them to do things in their every day to change how they are seen. I’m very much about being organic in your social media and community based too.

What do you hope to achieve?

What I want to achieve is a balance. I love the fact that I can do this job around my children and that I’m also really teaching other people to enjoy a part of their business that they either didn’t understand or really wanted to but it sounded like “Swahili” apparently. It’s really nice to be a part of someone’s business too as although I run my own I get taken in by those that need me to get on with it myself and I enjoy that too in a very different way. In so many ways this job is so rewarding.

What has been the highlight of starting your own company?

I guess getting paid for doing something that I do every day anyway.

For the most part I can do it anywhere (except for the website building) but I really enjoy working for myself. I’m not really made to work for someone else I never enjoyed it and I’ve always known that I wanted to start my own business I just didn’t realise it was going to be this till I was already doing it. And I love it.

What has been the downside of starting your own company?

I think that unless you network it can be really lonely sometimes depending on what you do. I do have to keep in contact with my clients regularly so it’s quite nice. But to be honest I am enjoying the quiet right now but I definitely go through patches. Sometimes the quiet is deafening and that’s when I know it’s time to make appointments and meet new clients. Then go for a walk.

What would your advice be to any parent wanting to start up their own business?

In all honesty make sure that you all have food on the table at the end of the day. Even if it’s fish fingers. I don’t need to tell you that the kids come first but if you have a dream don’t sell yourself short. What kind of life will you lead for yourself if you don’t try and what does that tell your children about being the person they want to be. Yes my kids will see both their parents working hard every day for a while but we are here with them and enjoying every minute!

For more information, please visit: Website: www.popthemoon.com Email: eve@popthemoon.com Mobile: 07521 679 142 Twitter: @poppingmoon Facebook: www.facebook.com/MoonPopMarketing

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Celebrity Focus

When Baby Buzz Magazine met .....

Dr Ranj

Did you always want to be a Doctor?

Actually, when I was very young, like most kids I wanted to be an astronaut! Eventually, I settled on being a doctor because of my love of science and trying to work out what made things tick.

I must admit, I was a bit sceptical when I first thought about it as I wasn’t always very academic, but luckily the hard work paid off!

What has been the funniest moment you’ve experienced?

There are too many to remember! Fortunately, working in Paediatrics means that you have to have a sense of humour and I always enjoy a good chuckle. I still remember a small chid breaking wind really loudly in the middle of a ward round - stuff like that cracks me up!

How did you get involved with CBeebies Get Well Soon?

I’d been doing bits and pieces here and there on TV for several years, mainly in a ‘medical advisor’ capacity. However, I really wanted to sink my teeth into a project properly. One day, I had a meeting with an agent and she gave me some really good advice, and it led to me coming up with the concept of Get Well Soon. Luckily, I knew just the right people to help me take it forward and a year later it was commissioned by the BBC. Have you any new TV appearances / features lined up?

I’m always trying to think of new ideas and work up new projects. Currently, I work on ITV This Morning, BBC Watchdog and Channel 5 News as well as my day job in hopsital, so that keeps me quite busy. I have a film coming up for BBC Inside Out and a few more potential items in the pipeline (fingers crossed!). I also have two children’s books coming out in Spring next year.

In your opinion, what makes Braun stand out from other manufacturers?

Overall, it’s the quality and reliability. Those are characteristics that you really want in a piece of kit like a thermometer,

because you want to be able to trust it. In fact, Braun products are often used in healthcare settings because of those very reasons.

Why should parents always have a thermometer as part of their essential medical kit?

Fever is the single most common reason for presentation to a healthcare professional. In the vast majority of cases, it’s down to a self-limiting illness that isn’t serious, but it’s important for parents to know when to seek help. Therefore, it’s essential that parents are able to measure it properly and know how to interpret it, to avoid unnecessary worry and to give them confidence to seek help when necessary.

You work in a London hospital, how on earth do you juggle everything from TV appearances, day time work and press events?

I work really hard! In fact, I’ve just finished a bunch of night shifts which was really tiring! I really lucky to be able to maintain my clinical career alongside my media work, and the two are extremely important to me. I’ve learned to divide my time up between my various roles and have managed to achieve just the right balance. It’s a lot of work, but I love it!

Do you have any advice for children who wish to follow your path and become a Doctor?

Go for it! It’s one of the best jobs in the world. You have to work hard, but it’s so much fun and never boring Also, don’t ever be put off by people saying you have to be really clever - if you work hard and give it your best shot like I did, you can do it too!

For more information on the latest products from Braun, please visit: www.brauntherms.com/

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Family Focus

INTRODUCING THE BRITISH-MADE 1ST POSITION DANCEWEAR RANGE FOR CHILDREN! includes a choice of leotard styles, as well as a selection of shorts and tights. Designed by former dance teacher Anne Walker and her team and manufactured in the UK, 1st Position dancewear can be worn for both classes and examinations.

The range also features a selection of British-made show costumes.

All made in the UK, 1st Position dancewear offers a range of high quality leotards, skirts, dresses, warm-ups and much more, for boys and girls aged 4-14.

1st Position leotards for girls are available in over 30 different styles and an assortment of colours, including the official uniforms for many UK dance associations. Also available is a selection of skirts, tops, shorts, jazz pants and accessories.

1st Position is the official uniform manufacturer and supplier to many of the UK’s dance associations including: The Royal Ballet School, English National Ballet School, British Ballet Organisation (BBO), Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD), International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA), UKA Dance (UKA) and National Association of Teachers of Dancing (NATD.) 1st Position was founded in 1978, when young dance teacher Anne Walker began making leotards for her students – frustrated with the lack of high quality, affordable dancewear available.

The full 1st Position range can be purchased at www.danceandshop.com

The 1st Position range for boys

Help save the rare Shrill Carder Bee from extinction!

Invest in a Bee Wheelybug for your 1-3 year old in a Bee Design and you’ll be helping to save the rare Shrill Carder Bee from extinction. Hippychick will be giving a percentage of the proceeds of Christmas sales of the Bee Wheelybug to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, a national charity devoted to raising awareness of the plight of Bumblebees.

The Trust is running a local project on the Somerset Levels where the Hippychick HQ is based, designed to bring this particular species of bumblebee back from the brink.

The Wheelybug Bees will be delivered for Christmas complete with activity sheets designed to encourage children from a young age to develop an appreciation of the humble bumble and the vital role that bees play in our lives.

The Bee Wheelybug retails at £59.95 (suitable for ages 1-3) and £69.95 (suitable for ages 2-5) and is available from www.hippychick.com

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Celebrity Focus

FEARNE COTTON ANNOUNCED AS AMBASSADOR FOR TESCO MUM OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2015 Fearne Cotton, popular TV and radio presenter, has been named Ambassador of the Tesco Mum of the Year Awards 2015. The mum of one will help find and celebrate inspirational mums from all over the UK, who have made a difference to the lives of others. Ambassador Fearne is encouraging the public to nominate the most deserving mums in the UK, who will be celebrated at a star-studded, red carpet event in London on Sunday 1st March 2015.

Commenting on the new ambassador,Tesco Mum of the Year Manager, Debbie Chernin, said: “Fearne felt like the perfect fit for our 10th anniversary year ambassador. Mainly because her involvement in a variety of charity projects, over the past few years, has been immense. She has done everything from presenting Children in Need to climbing Kilimanjaro, for Comic Relief, trekking along the Inca Trail, for Breast Cancer Care, and cycling the length of the UK, for Sport Relief – Fearne supports a wealth of truly important causes. On top of all that she manages to juggle being mum, to one-year-old Rex, with her many work projects, including radio and TV presenting and designing her own clothing and makeup range. She really is a huge personality with a great amount of care for others.”

Celebrating its 10th Anniversary year, the Tesco Mum of the Year Awards set out to celebrate the wonderful things mums do.

Tesco and Fearne are looking for those who help out in their local communities, raise money for charity, campaign for what they believe in and help those less fortunate than themselves. Since the start of the event, 10 years ago, Tesco has made awards to over 80 mums and been privy to thousands of stories of heroism, selflessness, courage and achievement.

“Each year we find more and more remarkable mums and discover more amazing achievements and successes,” said Debbie Chernin. “And each year we are overwhelmed by the sheer hard work, determination and passion of ordinary mums who achieve extraordinary things for others.”

Speaking of her Ambassador role, Fearne said: “It is a real honour to be chosen to act as an Ambassador for such an amazing campaign. There are so many inspirational mums out there who do such wonderful things for others and don’t realise just how special they are! I am very excited to be part of the 10th year anniversary for the Awards and to help give these incredible mums the recognition and appreciation they deserve.” Voting closed on the 5th September so keep watching our Twitter and Facebook pages as well as our website www.babybuzzmagazine. com to see you the well deserved winners are.

How do you feel to be ambassador for the Tesco Mum of the Year Awards?

It is a real honour to be chosen to act as an Ambassador for such an amazing campaign. There are so many inspirational mums out there who do such wonderful things for others and don’t realise just how special they are! I am very excited to be part of the 10th year anniversary for the Awards and to help give these incredible mums the recognition and appreciation they deserve.

Describe your parenting style in three words.

Lack of whites (never wear white with a baby…you’ll do more costume changes than Lady Gaga in a day)

What’s the most surprising thing about being a mum?

I think I underestimated the juggling you have to do. I love being a mum more than anything so as soon as that gorgeous baby comes into your life everything takes a back seat to being a parent. That’s when the juggling truly comes in to play, keeping your work and creativity going whilst doing the best job you can as a mum.

What’s the toughest thing about being a mum?

Leaving my son to go to work. I try and keep a good life work balance but it’s always an emotional battle.

What’s the best advice you’d give to other mums?

I don’t like to give too much advice as everyone likes to do things their own way and only a mum knows how to keep their baby happy. Always follow your gut because you know your own child more than anyone else.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received about being a mum?

I think just to enjoy every step of the way and really take notice and embrace every phase as it all goes so quickly. My son is now so big and running around and chatting away and those initial baby days feel like so long ago. Enjoy it all.

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Health & Wellbeing

Q & A WITH J M HERBALIST Dear Joanne

that someothing keeps cropping up which is just a little too ‘binding’. In the meantime, ensure she has plenty of fibre in her diet, fruit and veg is really important and a few prunes are a good way of keeping things moving naturally.

Water plays a massive role here so ensure she’s always well hydrated to help soften the stools. I’m also a massive fan of a good probiotic, I can suggest several suitable products but natural live yoghurts are always a great way of getting a good number and range of bacteria (so long as she can tolerate dairy). I would suggest avoiding probiotic supplements which are full of sugar as they won’t be as effective.

My daughter is 8 years old and gets relly constipated. I have been to the gp several times and they can’t find anything wrong and gave us laxatives to use on a long term basis. I didn’t want to use them but she was in so much pain and so upset that I have done. I felt bad for having to resort to that but I didn’t know what else to do. Is there anything you can suggest please?

Thanks Debby Hi Debby First of all, please don’t feel bad about using the laxatives; your daughter was in pain, you did the right thing.

There may be other factors involved, which we can discuss and work through, but do start with the simple ideas I have suggested here and hopefully we can help keep things moving for your daughter

I do think that longer term we can make some dietary changes to help avoid having to take them on a daily basis though. What I’d like to do first is to get you to fill in a diet diary for your daughter - she may well have an intolerance or it could be Tel: 07729 891 083 Email: info@jmherbalist.co.uk Website: www.jmherbalist.co.uk

Joanne xxx | |

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jmherbalist Twitter: www.twitter.com/JMHerbalist

Scottish school girl wins Britain-wide design challenge Start-rite Shoes’ ‘Design a Shoe’ competition searched Britain for its next designer and found the talents of young Katie Donovan, aged 11, from Dunbar to be the perfect fit!

Katie designed a pair of canvas shoes covered in brightly coloured footprints which Startrite found to be a great match for its stylish and energetic brand.

As part of her prize Katie wins a real pair of shoes donning the design, alongside £300 for Dunbar Primary School where she was a former pupil. Eleven year old Katie has just started at Dunbar Grammar School but she came back to Dunbar Primary School this morning to receive her prize from Start-rite and Living Streets.

Start-rite Shoes ran the innovative competition in partnership with Living Streets, the national charity that stands up for pedestrians, and encourages more children to walk to school through its Walk once a Week (WoW) scheme. WoW encourages over 300,000 children to get walking across the UK, increases walking to primary school by 26%, and can cut driving by more than a third. As part of the competition prize package Dunbar Primary School will be awarded with 1 term’s worth of Walk to School resources. Judges considered a short list of hundreds of entries, received from youngsters across Britain, but Katie’s eye-catching design really stood out. Speaking on behalf of

Start-rite, Eve Davies, Start-rite brand director said, ‘What we liked about Katie’s design was the use of colour and vibrant imagination that had gone into the process. We challenge our own designers to surprise us each year, and these shoes had exactly the sort of design we are always looking for. It was great for us to celebrate our partnership with Living Streets, encouraging children to walk to school and bringing their ideas to life. We thank each and every child for taking part.’

Commenting about her design Katie said, ‘I feel really pleased and excited to have won the competition, I enjoy drawing so I loved doing my entry. My design was inspired by my dog Lottie who I spend lots of time with and is one of my best friends.

It’s been a lot of fun and I think I would quite like to be a shoe designer now. I can’t wait to show off my shoes with my own design to all my friends and family’.

Dunbar Primary School Head teacher, Helen Gillanders, said, ‘We’re really proud of Katie and her developing talents in art and design. It’s a great achievement to win a national award. We have chatted and agreed that we will spend the money on new IT equipment.’

For more information visit http://www.start-rite. co.uk/wowdesignashoe/ or www.Facebook.com/ StartriteShoes.

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Health & Wellbeing

I’m A Baby – Get Me Out Of Here!

Almost without exception, one of the first questions people ask parents-to-be is, “When’s the baby due?” We live in such a fast paced society where time is money that we have become fixated on schedules and making sure things happen by deadlines. Babies, generally, don’t tend to read the project plan though and only around 5% will come “on time” and probably none of them “on budget”.

As so many babies don’t arrive on the official EDD (expected due date), perhaps we should consider adjusting the expectations by having a due fortnight or due month even. For women and their partners at the end of pregnancy, the waiting can be very difficult, especially if friends and family are constantly on the phone asking “Is the baby here yet?” Women become very fed up with the discomforts of late pregnancy and their thoughts can turn to induction of labour in the last few days.

So how is the EDD calculated and what are the potential impacts of inaccuracies? The EDD is calculated according to a formula created by a German scientist Franz Naegele in 1806.

He calculated that 280 days should be added to the first day of the last menstrual period to predict the due date of the baby. However research has shown that only a small number arrive on the EDD, with over 80% of babies being born within 2 weeks of the EDD. Naegele’s rule failed to take into account the fact that not all women will have the same length of menstrual cycle, nor will they all ovulate on the same day (day 14) of the month.

The impact of this for some women could be quite dramatic. Supposing you are someone who has 35 day cycles rather than the textbook 28 day ones and you actually ovulate on day 23 instead of day 14. Let’s work out the EDD using Naegele’s rule if the last menstrual period was on 1st December 2013. The EDD would work out as 7th September, using an estimated ovulation date of 15th December.

If, however, you knew that you didn’t conceive until 23rd December, a more accurate EDD would be calculated by adding 266 days to the ovulation date, giving 15th September as the big day. Hospital induction policies vary by trust but women are usually offered induction at 40w+10d or 40w+12d. Using an EDD of 7th September, the hospital would be offering induction at around 18th-20th September, when in reality the baby may not be ready to be born. It is therefore important to try to correct any errors you feel there may be with your EDD. Hospital scans have shown to be a fairly good predictor of gestational age but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will help you to work out when the baby will come. It is not known exactly what triggers labour to start, but rising levels of a hormone called oxytocin are responsible for creating the contractions which thin and open the cervix and help the uterus push the baby out into the world.

Oxytocin, the love hormone, is released when women are relaxed, feel safe, comfortable and have privacy. It is squashed, however, by adrenaline, the fight or flight hormone, which is released when we are tense, scared or anxious. As a pregnant women’s due date draws near, the best approach is for her and

those close to her to remain as relaxed as possible and try not to get stressed about when labour will start. This, of course, is easier said than done. Women often ask about “natural” methods of bringing on labour.

There are many things women try but few have been tested to any degree and more research needs to be done. It is hard to say with certainty whether any intervention in the process has an impact on starting labour or not – the woman may have been going into labour anyway.

Common suggestions for bringing on labour: • Food/supplements include hot curry, pineapple, raspberry leaf tea and fresh dates.

• A small research study in 2011 [1] concluded that consumption of date fruit in the last 4 weeks before labour significantly reduced the need for medical induction and augmentation of labour. There is no clinical evidence supporting the other methods.

• Activities such as bouncing on a birth ball, walking, intercourse, nipple stimulation, female orgasm.

• Again, NICE does not recommend any of these methods for helping to kickstart labour. However, that does not necessarily mean that they may not be helpful in individual cases. Anything which promotes oxytocin levels and helps to get the baby in an optimal birthing position may help to start things off.

• Alternative/holistic treatments such as acupuncture and reflexology.

• These may be helpful in enabling the women to relax, promoting oxytocin release. NICE guideline does not recommend any form of holistic therapy for the induction of labour Medical induction of labour • Women who are offered an induction of labour should have the process, benefits and considerations explained to them in advance of the procedure so that they are making a fully informed decision. They should not be co-erced into accepting an induction for being overdue, when they and their baby are well, if they would rather wait for spontaneous labour to begin.

There are 2 ways in which a healthcare professional can induce a labour: 1.

2.

Membrane sweep is offered to first-time mothers at 41weeks gestation or 40w for second/subsequent babies.

A hormone pessary or gel to soften the cervix and “ripen” it for labour.

Benefits of induction: • Prevention of prolonged pregnancy which may increase the risk of stillbirth after 42 weeks of pregnancy • Parental frustration in late pregnancy is reduced

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Considerations: • Medical induction can be very slow (the process can take days) • Induced labour can be more painful leading to increased need for pain relief • Continuous fetal monitoring will be used initially after induction (following a normal heartbeat pattern, this can be reduced to intermittent monitoring).

Continuous monitoring may lead to reduced ability of the women to move around and increased risk of assisted or caesarean birth.

• Induction for first-time mothers may be associated with an increased risk of assisted or caesarean birth. More current research is needed in this area.

Alternative to induction - Wait it out!

Your baby will be born when it is ready to be born and providing you are feeling well and your baby is well, continuing to move in the uterus and its behaviour patterns remain consistent, then an option is to continue to wait for labour to start spontaneously. The hospital will offer twice-weekly monitoring of the babies heartbeat and the depth of the amniotic fluid to assess wellbeing.

Some women are happy to remain pregnant for more than 42weeks whilst others are chomping at the bit to meet their newborn as soon as possible. However, it should be remembered that many of the baby’s organs are not fully mature at birth, so trying to bring on labour before 40 weeks may not be the best thing for your baby. At the end of the day, the decision about when your baby will be born rests with nature if you opt to wait for spontaneous labour and any choice to intervene with a medical induction always, always, remains that of the mother.

[1] Al-Kuran O1, Al-Mehaisen L, Bawadi H, Beitawi S, Amarin Z. (2011) ‘The effect of late pregnancy consumption of date fruit on labour and delivery’ J Obstet Gynaecol. 31(1):29-31.

This article was written by Michelle Eshkeri, director & founder of Parent Partner, a Barnetbased company which provides private and NCT group courses as well as tailored individual birth and parenting coaching sessions and baby/child first aid sessions.

If you would like to find out about options for antenatal education and support , please email info@parentpartner.co.uk, or visit www.parentpartner.co.uk or call Michelle on: 07789 928530

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Health & Wellbeing

We often associate allergic conditions with foods, and this is understandable as we hear so much about things like peanut allergy or cow’s milk allergy.

However we don’t often think about conditions that are caused by the type of allergens found in the home such as house dust mite, moulds and pet allergens. This is even more important at this time of year when we spend more time indoors.

The common symptoms associated with allergic rhinitis are an itchy nose, red eyes, watery discharge from the nose and/ or eyes, a blocked nose and sneezing. There are two types of allergic rhinitis; seasonal allergic rhinitis or hay fever, caused by pollens and perennial allergic rhinitis caused by exposure to what we call ‘indoor allergens’.

Perennial allergic rhinitis is incredibly common in young children, and it can easily be mistaken for a cold that just doesn’t seem to clear up. Another symptom that can develop as a result of perennial allergic rhinitis is sinusitis, where the cavities in the skull near to the cheek bones and eye brows become filled with fluid (they are normally filled with air), leading to pain and discomfort and occasionally infection.

Young children can also be at risk of developing glue ear as a complication of sinusitis because the tubes connecting the throat and ears are in close contact and become blocked, leading to ear symptoms such as pain and temporary hearing loss.

Allergic eczema is another condition that effects many young children. Atopic eczema involves inflammation of the skin with intense itching, reddening, dryness, blistering and scaling, and it is well established that children with the genetic predisposition to develop allergies, known as atopy, will have both atopic eczema, asthma and allergic rhinitis.

Fighting Indoor Allergens

One of the most common causes of allergic rhinitis, asthma and eczema is the house dust mite. It thrives in the warmth and humidity found in modern homes. Our beds provide the ideal environment for the house dust mite to thrive, with a constant supply of our shed skin cells (their food source), water from our sweat, expired breath, and warmth. They also find skin cells and other proteins to eat in carpets, upholstered furniture, fabrics and cuddly toys.

If your child is showing symptoms such as a constant runny nose; is sneezy, or wheezy and if their symptoms seem worse at night or first thing in the morning, it may be that they are allergic to the house dust mite. Also if there are allergies in the close family, there is a much greater likelihood that a child will also develop allergies and it may be worth speaking to your GP. It is of course possible that they may be allergic to other airborne allergens like moulds, or allergens from your pet cat or dog.

There are lots of things that you can do within the home to help avoid the house dust mite allergen if your child is allergic, but you should always have this confirmed by an allergy specialist as thorough house dust mite avoidance needs an extensive regime to be fully effective, and this would not be necessary unless an allergy has been confirmed.

For more information on avoiding indoor allergens and allergic conditions in childhood go to www.allergyuk.org

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5OZ BOTTLE

WORTH £7.50!

THE PERFECT BOTTLE TO HELP BREASTFEEDING MUMS!

Say hello to yoomi… the clever little bottle created by parents for parents to help breastfeeding mums and mums who express.

Voted best bottle by parents in the Loved by Parents Awards, yoomi’s award winning range of BPA-free bottles have just made switching between breast and bottle-feeding even easier. With a specially designed breast-like, super soft teat to promote easy latch-on and six anti-colic vents to reduce the likelihood of colic, yoomi is the most gentle way to introduce a first bottle to your baby.

Need to warm your baby’s feed on the go? Then team up your yoomi bottle with yoomi’s clever warmer & pod (RRP £16), half price with this offer, for the complete yoomi Feeding System! The ingenious yoomi warmer warms your baby’s feed to perfect breast milk temperature in just 60 seconds… at the touch of a button!

Get your FREE yoomi bottle and HALF PRICE warmer & pod today!

HOW TO CLAIM Visit yoomi.com and add the 5oz yoomi bottle to your basket, then enter BUZZ14 at the checkout.

You will just be charged £2.99 p&p In addition, you’ll receive a 50% off voucher against your first yoomi warmer & pod too!!

WHAT MUMS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT YOOMI… “yoomi made the transition from breast to bottle possible” Carys, mum to Isla “Not having to worry about the temperature makes things so much easier” Kelly, mum to Lily

Terms and conditions: *£2.99 postage required. Limited availability, one per customer, first 200 customers only. UK customers only. Offer closes 11.59pm, 10th November 2014. Promoter yoomi, Unit 14, iO Centre, Seymour Street, London, SE18 6SX.

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Looking for the perfect baby gift?

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Gifts are created to the highest standard and presented in a beautiful keepsake gift box, as extravagant nappy cakes, unique clothing bouquets or cupcakes. Whether you are looking for a unique gift for a friend’s baby shower, employee, colleague or client, you will find a gorgeous selection of luxury gifts to choose from.

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Health & Wellbeing Trying to start a family can be a challenge, and falling pregnant is a stressful and complex issue for some. While scientific and technological advances are impressive, when seeking to optimise fertility, we must recognise that science alone cannot guarantee success. Taking care of your health is key in supporting the body to produce the healthiest eggs or sperm. Approaching fertility in a 360 degree manner is crucial to ensuring you give yourself the highest possible chance of falling pregnant.

Fertility health:

the 360 degree approach

Lifestyle factors, from age and nutrition to environmental and occupational exposures, must be considered due to their potential to substantially affect fertility. Studies have shown that smoking (even passive smoking) may reduce fertility and even promote early menopause, while limiting alcohol intake to no more than 5 units a week is highly beneficial. Similarly, being over or underweight can make periods irregular or even stop them altogether, and thus greatly affect chances of conceiving. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine has also found that obesity is associated with decreased fertility and increased risk of miscarriages. As well as taking notice of what goes into our body, exercise, being active and positive are all important factors.

Recent research from Australia looked at fertility and lifestyle - including factors such as stress - and how individual lifestyle assessments and support may help couples to conceive. Taking time out for yourself is an important step to ensure your health and welfare, and thus mood and mindset, are optimal.

Male infertility is a contributing factor in up to 50% of cases and the sole cause in about 30% of cases, yet this is rarely reflected in discussion of fertility issues. Men produce brand new sperm every 2 to 3 months, and so their lifestyle in the preceding months Professor Dr Geeta Nargund is Medical Director at CREATE Fertility and Senior Consultant for Reproductive Medicine at St is incredibly important in determining the quality of George’s Hospital, London. sperm. Lifestyle issues such as high alcohol intake, smoking and taking recreational drugs, all negatively affect sperm function. Other factors include anything that contributes to an intermittent increase in scrotal temperature, such as taking hot baths, sitting at a desk or on a sofa for long periods of time, and long distance driving without taking a break.

Finally, in examining the importance of health in IVF it is also imperative that women and couples are aware of Mild (low-drug) and Natural (no drug) IVF treatments. A highly important development in modern fertility treatment, many are still unaware IVF need not involve excessive interference with the female hormonal cycle. Conventional IVF is a prolonged and drug intensive process that temporarily stops a cycle and then jump-starts it with high dose stimulation to mature eggs, potentially resulting in many unpleasant (and even life-threatening) side-effects. Mild and Natural IVF procedures administer minimal or no drugs within the woman’s natural cycle, and focus on quality and not quantity when harvesting eggs for fertilization.

The journey towards starting a family can be tough, but remember to listen to your own body, talk to your doctor, and look to share your experiences with friends and family who can support you when needed.

Create Fertility will this autumn be opening the largest Natural and Mild IVF clinic in Europe, in St. Paul’s London.

Offering only mild stimulation IVF, it will focus firmly on the 360-degree approach to fertility that prioritises health and lifestyle as a central consideration in successful fertility treatment.

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Family Focus

Expert advice on breastfeeding - What all parents need to know.. © Costa007 | Dreamstime.com - Breastfeeding Photo

By: Tess Rendall, Maternity Nanny for Childcare Agency, Tinies A Good latch: Baby’s cheeks should be full and not sucked in, when attached.

Baby has taken most of the Areola into his/her mouth. You shouldn’t see the areola from above. If you can see most of the areola this means that the baby is most likely latched onto the base of the nipple.

Baby is awake when latching on, not asleep. If asleep, delatch, wake baby up, wind baby and then put baby back to breast – fully awake.

Baby has his/ her lips flanged out - not rolled in - detach and latch on again if this is the case.

Baby has tongue down when latching on.

Baby’s ear / shoulder and hip is in line.

Baby has tummy to mummy.

There is no gap between the baby’s chin and the breast - this would indicate a poor latch - detach and latch again.

Feeding: Baby needs to be awake to feed with their eyes open. Active feeding throughout - if baby falls asleep during feed- detach baby and wind baby- then latch on again. Your baby needs to be aware they are feeding.

Baby needs to tongue down when feeding. There is no clicking sound when baby is latched on - a clicking sound when baby is latched would indicate that baby’s tongue is up.

You can see the whole of baby’s jaw line moving when feeding (up to/including the ear.) Just the mouth moving indicates a poor latch - de-latch and start again.

Baby should have a rhythm when feeding – suck, suck, suck, swallow. You should hear the baby swallowing.

It should not hurt or pinch during the feed - this indicates the baby has a poor latch - detach and start again.

Baby should settle well after a feed. If they are waking up within 10/ 15 minutes of being put down, check for wind. Then if rooting around for food again - even though you have just done a full feed - you will need to re-access your latching and attachment. The only time this could potentially not be about incorrect latching and attachment, is possibly a growth spurt.

Try and make the feeds, active feeds.

Winding: Baby does need winding throughout a breast feed as they do get wind.

A baby will fall asleep on their wind during a feed - de- latch baby- wake them up - wind them and then latch again.

Baby has to be ‘rooting’ for you to latch on again after a wind session - if you have not got a burp and they are not ‘looking / rooting’ - chances are they may still have wind.

However if baby is very uncomfortable they will ‘root’ as they are looking for comfort! When you latch them back on, if they fall asleep straight away or pull off crying, chances are it may still be wind.

By Nicki Pope, Maternity Nurse for Childcare Agency, Tinies A good latch is so important. Don’t be afraid to keep taking your baby off and re-latching until you get a good comfortable latch. If a baby isn’t latched on properly they may be distracted at the breast, nipples may feel painful, your breasts may still feel full at end of a feed and the baby may need to fed more often. Seek help from a lactation consultant if feeding is painful.

Perseverance is key, the first few weeks of breast feeding can be very tough. You will feel like you could do with an extra pair of hands to position your baby and breasts with. Many new mums have feelings of guilt if they dread feeding times and are not enjoying feeding when so many articles say it’s the easiest thing in the world. IT DOES GET BETTER. Make a feeding kit bag for what you will need when at home, you can include things like, a refillable water bottle (one with a sports top as can open with one hand) something to read, cereal bars or fruit to snack on, baby nail clippers (it’s an excellent time to trim your baby’s nails once they are relaxed and full of milk), nipple cream, muslins and your phone, that way you shouldn’t have to be up and down during a feed and can relax.

For more information, please contact: www.tinies.com

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Halloween - Special Feature

Get Spooky with Baby Buzz Magazine

“Top tips, advice and ideas for celebrating Halloween with your family and friends�

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Halloween - Special Feature

Halloween & Fancy Dress - The benefits of playing dress up!

Why dressing up may help kids grow up to be better people!

It’s that time of year again where Halloween themed goods are hitting the shops, but for child and adult alike one of the most important things required during Halloween is a good costume.

As children we are encouraged to use our imagination and role play. This might be pretending to be a school teacher and forcing siblings (and stuffed toys) into the dreaded task of pretending to be pupils or as simple as wearing mum or dad’s shoes and imitating them. But why do we enjoy dressing up so much and what are the benefits for the psychological and social well-being of both children and adults?

“There is research to suggest that children who engage in social and dramatic play are able to develop the ability to view situations from the perspectives of others”.

“There is research to suggest that children who engage in social and dramatic play are able to develop the ability to view situations from the perspectives of others”.

Research suggests that dressing up in general actually has many benefits for children as they are able to learn and practice a range of skills through the art of play. More specifically, children are able to develop their cognitive, language (Smith & Pellegrini, 2008) and literacy skills (Ginsburg, 2007; Packer Isenberg & Quisenberry, 2002). Children from an early age are encouraged to dress up, either during nursery or at home through the use of a dressing up box which is filled with a variety of costumes, disguises and accessories. This can often extend to beyond nursery and the home which explains why it is not unusual to see a 3 foot tall Spiderman or fairy during a shopping trip at your local supermarket! Not only does dressing up promote psychological development but it is also important for social development too.

“Halloween allows adults the chance to overcome and escape routine.”

There is research to suggest that children who engage in social and dramatic play are able to develop the ability to view situations from the perspectives of others. This was evident to me last week when watching my own children pretending to be Elsa and Wolverine. Being immersed in their own make believe world they were being creative (creating a world in which Wolverine and Elsa could co-exist), problem solving (how does Wolverine attack the giant snowman to save Elsa) and seeing the world through another’s eyes (what would Elsa do in this situation? NB - it involved lots of dramatic exits and songs)! As well as being lots of fun, dressing up and role play allows children to be more socially competent in a variety of social situations and also to be able to relate to others by developing empathy (Connolly & Doyle, 1984; Sawyer, 2001).

The importance of playing is so integral to the development of a child that the right to play is recognised for all children in the UN convention on the Rights of the child (1989).

Dressing up also has benefits for adults. Wearing costumes during occasions such as Halloween and fancy dress

Joanne Cliff is managing director of Platypus, a West Yorkshirebased agency that specialises in market research among the child, youth and family market with top global brands like Disney and Nickelodeon, national media like channel 4 and CBBC, educational organisations such as Sheffield Hallam and AQA and top children’s brands such as Dry Like Me, start rite and Asda.

Platypus helps clients connect to and understand their audience and guides them in the design and improvement of programmes, adverts, services, brands and products.

parties presents adults with the opportunity to be creative. This healthy outlet is the chance to let go of how we behave in everyday life and take on the persona of someone, or indeed something, else. Sociologist Goffman (1959) argued that we all play a specific role in our daily lives. So in these situations our costumes may be our uniforms or our work clothes.

Therefore, we can argue that Halloween allows adults the chance to overcome and escape routine for just one night.

Furthermore, for many adults Halloween allows the freedom to explore a side of personalities usually kept undercover. The aim for adults is not always to wear the scariest outfit (although it may well be for some) as the point of Halloween is escapism.

Halloween provides the opportunity to be someone else for one night a year be it Wonder woman or Captain Jack Sparrow.

Therefore we believe Halloween is not solely about the ‘scare factor’ for children or adults. It is simply an occasion to explore, be creative and most importantly play! At Platypus we love a fancy dress party – favourite costumes have been Aunt Sally and Worzel Gummidge, Black Mamba from Kill Bill, 70s hippy, Nun and Priest, Punk Rocker and (bizarrely) a fruit salad ghost... and there’s talk of a Dallas inspired Christmas do! So, don’t just leave the dressing up to the kids this Halloween! Find your inner Witch / Zombie / Ghost and have fun!

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Halloween - Special Feature

KEEP THE HORRORS ENTERTAINED THIS HALLOWEEN AT GAMBADO! From walking pumpkins and talking pussycats to terrifying vampires and cackling witches half term horrors are invited to celebrate in scary style at Gambado play and party centres across the UK as they spooktacularly transform. From fancy dress discos, toddler activities and character visits each event provides a totally spooky experience! Check out your local site to see what is in store and book at your own peril!. Visit www.gambado.com or to get more information on your nearest site and all events pop over and like your local facebook page. Ticket prices from £6 per child. Some events include food and drinks.

Gambados venues have been superbly designed to cater for all families and are packed full of variety and innovation. Gambado is the place to allow children to play in a healthy, fun and above all safe environment whilst learning some of the most valuable development, social, risk taking, coordination, educational and creative skills all whilst exercising at the same time! Each site offers a fabulous main frame incorporating different aspects from slides and shoots to ball showers, imagination stations and music zones. There are dedicated toddler zones specifically tailored for 2-3 year olds to aid social interaction, motor skills and play. For the under 2’s sensory areas offer the freedom to learn and explore, great for their dedicated SEN nights also. Selected sites even have dodgems and carousels! You will even find their friendly staff frequently offering professional face-painting, glitter tattoos and balloon modelling (small charge). From time to time Gambado the Tiger and his friends makes an appearance and you can have a cuddle! A selection of sites offer holiday camps and run regular toddler partner classes from acting and dancing to arts and crafts. The café bars offer delicious lattes and scrumptious snacks so parents can kick back whilst their energetic offspring enjoy exercise in disguise. For busy multi-tasking grown-up’s where there is never enough hours in the day take advantage of the complimentary Wi-Fi and bring the office to us or even do the weekly online shop! With their unsurpassable facilities and indoor space birthday parties are hassle free at Gambado.

Magnificent party packages cater for all including Laser Tag, Foam Art Frenzy, Make A Bear, Tiger Tots and the popular Tiger Party; plus selected sites now offer a Starter Party Bag with our bestselling Tiger Party package.

children is super fun and educational whilst parents can rest assured it will be a pleasure not a chore. Gambado was launched in 2005 with the first site in Beckenham. It has grown to a further five sites covering Chelsea, Eastleigh, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Watford with plans to roll out a further. Each site supports a local charity close to them. Opening hours and prices vary depending on each site but in general opening hours are Monday–Sunday 09.3018.00/18.30.

There is a compulsory registration fee for new guests which is between £2.50 - £5.50 per family and is only payable on the first visit in addition to entry fee. Children under 12 months are free across all sites. NonMembers 1-2 years from £3.50, 3-12 years from £6.50, adults from £Free.

Parties from £7.95 per child and private hire available.

Annual membership (unlimited entry for 12 months) costs starts from £88 for one named child and two adults or £154 for two named children and two adults – optional monthly DD available at some venues. Please refer to the appropriate site on our website www.gambado.com or Facebook page for approximate prices and contact details.

Gambado is the ideal destination for locals and a worthy destination for out of Towner’s ensuring the experience for

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Halloween - Special Feature

Have a fang-tastic Halloween with Cadbury this season

Get prepared for the Halloween trick or treating ghosts and ghouls and make sure you are ready to surprise them with spooky delight and chocolate treats for when they come knocking at your door. Certain to please even the hungriest of vampires or werewolves Cadbury has something for everyone this Halloween.

Cadbury Treatsize Goodies Make sure your Halloween party won’t be a ghost of the past with the Treatsize collection and grab one of the Cadbury Treatsize bags, ideal for spooky visitors to share. There is something for everyone with Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons, Cadbury Crunchie and Cadbury Twirl bags. Alternatively you can save the day with one of the Cadbury Heroes Treatsize range, in either a smaller 20 piece Cadbury Heroes Family Bag, or 40 piece Cadbury Heroes Party bag. Making sure you’ll always have enough to keep those monsters happy!

RRP Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons, Cadbury Crunchie and Cadbury Twirl £2.79 RRP Cadbury Heroes Family Bag £3.99 RRP Cadbury Heroes Party Bag £6.49 And back due to popular demand….

Cadbury Crunchy Spider These spiders have been spinning their spine-chilling webs for long enough, they are now ready and crawling to a Halloween party near you. Feast on ghoulish green rice balls covered with tasty chocolate in the form of this limited edition spider treat. The Crunchy Spider comes complete with creepy foil ‘skins’ in pink and black – perfect for every little demon this Halloween.

RRP £0.55 for one, £1.00 for two Cadbury Screme Egg Still mourning the end of the Cadbury Creme Egg season earlier this year? Well don’t worry, Cadbury have brought back the Cadbury Screme Egg for the Halloween season. Filled with hair-raising green goo, make sure your tiny pumpkins are filled up on these ghoulish treats.

RRP £0.65 for one, £1.00 for two These delicious chocolates are sure to be a spook-tacular addition to any haunted house this Halloween. So who ya’ gonna call this Halloween?

Make sure it’s Cadbury!

DON’T MISS A TRICK OR TREAT THIS HALLOWEEN - SPEND A LITTLE AND SCARE A LOT WITH ALDI SPECIALBUYS!

The whole family can be kitted out in ghoulishly great gear this Halloween, thanks to Aldi Specialbuys’ range, in stores nationwide on 2nd October. But be sure to haunt stores soon, as these bloodcurdling bargains are at scarily good prices and are only available while stocks last. Aldi’s Children’s Dressing-Up Set will make even the cutest of kiddies fearsome this Halloween.

For only £3.99, you can pick up a Vampire, Skeleton, Witch or Baterella costume, suitable for ages 3 to 8. Or little ones can be as sweet as pie in these Pumpkin outfits (ages 3-5) (£3.99).

For added spook value, choose the Children’s Halloween Mask, which is available in four different fantastic quality felt designs: Pumpkin, Bat, Witch and Dracula (£0.79 each) or the Children’s Halloween Headband at only £1.49. Finish off the look with the children’s scarily stripy Halloween Tights (£1.29), available in black and purple; black and orange; black and pink; and black and white.

Make sure the big kids don’t miss out on the fiendish fun, with Aldi’s Adult Halloween Costume (£7.99 each). From venomous Vampires and scary Skeletons to wicked Witches, there is plenty of choice to render other party goers well and truly jealous.

Or, for a more subtle outfit, pop on one of Aldi’s Halloween Accessories (£1.99 each), such as a Witch Hat or red Devil Horns.

Whether telling ghost stories or finding the best trick-or-treat spots, this great-value 9LED Glow in the Dark Torch (£1.99) will come in very handy. What’s more, you can collect your boo-ty in this fun Trick or Treat Bag (£1.49).

Settle down with your treats and enjoy a host of creepy kids’ films and gruesome grown-up ones from the selection of Halloween DVDs (£2.99 each). Or get creative using the 2-pack Halloween Play Doh (£4.99). Aldi is also here with a helping hand to ensure you have the most haunted of houses thanks to a wide range of devilish decorations, including Battery-Operated Lights shaped like Ghosts, Eyeballs or Pumpkins (£4.99) and Berry Lights in Witch, Skeleton or Frankenstein designs (£4.99), as well as Gel Stickers (£0.99), Hanging Decorations (£1.49), and this stretchy indoor Spider’s Web (£0.99). Add the finishing touch to terrify guests by scattering skulls, hands, feet, arm and leg bone Table Decorations (£3.99) or by hanging these Wooden Signs warning ‘Enter if you Dare’ (£1.49).

For more information, please visit: www.aldi.co.uk

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Halloween - Special Feature

Halloween Best Buys 1

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We have found a fantastic selection of halloween goodies that are great for all the family, whether it’s to decorate your house, your child or your kitchen - there is something for everybody and at great prices too!

1. Day of The Dead Spooky Sweatshirts, from £32.00 http://tootsamacginty.com | 2. Horror Sound Machine £8.95, Monster Opto Popper £7.99 - http://www.what2buy4kids.co.uk/ | 3. Gorgeous little Halloween themed pumpkin leggings by Blade & Rose £10 http://www.bladeandrose.co.uk/ | 4. All the inspiration you need for a party that brings tricks and treats together, from £3.00 - http://en.mylittleday.fr/ | 5. Halloween Vampire All In One £20, Dangly Spider £4.95 www.mamasandpapas.com | 6.

Monster High Go Glow Secrets £14.99 http://www.worldsapart.com/ 7. Soft spider shoes from £19 http://www.inch-blue.com/ | 8. Totally Gross Board Game £7.99, Bowling Zombies Game £14.99 - http://www.university-games.co.uk | 9. Fantastically spooky books for the older child and adult Cat Out Of Hell, The Wolves of Midwinter, Circle of Blood from £7.99 http://www. randomhouse.co.uk/ | 10. Children’s favourite Meg & Mog - Meg & The Pirate from £6.99 www.puffin.co.uk | 11. Vampires Revenge Hot Plum Chutney £4.50 http://shop.bl.uk/ / | 12. A bag of chocolate treats £3.90 http://maisonblanc.com/ | 13. Shloer Berry Punch perfect for everyone £2.25 http://www.tesco.com | 14. Elgento Popcake maker - get creative for parties with the easiest popcake maker around - we loved experimenting with this (and eating endless amounts of cake!) it also comes with a chocolate fondue set, £15.00 http://www.ebuyer.com/

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Halloween - Special Feature Just in time for Halloween is this brand new Meg and Mog story by awardwinning illustrator Jan Pieńkowski and celebrated author David Walser.

Win a day of Pumpkin fun at Willows Activity Farm Carve out some time in your diary this Autumn for a visit to the Pumpkin Festival at Willows Activity Farm, St. Albans.

Every day between the 25th October and 2nd November, families will be able to enjoy wholesome, fun activities – and pick up a free pumpkin to take home!

The Willows Pumpkin Patch is bursting with pumpkins grown by farmers Anna and Andrew, who have been tending to their crop throughout the summer. Families can take home their pumpkin to turn into a tasty pumpkin pie or soup, or alternatively they can carve them in the Willows Carving Cavern.

Children will have tonnes of fun carving out silly and spooky faces into their pumpkins, and each day the most creative pumpkin will win a prize. Kids too small to carve can either take their pumpkin home or show off their artistic skills in the Pumpkin Arts & Crafts area.

Visitors can also take part in the pumpkin Olympics and roll their pumpkins to victory! Plus, enjoy some spectacularly spooky tricks from amazing magician Sam-tastic, in his special show Magic-ween – guaranteed to astound Willows’ visitors!

Willows is offering one lucky family a chance to win a family day pass (admits four), to visit during Pumpkin Festival. To enter, simply answer the following question: Where at Willows can visitors carve their pumpkins?

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Carving Cavern Carving Room Carving Den

Email your answers to: info@babybuzzmagazine.com winners will be drawn on 25th October - Good Luck!

For more information visit: www.willowsactivityfarm.com or call 0870 129 9718.

Meg and Mog are off to a treasure island. Meg casts a spell and it’s treasure ahoy! Over forty years after their first appearance, much-loved characters Meg and Mog are back in a brand new adventure! After landing with a BUMP on a treasure island, Meg makes friends with a peg-legged pirate called Jack and casts a magic spell to help him find buried treasure! As usual, however, things don’t quite go according to plan...

The bestselling Meg and Mog stories have entertained children for over forty years. They are perfect for sharing or reading alone and children love exploring the colours, shapes and sounds. From £6.99 For more information, please visit: http://www.penguin.co.uk/

BANISH MONSTERS WITH GOGLOW® It is the age-old question, why is your little one afraid of falling asleep, and what can be done to help ease their fears? With Halloween, and darker evenings nearly upon us, children’s lighting brand GoGlow® has conducted a survey to find the answer, and it is as simple as fears of what is lurking in the dark. Asking 1,000 parents, the survey revealed monsters as the main reason under fives were afraid of the dark (67%). With fears of the dark at an all time high in October when the clocks go back and the nights become shorter. So as the evenings become darker, it is no surprise little ones imaginations run wildwith fears of what hides beneath.

HOW TO BANISH FEARS! Seven in ten parents make a special effort to walk around their child’s bedroom to prove there are no monsters hiding. With three quarters of children getting out of bed to seek reassurance from their parents, the survey went on to find night-lights were the most reassuring solution that helped stop scary shadows. If you are looking for a way to ease your little ones fears of the dark, children’s sleep expert and founder of Millpond Children’s Sleep Clinic, Mandy Gurney has a fun tip to help: “If your child is afraid of the dark, offer them the reassurance of a night light to have nearby when they need it. You could even play hide and seek, in the late afternoon, using a GoGlow® torch, so they realise there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

This October, GoGlow® is on hand to help banish monsters. A lighting range with extra sparkle, GoGlow® encourages nighttime know-how and its Night Bright range offers a safe and soothing 2-in-1 nightlight and torch that can be popped down for a nightlong glow or lifted up as a torch. When children are surrounded by their favourite character friends, scary monsters are a thing of the past, so if you would like to banish monsters try either Thomas the Tank Engine or Peppa Pig GoGlow Night Bright.

Explore the full GoGlow® range at: www.worldsapart.com

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Halloween - Special Feature

www.fancydress.com 30

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Adorable and affordable handmade gifts for all new baby occasions BABY SHOWER GIFTS – MATERNITY GIFTS – LARGE RANGE OF UNISEX GIFTS GIFTS FOR TWINS – FREE STANDARD UK DELIVERY – GIFTS TO SUIT ALL BUDGETS

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Family Focus

MOTORISTS WORRY ABOUT SAFETY ON THE SCHOOL RUN (62%) and least likely in Northern Ireland (47%). When it comes to arguments over parking and driving, it seems that parents are much more aware of these issues than non-parents. 28% of parents said they had seen parents and residents arguing over parking spaces, compared to just 16% of non-parents. London takes the top spot for parking arguments at 30%. Child safety is a concern for all motorists with 44% saying they see parents and children opening car doors and not looking at oncoming traffic and 35% seeing children getting out of cars on the road side rather than pavement. “It’s clear from our survey that the stresses of the school run are getting motorists hot under the collar. And there are potentially dangerous choices being made by some drivers when it comes to double parking outside the school gates and ‘drop and go’ tactics that leave pupils having to negotiate busy roads before reaching the safety of the school,” says Tim Naylor, Editor of the BCA Used Car Market Report.

As the start of Autumn school term approaches, the latest research* from BCA, the leading vehicle remarketing company, reveals the pressures faced by parents – and other motorists – on school run routes. Both parents and non-parents were surveyed and with nearly half (45%) of non-parents saying they drive by schools or use the same route as parents dropping off their children, it’s clear that school runs create some significant pinchpoints.

Key findings: • 46% of all motorists believe parents drive their children to school because it takes too long to walk • 30% of non-parents believe children demand to be driven to school, compared to just 17% of parents • Over a third (38%) of all motorists think unreliable public transport prompts parents to drive children to school • More than half (57%) of motorists see illegal parking outside of school gates • 44% of have seen parents and children not looking at oncoming traffic when opening car doors • Both parents and non-parents were most in favour of schools creating drop-off areas to tackle congestion and parking issues during the school run at 52% and 57% respectively • 29% of parents think police officers should be on patrol to tackle parking issues during the school run • Parents in Northern Ireland are most likely to drive their children to school, topping the list at 51%, followed by families in the North East and West Midlands at 39%.

• 36% of Londoners drive their offspring to school, whilst children in the South East are least likely to be driven at just 26%.

He added “Driving in the rush hour is always stressful and the school run just adds to the congestion, with many motorists seeing parents and children taking what they perceive to be unnecessary risks. Perhaps that’s why motorists were supportive of new measures to tackle congestion and parking issues that would make the environment safer for the school run.”

Top of the list for parents and non-parents was creating drop-off areas at schools at 53%; nearly a third (30%) suggested staggered drop-off times. But perhaps not surprisingly, non-parents were less keen on measures that might actually slow them down.

Only 18% of non-parents favoured speed restrictions compared to 23% of parents. And probably considering the practicalities, parents were less in favour of community walking schemes at 27% compared to 39% of non-parents.

For more information, please visit: www.bca.co.uk

According to the new BCA research, it seems that driving children to school is a clear necessity for many families, with 46% of all motorists identifying the distance from home to school being too far to walk as the root cause.

Unreliable public transport, or the lack of a school bus, is a another reason cited by over a third (38%) of motorists and for 31% it’s simply the logistics of getting different children to different schools that forces the decision. But whatever the reason, it’s clear that traffic congestion in general and parking around the school gates is a cause for concern for many motorists. More than half of drivers (57%) said they see illegal parking outside school gates, with this being most prevalent in Scotland

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Celebrity Focus

Peter André and Emily MacDonagh supporting seasonal flu campaign urging parents to get their little ones vaccinated Launching today, Peter André and his fiancée, trainee doctor, Emily MacDonagh are encouraging parents of children aged 2 to 4 years to get their little ones vaccinated as part of Public Health England’s seasonal flu campaign.

With only half (48%) of mums aware that children (aged 2 to 4) are entitled to flu vaccinations, the campaign is encouraging mums and dads in particular, to protect their child from flu this winter. Starting last year, 2 and 3 year olds have been offered the flu vaccination in the form of a nasal spray, and this year the spray is also being offered to 4 year olds. Despite this, survey results revealed today show that 51% of mums (of children aged 2 to 4) are not aware that the needle-free nasal spray alternative is available for children in these age groups and 41% of mums incorrectly think that children are vaccinated by injection.

Once informed of the availability of the nasal spray, 69% of mums then say they are likely to get their children vaccinated. The nasal spray provides a quick, effective and painless alternative to injections. Almost a third of mums (29%) think that flu is just a severe cold while just under a fifth (17%) think it won’t do their kids any harm. Flu is in fact a particularly unpleasant illness for children as they suffer the same symptoms as adults including fever, chills and aching muscles, and they are also more prone to getting painful ear infections following flu. 30% of parents think that you can recover from flu in a couple of days, when in fact children may need up to a week in bed before they are on the mend. Survey results also reveal that 70%of parents think that a programme vaccinating children against flu is a good way to stop it spreading to family, friends and other people.

Those particularly at risk of flu include those with long-term health conditions and pregnant women. Peter André and his fiancé, trainee doctor, Emily MacDonagh, urge parents to get their little ones (2, 3 and 4 year olds) vaccinated.

Peter André said: “I’m sure every parent will agree that it’s horrible to see your children poorly as you just want to protect them from pain and suffering. The flu vaccination is an easy way to make flu less likely to occur in those you love and to minimise the risk of it spreading to more vulnerable people such as those with long-term health conditions. The new nasal vaccine for little ones means that children can be vaccinated quickly, effectively and painlessl Don’t put off getting the flu vaccine!”

Emily MacDonagh, trainee doctor said: “As a medical student and new mum, I can’t emphasise enough the importance of the flu vaccinations, particularly for young children, pregnant women and those with longterm health conditions. Many pregnant women don’t know how important the flu vaccine is; it minimises the risk of complications and your child carries immunity with them once they’re born. If you’re eligible to receive the vaccine for free, don’t put it off. It’s free because you need it so speak to your GP or pharmacist about it.”

Cathy Ranson, Editor-in-chief at Netmums, the UK’s biggest parenting website said: “Parents always want their little ones happy and healthy and with the flu season coming up, they may be looking for information about vaccination. Children aged 2-4 and pregnant women are at particular risk of serious complications if they catch flu and that’s why we’re supporting PHE’s seasonal flu campaign by giving our members access to expert advice on the best ways to protect against this illness.”

A national campaign is being launched to reach parents of children aged 2-4, pregnant women and those with longterm health conditions to encourage them to contact their GP or pharmacist.

The campaign includes: • National press adverts aimed at adults with long-term health conditions and pregnant women • Radio adverts aimed at adults with long-term conditions and pregnant women • Search marketing aimed at all of our at risk groups For further information about flu and to watch a video showing how flu spreads, please visit: nhs.uk/conditions/flu Online survey conducted with 1,000 mums of 2-4 year olds from 12th-19th September 2014, TNS

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Health & Wellbeing

Self acceptance and all that goes with it!

I spied my husband in the dining room shuffling through paperwork and not in his best temperament (just to paint the picture, my husband is NEVER angry, upset, anxious or unhappy. He always sees the best in everything). Without him evening noticing me entering the room, I slide a pair of Raffertys diddy cute shoes in front of him. The angry creases pressed deeply into his forehead stretched out into a gorgeous smile similar to that of his 5 month old son. “Thank you” mingled with huge cheesy gratefulness of awareness for remembering what matters.

YOGA - LESSON NINE

How’s parenthood going for you? Is it the dream you hoped for or the nightmare you dreaded? It’s not easy is it, but then what in life is and I bet you’re dealing with it the best you can, right?

I’ve recently enrolled on an online course to deepen my yoga teaching (I know. A 5 month old and learning. How, time and when I hear you cry?!). Whilst studying, the teacher answered a question that has left a profound effect on not only my teaching but also my family life: “how do you teach spirituality in yoga? If you teach from your heart, teach what you love, you are always teaching spirituality”.

As I planned my morning class the intention just jumped out at me - acceptance. Now, who has doubted their skills as a parent? Had a family member/friend undermine your parenting skills (always with the best intentions, hhhmmmmm) which has left you really unsettled? When Rafferty was very unwell and my mum had to call me back from a yoga practice, I asked her if she thought I was a bad parent. Her response: “never ever doubt yourself as a mum. As long as you do what you do with the sole intention of supporting, loving and always thinking of your child; you ARE the best mum in the world.”

A client and friend recently told me of his pregnancy. He was obviously ecstatic about his impending bundle of joy, but told me how parents had commented on it not being the best time and how money was going to be an issue. Is there ever really a GOOD time to have a baby? There are always going to be trials and tribulations whilst being pregnant, during labour (UNDERSTATEMENT!) and into infinity and beyond! I’ve realised that by worrying about situations, I’ve actually missed happy times with my son. Times that I won’t ever get back. Accepting situations for what they are, letting them take their course and coming out the other side with a smile on your face will only make your mindset stronger. I’m not saying its easy as the majority of us have to think about money, work and how to connect all of the above together, but has stress/anxiety solved any of your past worries? In my experience they’ve only ever given me a blinding headache! Coming back to my earlier comment of acceptance. We find it difficult to accept any situation when we are forever thinking and stuck in the future (which is a forerunner for anxiety and stress), and constantly hankering after the past can lead to depression. Learning to fully engage with our breath is the only tool to assist with calming these feelings (see yoga section for breathing exercise), which takes patience and practice. There is no hard and fast cure for learning to let go and appreciate the here and now, which I’m glad for as I wouldn’t have travelled many wonderful countries, met amazing people and finally began to understand this mindset at the age of 33. I will get down, I’ll wonder why but I now know that nothing is forever and as long as I keep loving, everything will be ok.

Namaste x

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Wall hang Backbends are great for invigorating the body and mind. The wall hang provides support whilst offering a subtle forward fold allowing you to ground and become focused.

Stand facing a wall bringing the palms to rest flat. Walk the legs away from the wall until you are parallel with the floor, the hands a little below the shoulders.

As you inhale, strongly push into the arms so you feel the strength rush up into the shoulders, push your bum backwards and concave the back whilst keeping the legs strong. As you exhale, relax the arms slightly as you round the back up to the ceiling and drop the head. Practice this for as long as you need to, allowing the breath to guide the movement. Great first thing to release tension and stiffness from the spine.

Just breathe Sometimes it’s just nice to take the time and witness your breath. Don’t try and change anything. Just watch what happens. Is your inhale longer than your exhale? Where does your breath go/get stuck? How does it effect your body and mind? If you can watch the breath for 5 minutes you’ll begin to feel the body relax as you come out of your head, into the physical and into the present moment. This is also really lovely when you are feeding your baby as it really helps you relax which your baby can feel and also enjoy.

Abi Adams Oolong 07951 101 049 www.loveoolongtime.com

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Advertorial

Earwig featured in The Daily Telegraph!

The Daily Telegraph has chosen to feature Earwig Academic as one of the new technology companies to watch. Earwig provides schools with a suite of software tools that can make teachers more effective while making their lives a lot easier. It’s a package that is seen as a ‘game changer’ in the next wave of education technology.

Emilie–Kate Kidd, marketing director and co–founder of Earwig Academic Reporting, is interviewed for the feature which can be found online here and on page 21 of the paper dated 26th August 2014. Earwig has created an app which allows schools and nurseries to take photos and video of pupils, activities and work to present as ‘teaching evidence’ for Ofsted. Teachers turn these into digital records which are presented as a timeline for each pupil, class, subject, team or activity group - a permanent, vivid and well organised

record of the school’s achievement over the years. Each child’s timeline is shared with its parents in a secure online environment. When parents can see what their children are doing at school in real time on their handheld devices it keeps them properly engaged and the children motivated. Ms Kidd states: “Earwig makes sure that schools are always ‘Ofsted ready’, which is particularly important now that they get virtually no notice of inspections. It also makes money for the school, delights parents and motivates children.

No wonder people are taking notice.

But what is particularly gratifying is that there are already head teachers who are prepared to stand up and say that this has changed their whole approach to motivating children and recording achievement”

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For more information please visit: www.earwigacademic.com

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luxury, personalised baby gifts Papucci is the ultimate destination for high quality, yet affordable, personalised baby gifts. Exceptional brands, beautiful embroidery and luxury packaging ensure Papucci gifts are perfect for births, Christenings, birthdays, Christmas and more.

From blankets to babygro’s, teddies to towels every item can be beautifully embroidered with names, dates, messages and motifs and is presented in a luxury Papucci gift box to create a unique gift that will be treasured forever.

• Luxury brands of exceptional quality and design • Fantastic personalisation choices and exclusive motifs • Beautiful free gift box with every order • Quick and easy online ordering • Free and next day delivery options available

Enjoy 10% off your first order Visit www.papucci.co.uk and use code BUZZ14 at the checkout. Offer ends 31st December 2014

Sticky & Sweet Kids shoes bring class and a touch of nostalgia to infants’ feet.

Designed by footwear designer, Julie Macklin, Sticky & Sweet Kids soft soled shoes are inspired by all things vintage, but with a playful, modern twist. Not only do they look great, they are made from top quality leather and are developed with an infant’s growing feet very much in mind.

Exclusive baby shoes, in limited runs, but at surprisingly affordable prices www.stickyandsweetkids.co.uk

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A Little Something for the Dads Too!

“I’ve been awake for 36 hours, predominantly on my feet. I have eaten 1 cheese toasty in those 36 hours and drank 1 bottle of Lucozade. I’ve seen the woman I adore more than anything in the world suffer in agony, begging me for it to stop. I’ve gone through fear, joy, anger, frustration, hope, ecstasy, more fear, and more joy. Then I went through that all again...and again on a continuous cycle. I’m exhausted.

I’ve decided to call this feat, ‘Labour.’

I went to bed after watching Arnold Schwarzenegger star in ‘True Lies’ at 11:30pm. The wife had gone up earlier to try and get some sleep,

only to actually become more restless. I joined her whilst going through one of her many routine Braxton Hicks contractions that she has become accustomed to over the last month. Strong, irregular, painful contractions not resulting in labour. That was fun I can tell you!

This time however, the contractions were more regular. Every 6 minutes according to the very helpful APP I downloaded. They were interspersed with trips to the toilet for what I can only assume was sickness. Then the contractions began to quicken to every 4 minutes. It was at this point that we realised this was not another ‘boy who cried contraction’ scenario and it was in fact the real thing. The

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wife then saw a small amount of blood in between contractions. Blood to us, in the wake of our miscarriage experience, screams very loudly.

Our goal of staying at home for as long as possible threw itself out the window and the triage midwife asked to come straight in. We did.

You’d think that 1am driving at high speed through the town, running red lights and crossroads would be fun, I suppose a small element was and a similar sized portion of me wished we’d get stopped by the gaffers just so I could say, “but my wife’s in labour” and precede to have a police escort. This didn’t happen and the constant pains coming from the wife dampened the excitement and turned

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A Little Something for the Dads Too! into dread and fear. Arriving at triage at 1am meant it was pretty empty so we were strapped up to a CTG monitor straight away. By now the contractions were every 2 minutes; rare for someone who’s only been contracting for 1 hour previously.

After being examined the midwife wasn’t concerned about the bleeding and put it down to the ‘sweep’ that was done earlier that day. The contractions were seriously strong and a Tenns machine was a drop in the ocean in terms of helping. Gas & air wasn’t offered as the cervix was only 3cm dilated - although little did we know that gas & air is pathetically weak, so it wouldn’t have helped anyway.

Moving round to delivery suite, dilation had gone from 3cm to 5 cm in 90 minutes. She tried getting in a pool, which didn’t help with pain relief either, even though the image of a blue lagoon and desert island behind the pool was very life like!?!?!

After 15 minutes in the pool the wife decided that all she wanted was an epidural; some of the NCT women recommended it to her. After each contraction, the wife told me she

needed “the man.” And only after a little confusion, concern and self doubt I soon realised she meant the anaesthetist man. “Phew!” He was busy at the time, which in hindsight was the best thing possible. Whether the midwife lied about him being busy because, though my wife didn’t know this, she was handling everything incredibly well, we will never know. Text book, you could say.

Another examination showed she had moved from 5cm - 8cm in 30 minutes and was having huge urges to push.

Dads, I’m sure you’ll agree, that there really is nothing worse than your wife looking you in the eye, tears streaming from her eyes, asking you to make the pain stop. It wrenches at your gut like nothing else and is a memory that will stay with me forever.

She was nearly fully dilated, still with urges to push. The midwife said go with the urges but her waters hadn’t broke - which meant the membrane was stopping the baby from coming out. We asked if her waters could be broken and after half an hour of (unnecessary) contractions and vain pushes, she gave us a bizarre choice.

Either we break the waters and you can give birth shortly afterwards or you can have an epidural like you wanted? Duh!!! It goes without saying that we chose to break the waters and get pushing. The waters broke and meconium came pouring out. Everything happened

very quickly then. I was told to push the emergency buzzer. The midwife in charge came in, went out, and came back with a CTG monitor and a strange little man. We were told that nothing was wrong, it’s just that the baby had ‘poo’d’ in the womb which showed he was a bit distressed.

Apparently the strange little man, who never introduced himself, was a paediatrician and it was protocol for him to linger in the corner playing with tubes... The wife was told to push and she really didn’t disappoint.

She gave everything she possibly had inside her emotionally, physically and mentally. She listened to the advice from the midwives, did what she was told and only swore once. Seeing her doing this was like nothing else. I was helpless and useless for something so hard, painful and draining. I wanted to stop her and take over. I was pushing myself and if I’m honest, I’m still surprised now that I didn’t have an ‘accident.’ I think I was squeezing her hand harder than she was mine.

Baby had decided to turn upside down, not that we knew this until I saw his nose pointing upwards, which made it that bit much harder. She kept going, through the exhaustion barrier, and was soon rewarded by the boy being swiftly put on her chest. He was here.

The continuous emotional cycle I referred to at the start paused here momentarily. Sheer elation overwhelmed me with the two of them. I won’t ever forget the wife’s face when he landed on her either. It was as if she wasn’t expecting to see a baby at all! In fact, it was as if she had never seen a baby before in her life!

I couldn’t be any prouder of her.

She was perfect; surpassing all my expectations and confirming to me why I fell in love with her in the first place.

Well done darling, and thank you.”

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A Little Something for the Dads Too!

James Cracknell and Jason Atherton Launch ‘Dad Panel’ to Help Dads Find a Work - Life Balance mums struggling to ‘have it all’ is well known we felt that the issue of dads and their work life balance had been neglected. Through our ‘Dadpreneur Movement’ we want to encourage dads to launch their own flexible, creative business and tap into their passions and hobbies as an alternative to the 9 to 5.”

One of the UK’s fastest growing online retailers, notonthehighstreet.com, has launched a Dadpreneur Movement to help shine a light on the issues and challenges facing the modern working father.

Notonthehighstreet.com has teamed up with a panel of high profile, working dads including Olympic gold medalist, James Cracknell and Michelin starred chef and owner of Berner’s Street Tavern and Pollen Street Social, Jason Atherton to discuss the issues. Cracknell and Atherton will form part of a panel aimed at getting dads to get their creative juices flowing in order to achieve success whilst also maintaining a healthier work-life balance and making sure they have one on one bonding time with their kids at the same time.

James Cracknell, commented: “The nation’s fathers are in danger of missing out on building those special memory moments. Balancing a busy career with a family can put strains on times that are key for relationships at home, as such fathers in the UK missing out on important stages in their children’s lives due to working pressures.

As a father, I appreciate how challenging it can be to ensure you have quality time with your kids especially when with varied working hours often mean pitching up at home post bedtime. The ‘Dadpreneur Movement’ is a honest platform which will underline the problems that fathers face with work and family expectations weighing heavily on their everyday lives and how they cope with these challenges.”

The Dadpreneur Movement is the brainchild of notonthehighstreet.com Founder and President, Holly Tucker. Tucker commented: “We are keen to champion fathers and the importance of the role that they play at home. Dads are often forgotten and whilst the issue of

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Recent research has revealed, and only highlights the importance of father and child alone time, that a number of dads feel that if they had more time they would help teach their children to ride a bike, invent science experiments and teach them self-defence techniques, whilst over a fifth would enjoy improving on their kids’ football skills’. Psychotherapist, Phil Hodson appearances include BBC1 children’s TV, BBC1 daytime and ITV - will also be on the panel of working dads, he says: “Numerous studies have shown the benefits of play for children. A dad spending time with his children and participating in creative play is invaluable to a child’s development - not only does it have huge emotional benefits, it can help with cognitive development, social development and physical development.”

Completing the panel will be award-winning director, producer and founder of The Wild Network, Dave Bond; and co-author of recent Dragon’s Den success story LostMy.Name, David Cadji-Newby. The survey of over 1000 UK dads of children aged 16 and under, revealed that six out of every ten dads are only spending quality time with their children at the weekends, with ‘long working hours’ and being ‘too knackered’ averting them from valuable family time. A further 62% of dads have missed a parents’ evening and over half have missed out on big milestones in their children’s lives such as first steps, first words and even school awards ceremonies.

To register interest in becoming a Dadpreneur or to book a space at the last Dad Academy workshop taking place on the 16th October (starts at 6.30pm with Lostmy.name writer David Cadji-Newby and an inspirational speaker from Lost Lectures), dads should visit notonthehighstreet.com’s Dadpreneur webpage and submit their details: http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/pages/dadpreneur For further ideas please visit: The Indytute (http://www.indytute.com/) curators of inspired lessons and workshops.

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Get Gardening With Dawn Isaac

Just because summer is coming to an end, don’t think for a minute that the garden holds any less appeal. This is the perfect time for children to race around outside - no more worrying about sunburn but still warm enough to play for hours.

1. Have fun shopping for bulbs and then let the children plant up their own bulb bucket for spring: take an old plastic bucket, add drainage holes to the bottom and then give the children acrylic paint pens to decorate their very own personalised container before planting it with crocus, daffodils and tulips.

2. Use the last of the garden blooms to make teacup flower arrangements -soak a small piece of florists’ foam, place it in the bottom of an old teacup and let the children create floral masterpieces.

3. Hang an old white sheet on the line and, after dark, shine a large torch at it to attract moths before seeing how many the children can identify.

4. On the day of a full moon, use white stones, plants and containers to set out a moonlight garden that you can walk through when it’s dark - lit only by moonlight 5. On a windy day, make and fly your own paper kites 6. Find as many pebbles and stones as you can in the garden and then see who can build the tallest pebble tower without it wobbling over 7. Use old jam jars, acrylic paint pens, beads and wire to create jam jar garden night lights - just make sure a grown up is on hand when lighting a tea light to place in each.

8. Use an old container or seed tray and lots of natural objects to create your very own miniature garden 9. On a windy day, go outside and see if you can catch leaves as they fall from the trees 10. Go on a garden hunt to see how many spider webs you can count - you get double points if you find a spider at the centre!

Dawn Isaac is a garden designer, writer and mother of three. Her most recent book is 101 Things For Kids To Do Outside published

by Kyle Books (RRP £14.99) and you can follow her blog about gardening with children:

www.littegreenfingers.com As we come into the colder months, it doesn’t mean that we have to put away our gardening tools and wait for the Spring to arrive to start all over again. Let me introduce you to Rocket Garden. A Rocket Garden is a box brimming full of baby organic vegetable and herb plants packed in golden straw and delivered direct to your door. All you have to do is pop your baby plants into their new home to begin growing your own vegetables, herbs or fruit. At Rocket Gardens, they take out all the risk and hard work that comes with growing your own organic www.rocketgardens.co.uk plants from seed. They look after the plants when they are young and vulnerable, only letting you have them when they are the perfect size, ready to be transplanted straight into your garden. Rocket Gardens saves you time, effort and eliminates the disappointment when seeds fail to germinate. Rocket Gardens have a wide range of gifts available, from a full instant garden delivered to your or your loved ones door, to an urban constant garden perfect for people short on space but big on organic food, they even have kits enabling people to grow their own tea and wine!

We were sent the most incredible box of baby plants (170 in total! eek!) and were amazed at the fantastic quality of each variety.

With this garden you will be able to harvest a huge amount of tasty produce throughout the late Autumn and Winter months; perfect if your aim is to substitute your shopping with home grown produce. We are looking forward to reaping all the wonderful produce that will be coming our way. You can also get amazing gift vouchers that are perfect for Christmas with prices starting from just £24.99. That’s Christmas sorted for my family then! Visit: www.rocketgardens.co.uk for more information.

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Family Focus

Based in London, Big Bang Lightbox is a photographers agency created by Lola and Ricardo who specialise in natural, beautiful photography for families who want to capture their child’s memories to last a lifetime.

Big Bang Lightbox offers a convenient home photo shoot service, meaning the images are taken in the familiar surroundings of the children, so they can relax, and have fun and this is reflected on the resulting images. Whether it’s running around the house, eating cupcakes, kicking a ball or sitting in the mud….whatever is necessary to capture the little one’s personality and smile.

The brand also offers a wide variety of children related services, from graphic coverage at events, shop openings and parties, to commercial photo shoots for catalogues, brochures, websites and much more. They have also teamed up with the illustration firm Piticlis to offer unique personalised art that mix photography and illustration in a magical way.

For more information, please visit: www.bigbanglightbox.com and follow the brand on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bigbanglightbox

Big Bang Light Box 17 Cresswell Gardens mobile: +44 (0) 7534 815 537 uk/europe: +44 (0) 20 3239 1620

IT’S COMPETITION TIME Enter the competition on page 81 for your chance to win!

Voucher: 1923 Valid until: 31st December 2014

PAY ORDER TO: BABY BUZZ MAGAZINE COMPETITION WINNER

£450.00

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a lugermedia.com company

Terms and Conditions: The winning photo session includes 10 high resolution pictures in JPG format, taken in one session (up to 4 hours) in Central London Zone 1 and 2. Photographs will be delivered in a private image gallery through a link with a private password where the client can choose 10 of a group of at least 30 pictures. Client will be able, in case they want to, to buy more photos with an extra cost. The session can be held in the clients house or in a public space to choose with the family where the kids feel comfortable.

A studio can be requested, although additional charges and reservations will apply. This promotion is valid until 31st December, 2014, only for one session per family and can be used as a private photo shoot or for a kids party. Big Bang Lightbox will be allowed to use the images through its online networks for promotional purposes.

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miss pois

couture pas pour tous

Italian born company miss pois create all of their products entirely in Italy using the experience and care of highly skilled workers. miss pois has a range of immediately recognisable clothing for girls from 3 to 12 years old and this year launched the ‘miss pois mini’ line for young girls from 0 to 24 months.

Using high quality fabrics combined with dynamic, creative design, each item is as unique as the girl who wears them.

visit our shop today at misspois.com

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Family Focus

Water Babies Crowns the UK’s Biggest Little Heroes moved up a class early. Charlie is not only a little hero but a real life Water Baby!

In July, Water Babies, the UK’s leading baby and toddler swim school, launched a nationwide search to find Britain’s most inspiring young swimmers and today, after much suspense, the Water Babies Little Heroes can finally be revealed!

The eight winners were chosen due to their amazing accomplishments and developments when it comes to water.

1. Annie O’Donnell, 11 years old from Glasgow 2. Beatrice Chambers, six years old from Bedworth, Warwickshire 3. Bethany Dooley-Roberts, four years old from Long Eaton 4. Charlie Lewis Ilan Cobb, two years and five months from Brighton, Sussex 5. Erin Bradley, four years old from Gloucestershire 6. Grace Mae Watson, two years and seven months old from Sheffield 7. Jessica Brudenell, four years old from Cheshire 8. Rosanna Joan Ogden, four years old from Chorley, Lancashire

Charlie Lewis Ilan Cobb, aged two and a half, was born with a life threatening heart condition called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. At one day old, Charlie had his first of three eighthour open heart surgeries, which left him with only half a heart. As a result, he was told by doctors that he will never be able to do “normal” things like “normal” children, as he will get tired and out of breath. Despite all this, Charlie, who began swimming with Water Babies aged seven months, has thrived in the water – he has even made so much progress that he was

Reader Review - Monkey Swimmers: We were very lucky to be given the opportunity to try out some of the latest products created by Monkey Swimmers.

The first of our review products were the Swim Floats.

These are fun character kickboards designed to help young swimmers improve their skills and boost confidence in the water. These super streamline floats have a handy grip position designed to offer total comfort, ease of use and flexibility. Monkey Kickers come in 3 different swim buddy designs Panda, Hippo & frog characters. They really are great for children as they are bright and fun and certainly support your child as they learn to swim. We found it to be a great way of enticing our little one into the pool as she was keen to play with it.

The second of our review products were the Swim Discs.

They come as a set of 6 in vibrant, child friendly designs.

Children can start off with 6 discs and then they can be taken

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Annie O’Donnell was just nine years old when she swam a 22 mile challenge to raise money for the charity TOFS, which is dedicated to providing emotional support to families of children, like her little sister Millie, who are born with Tracheoesophageal Fistula Atresia. Annie raised over £1,000 and her whole family and local community are incredibly proud of her.

Paul Thompson, co-founder of Water Babies, says: “We would like to congratulate all the Water Babies Little Heroes for being an inspiration to us all. We’d also like to commend all of those who were nominated for an award - we were impressed by every entry and taken aback by all of the brave and determined little splashers out there!”

Although the awards are set to celebrate incredible swimming stories, the inspiration for the awards is a very serious matter.

Research commissioned by Water Babies earlier this year revealed that half of parents surveyed said they didn’t believe their child could save themselves if they got into trouble in the water.

Paul Thompson, continued: “We wanted to raise awareness for the importance of children learning to swim at as early an age as possible. Our research showed that the average age children start swimming lessons is four years old and 40% of children haven’t had a lesson by the age of 12, when swimming lessons can actually can take place from birth. In fact, over the last few years a dozen of our pupils have actually saved themselves from drowning, some of whom were just two years old!”

The Water Babies Little Heroes winners also won an incredible prize bundle from MEGA Bloks, one of the leading brands in construction toys.

Water Babies classes are available throughout the UK. To find your nearest class, visit www.waterbabies.co.uk. To keep up to date on the latest baby swimming news, check out www.facebook.com/waterbabiesuk and www.twitter.com/ waterbabies.

away once they become more confident. Many children are already familiar with this system of swimming and we have just added our own stamp and design.

That’s our aim at Monkey Swimmers-to make swimming fun! They are suitable from ages 1-10 and are so handy and light to throw into a swim bag or suitcase! These were incredibly easy to put on and kept Lillie well afloat as she kicked about. Definitely a must for all parents out there! The prices start from £7.99 for the Panda float and £22.00 for the set of 6 swim discs.

For more information, please visit: http://www.monkeyswimmers.com/

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Swimming Lessons with a Difference CHILDREN Parent & Baby Classes Pre-School Non-Swimmer to Competitive Warm private pools Separate boys, girls & adult classes GROUPS/PRIVATE Maximum 6 to class One to One lessons Instructor in water No armbands/discs for quick learning Join at any time ADULTS Learn to swim Improve technique/fitness Royston, St Albans, Northwood, Kings Langley, Kingsbury and Golders Green Locations

London Office: 020 8819 3567 Royston Office: 01763 208013 Hertfordshire Office: 01923 53 70 70 w w w . a w e s w i m . c o . u k email:contactus @aweswim . c o . u k

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Family Focus - Breastfeeding Special Feature

70% Influenced by Friends and Family When Making Feeding Choices to read a lot on the internet, but sometimes mums have particular or specific questions, and that’s where we come in – we give impartial advice through our weekly drop in clinics and have created a friendly forum in our monthly breastfeeding cafes.

She continued: “We’re not here to judge anyone for their feeding choices, but we are here to support any mums that do choose to breastfeed, or are thinking about doing so”

Every new parent is faced with lots of choices, cloth or disposable, home or hospital birth, breast or bottle?

Feeding is undoubtedly one of the most hotly debated parenting topics, especially in the midst of World Breastfeeding Week, and is something every new parent will have to decide. Where new parents get information from and who or what influences the decision was reviewed in a recent survey.

Nearly 800 new parents took part in the Feeding Choices survey, which was commissioned by Medela, the world’s leading breastfeeding brand. The results revealed that the majority decide on their feeding choices before their baby is born and more specifically within the first 6 months of pregnancy with more than a third having decided by this point. Interestingly for 12% involved in the survey they were still undecided at birth.

It is an extremely personal issue and one which most parents want to be fully informed on. Information on feeding your newborn can be accessed in seconds from the internet at any time of day or night. However, it is interesting to note that new mums and dads still look to the people they trust for guidance and advice.

When asked to select who/what had influenced them, family and friends proved to be most influential with over 70% of those surveyed selecting this group. Alongside support from loved ones understandably new parents do their own research - the results reinforced this with 50% of the group feeling that research had also supported their decision. In comparison just 20% said that their antenatal classes had influenced them, and 25% said health professionals had played apart.

“How lovely that new parents are still turning to their own family for support” commented Sioned Hilton, Lactation Consultant at Medela, “but for those who also want to gather their own information or are not comfortable sharing with friends it’s really important that they have access to reliable and trustworthy information. It’s easy

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Medela is determined to provide as much support as possible for mums, at any stage of their breastfeeding experience and certainly during their decision process. Every week mums can visit their online Drop in Clinic by logging onto their Facebook page, or asking a question on Twitter.

Sioned has been working with breastfeeding mums for more than 20 years, is on hand to answer questions all day, and once a month they also host an evening breastfeeding café.

Medela have been supporting breastfeeding mothers for over 50 years, and thanks to their extensive research into the science of breastfeeding their breastpumps are trusted and loved by parents, celebrities and healthcare professionals across the globe. Their breastpumps have won countless awards, including a Which? Best Buy, and are found in 94% of UK hospitals.

Medela are dedicated to providing the best possible support to mothers, and their In-House Lactation Consultant Sioned Hilton is always on hand to offer advice and support. The brand run a weekly drop in clinic, and a monthly breastfeeding café via their social media pages to ensure mums can access expert advice wherever they are.

In addition to their breastpumps Medela also have an extensive range of products, including everything from their innovative Calma Feeding Device to breast pads and nipple cream.

The Medela Drop in Clinic runs every Tuesday on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/medela.uk

For more information, please visit: www.medela.com/UK/en/breastfeeding.html Feeding Choices Survey was hosted online across parenting brands and Babyworld.com 1 May 14 – 1 July 14.

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Family Focus - Breastfeeding Special Feature

Baby Buzz Essentials..

For mums and mums-2-be

We’ve found a great selection of products for mums and mums-to-be from sterilising, breastfeeding, fashion and little luxuries that are sure to please everyone!

1. Milton Combi Steriliser, £14.99 (Mothercare: www.mothercare.com/) | 2. Theraline Original Nursing Pillow, £44.95 (Theraline: www.theraline-shop.de) | 3. Striped Wrap Front Maternity & Nursing Jumper, £55.00 (www.seraphine.com) | 4. Milk Storage Bags, £5.99 (Tommee Tippee: www.kiddicare.com) | 5.

Milkscarf £29.99 (MamaMoosh: http://mamamoosh.co.uk/) | 6. Coming soon is the CupCake organic, washable nursing pad using beautiful fabrics they are super soft and extremely comfortable (www.cakelingerie. com) | 7. A new collection of expertly formulated bath and body care for use pre and post pregnancy. This beautifully scented collection of nourishing, pampering products relieves everyday concerns, stresses and anxieties that come with motherhood, from £4.99 (Maternelle: www.waitrose. com) | 8. A fabulous treat for all expecting mums! Project-B: each month you’ll receive products, from relaxation, to healthy eating, to household, to pampering, plus expert advice to match your month of pregnancy.

You can sign-up for any month from 12 weeks £14 per month (Project-B: www.project-b.com)

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Family Focus - Breastfeeding Special Feature

. . . s w e i v e R z z u B y Bab

Breastpumps

Medela Swing Breast Pump with Calma Teat

Dr Brown’s Manual Breastpump

“Incredib le, the pum p was virtually silent therefor e not wa king up our b aby when I was expr essing a t night”

Price: From £129.99 From: John Lewis, Mothercare and other high street retailers This electric breastpump will allow you to express milk quietly and discreetly, so it’s ideal for a busy lifestyle. As it’s compact and lightweight, it’s great for daily electric pumping. The 2 Phase Expression technology pumps more milk in less time. It mimics a baby’s natural sucking behaviour with an initial fast pumping rhythm to start the milk flowing, followed by a slower pumping rhythm to express milk gently and efficiently. It’s easy to assemble, use and clean. You can easily switch between phases and set the most comfortable vacuum level. You can also attach a mains adapter, or switch to battery operation for maximum mobility. Pack includes: Calma Solitaire teat, PersonalFit Breastshield, mains adapter, travel bag, bottle (150ml) and bottle stand.

y ly eas “Real s great ! It’ to use y partner m to get in feeding d e involv by, highly b our a ended.” m recom

Price: £42.00 From: Dr Browns (www.cmsshop.co.uk/) The Dr Brown’s Manual Breast Pump comes with one manual pump, one 120ml Dr Brown’s bottle plus all bottle components (teat, collar, cap, vent insert, reservoir tube, travel disc, travel cap, wire vent cleaning brush). Gentle compression technology and super soft flexible breastcup for the utmost in comfort. Features compression technology and super-soft flexible breastcups, gentle Compression Technology gently elicits milk expression, gentle compression is designed to help minimize tugging and pinching,

super-Soft BabyFace® Flexible Breastcup conforms to mum’s breast and naturally move with mum while expressing.

In March 2014 Dr Brown’s Manual Breast Pump was awarded Prima Baby and Pregnancy Best Feeding Product Gold Award.

Tommee Tippee Manaul Breast Pump

Lansinoh Single Electric Breast Pump

“W have e didn ’ for the b t brea an exp udget e s has t pump nsive bee bu us a n perf t this ect nd d for oe job” s the Price: £29.99 From: Tommee Tippee (www.tommeetippee.co.uk/) The Tommee Tippee Manual Breast Pump comes in just 3 pieces, making it quick and easy to assemble and clean. The Manual Breast Pump features a soft-touch silicone cup with special massage ripples that encourage fast, comfortable milk let-down. The manual operation means it’s quiet, discreet and easy to control, ensuring you achieve just the right level of suction. Included inside: 1 x Closer to Nature Easi-Vent 150ml Baby Bottle, 1 x Milk Storage Pot, 6 x Disposable Breast Pads, 1 x Microwave Steriliser Box A great option for those wanting a quality breastpump without spending a fortune! The set is excellent value for money and does the job perfectly well!

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for “Great loved ! o g I on the ould take uc that yo and about t this ou batteries e s and u d!” instea

Price: £66.66 From: Mothercare (www.mothercare.com/) For quick and easy expression, the Lansinoh single electric breast pump is designed to mimic baby’s natural feeding pattern for an efficient pumping experience. Featuring a new ComfortFit™ soft silicone breast cushion for a secure seal & comfortable fit resulting in more efficient pumping and six adjustable suction levels with easy to use control buttons and a LED indicator, this breast pump has two phase technology with a let down button. The let down phase Rapid suction to stimulate and initiate milk flow. Expression phase - Slower, deeper suction to maximise milk flow. A NaturalWave™ Teat with cap is included allowing you to express, store and feed with ease.

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News & Reviews The Thule Chariot Cougar; ideal for active parents who value outdoor adventure and don’t want to limit the health and fitness activities they can enjoy with their family. This versatile buggy/stroller can be easily transformed for different activities including strolling, running and cycling thanks to its suspension - making it perfect for biking and off-road activities.

All parts fold away or can be stored on the carrier itself.

Thule Chariot Cougar 1 RRP: £749.99 www.thule.com

Buy from: www.madison.co.uk

The Thule Chariot Cougar 1 one-child carrier is the popular all-round adventurer in Thule’s line of multifunctional child carriers and has to be one of the most versatile child carrier systems on the market! I was blown away when this arrived for review. For the active family, who like being in the great outdoors, then this is the rolls royce of buggy / strollers designed for you! You simply cannot fault it. I have to be clear on one thing though, this is not your average stroller for walking around town, supermarkets or just idle use. This is larger than your day-to-day pushchair with a sturdy built chassis that has been designed to protect your child in the best way possible whilst you pursue numerous outdoor activities. The Chariot Cougar is suitable from birth with the infant sling insert but it is recommended that you don’t go jogging or cycling until your child can sit unsupported and go into the baby supporter, this occurs usually at around 6 months but it varies from child to child. I was really impressed that there was something available to new parents who didn’t want to compromise on giving up outdoor pursuits just because they had a young child.

The beauty of this is that the Chariot Cougar 1 goes is suitable from birth to approximately 5 years of age (obviously dependent on the size of the child).

We were given the conversion kits to review the system as a four-wheeler, a jogger / three-wheeler and attached to the rear of a bike (there is an additional option to convert the Chariot Cougar into a Cross Country Skiing or Hiking system with a kit that includes two lightweight skis, two telescoping aluminum tow bars, padded waist belt with bottle holder and locking pin - I kid you not!) We had a representative from Thule give us a run down on how each kit worked and how best to use it but I think most people would understand how it fits together due to it’s innovative VersaWing™ and ezClick™ system. The VersaWing bracket system ensures that the customizable functionality of the Cougar 1 is always fast and uncomplicated, regardless of the kit used. Each Cougar 1 carrier contains a set of two integrated VersaWing brackets. Conversion kit arms slide horizontally into the brackets - vertically in the case of stroller wheels - and lock into place with the spring loaded ezClick push button mechanism. As an additional safety measure, a security pin tethered near the end on the bracket slips through the bracket and the accessory to ensure a reliable hold. In addition, Click n’ Store functionality allows the attachments of the Jogging and Bicycle Trailer conversion kits (sold separately) to be transported on the carrier frame even when they are not in use. Stroller wheels not in use can also be stored in the VersaWing brackets in an inverted position. This conveniently ensures that the greatest extent of the Cougar 1 carrier’s full functionality is available to your family, regardless of which kit accessory is in use. In addition to its modular conversion kit functionality, the Cougar 1 chassis is enhanced for your child’s comfort and safety with features such as an anodized aluminum frame.

Overall:

This is an incredible stroller! The stroller is very much in keeping with that of a high end piece of sports equipment and as you are transporting the most valuable thing in the world in it, it’s worth every penny.

Thule Chariot Cougar 1 Features: •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Includes the bike kit (the stroller and jogger kits are available to purchase separately) Thinner hubs on the 20” wheels, reduces the width of the trailer.

Improved anti-rust solution to all bolts and hardware Click n Store brackets Colors: Red New 2-in-1 weather cover with Quickclip™ Newly designed front frame for extra leg room and lower step-in height Added photo luminescent Energlo™ fabric for 360 degree visibility Larger tinted polyurethane windows for superior child visibility Widened child cockpit Padded seat back HeightRight™ handlebars Removable, hand-washable padded seat bottom with wicking mesh Large folding rear storage bag Rear wallet/key/phone pocket 2-in-1 weather cover with Tough-Tek reinforcement fabric 3M™ Scotchlite™ reflective material CAS™ Chariot Adjustable Suspension™ 20”, lightweight, push-button wheels with maintenance-free bearings Lightweight aluminum frame Patented ezFold™ VersaWing™ 2.0 attachment system No tools required for assembly or conversion Warranty: Frame10 years Cover 5 years Meet or exceeds the European EN 1888 and British BS7409 standards.

Weight: 10 kg Weight Capacity: 34 kg Dimensions open: L:118 cm x W:67 cm x H:107 cm Dimensions folded: L:107 cm x W:61 cm x H:26 cm

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Family&Focus News Reviews - Breastfeeding Special Feature

THE TURBO DUO

the Armadillo Flip

To pre-order your Armadillo Flip, please visit: www.mamasandpapas.com/ The latest pushchair soon to be released from Mamas & Papas is the Armadillo Flip (the third to be reviewed by us in the last few months in succession to the Armadillo and the Armadillo City). The Armadillo Flip certainly follows the protocols from the previous pushchairs giving quality, space and essential additional extras such as the extra large hood, easy to open/close and travel friendly. The pushchair will be available in four colours and can be paired with the carrycot and car seat to turn into a fully functional travel system. Ready to go from day one, it’s the most compact travel system-ready design on the market that still manages to give them loads of wriggle room. The small wheels are ideal for nipping around your favourite suburban and city destinations, and a reversible seat means you can easily flip baby’s view from you to the world. But best of all, it doesn’t matter which way the seat’s facing. The innovative patented design lets you fold it down with one hand - forwards or backwards - in seconds, into the most compact fold out there.

• • • • • • • • •

Reversible seat - switch them to face you or the world.

Sun smart - UPF 50+ Designed from day one - suitable from birth up to 4 years.

Full recline - it has the longest stretching room out there Adjustable leg rest Comfy cushion - Well-padded for extra comfort out and about.

Sun visor - for a little extra cover on sunny days.

5 point safety harness - to keep them snug and safe.

Toy loop - to keep little ones entertained.

I absolutely love the Mamas & Papas Armadillo Range, although the Armadillo Flip really does take it to the next level with style, practicality and functionability. The Flip is remarkably easy to handle and folds down to one of the most compact sizes we’ve seen in a pushchair. Ideal that you don’t have to take it apart to fold it down, so you have even more space for storage!

Price: Age Suitability: Weight: Size: H: Folded Size:

£399.00 Birth - 15kg.

9kg Approx.

98 x W: 55 x L: 92cm approx.

H: 75 x W: 55 x L: 25cm approx.

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For more information, please visit: www.hauckuk.com/uk/ With the lightweight Turbo Duo, you can master your everyday life with two children effortlessly. This buggy for siblings can be transported easily and offers many practical details.

Thanks to the swivelling and lockable front wheels, the Turbo Duo can be moved easily around tight corners and offers a smooth ride on uneven ground. The comfortable soft handles make pushing particularly pleasant. The locking brake acting on the rear wheels ensures that the stroller should be safe everywhere. The Turbo Duo is equipped with two adjustable padded seats and individually adjustable 5-fold back rests.

Also the comfortable foot rests and the canopies can be adjusted individually. Thus, each child can sit comfortably in its favourite position. The back rests can be brought into the lying position in no time at all when your children want to relax on your trips. The 5-point harness with shoulder pads provides for the highest level of safety.

• • • • • • • • • • •

Five reclining seat positions including lie flat Forward facing Adjustable calf support 5-point safety harness Lockable front swivel wheels Individual front wheel suspension Foot operated parking brakes Adjustable hood Canopy & Rain cover Mesh shopping basket Combinable with soft carry cot

For a double buggy this really took me by surprise! It is really lightweight and when you have to push two children around instead of one, this is a great thing! We ‘borrowed’ a friends child to test drive this and it was so agile and easy to manoeuvre. You can use this from birth with the option of purchasing the soft carry cot and for the price you just can’t go wrong. Well done Hauck for another incredible, affordable option for parents.

Price: Age Suitability: Weight: Size: H:

From: £119.00 Birth - 2 x 15kg.

12.5kg Approx.

110 x W: 41 x L: 71cm approx.

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Family Focus - Breastfeeding Special Feature

News & Reviews

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Baby & toddler range

We love this little teething creation

by Gumigem. The little tool bag is full of chewable tools including measuring tape, hammer, spanner and saw.

Each toy can be looped onto a dummy clip or toy tie and has a custom slot for this (except the tape measure). Suitable from 10 months. The Bubba Bag Tool Bag - £19.95 - www.gumigem.co.uk

A world first in toddler shoes! As light as a sock but more supportive than a pre-walker. We reviewed a pair and they certainly help support little feet as well as looking gorgeous too! Based on kinetic and physiodynamic tests of toddlers walking, these unique non-slip shoes ergonomically support infants first steps and thereafter.

Suitable from 3 - 40 months and in a range of colours. £15.99 - www.attipas-uk.com

Perfect for potty training your child, the Step-ByStep® Potty and stepstool is a complete potty training system. With a built-in lid and toilet tissue holder, this potty helps parents encourage and teach important hygiene habits. The potty can be used as a stand alone, toilet topper training seat, and a stepstool. Suitable from 18 months to 5 years. From £29.99 - www.argos.co.uk Weleda have launched a new Baby Derma line which has been five years in the making.

The products are entirely fragrance-free, genuinely all-natural and free from synthetic preservatives - this range uses ingredients that are dermatologicallyproven to help relieve the itching and irritation of baby eczema. The collection is specially formulated for babies with hyper-sensitive and dry skin prone to irritation, eczema and sensitivities and is designed to nourish, soothe and smooth.

Prices start at £9.95 www.weleda.co.uk

New company Abeille have just launched their own beautiful range of cellular blankets that are softer, prettier and bigger than the standard pram size making them ideal for use in crib or pram. The quality of the blankets are really good (100% cotton) and the colours are beautiful, they are also fantastically priced at just £19.99 - www.abeille.co.uk

We were sent the Graco Little Lounger to review and loved how easy it was to use. The swing transforms from a seat to a lounger in one easy motion, allowing your little one to enjoy a gentle side-to-side rocking motion or soothing vibration in a moment. This ingenious seat has multiple recline positions, so it’s easy to find just the right position. When not in use, Little Lounger folds compactly for storage or travel. £79.99 (Buy from Babies R Us)

Two gorgeous new creations from Babymoov! Essentials for any parents with little ones especially as we come into the colder months. The Cosycover is designed to provide a smooth transition from womb to cot, gently swaddling baby in a convenient, easy to use wrap that works to prevent baby waking from the startle (‘moro’) reflex. The Cosybag is the ideal transition sleeping bag, providing a first of its kind wrap design, with the added benefit of shoulder straps to keep baby positioned safely inside. Available in colours Classic or Fresh and prices from £19.99 for the Cosycover and £34.99 for the Cosybag. For more information, please visit www.babymoov.eu for all of the other products available. (Buy from www.wauwaa.com)

Two great new products to help combat dry or flaky scalps, and colic symptoms. The new Colief Baby Scalp Oil is formulated with naturally derived ingredients to gently moisturise and soothe your baby’s skin and scalp.

Suitable from three months onwards.RRP £5.99 for 30ml. Colief® Infant Drops are clinically proven to reduce colicky symptoms associated with temporary lactase deficiency. The standard sized Colief® Infant Drops pack (7ml), contains 42 feeds RRP £11.99. The new larger Colief® Infant Drops pack (15ml), contains 90 feeds RRP £15.99. Available at Boots Stores and pharmacies nationwide.

This is one those products that you think, why didn’t I think of that?! It’s simply ingenious and makes so much sense! These little lights are designed to look like little ladybirds and come in an array of colours.

They are simple to loop around any buggy or scooter bar and secure with a hook. They are hard wearing and the stretchy silicone strap is sturdy.

Lights are visible from 500m away! £14.99 - www.buggilights.com/

NEW Nelsons Colica® Colic Granules, a homeopathic medicinal product used within the homeopathic tradition for the symptomatic relief of colic. Contains a unique formulation of a 30c potency of natural Citrullus colocynthis and Dioscorea villosa. RRP:

£5.80 and is available from Boots.

Johnsons have created a gorgeous new range of baby products under the First Touch label. These contain no fragrance, no colour, no soap - only natural ingredients. We use the All-In-One Wash as it is so gentle on our todlers skin and also the barrier ointment cream as, even though she is toilet trained, she is still prone to getting a little red and sore and this works wonders.

Prices start from £1.66 each (available from Boots, Tesco, Ocado, Sainsburys, Superdrug).

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News & Reviews

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Family Fashion

With the amount of rain we’ve had over the last few days the latest review products couldn’t have come at a better time! We were sent two of the latest Mountain Warehouse jackets for women and children and I couldn ‘t be happier! I’ve packed my little girl off to nursery all week wrapped snugly in her Chuckle Jacket, knowing that she is snug and warm but also essentially waterproof. The material is soft and the hood stays firmly in place whilst the design is vibrant and stylish. With the amount of running around I’ve had to do I’ve been struggling to find something that would keep me warm and dry but the womens jacket is also perfect! Perfect for rainy and windy days whereever you may be. The jacket is fully insulated and has a soft tricot lining which is lovely against your skin.

Prices start from £34.99 for the kid’s jacket and £159.99 for the womens jacket. www.mountainwarehouse.com/

Another perfectly timed essential are these gorgeous snowboots from Sorel. They are waterproof and whether throwing snowballs or riding sleds, the Yoot Pac offers the warmth, durability and comfort of a winter pac boot in a versatile, lowprofile design. They are also incredibly light and easy to walk in which is great for little feet. They are sure to keep my little girls feet warm throughout the winter. £55.00 www.sorelfootwear.co.uk A firm favourite for this winter is House of Fraser’s children’s collection.

They have some gorgeous clothing available. These classic Name It Leggings are perfect for everyday wear. We put them to the ultimate test and let Lillie wear them to nursery and then washed them to see how durable they really were. Happy to say they washed really well, didn’t lose shape and can actually be paired with most of her current wardrobe. £11.00 www.houseoffraser.co.uk

games & toys Created using traditional techniques and materials these beautiful toys and gifts sold by Traidcraft are hand crafted to encourage creative play. The wooden toys and games shown come from Gospel House in Sri Lanka, buying them will help make a difference to the families and communties of the producers. We reviewed the Fishing Game (£18) and the Animal Dominoes (£12) and they are just gorgeous.

Younger children can relate to these due to the animal image. The set comprises of 28 brightly painted animal print dominoes made from rubberwood and it comes with a cotton storage bag. The fishing game slots together and is filled with nine magnetic sea creatures, which have to be caught with two rods. Ideal for improving hand and eye co-ordination. www.traidcraftshop.co.uk/

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You won’t be able to keep a straight face with either of these two brilliant games from University Games. Perfect for getting rid of inhibitions and just letting loose! Chicken Charades is exactly that, you have 10 seconds to act out your word using the rubber chicken which is almost impossible as everyone is laughing so hard! We loved this!

Suitable from 8+ Another brilliant game is 5 Second Rule. Can you name 3 things under the pressure of 5 seconds twisting away? Really fun fast-paced family board game.

Suitable from 8+. Both games retail for £19.99. www.university-games.co.uk

Blade & Rose, the new children’s fashion brand specialising in stylish leggings with fun designs on the bottom, have launched a brand new Autumn/Winter range for children from 0-4 years. The comfortable and durable leggings are made from a top-quality yarn mix which is machine-washable and remains soft and stretchy for little explorers. Perfect for boys and girls evverywhere! I have loved these since they first came out and we have reviewed two of their latest designs for Halloween and Christmas.

The quality is outstanding and the cute factor is simply off the chart! From £10.00 www.bladeandrose.co.uk Damart has spent the last 60 years protecting adults from the cold, but has now expanded its offering with an exciting new children’s range guaranteed to keep little ones warm and cosy when winter comes around. Designed for extra protection during cold weather.

Soft and comfortable against the skin, this t shirt can be worn on its own or part of a layering system. Great value for money and available in two colours. £9.00 ww.damart.co.uk

We reviewed Leap Frog’s latest creation for toddlers Learning Friends. The Play & Discover School Set - join Tiger, Turtle and Monkey in class for five fun school activities and more than 70 stories, songs and phrases.

Each character responds differently to each situation with their own songs and stories, helping children prepare for the excitement that comes with starting preschool (£24.99) Enjoy pretend-play fun with a picnic, trip to the beach or the library with the Adventure Bus (£16.99). Koala, Fox, and Penguin share different songs and activities for each destination, introducing new vocabulary along the way. Lillie loved playing with these and I was really impressed that the characters were compatible with the Discover School Set. Suitable from 2+ www.leapfrog.com

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Home / Gadgets / Food

Something every little princess will love! This enchanting pack from Worlds Apart comes with a light that switches on, as if by magic, with a clap of her hands and glows softly for 2 minutes to provide reassurance at bedtime. It also includes 50 individual Disney Princess stickers that can be arranged to create a spectacular scene for your little princess’s palace and that she will love. £20.00 www.worldsapart.com

Vertbaudet have some of the most gorgous storage solutions for your child / home. We were lucky enough to be sent two of their latest items the Shoe Rack (£28) and the 3-box libary (£58), both of which are so practical and incredibly beautiful (coupled with the fact they are so easy to put together - you just can’t go wrong!) The quality of the products are brilliant and we love using them. The shoe rack has also been brilliant in teaching my little girl how to put her shoes away and on which colour feet. Very impressed! www.vertbaudet.co.uk

The Tripp Trapp® is an ingenious highchair that revolutionised the children’s chair category when it first launched in 1972. The intelligent, adjustable design allows freedom of movement with both depth- and height adjustable seat- and footplates. Made to the highest quality we love the Stokke Tripp Trapp and how accomodating and comfortable it is! £159.00 www.stokke.com

Snacks - Yummy new snacks, from Ellas Kitchen! No added refined sugar or salt.

No concentrates. No additives or colourings. Delicious tastes and crunchy textures for babies, toddlers, children and adults too! We loved these as a family and they were perfect on the go. Great flavours too! From £1.99 each shop.ellaskitchen.co.uk With 40% less sugar than other children’s biscuits, these bitesized wholegrain and wheat-free Astrobites are a delicious and healthy snack to be enjoyed anywhere. They come in a delicious Berry Blast flavour without being packed full of sugar. We LOVED these and the box was finished within a few days! www.nairns-oatcakes.com

A brand new fruit bar onto the market. These colourful fruit bars come in three different flavours, and are made with superfoods such as virgin coconut oil, oats and fruits. They get their colour and sweetness only from natural fruit juice.

These taste really good and are great for an alternative snack for any member of the family. RRP £2.80 for a pack of four (Ocado). www.getfruitybar.co.uk

Britain’s bestloved gluten free bakery brand, Mrs Crimble’s, have just launched a delicious NEW Country Fruit Slice and a tangy Lemon Slice. Country Fruit Slice – a moist sponge packed with raisins, cranberries and apricots set on thin and crispy pastry base. The Lemon Slice, topped with tangy citrus icing is also just as delicious! Great for all the family! www.mrscrimbles.com Lizi’s Low Sugar Granola is a high fibre, ready-to-eat toasted cereal made from oats and nuts and seeds baked with the minimum of added sugar (less than 4% in total).

This granola will appeal to those who find other granola products too sweet or who are trying to reduce their sugar intake. Great for flapjacks too! £3.75 (500g) www.lizis.co.uk

fatframe is a super protective kids’ iPad case designed to protect your iPad. With cleverly designed handles for little fingers to hold and transport, fatframe gives you peace of mind and super protection for your iPad when your little one is playing with it. fatframe is soft and spongy, hard-wearing but bouncy, lightweight, chewable and easy to wipe clean. Available in 2 colours, coral or blue. RRP £25.99, P & P £4.99 available from www.fatframe.co.uk The makers of Ribena are giving fans a chance to re-live the warmth of the past months with a brand new delicious squash flavour, Mango & Lime – the first new flavour creation across the popular squash range in five years. The richness of the mango, cut through with a hint of tangy lime, is a winning combination – the perfect ‘mocktail’ for any time of day. It really is delicious and very refreshing! £2.00 on offer at Morrisons (offer expires 2/11/14)

Make OXO top of your wish list this Christmas.

Whether it’s tools that help with the food preparation for your family feast, or gadgets that will make a welcome addition under the tree, trust in OXO to see you through the festive season. We reviewed their Cookie Press, which I have to say was incredible Mia and I made 100’s of cookies - I’m sure we read the recipe wrong much to our advantage! I can think of so many homemade little Christmas presents we can make for friends and family with this! The little icing sugar shaker is also ingenious and so simple to use and leaves minimal mess. The spatulas are great to use for any purpose too - we’ve used them for the traditional baking but also for normal everyday cooking too! They withstand a lot of heat and don’t get hot to the touch which is a bonus! www.oxo.com

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Family&Focus News Reviews - Breastfeeding Special Feature

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health & beauty

The Wet Brush is quite simply the best hair brush around! We have struggled with finding something that actually works and this has proven to be a godsend! It works on the curliest of hair and comes in a great range of colours! Ultra-thin and flexible Intelli-flex bristles which enables protective detangling without damaging or breaking the hair. www.cultbeauty.com £11.99

This is a brand new Instant Teeth Whitening product for use at home.

This product works in just 20 minutes a day. It is clinically proven to be safe and instantly effective. It is hydrogen peroxide free, and provides an instant brightening effect after the first application, and can whiten teeth by up to eight shades in just five days.

Incredibly easy to use and the results are great! £29.95 www.iwhiteinstant.com/en

The all new 3 Step Proactive Kit delivering clear skin and a radiant complexion.

Treats blemishes by adding effective blemish targeting technology that delivers more salicylic acid to the pores.

Paraben free, non-comedogenic, dermatologist tested, and suitable for all skin types. I love this, it works wonders for my skin! (£19.99 + p&p) www.proactiv.co.uk

I’ve always been a little sceptical about products like this but actually trying it really is a case of seeing is believing! The powder really does reduce blemishes and give a good all over cover-up leaving a flawless complexion.

It lasts for 12 hours and is fragrance free and contains vitamins C and E. £9.99 www.highstreettv.com

Silk Fibre Brow Enhancer. The incredible beauty must-have will thicken, lengthen and fill in brows to make the perfect eyebrow in less than a minute and can also be used to create the same effect even if no hair exists. My sister reviewed this as and she loves it! It works perfectly without clumping and lasts all day! A definite must for the beauty bag!Availavle from 30th October.

RRP £19.99 www.boots.com

I did chuckle at first when i saw this but it actually is a great product! BOUFFE Dry Spray is the first aerosol dry spray to include a next generation ingredient, uniquely designed to give instant (and amazing) root lift and the illusion of thicker hair. Available in 6 non-permanent coloured shades, 1 non coloured spray and a fixing spray. From £5.99

Reviewed by Mum Eve: I hate chewing gum. But this tasted really nice and chewing just one piece has the 3-4 drops you need for a full dose of the remedy.

I was having some hard days.

Sometimes the kids get a bit too excited and this actually helped me calm down. It’s not just the action of chewing it’s definitely something in it as I don’t chew it for long. I bought another box as I keep them with me all the time now. They are really helpful.

Priced at £4.25. It is suitable for vegetarians and comes in a handy portable box ideal for taking RESCUE on-the-go.

www.boots.com / www.bouffehair.com

www.boots.com

The only drink product on the market that naturally boosts your child’s immune system!

Every Nurture pouch is packed with the optimum daily amount of key ingredients for a two to five year old. The first drink to feature a spill-proof pouch, making it the ideal choice for families who are out and about. RRP £2.99 for a pack of four (Tesco). www.munehealth.co.uk

The winter months can cause havoc with your skin. Cold winds and central heating leave skin dehydrated, dull and grey and in desperate need of a pick me up! The Grace Cole Collection luxuriously nourishes and pampers skin with moisturising ingredients to save even the most dry and sensitive skin types. The fragrances are gorgeous and very refreshing too!

From £5 www.gracecole.co.uk

Reviewed by Mum Eve: I wasn’t too sure about it this as I’ve taken the drops before but I’ve been having trouble sleeping so thought I’d try anything. I took it a few nights in a row and I don’t know if it helped but I did seem to be much calmer than the nights when I did take the spray.

It didn’t bother me I didn’t taste bad at all it was quite nice. I don’t want to take drugs to sleep so it’s nice to just have something natural and just relax. I did find that it helped but not if I was having a really bad night. I happily have it by my bed for when I need it. RESCUE Night products are priced at £7.00 for dropper, £9.45 for spray and £8.45 for Liquid Melts. www.boots.com

If you would like to have your product reviewed or featured within our News & Reviews section of Baby Buzz Magazine, please email me on: nickie@babybuzzmagazine.com Please note we require a minimum of one product per review which is non-returnable.

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News & Reviews

With thanks to Walker Books, Orion Books, Penguin, Ladybird, Puffin Books, Scholastic, Random House, Ebury Publishing, Harper Collins and independent authors for sending us all the fantastic books this month, as pictured below. We will be providing the details on this page of price and where to purchase them with the full reviews being featured online via our website. For more details please visit: www.babybuzzmagazine.com/news/book-reviews/

£11.99 www.walker.co.uk

£7.99 www.puffinbooks.co.uk

£11.99 www.walker.co.uk

£3.99 www.walker.co.uk

£4.99 www.ladybird.com

£11.99 www.walker.co.uk

£6.99 www.ypdbooks.com

£5.99 www.puffinbooks.co.uk

£3.99 (monthly) www.puzzler.com

£9.99 www.randomhouse.co.uk

£15.99 www.thetoftalpacashop.co.uk

£8.99 www.randomhouse.co.uk

£20.00 www.orionbooks.co.uk

£9.99 www.orionbooks.co.uk

£12.99 www.scholastic.co.uk

£11.99 www.walker.co.uk

£10.99 www.orionbooks.co.uk

£11.99 www.walker.co.uk

£4.99 www.orionbooks.co.uk

£3.99 (monthly) £6.99 www.storytimemagazine.com www.orionbooks.co.uk

£7.99 www.randomhouse.co.uk

£6.99 www.harpercollins.co.uk

£6.99 www.scholastic.co.uk

£10.99

£6.99 www.scholastic.co.uk

£6.99 www.scholastic.co.uk

£12.99 www.eburypublishing.co.uk

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£6.99

55

News & Reviews

The new Kia Soul Mixx

I have wanted to review one of these since they first launched in 2008 and I was delighted to be given the chance to review the latest in the series, the Kia Soul Mixx.

The Kia Soul is one of those cars that you either love it or you hate it, in my case I absolutely loved it! The best way to describe it is a mix between a Mini Countryman and a Range Rover Evoque with a super curvy front and a more slightly unsual box shape rear. The space within the Kia Soul surpasses any expectations and the overall finish is exquisite! With 18” alloy wheels and a stunning two tone colour combination (in my case the red and white which is undoubtedly the best one) plus a black high gloss & chrome radiator grille, it really does turn heads. We wasted absolutely no time in test driving this and even my little girl loved being driven around! Our model was one of the best in its range and you could certainly feel every inch of comfort with the handling probably being one of the best we’ve had to-date. The new Kia Soul provides more passenger and luggage space than the previous models and has new seats that offer increased sideways and high support. There is more head and shoulder room for the driver and front passenger, while in the rear of the cabin up to three people enjoy more knee and leg space. The step-in point and hip point are also lower, making it easier to get in and out and the windscreen pillars are further away from the front occupants. Occupants will also find the cabin is more quieter thanks to liberal use of expansion foam, replacing the previous block foam, in the body cavities.

A reinforced isolation pad in the cargo area and polyurethanelayered carpet also contribute to a reduction in interior noise of almost three decibels.

The 1.6-litre (1,582cc) CRDi engine develops 126 bhp at 4,000 rpm and 260Nm of torque which remains constant from 1,900 rpm until 2,750 rpm, ensuring open-road performance similar to that of the petrol Soul and excellent flexibility. Acceleration from 0-60 mph is achieved in 10.8 seconds with the six-speed manual gearbox, while the top speed is 112 mph (not that we tested this for obvious reasons!).

The Soul’s fun-to-drive handling characteristics are now supported by improved ride quality to cope with the deteriorating roads in established markets and the poor surfaces found in many developing markets. New suspension bushing, a suspension insulator at the front and revised suspension geometry at the rear have improved both comfort and quietness. All of this has been aided by the greater rigidity of the new Soul thanks to a considerable increase in the use of high-tensile steel in the construction. The Soul Mixx has 18-inch alloy wheels, contrasting colour roof and door mirror casings, high-gloss black bumpers, chrome exterior door handles, LED rear combination lamps, privacy and solar glass, a cooled glove box, heated front seats and a luggage floor undertray. It is also fitted with the urban styling pack consisting of front, side and rear skirts and wheel arch garnish which increases the width by 31mm. Our model also came with an 8” touch-screen satellite navigation, USB and AUX ports, an 8 speaker Infinity Audio System,

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steering-wheel mounted controls, Bluetooth with voice recognition and music streaming and reversing camera system. A must mention is the amazing warranty that comes with all Kia vehicles.

All vehicles are covered by a seven year, 100m000 mile transferable warranty, Kia’s industry-leading demonstration of faith in the quality of its cars. For retail customers, Kia’s Care-3 and Care-3 Plus inflation-proof 3 and 5 year servicing packages are available. All work is undertaken by trained technicians using genuine Kia parts and approved oils. The servicing packages are also transferable if the car is sold before they expire.

I have to say this is one of my favourites of all the cars that I’ve test driven and it will be at the top of my list when I decide to buy my next car. Again the Kia Soul Mixx definitely was a surprise and I absolutely loved driving this around!

REVIEW MODEL: ON THE ROAD RETAIL PRICE: £19,750 Engine Capacity (litres/cc)

1,582cc

Max Torque (lb ft / rpm)

192 @ 1,900 - 2,750

Max Power (bhp/rpm)

126 @ 4000

Top Speed

112 mph

0 - 60 mph (secs)

10.81

Fuel Economy

Urban: 46.3, Extra Urban: 64.2, Combined: 56.4

CO2 Emissions (mpg)

132

Warranty

All versions are protected by a seven-year, 100,000 mile transferable warranty.

Baby Buzz Rating: 10/10

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News & Reviews

the new Ford Galaxy..

With its advanced technology and elegant design, the Ford Galaxy combines first-class driving quality with the highest levels of space, comfort and innovative features.

Simply put, it’s the most accommodating and refined 7-seat family MPV on the road today. The refined design and ergonomic comforts of the Ford Galaxy set this people carrier apart from other MPVs. Its refined, aerodynamic profile is complemented by the full-length panorama roof that floods the interior with natural light to create a relaxing sense of space. Best of all is its flexibility – with up to 32 possible seating and stowage configurations – making it ideal for active families who like to travel in style.

I have to confess that the first thing I thought when I saw the Ford Galaxy was that it resembled a popular taxi firms fleet of vehicles. It is only once you take a closer look do you realise how practical the Ford Galaxy is. Having decided to take a last minute road-trip with some friends in Newcastle I did initially worry how I was going to fit 4 adults plus lots of luggage and shopping all at the same time. I needn’t have worried as we managed to fit all of us in with enough space to fit another few people in the back, seriously impressive! You can easily fit three car seats in the rear or two and still have enough space for someone to sit between them and any parent will tell you just how hard that is in a standard car! The angled front, jewel-like headlights and contemporary shape of the Galaxy give it a strikingly dynamic profile. Its sculpted bonnet, chrome detailing and sleek grille design then add a sense of elegance. Even though the Galaxy is a large vehicle, it isn’t particularly difficult to drive and once you adjust to sitting a little higher than usual, the all-round visibility and comfort settings provide a smooth drive. Considering that I drove in excess of 5 hours on a long motorway journey, I was comfortable throughout the entire journey and felt the galaxy really handled itself brilliantly. The interior materials and the introduction of an effective fold-flat seating mechanism that rivals that of any other people carrier. The seats themselves are not difficult to collapse and you can create more space in an instant.

of this size can make it a little tricky to judge at times.

The Touchscreen Navigation system with DAB Audio features a 7” full-colour display was also very useful as it responds to real-time road speeds and the latest traffic conditions to deliver more accurate estimated arrival times and trip information, something we certainly put to the test. Another great option for the longer ourney is the cruise control. If you’re on the motorway, you can set the speed using steering wheelmounted toggles. The system then maintains that speed, so there’s no need to keep your foot on the accelerator.

To go faster or slower, you simply use the same manual controls.

(Cruise control is standard on the Titanium and Titanium X.) We also noticed, after a few days, the Blind Spot Information System which uses radar sensors to see vehicles that may be hidden in your blind spot. They’re situated on each side of your car and alert you with an orange light, clearly displayed in the side door mirror. One of my favourite features on the test models we’ve driven so far is the Auto-Start-Stop feature and the Galaxy has this also, definitely a convenient and fuel-efficient option that will automatically shut down when the vehicle is idle. There are three models to choose from starting with the Zetec at £25,670, the Titanium at £27,570 and the Titanium X at £30,070, all of which can be equipped with additional extras at extra cost.

The Galaxy isn’t the greatest vehicle asthetically speaking but there is no doubt that it is a very practical family vehicle for those who need that little bit more space.

REVIEW MODEL: ON THE ROAD RETAIL PRICE: £36,190* Max Torque (Nm)

340

Max Power PS

163

Max Speed MPH

124

0 - 62 mph (secs)

10.4

CO2 Emissions g/km

149

Fuel Economy

Urban: 41.5, Extra Urban: 56.5, Combined: 49.6

Insurance Group

23E

Baby Buzz Rating: 8/10 * Prices shown are effective from 25th November, 2013

There are many optional extras that you can customise the Galaxy with with some being more noticeable than others. I loved the front and rear parking sensors which with a vehicle

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Family Focus - Car Seats Special Feature

Why you cannot put a price on child safety

By Gregory Allen-Smith, C&A Mackie Parenting, it’s an expensive job. Whilst we can cut costs in many areas, our children’s safety isn’t one. It’s our responsibility to keep them safe at all times, but there are some areas we have less control than others, one being on the open road. You might be the most competent driver on the road, but it only takes someone else to make a mistake to cause a crash. The average speed on UK roads is 30 mph and we often underestimate how much damage a crash at this speed can do, not just to us, but to our passengers who we are ultimately responsible for. Of course, you can’t wrap your baby in bubble wrap, but you will eventually need to take them to visit family, to nursery or on days out. Although we all know the importance of staying safe on the roads, there are still those who disregard laws or risk an accident with unregulated equipment for their own convenience.

Sitting in vehicles for long periods can cause long term damage to the neck, back, arms, shoulders and knees, say researchers at Loughborough University.

Car e r g o n o m i c s expertBrian McIlwraith states that extended time in a vehicle “is one of the worst things you can do to your body.” He goes on to say “there’s a tendency for you to be forced into a slumped position, so your back is bent, putting pressure on the hops, lower back and intervertebral discs.” People who drive more than 20 hours a week are at particular risk and commuter times on average are increasing. Painful backs lead to over 8 million consultations each year and it is an increasing trend. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy highlighted the problem:

Putting a price on safety In a recent investigation by Surrey County Council, illegal child car seats were found on sale that tear apart upon impact at 30 mph. Tests carried out by Britax confirmed our worst fears, despite looking safe, these car seats would not perform when they are needed. This means that parents might be driving around completely unaware of the potential disaster that could occur. The car seats are international imports and are not made to meet UK standards. Their cheaper price matches the cheaper materials and structure of the seats, which will not adequately protect your child in the event of an accident. These car seats look like any other, but they are not assigned to any specific brand. As such, they’re much more inexpensive when compared to the wider market. The price has been the driving factor in many of these seats being bought in the UK and their availability on eBay and Amazon means they are easily redistributed to unsuspecting families looking to cut costs when buying their child’s car seat. Even when these car seats are fitted by a professional, they still pose a threat.

“Backache affects up to 95% of the population at some stage and costs the economy £10bn per year in lost prodcuctivity or sick benefits.”

Fitting into your routine It is common to find parents who have chosen to fit their car seat themselves instead of seeking assistance from an expert. Whether it’s one bought offline or a safe seat purchased in store, it’s always best for your child to learn how to fit the seat by someone else trained to do so. Just because you’ve bought one that meets UK safety standards, it doesn’t mean that you are then completely safe in the unfortunate event of an accident. There are plenty of mistakes that can occur, not only due to the way it is applied, but also the place. A common error is fitting child seats against safety bags. The child seat may protect them from the initial impact, but the force of an expanding airbag will knock it out of position. It is likely that you’ll be taking the car seat in and out of your vehicle, but one demonstration from a professional can ensure that you perfect the art of fitting your child’s car seat. Regardless of the expense, you’re investing in your child’s safety.

Tutch Designs Ltd, a British company, has gone a long way to solving this problem with a simple solution called SHOFT™. SHOFT is a small palm-sized product made of soft material that fits over the top of your vehicle seat belt tongue (that’s the bit you grab and pull down every time you buckle up). After the 2 second install SHOFT reduces the usual ‘slack’ that creeps in to the seat belt. How does it do this? SHOFT has a built in ‘brake pad’ made of GRIPtene that engages the seat belt when you buckle up and remove the slack by tugging up on the diagonal section of the seat belt. Keeping tension on the lap belt portion of the seat belt helps comply with RoSPA & NHTSA safety guidelines and also helps with better posture as it reduces ‘slouching’.

Safety comes first It is recommended that you buy your child’s car seat from a trusted professional, not online for a cheap price and certainly not second hand. Much like helmets, once involved in an accident, a child car seat loses its effectiveness and should be replaced. Buying second hand from someone you don’t know means that you also don’t know the product’s history. An accident may not have caused cosmetic damage, but it could have damaged the internal structure of the seat, which is something you wouldn’t be able to see upon purchase. You’ll only realise a second hand product is not offering adequate protection when it’s all too late. You simply cannot cut corners when it comes to insuring your safety. The safety of your child is priceless and should always come before any budget cutting measures. An accident could be just around the corner, so it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

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That’s not all - the lower productivity from staff that ‘soldier on’ with back pain is hard to assess. Bad backs are a major cause of anxiety, irritability, depression and sleep disorders.

These all cost valuable time of work and can be stressful for families and loved ones. A recent survey indicates that over 90% of us ‘wear’ our seat belts incorrectly, far from the perfect posture of the ‘test dummies’ during the EuroNCAP crash tests.

We were sent a sample to review and it really is very easy to install. The seat belt fits securely and it is immediately noticable how much better your seating position is.

For more information and to purchase your own SHOFT, please visit: http://shoft.co.uk/

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Family Focus - Car Seats Special Feature

. . . s d n e m m o c e R Baby Buzz car seats Group 1/2/3 t Grea ! value

Cybex Pallas 2-fix - £270 As a 2-in-1 car seat Pallas 2-fix can be used for more than 11 years. According to Stiftung Warentest and ADAC it is one of the best car seats that grow with the child in Group 1/2/3. WHICH? rated its safety performance in accidents as excellent throughout the entire lifespan, and awarded its side-impact protection with the top mark – 5 stars.

• • •

Adjustable safety cushion (patent pending) Optimised Linear Side-impact Protection (L.S.P. System Plus) Comfort Recline function ensures a relaxed journey

When in Group 1 mode, Pallas 2-fix boasts an adjustable safety cushion which resembles an inflated airbag, reducing the risk of serious neck injuries in the event of a head-on collision without confining the child. For children aged approx. 3 and above, a simple conversion turns the seat into the award-winning Group 2/3 car seat Solution X2-fix. New side protectors absorb the impact energy at a very early stage providing an innovative side impact protection. The ISOFIX Connect System offers enhanced safety and greater stability in both groups. The seat is also compatible with cars not equipped with ISOFIX.

http://cybex-online.com/

Diono Cambria High Back Booster - £75

Kiddicare Traffic SP Group 1/2/3 - On Sale at £24.99

The brand new Diono Cambria High Back Booster is a durable and high quality group 2/3 High Back Booster seat, for children from approximately 4 years all the way up to 12 years old.

From our very own range of everyday essentials, Kiddicare Traffic SP Group 1/2/3 car seat is fantastic value for money. Suitable from 9 months and up, the Traffic SP car seat boasts side-impact protection and extra head support to keep your child as safe as possible in the event of a collision. A height-adjustable headrest provides extra support for older children.

With an extremely spacious padded interior to provide optimum space for a growing child, a strong, design led structure with extra deep side wings, and energy absorbing foam for impact protection.

The side impact protection offered by the new Diono Cambria Booster Seat is the best in its class. Featuring deep seats to provide optimum space for your growing child, luxurious padded wings, and extendable headrests, as well as shock absorbent foam they will keep your precious cargo as safe as possible.

The shaped and contoured seat ensures correct ergonomics, and the extendable headrest, recline angles and premium technology allows the Cambria to be fitted snugly to the seat. What’s more, with wipeable fabrics and removable, washable covers, the Cambria High Back Booster is easy to look after and keep clean. Plus children will love the 2 extra deep cup holders and snack trays to keep their bits and pieces in when you’re on the move.

http://uk.diono.com/

Easily attached with your car’s 3-point seat belt, the Traffic SP is simple and easy to install. The easy to adjust harnesses means little one is always secured correctly, with padded head, arm and seat supports to cushion and comfort your child.

As your child gets older, this car seat transforms into a high back booster seat, making this perfect for those fast growing kids. A lightweight frame makes this easy to switch between cars and the removable covers are hand washable and simple to take on and off.

All Kiddicare brand products are designed and tested to the very latest European safety standards. We know you’ll put our products through their paces, so we’ve made sure they’re ready!

http://www.kiddicare.com/

“Probably the biggest question with child seats for 2-3 year old’s is whether to go front or rear facing.

Front facing probably feels more natural but rear facing will give less trauma if you’re involved in an accident. Either way you can buy mirrors to ensure you’re able to keep an eye on your child whilst also keeping an eye on the road and all child seats in the UK need to meet with EU approval. Most cars now come with ISOFIX as standard which gives a much more secure anchor than the more traditional seat belt arrangement, so opt for one of these if you can.” Neil Addley, Managing Director at Trusted Dealers

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Family Focus Baby Buzz Travel Guide

ARE WE BEING FAIR TO FATHERS? New dads take more than five months to get the hang of fatherhood, it emerged yesterday. The months before and after the birth wrapped dad in a whirlwind of anxiety over whether he could become the parent he needed to be and doubting his abilities to step up alongside mum.

Struggling to follow mum’s strict instructions, worrying about leaving the house alone with baby in tow and feeling completely overwhelmed with basic daily processes were permanent stresses until parenting confidence struck five months after the birth.

The study of 2,000 parents found that one in seven dads knew ‘almost nothing at all’ about parenting before the birth or what to expect from the pregnancy and labour. The research, which was commissioned by Galt Toys, found changing and bathing proved the areas men felt the least confident at tackling in the early days, while a fifth lacked confidence in the feeding process. In fact four in ten admitted to feeling completely out of their depth at times as a new father. Parenting expert Dr Miriam Stoppard, spokesperson for Galt Toys which conducted the research, said: “A baby wants to bond with its dad just as much as its mum and early interaction with babies and toddlers is absolutely crucial to their development. A lack of contact between a baby and its dad means they are both missing out on critical bonding opportunities, which will help dad’s confidence grow creating a parental bond for life.” The study also found that, although excitement was the biggest emotion for dads before their child was born, being scared and nervous was a problem for 46 per cent. That fear and nervousness subsided almost by half in the weeks after the child was born, however the feeling of being overwhelmed almost doubled once the baby arrived. That led to one in four feeling completely overwhelmed at the thought of them being a dad. While a quarter were convinced their partner was simply a more natural parent than they ever would be. No wonder then that six in ten stick regimentally to the rules set out by their partner and followed instructions from mum to the letter in order to get by. And since holding his child for the first time four hours after the birth, it isn’t until a solid five months of parenting experience under his belt that his confidence grew. In fact in the early days three in ten even went as far as to confide in someone that they felt completely out of their depth with the new arrival.

Many others avoided mentioning the feeling they were ‘failing’ at being dad as they didn’t want people to feel they were struggling or were too embarrassed.

John McDonnell, Managing Director of Galt Toys added: “Most dads probably feel that if they fail at fatherhood, they have failed at everything – and being a dad myself I know this feeling all too well! Dads want to be involved and are equipped to provide the nurturing a baby needs, but many worry that they are not very good as a parent and are fearful of making mistakes, which in turn also prevents them from early interaction with their child, so a vicious cycle is set.”

very good as a parent and feared making mistakes which also prevented them from interacting with their child early on. And that went on to affect their relationship with their child- three in ten felt their child treated them differently to mum because they worked and were away more. Almost one in four dads (23 per cent) left it more than a month before feeling they could go out of the house with the child on their own. More than half of dads didn’t read parenting books opting to learn from mum’s reading instead.

Dr Miriam continues: “The research confirms that a dad’s lack of confidence and feelings of embarrassment are aggravated by making comparisons with the other partner. For a dad to find his parenting feet, mums need to let go, so the dads can build up their confidence and have their own, and different, relationship with their child. Although society’s views have changed towards parenting roles, the traditional messaging is still there on the TV shows and adverts we watch and in the articles we read, telling us that mothers should do most of the childcare. It is subliminal messaging that encourages fathers (and mothers) to stick to set stereotypes when it comes to childcare, or simply buying toys.”

Dr Miriam Stoppard offers some advice for new parents: 1.

2.

3.

4.

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6.

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8.

If possible dad should hold his newborn baby within the first hour after birth against the bare skin of his chest so the baby can breathe in his lovely masculine odour and bond immediately with him. He might try changing the baby’s nappy on his own within the first 24 hours too.

It’s good for dads to be given the chance to do things their own way without mums writing lists for them. Dad’s way isn’t necessarily the wrong way it’s just different.

To give himself confidence dad should have a go at bathing his own baby unaccompanied within the first few days of the baby’s birth. Don’t worry dads your hands are big and strong enough to keep the baby safe.

Sometimes it’s hard but mum should try to resist the temptation to laugh at dad’s efforts or criticise saying “you’re doing that wrong”.

Dad should try using his own taste to choose his baby’s clothes and then dress them by himself during the first week after birth.

It’s not helpful for mum to say “don’t put him/her in that”. It dents dad’s confidence and motivation. Dad’s taste is just different from hers and worth tolerating.

After getting a few tips from mum dad should have a go at packing the baby bag within the first week.

It’s demoralising for dads when mum says “the baby prefers it this way”. The baby can have many preferences that will include dad’s.

To download the full research report please go to: www.galttoys.com

The lack of contact early on didn’t help as 56 per cent felt they missed out on crucial bonding opportunities and were away for key moments after only having two weeks paternity leave in the early days. More than a quarter worried that they weren’t

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Baby Buzz Travel Guide

NEW ACTIVITY DENS AT CENTER PARCS ENCOURAGE FAMILY DISCOVERY

Center Parcs has recently launched its new Activity Den across its five Villages, a dedicated children’s destination which has been designed to answer guests increasing desire for family discovery and adventure. Research conducted by activity specialist In2Action amongst 1,000 Center Parcs guests, revealed that 80% of parents are looking for their family to try something for the first time while on their break and wanted their short break provider to offer the opportunity to give children and families the freedom to have their own adventures. As a result, the Activity Den has been specifically designed to encourage children – and their parents – to try something new together and take home mementos of their stay. The children’s activities for 2-14 year olds include much more theatre and parental involvement, whilst also giving families keepsakes to take home with them. Colin Whaley, Sales & Marketing Director at Center Parcs says: “Families are increasingly wanting to branch out on their break and try things they can’t do at home, so we’ve created the new Activity Den as another way to ensure we’re giving families the freedom and choice to enjoy their own adventures. Our brand new and enhanced activities are all designed to up engagement levels from both children and parents and build a sense of achievement for all involved. This in addition to the 100 plus indoor and outdoor activities we already offer at all our Villages. We look forward to seeing and hearing the reaction from guests as they experience the new Activity Den and welcome any feedback.’’

The brand new activities that will be offered in the Activity Den3 include: • • •

• •

Woodland Adventurer (3-7 years) – an action-packed activity, making woodland headdress, and pendants before taking part in a specially designed woodland-themed games Forest Crafts: Mini Beasts (3 years+) - create a unique mini beast mobile and pom pom spider to hang at home Forest Crafts: Hobby Horse Hoedown (3 years+) - decorate a hobby horse which can then be shown off at the final awards ceremony. Winning rosettes will be awarded for best dressed and best behaved. Available at Woburn Forest Forest Crafts: Woodland Creations (3 years +) - create a family of woodland creatures as well as a habitat home for them to live in Chocolate Chefs Academy (3-7 years) – make a chef’s apron and hat, create a range of tasty treats and design secret recipes in the Center Parcs Chocolate Factory

The new Activity Dens replace the Time Out Clubhouses at all Center Parcs Villages. Enhanced existing activity favourites will still be offered alongside the brand new activities. Center Parcs offers a wide variety of activities for all ages either to enjoy individually or for the whole family to enjoy together. The Company attributes their 27 years of success in the UK to a continually evolving offering to meet modern family needs whilst remaining true to the brand’s core values.

Reminiscent of an old castle dominating its surroundings, with fantastic views of the Atlantic Ocean and the island of Fuerteventura, the Dream Gran Castillo 5* resort is located in beautiful Playa Blanca in the south of the volcanic island of Lanzarote.

Dream Gran Castillo Hotel Resort is fantastic for children, who can step into Castleland and dress up as dragons, princesses, kings and much more. Set in the grounds of the hotel, Castleland is a child’s haven with a range of activities for all ages, including swimming pools with water slide, a restaurant, playground and club for older children. And as an extra-special treat, they can stay in one of the themed Merlin Rooms, complete with toys, games and PS4 video consoles.

However, the resort also offers parents some much-needed ‘me time’ too. With small touches such as a 20 minute massage in the Spa Vitanova each night of a 7 day break to an exclusive chill out area for adults only, complete with exclusive access to Bali beds and drinks by the pool.

Read, take a stroll on the beach, or listen to music lying by the pool without worrying about the kids. At the Dream Gran Castillo, you can make the most of the free day care service for children from 6 months to 3 years old, open 6 hours a day and 6 days a week.

7 nights at the Dream Gran Castillo Resort in Lanzarote in November for All Inclusive is from 945 euros or 135 euros per night. (for two people, dependent on dates) – this price is all inclusive but there is also half-board options available.

For more information, please visit: www.dreamplacehotels.com/en/hotel-gran-castillo/

For more information, visit: www.centerparcs.co.uk

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Baby Buzz Travel Guide

Dip and Dine this October Half-Term

Throughout October half-term (October 25th – November 2nd), we will be offering all camping and touring guests staying for four nights or more a free swim* and 25% off your food bill at our on-site restaurant, Forrester’s Club**. At Forest Park an adventure is waiting to be had over October half-term as our trees put on their finest display of exceptional colours for families to explore and create some lasting memories. Remember to pack the wellies and spend time going on numerous autumn walks through our fiery forest kicking up the leaves, collecting conkers and looking out for local wildlife or head a little further and enjoy the delights of the nearby seaside towns Cromer or Overstrand.

To take advantage of this exclusive offer book online at www.forest-park.co.uk or call us on 01263 513 290.

Terms and Conditions: • Book a camping / touring four night stay between October 25th – November 2nd 2014 and receive a voucher for a free swim* per party member and 25% off your food bill** at our on-site Forrester’s Bar. • Cannot be booked in conjunction with any other offer.

• The offer is subject to availability.

• The management of Forest Park reserves the right to withdraw this offer at any time. * A coupon will be given on arrival to each member of the party for one free swim during your stay. ** A coupon will be given on arrival for 25% off your food bill at Forrester’s Club. Forrester’s Club is open from noon to 11pm.

Voucher only valid once during your stay. Booking advisable to avoid disappointment.

A FAMILY RETREAT AT THE JUMEIRAH CARLTON!

We will keep children entertained and parents satisfied during your family stay in London, with our Family Retreat and Family Connections packages. Ideal for parents looking to combine action-packed fun with a stylish and sophisticated stay for your family getaway, both packages offer exciting activities and complimentary gifts for children during your stay.

The children will enjoy the following benefits: • Personalised cookie as a welcome gift • Complimentary goggles to enjoy the stunning 20 metre indoor swimming pool at The Peak Health Club & Spa • Complimentary bathrobes • A thrilling treasure trail, exploring the local area of Knightsbridge and Belgravia • Complimentary breakfast served at The Rib Room Bar & Restaurant when dining with parents to finish off a perfect stay The whole family can relax in a choice of the Junior Suite, Garden Suite or Executive Suite with the Family Retreat package. Alternatively, you can take advantage of the Family Connections package and receive 50% off a connecting Superior Room when you book a Junior Suite.

To book either of these packages, email JCTreservations@ jumeirah.com or call +44 (0)20 7235 1234 and quote ‘Family Package’.

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Baby Buzz Travel Guide

Majestic Babymoons for Parents in Waiting To celebrate the news that the nation’s favourite baby is to have a younger sibling, HouseTrip, one of the world’s largest holiday home rental websites, have put together some top notch locations which will allow expectant parents to enjoy a right royal Babymoon before their own little bundle of joy comes along. The selection of pregnancy-friendly destinations, complete with contrasting accommodation choices, provide the perfect base from which to enjoy some quality time as a couple and even offer the chance to follow in the footsteps of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge themselves. What are you waiting for - exercise your royal prerogative for a pre-baby break.

St Andrews, Scotland

It’s a girl: Deer Park View- from £56 per night (sleeps 4) Book through: http://www.housetrip.com/en/rentals/323122 It’s a boy: Cable Cottage- from £56 per night (sleeps 4) Book through: http://www.housetrip.com/en/ rentals/266688 The small Welsh island of Anglesey was home to Prince William and Kate after they married in 2011. One of the most popular attractions is the Menai Suspension Bridge that connects the island to mainland Wales, which makes for a straight forward journey which avoids any passport control and airport check-in queues - ideal for travel later in your pregnancy. Why not rent a secluded and peaceful cottage just a stone’s throw from the stunning beaches and hilltops views, stroll along costal paths and take in the calming sea air. The island offers many attractions such as Llynnon Mill, built in 1775, which is the only working windmill in Wales. After some sight-seeing why not relax, revive, and rejuvenate at TreYsgawen Hall with a Spa package.

Isle of Wight, United Kingdom

It’s a girl: Detached Cottage It’s a girl: Detached Cottage- from £157 per night (sleeps 4) Book through: http://www.housetrip.com/en/rentals/354979 It’s a boy: Kincaple House- from £77 per night (sleeps 4) Book through: http://www.housetrip.com/en/rentals/299756 St Andrews is a beautiful, vibrant town, home to the renowned St Andrews University, the third oldest university in the English-speaking world, but more importantly is the place where Wills and Kate first met! The town is a former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland and plays host to world famous golf courses sure to keep golf crazed Babymooners occupied. Alternatively, there are also beautiful sandy beaches to enjoy. Once you’ve dusted off the sand from the beach, cocoon yourself within one of the town’s two toprate spas on offer; The Kohler Waters Spa and the Signature Spa. Anglesey, Wales

It’s a boy: Detached Cottage It’s a girl: 23 Alexandra Road- from £49 per night (sleeps 4) Book through: http://www.housetrip.com/en/rentals/346605 It’s a boy: The Beach Retreat- from £48 per night (sleeps 4) Book through: http://www.housetrip.com/en/ rentals/277184 Just a 30 minute ferry ride from the main land, the Isle of Wight provides a true escape without having to travel far, with the island enjoying some of the best weather in the UK. Its friendly atmosphere and stunning landscapes makes it a great choice for getting some down time. With winter approaching, the historical pubs offer cosy log fires and scrummy food, as do some of the fantastic restaurants on the island such as the Beach Hut, a tiny shack above the rock pools on Forelands Beach. If you fancy Michelin start food then The Hambrough is the perfect place to unwind.

For more information, visit www.housetrip.com.

It’s a girl: Deer Park View

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Baby Buzz Travel Guide

Frightfully good fun for Halloween at New Forest Activities

NO MORE LOST PROPER-TOYS Butlins launch new ‘Bear Care’ initiative for families

Ghoulish girls and bewitched boys can get up to Halloween high jinks as New Forest Activities lays on a series of half term activities this October. The outdoor activity centre, at the heart of the New Forest National Park in Beaulieu, offers a range of energetic activities including kayaking, archery and rope courses. The centre will get into the spirit of the spookiest time of the year with a range of frightfully fun activities for all ages during half term (October 28-31).

Parents are invited to take younger children (2-16yrs) in their scariest costumes on a Halloween themed canoe tour on the Beaulieu River. All characters such as pumpkins, ghosts and witches are welcome on a haunted adventure down the 2.5km river as the sun goes down. Along the way you’ll be told a selection of ghost stories by your very own canoe captain, the Beaulieu Legend – and there will be a prize for the best fancy dress. The boat will arrive at Buckler’s Hard where you will walk back through the haunted forest to the base, following the trail set out by your guide. The boat trip takes place on the 29th and 31st of October from 6.30pm – 8.30pm. A family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) costs £68, an adult ticket £22 and a child ticket £17.

If you’re looking for a more action- packed Halloween experience, the horror-themed Battlefield LIVE adventure will push you to your limits. Older children and adults can get groups of friends together for a fight of freedom and survival in a deserted RAF base for two fun-fuelled hours. Halfway through the game the teams will switch between being the soldiers and the infected. There will a series of goals to complete once the alarm has been sounded which will test agility and teamwork. With the urban battlefield closing in November this is the last chance to survive the ordeal so make sure you don’t miss out. The sessions, for those aged eight and over, are available on October 28 and 29. Adult tickets are £25, and child tickets are £20.

Halloween adventures don’t stop there, the New Forest Activities centre will be fully functioning and host to a variety of activities for all the family throughout the entire half term.

The all-year-round fun such as archery lessons and adventure days will guarantee that guests make the most of the October break. Various water and land based activities are open and running 12 months a year. Most of the activities require no previous experience, making them perfect for children and adults looking for something new and exciting to do whilst enjoying a stay at the New Forest. The centre also offers group activities and day trips for schools, clubs and parties such as kayaking, bike hire and raft building.

For further information and to book visit: www.newforestactivities.co.uk or call 01590 612377

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EVERYONE knows that toys have the most fun when children play with them, but on those exciting days out when teddy can’t come with you, what does teddy get up to, and how do we make sure he doesn’t feel lonely? Well children across the country heading to Butlins can now feel safe in the knowledge that their most loved toys will now be able to have as much fun on holiday as they are – as Butlins, the UK company which has been adding sparkle to family breaks for more than 75 years, is introducing a new Bear Care initiative – a dedicated day care service for toys. As part of the Bear Care experience the toys will be given free reign of Billy Bear’s Bedroom in The Shoreline Hotel at Butlins Bognor Regis, to play all day long – enjoying the same Butlins attractions as their young owners – with a puppet show, sandpit, and arts and crafts to keep them entertained. Families leaving for a fun-packed day will no longer worry that their precious toys are left lonely and bored in the hotel room, as they can now simply visit the Bear Care check-in desk between 8-10am to register their toys for the day, ensuring that their favourite bears, dolls and stuffed animals are left in the capable hands of the a friendly Butlins team. Bear Care will also be open to those toys who were having too much fun on the fairground, beach or theatre to leave the resort and accidentally made their way to Lost Property.

The team at Butlins will also take pictures of these lost toys so that their worried young owners know that their favourite toys are being looked after until they can be reunited again. All their owners will need to be worried about is that they’re are having too much fun… The pilot scheme at the Shoreline Hotel in Bognor Regis will be trialed during the unique ‘Just for Tots’ breaks that Butlins offer, where everything from the accommodation and food, right through to the entertainment and activities have been designed solely with younger children in mind.

If the scheme proves successful, Bear Care will be rolled out to other Butlins resorts across the country, so little ones don’t need to leave their favourite teddies at home – meaning that Just for Tots breaks can also be ‘Just for Toys’.

Of the new Bear Care service, Butlins MD Dermot King said: “With the dedicated Just for Tots breaks we already aim to cater for the under-fives in every way possible, whilst ensuring parents can spend as much time with their tots without the added stresses of usual family breaks – so the Bear Care trial is set to be another Butlins innovation that adds another sparkle to families’ holidays – both for children and parents. This year we’re introducing a Just for Tots Christmas Fantasy over the Christmas break to ensure the magic of Christmas is felt by the whole family – Bear Care allows us to ensure that on a Butlins break the toys (and even the toys who are still in wrapping paper) still have a festive holiday to remember.”

To catch a glimpse of behind the scenes at Bear Care and see what the teddies get up to, follow @Butlins, officialButlins or butlinsresorts and join the conversation with #BearCare – or visit: www.butlins.com/bearcare The four night Monday to Friday ‘Just for Tots’ short breaks run on selected term-time dates throughout the year. The four night Just for Tots Christmas Fantasy is available at either Bognor Regis resort or Skegness resort starting on 15 December.

For more information please visit: www.butlins.com/justfortots

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Parents Family In Business Focus

Savings to get you talking!

The highly anticipated iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have recently been launched. Within 24-hours of release, a recordbreaking 4 million handsets were ordered. The hype around the launch has been electric, from extravagant press launches to hordes of people camping outside Apple shops to be the first to get their hands on the new models.

The new and improved iPhone handsets offer fantastic features not only for you, but for the whole family: Camera - The new iSight camera provides you with better photo and video quality, enabling you to capture all of those special moments. Take great photos and apply different effects to make them just as good as a professional camera.

Videos can be taken in slow motion to create quirky clips to show every detail. Share photos and videos with friends, family and other Apple devices with a click of a button.

Security – Installed with Touch ID technology, unlocking your phone, downloading apps or music and making purchases is all done using your fingerprint. So, there is no need to worry about forgetting passwords and you can ensure that your children can only use or play with your phone if you give them access.

Apps – There are thousands of applications available on the App Store. There are apps for the children from games to education, helping them to develop their mental and physical skills, as well as books to share as family or to help them learn to read. For busy parents, there are many apps to help make life a lot easier, including apps to create notes and reminders, apps to help with planning and organisation, as well as grocery apps to track how the groceries you need to ensure last minute shopping trips are a thing of the past. With the latest technology and huge demand, come prices to reflect this. The high street is offering handsets at prices of £43.99* per month and an upfront handset cost of £199.99*! If you are one of those wanting these sought-after mobile phones but can’t afford the initial cost and monthly tariffs, there is an answer – salary sacrifice Mobile Phones.

Available through your employer, you can get the brand-new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus from only £31.01 per month and no handset cost, enabling you to save over £500 during a 24-month contract**. Operated as salary sacrifice, the monthly tariff cost is deducted from your wages before tax and National Insurance, which means you pay less each month. For example, a tariff costing £45.60 would actually only cost £31.01 per month for a basic rate tax payer***.

texts, at least 2GB of data, 24-month handset warranty (compared to the usual 12-months) and 4G network access for no additional cost as standard. There are a variety of handsets and tariffs to suit your individual lifestyle.

To get the new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or other handsets such as the Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 and more, contact Busy Bees Benefits with your employer’s details and they will get in touch to discuss setting up the scheme. Simply, go to www. busybeesbenefits.com/contactus.

For more information, please visit: www.busybeesbenefits.com *There are compared to the lowest tariff offered by Busy Bees Benefits for the iPhone 6; there are tariff and handset costs higher on the high street. **Compared to equivalent contracts offered on the high street. ***higher rate tariffs are available from £26.45 per month.

With these fantastic prices, you will not only get the latest handset for free, you will also get unlimited minutes, unlimited

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Family Focus

UK FACING CHILDCARE SHORTAGE AS GRANDPARENTS INCREASINGLY CHOOSE TO WORK INTO RETIREMENT Research from Aegon UK, the life and pensions company has found that 29% of Brits are intending to work part time for some or all their retirement in order to supplement their income. An estimated 9.8 million grandparents provide childcare and many parents rely on this largely free resource. During the recent summer holidays, if the 9.8m grandparents who look after children currently, provided three days a week of childcare for six weeks, they effectively saved parents a collective £5.1bn in care costs.

© Phovoir | Dreamstime.com

National childcare costs have risen by more than a quarter (27%) over the past five years and at the beginning of the summer, a survey of local authorities revealed just 27% had enough holiday childcare for working parents, so grandparents are currently providing welcome relief.

David Macmillan, managing director at Aegon UK said: “We are living longer and many people can expect to spend twenty or thirty years in retirement. As a result it is not surprising that many people intend to work part time in retirement.

“However, many parents rely on the generosity of a grandparent to help with childcare and this trend may have a significant impact on the amount parents need to set aside for childcare costs. Another take on this trend would be to look at the increasing financial support older generations are providing to younger generations. We may well see grandparents continuing to work not just for their own financial needs but in order to support younger family members with childcare costs, school fees and broader costs such as the ability to get on to the housing ladder.

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“The industry must continue to support savers so they can achieve the retirement and flexibility they want and give them a choice as to whether they would like to keep working in retirement. A simple and easy way to manage your finances and view progress against a number of goals is key. Aegon recently launched the Retiready online digital tool to help consumers easily manage their pensions savings and see if they are on track for the retirement they want, whether that includes part time work or summer fun with the grandkids.”

For more information, please visit: www.aegon.com

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Family Focus

TV MAGICIAN UNDERTAKES NEW CHALLENGE TO ENCOURAGE KIDS TO GET MESSY AND CREATIVE

TV magician and star of ITV2 series Tricked, Ben Hanlin, has surprised a school in Staines with some messy magical mayhem as part of a campaign by Persil small & mighty to encourage kids to embrace stains. In a twist from his normal show where his audience consists of celebrities ranging from Kim Kardashian to the TOWIE cast, Hanlin set a new personal best, performing and recording the most live tricks in one day for a slightly different audience, Mr Toms’ Year 4 pupils at Riverbridge Primary School, Staines, who had no idea what Ben had planned. Hanlin performed the series of tricks in different classrooms around the school involving paint, chocolate and lots of mess, before the grand finale which saw the stains magically disappear from the children’s clothing, to the amazement of their parents. Ben Hanlin said: “Where better to encourage kids to embrace stains, than in Staines! It was great to perform my unique blend of magic on school children. They have so much energy and wonder that they made for a great audience. And of course, they needed no encouragement to get messy!

Their mums looked slightly worried when they saw their kids covered in green paint and sticky chocolate but, of course, I cleaned them up in no time, with magic of course…”

Riverbridge Primary School headmistress, Maggie Roberton, said “It was great having Ben come to the school to film the set of tricks. The children had such an amazing day getting involved and messy. They’re all still talking about it now and are thrilled to have played a starring role.”

Ben and Persil small & mighty created the film in response to findings from Peril’s research that revealed Britain is at risk of raising a generation of sedentary ‘stainophobes’ who don’t like dirt and mess (33%) and who believe looking ‘cool’

is more important than ‘having fun outside’ (46%). Working with Play England, Persil has revealed the top seven fun, engaging and possibly messy activities parents should encourage their children to get stuck into to develop kids’ creative side – one for every day of the week: • • • • • • •

COOKING STAINS: Learn to cook spaghetti in the kitchen with mum and dad FRUIT SPLASHES: Pick blackcurrants or make fresh fruit smoothies GRASSY SMUDGES: Play football in the park or roll down hill MUD SPLATTERS: Make a mud pie in the garden and jumping in muddy puddles JAMMY SMEARS: Make a jam sandwich picnic for you and your friends PAINT DROPS: Get creative and paint a picture, make a collage using natural materials and poster paints WATER MARKS: Find some frogspawn in the spring, have water fights with friends in summer or go sledging in winter

For those who don’t have a magician at home though, try a little dose of Persil small & mighty for those toughest stains even in a 60 minute quick wash.

Find out more at Persil.co.uk or Twitter: #persilstainmagic.

To watch the magic unfold and see the children’s reactions, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/ PersilStainMagic

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Family Focus

DR SALLY NORTON: LEADING HEALTH & WEIGHT LOSS EXPERT. FOUNDER OF VAVISTA.COM WARNS: “BABY FOOD - HOMEMADE BUT STILL SUGAR PACKED?”

We shouldn’t be letting our kids get to this desperate and distressing stage.

The good news is that what children eat from an early age (even what their mothers eat when pregnant) can influence their future health and eating behaviour – so it is never too early to start forming good habits for your kids.

With a glut of super-sweet and rapidly ripening pears to contend with I have been searching Google for inspiration, and am struck by the number of posts being shared amongst mums on the best recipes for pear and other fruit purees.

It’s great that so many women are making their own baby food rather than relying on shop bought food, which is often full of preservatives and laden with sugar. However, my concern, in reading these posts, is that we are still giving our babies very sweet food without realising it. Don’t get me wrong – fresh fruit cooked by mum, with no added sugar or other chemical nasties has got to be better than most other offerings, but fruit sugar is still sugar. Once pureed, fruit still retains some of the important fibre that slows down sugar absorption, but when boiled down to a concentrate, the sugar in a 100mls serving can amount to 2-3 teaspoons. Does this matter? Well, yes. Increasing evidence shows that our kids are becoming more and more addicted to sugar – with fizzy drinks, cakes, biscuits, cereals and fruit juices being just as much a problem as the bags of sweets that are all too readily available. Depressingly, a third of 10 year olds and a fifth of 5 year olds are overweight or obese, putting them at risk of numerous illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, which used to be diseases of middle age. I know how serious an issue this is - I occasionally have to consider weight-loss surgery on teenagers, as a last resort to tackle major health issues.

A study last year published in Archives of Disease in Childhood found that 65% of foods aimed at infants from 4 months were sweet and provided fewer nutrients than home produced food.

So, though my kids are well past that stage I thought it may be useful to compare what is on offer with what we can produce ourselves and see what we can do for our babies and toddlers to protect them from obesity and its terrible diseases in the future. Commercially produced baby food varies considerably in quality but the sugar content in jars of fruit-based food seems remarkably consistent – around 3 ½ teaspoons per serving. HiPP organic banana yoghurt breakfast, Cow and Gate baby fruit cocktail, Heinz “Mum’s Own” banana and chocolate dessert and Ella’s Kitchen purple fruit smoothie all came in at the 3-3 ½ teaspoon mark. According to the NHS website, we should regard any food containing over 22.5g of total sugar per 100g as high in sugar, less than 5g of sugar per 100mg as low. Whilst the examples listed above are all of medium sugar levels, there are many foods marketed at older babies and toddlers that are incredibly high in sugar – up to 70g of sugar per 100g…including cereal bars, fruit chews and yoghurts.

The fact that this high sugar level is due to concentrated fruit – marketed as ‘natural sugar’ - doesn’t make it any less sweet, and not much healthier either.

Contrast these high-sugar foods with the so-called ‘main meals’ for babies.

These savoury versions contain around 1 teaspoon of sugar per serving – e.g

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Heinz Mediterranean veggies and chicken or Ella’s Kitchen chick-chick chicken casserole. Much better. At home we can avoid overly sweet fresh fruit purees by mixing fruit with vegetables – try carrot and apple – or just stick to veg on its own. Butternut squash, peas and sweet potato all have a degree of sweetness anyway and broccoli, avocado and many other vegetables are packed full of nutrients and go down well alone or in combination. By making our own homecooked baby food we can keep sugar levels down (and salt too – less than 1g / day for babies under 12 months) and avoid the need for preservatives. It works out a lot cheaper too and locally sourced ingredients without all of the packaging means better for the environment as well – wins all round. The crazy thing is that babies just don’t need sugar (nor do we, come to that). It is our own hardwired habits that have us thinking we need a sweet course after our main meal – and the baby food manufacturers are happy to sell us dessert products so that our babies can follow suit. Why are we encouraging our kids to follow our own bad practices? We are becoming used to sweeter and sweeter food and it is damaging our health. Let’s give our kids a great start in life by ensuring that when that first new tooth comes through, it is not a sweet tooth!

For more information, please visit: www.vavista.com

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Family Focus

Ukulele becomes top of the class Amazon.co.uk reports new trend in children’s music lessons as ukulele sales rise by 2,250% year on year

With schools reopening their doors for the new academic year, sales of musical instruments have soared on Amazon.co.uk.

However, the humble recorder has been replaced by quirkier instruments in the nation’s classrooms with sales of the ukulele up 2,250% year on year and the harmonica up 1,000% year on year. Also seeing a return to the school timetable are hand bells, first popularised in the UK during the 1700s, which have seen a 500% increase year on year during the back to school preparations.

THE ‘INDOOR’ GENERATION! KIDS in Britain are spending so little time playing outside that they are lacking basic knowledge about the outdoors.

New research has found that a quarter of primary schoolaged children spend less than six hours per week playing outside while at home.

The study, conducted by UK-based garden furniture retailer Alfresia has found that many children are so unexposed to outdoor play that they are unable to identify common plants and flowers. Just under a third of 5 to 8 year olds thought carrots grew on trees, almost half could not identify a parsnip and a fifth thought daffodils were edible.

What’s more, many had never taken part in simple garden activities – over a quarter had never planted a flower, a fifth had never made mud pies, and 10% had never made a daisy chain. Playing in the garden was children’s seventh favourite past-time in and around the home, with playing computer games, watching television and playing with parent/carer’s mobile phones taking the top spots. When asked about their attitudes to outdoor play, a quarter said they felt there were more fun things to do inside, while almost a fifth did not want to play in the garden in case they get dirty.

Perhaps influenced by recent performances from John Legend and Taylor Swift, sales of children’s grand pianos are up 200% year on year and sales of acoustic guitars are up 400% year on year. In addition, sales of Electronic Beatbox Machines have risen by 300% year on year, following the success of a capella group, Pentatonix.

“Instruments such as hand bells and the harmonica are portable, inexpensive, quick to learn and fun to play, making them a popular choice for schools and their pupils,” commented Xavier Garambois, Vice President of EU Retail at Amazon.

“Just as Mumford and Sons reinvigorated the ukulele and Glee brought a cappella singing to a new generation, we’re now seeing the likes of John Legend and Taylor Swift inspiring children to learn a musical instrument. With the increased availability of instruments, children are no longer limited to attempting ‘London’s Burning’ and ‘Three Blind Mice’ on a shared recorder – much to the relief of parents and teachers alike” commented Antony Yiannaki, Musical Instruments and DJ Store at Amazon.co.uk Ltd. Find a range of musical instruments, whatever your taste, with the Musical Instruments and DJ Storeon Amazon.co.uk

Craig Corbett, Product Director at Alfresia, said: “Unpredictable weather, paranoia about allergies and the lure of technology and computer games is clearly impacting on the amount of time kids spend outside. Children today seem to becoming something of an indoor generation, which is really sad. The level of knowledge about everyday plants and wildlife among the younger ones is really surprising.

With the summer holidays having just kicked off, we’d like to encourage families to spend more time outside, teaching kids to enjoy nature in their own back gardens. You don’t have to be knowledgeable to enjoy nature – but it can make it more interesting for kids.”

Alfresia sells a wide range of garden and conservatory furniture to enable families to enjoy their gardens via its website.

For more information, please visit www.alfresia.co.uk

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Family Focus

NEW SHOW ON POP - Robin Hood: Mischief in Sherwood launches for half term week POP will be exclusively airing the NEW Robin Hood: Mischief in Sherwood, from 27th October at 9.30am and 7.30pm.

POP is the first channel to be added to the Freeview children’s portfolio in eight years, and is also available free-to-air on Freeview channel 125, Freesat Channel 603 and Sky Digital channel 616.

Available for the first time in CGI, this new series follows the young Robin of Locksley, who at 10 years old is full of energy, courage and humour. Robin and his friends live out daring adventures and never miss an opportunity to have fun!

For further information on POP please visit: www.popfun.co.uk

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Family Finance

“Brits go to extreme lengths to battle mid-year money blues” Research by survey site PowerofOpinions.co.uk into the UK’s finances reveals that as summer approaches, so too is a UK-wide bout of the ‘mid-year money blues’. Almost half of Brits (46%) revealed that they feel particularly financially strained at this time of year as they start thinking about their summer holidays. Over a quarter (26%) said that due to very tight finances, they will not be going on holiday at all.

Over a quarter (28%) said that they worry about not having enough money on a daily basis, followed closely by 24% of people who worry every week.

Many even admitted that they would knowingly bend or break the law in order to make a bit of extra money, with men twice as likely as women to resort to illegal measures. But Brits did demonstrate that they have a sensible yet generous sentiment towards money - when asked what they would do if they were handed £10 in cash, almost equal numbers said they would invest it (32%) or spend it on others such as their partner, children or family (31%) rather than on a treat for themselves (25%).

The top 18 things Brits do to earn and save a bit of extra money: 1. Filling out online surveys for money (68%) 2. Turn off lights and heating (47%) 3. Won’t buy full-priced goods, only spend on a discount (30%) 4. Disregard use-by dates on food (28%) 5. Use cashback sites when shopping online (27%) 6. Won’t carry cash so they physically can’t spend (21%) 7. Cut their hair themselves or don’t bother at all (18%) 8. Flush the toilet less often (15%) 9. Look for dropped cash on the street (15%) 10. Give themselves a ‘Supermarket Sweep’-style fixed time limit when shopping (10%) 11. Forage for food instead of buying it (6%) 12. Wash less often (5%) 13. Rent out their car parking space/spare room (4%) 14. Ring friends/family and ask them to call them back (3%) 15. Reuse train tickets or buy a child instead of adult ticket (2%) 16. Go on paid clinical trials or donate sperm/plasma/ eggs/hair etc (2%) 17. Sneak through train barriers right behind someone else (2%) 18. Manipulate self-service checkout tills in supermarkets (2%)

The research also uncovered some extreme and sometimes illegal lengths Brits are resorting to in order to save or make a bit of extra money.

Some admitted the following: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

“Claimed something was lost in the post to get some money back” “Took stuff from outside a charity shop at 3 AM” “Well, let’s say manipulated on my tax returns” “Driving without having a current MOT” “Shoplifting” “Fiddling with work expenses” “Swapping a tag on an item of clothing to make it cheaper” “Starve, you gotta do it” “Worked on an adult chat line” “Took part in a police line-up” “Taken toilet rolls home from work” “Working seven days solid with no sleep” “Get rid of the wife” “Took copper and sold it on” “Act as nude model for art class”

Tim Furdui, Senior Research Analyst from PowerofOpinions.co.uk comments: “This is a particularly tough time of year with finances having to be further stretched as the nation attempts to afford some respite with the summer holidays approaching. But it seems many are struggling with the basics alone and are resorting to quite extreme measures in order to make financial shortcuts to battle the mid-year money blues – some slowly and surely making small gains by using cashback websites and filling in paid online surveys, others willing to flout the rules and even break the law for larger gains. It’s clear though that Brits are very savvy about implementing lots of little changes so they amount to something bigger by year’s end.”

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Family Finance

Families in the UK unaware of tax breaks that could benefit children!

A baby born today faces paying £3.4 million for their first property

UK families could be using simple tax breaks to save for their children in the future, but many parents are not aware of how they could be saving on tax, says ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).

Many families who are attempting to save for their children’s future university education are not even aware of the possible ways to save money on tax. ACCA points out that ensuring a secure future is important to most parents and this could be made easier by ensuring that everyone is aware of the tax breaks that can be used.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at ACCA, said: “There are simple ways to reduce the amount of tax a parent is paying for their child, now it is important to make everyone aware of these.

In many businesses parents are entitled to child care vouchers, whereby part of their pay is in the form of a voucher to be put towards childcare without tax being paid. The government is supporting this idea and in 2015 will be introducing a program in which a parent can spend up to £2000 per year on child care fees without being taxed.

“In addition, many families are not aware of junior ISA’s. Junior ISAs give parents the ability to save up to £4000 per year for their child without being taxed on the interest. With 6 million children currently believed to be eligible for junior ISA’s they could be a convenient way for families to save for university education or other stages in later life, as the money cannot be touched until the age of 18

“Families often do not like to think about the consequences of a family death, but preparing for this could save a considerable amount of money. Anything left to children in a will may cause an inheritance tax liability. To avoid this, parents can pass assets to their child before they die, ensuring that the child will receive the assets without it being subject to a hefty tax bill, giving the child a greater opportunity for financial security during their life.”

Further support and advice on using tax breaks to save for children is available from an employer, the Money Advice Service, HMRC and ACCA qualified accountants.

For further information, please visit: www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk | www.hmrc.gov.uk | www. accaglobal.com/uk/en.html | Twitter @ACCANews

Previous generations have witnessed significant rises in property values. It’s been a subject of debate around the dinner table and gained enormous media attention, but what about the next generation of home owners? Leading online estate agent eMoov.co.uk have released statistics which show that a baby born today faces the prospect of paying £3.4 million for their first property.

Looking at historic house price data since 1954, there has been an average annual increase of 8.6%. At the current rate of property growth, if a child is born in 2014, by the time they reach the average first time buyer age of 35, the average house price in 2048 will be an astounding £3.4 million. Even children of 10 years old today, face paying over £1.6 million for a property, requiring a deposit of over £320,000. If you have a child who is currently 4 years old, they will most likely need £2.4 million.

By 2032 the average 20% deposit needed to buy a property will equal the price of the average price of a property in 2014.

Generation Z’s (The Millennial Generation) parents are already preparing, as 67% of parents polled by eMoov.co.uk stated that they will have to financially aid their children get on to the property ladder. A house worth the national average of £205,199 by the end of 2014 is estimated to be worth £3,391,474 in the year 2048 if the historical pattern continues in property. Property expert Russell Quirk CEO of online estate agent eMoov.co.uk commented “Our research shows the staggering truth about the rise of property prices within the UK over recent times. Property prices are always on the move but viewed over decades our research shows an annual rise of 8.6% since 1954. If the trend continues then the bank of Mum and Dad will become even more important for the next generation of home owners” For more information, please visit: www.emoov.co.uk

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Family Finance

Quarter of UK parents spend at least 30% of their income on childcare!

With the cost of raising a child now reported to be around £225,000, it’s no surprise that some Brits may initially experience financial struggles.

A recent survey released by TopCashback.co.uk reveals that around a quarter of UK parents spend at least 30 per cent of their income on childcare and in order to tackle costs, one in ten mothers returned to work when their child was four months or younger, whilst the figure for fathers was one in two. 40 per cent of parents also stated that childcare costs had prevented them from taking an annual holiday. The full set of statistics are shown opposite.

For more information on TopCashback, please visit: www.topcashback.co.uk

£210 MILLION WASTED ON UNWANTED KIDS’ BIRTHDAY GIFTS EACH YEAR A STAGGERING £210 million pounds is being wasted every year on unwanted birthday gifts for British kids, whose toy boxes are already bursting with toys they don’t play with. Spoilt British children have ten times as many toys as they need, with the average UK child owning 51 toys, but actually only playing with five of them on a regular basis. But despite this, kids are being inundated with new toys as birthday gifts from friends and family each year. More than a third of all parents surveyed

by One4all, the leading multi-retailer gift card from the Post Office, believe their child is spoilt and has too many toys. Over half also believe that their child would rather choose their own gift to avoid wastage, while one in five would prefer friends and family to club together and buy a bigger, longer lasting gift like a gadget. However, 62% of parents surveyed admitted they are most likely to buy a toy as a birthday gift for a child, with gadgets such as hand-held consoles and food-based gifts such as sweets and chocolate being among the least likely to be purchased. Duplicate gifting is also a big problem; with 15% of parents admitting their child always gets multiples of the same gifts, and the average UK child receiving at least three unwanted gifts per year.

And with 1 in 5 parents admitting to being heavily influenced by toy advertising on television, the chances of children receiving duplicate presents increases dramatically – in fact, toys make

up over 60% of duplicate gifts when compared with items like books and clothes.

And when it comes to clearing out these unwanted items, two thirds of parents admit to cheekily re-gifting them to friends and relatives’ children, or even profiting from them by selling them on the internet through sites like eBay. Meanwhile, a philanthropic third will donate unwanted presents to charity shops.

Declan Byrne, UK managing director of One4all, says, “Our research indicates an alarming amount of money is being wasted on gifts that children don’t even want, and largely on toys. In our throw away society it’s important that children are taught the value of things from an early age. There are lots of alternative birthday gifting options for children, which would help prevent millions of pounds being poured down the drain needlessly. Our own One4all Gift Card is one options, as it allows the child to choose the gift that they want from 17,000 stores. Making it educational, as well as giving them lots of choice in where to get their chosen present from.”

The One4all gift card is available from Post Offices nationwide and online at www.one4allgiftcarduk.co.uk.

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Family Focus

NEW BED BRAND LAUNCHED MAKING Children under three should CHILDREN’S DREAMS COME TRUE only be given water and milk; GNG Group has launched a new brand, Little Mattress Company, specialising in children’s mattresses and beds. The mattress range includes innovative sleep solutions to suit the various needs of parents and children, from JustBaby and JustKids standard foam mattresses to PuroBaby and PuroKids, which use advanced temperature regulating fabrics and antibacterial treatments for a refreshing and healthier night’s sleep. EcoBaby uses natural touch fabrics to help minimise bacteria, dust mites and mould. The brand’s bedroom ranges include novel and exciting designs, like the Formula One inspired bed frame and matching furniture, as well as more traditionally designed cots, beds and furniture in a range of colours to suit different colour themes.

Little Mattress Company products are available to buy online at www.littlemattresscompany.co.uk

warns expert in light of toothdecay statistics released today.

A survey by Public Health England has revealed that one in 10 three-year-olds have tooth decay. These youngsters had an average of three teeth that were decayed, missing or filled.

“Much of children’s sugar intake comes in the form of sugary drinks. Drinking them from bottles and sippy-cups further increases the damage caused, particularly to the front teeth” claims Mel Wakeman, nutrition expert and Senior Lecturer in Applied Physiology at Birmingham City University.

“Ideally children should be encouraged to move from a bottle to a cup from the age of 1 but many children can find this transition difficult (as do parents) because the bottle is often a great source of comfort and less messy! Teaching a child to use a straw can also help. Sugary fruit juice drinks aimed at very young children are simply not necessary and should be avoided. Water and milk for the under 3’s are the best choice.”

What do readers give their under-3’s to drink?

Email me on info@babybuzzmagazine.com to let me know your views!

PARENTS NOT PREPARED TO DISCUSS E-SAFETY about online safety. Sometimes it’s just as new to parents as it is to children. We want to help parents make internet safety rules consistent across school and home. So we have developed these learning materials to empower parents in educating their children.”

With online privacy back in the limelight, findings from Disney’s Club Penguin’s online safety initiative, It Starts With You, has found that almost half (45%) of parents have not discussed or properly prepared their child to use the internet responsibly.

Worryingly, almost one in 10 parents say they never intend to discuss the important issue with their children. A cause for concern, one in five (21 per cent) are not sure about what their children do online and just three in 10 believe their children always act responsibly when on the net, including sharing personal details.

The study reveals one reason parents don’t discuss internet safety with their child is that a third of them (35 per cent) lack confidence in their own knowledge and abilities. This means they are unsure how to equip their children how to be responsible online. Leading triggers for parents to bring up the subject include something a child has said about an internet experience (19 per cent), or spotting a worrying article about online safety in the press (17 per cent). As e-safety is placed firmly on the new school curriculum in 2014, one in 12 parents look to schools for guidance on how to approach the subject. Disney’s Club Penguin aims to highlight that the internet is an inspiring place for children, that should be celebrated, not feared, and has designed a range of fun and educational resources to help parents start conversations with their children to ensure they stay safe online.

Lucy Woodward, director at Disney’s Club Penguin, said: “We understand it’s not always easy for parents to have conversations

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The study, in partnership with e-safety organisation Internet Matters, was carried out as part of Disney’s Club Penguin’s ongoing safety initiative, It Starts with You. The It Starts With You campaign is supported by safety partners the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and Childnet. The new parent resources can be found at:

www.disney.co.uk/internet-safety Be E-SAFE: A guide for parents To help parents to prepare for the conversation about online safety with their children, Disney’s Club Penguin has created a simple five-step ‘Be E-SAFE’ checklist: Be E-SAFE… Educate yourself on internet safety Start e-safety conversations as soon as your child is online Ask your child to show you what they do online Find out how to set parental controls for all devices and agree boundaries Encourage your child to tell you if anything online unsettles them

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Family Focus

Housework takes priority over family time, a new study shows!

The average mum puts in a staggering 31 hours of housework every week, the equivalent of four full working days and made up of 23 hours’ work during the week and another eight hours on a typical weekend. The study also found that seven out of ten mums reckon they never get a proper day off to unwind and enjoy their family, with just six days out a year the average for British families.

The report showed many mums admit dads are either too busy or too tired to take-over on a weekend and give them a break, meaning they never get a day to themselves.

Furthermore, the research, commissioned by Direct Line to launch their new rewards programme, Let’s Go, revealed the alarming lack of quality family time for British mums, with nine in ten feeling they don’t spend nearly enough time with the kids and are missing them growing up. Additionally it emerged mum is the head of the modern household, and is six times more likely than dad to be the one organising the family for days out and holidays.

Kerry Chilvers, brands director at Direct Line, said: “Mums are the engine of the family and are heavily relied upon to keep home life as it should be. However, as this research shows, so many feel they never really get a proper day off.

It’s important to be able to switch off and escape those hectic daily routines.

Running a family is a non-stop job and

both parents work very hard, but it’s important to make time to stop and just enjoy time with our families too.’’

The study found that of the 31 hours the average mum spends doing chores every week, eight hours is washing and cooking, four hours is dedicated to cleaning and two hours of ironing. While dad tries to be on hand to help, two thirds of mums said their partner is often too exhausted after working all day, and a busy nine in ten mums felt they don’t get enough time to spend proper quality time with their children.

From the stress of getting the kids to school, right to the point of getting them to bed in the evening, four in five said they spend more time cleaning up after their children than actually being able to play with them. Even on special days like their birthday or Mother’s Day, 70 per cent of Britain’s mums said they still end up doing work in order to keep the household running smoothly.

The cost of paying for days out, the stress of managing everyone and the kids getting bored quickly leaves seven in ten mums often dreading the prospect of trying to keep the kids entertained in the school holidays. In fact, half of mums have even cancelled or avoided a day out in the past because the costs

mounted. When asked to rate the perfect ingredients for a family day out, mums just wanted good weather, value for money and the kids to be in a good mood. UK mums voted huge expenses and unruly kids as the factors most likely to ruin a day out.

Kerry Chilvers added: “Our day to day routines seem to get busier and busier and it’s easy to get swamped and with that it’s easy to let the balance between work and play slip. When it comes to family, a day out together can help break from the normal routine and ensure mum gets that well- earned rest.’’

To find out more about Direct Line’s Let’s Go rewards programme visit: www.letsgo.directline.com

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Family Focus

Top tips for treating pain and fever

AVERAGE CHILD SEAT HAS MORE GERMS THAN A TOILET SEAT! Children’s car seats have twice as many germs as the average toilet, a recent study revealed. Scientists took swabs from safety seats and discovered an average of 100 potentially dangerous bacteria and fungi lurking in each square centimetre. A toilet, meanwhile, contains around half of that - just 50 germs in the same area. Among the bugs found on car seats include bacteria that can lead to health risks, such as E. coli and Salmonella.

The survey of 2,000 motorists for Continental Tyres was supported by scientists at the University of Birmingham who took swabs from 20 cars and homes to compare. They found that our cars contain more potentially hazardous bacterial and fungal species than anywhere in our homes. The study also revealed that almost half of us regularly drive in vehicles full of clutter with one in ten Brits having had an accident or near miss due to the mess in their car.

Mark Griffiths, safety expert at Continental Tyres said: “Many people are driving around in vehicles which resemble a rubbish tip without realising the hazards. To stay safe whilst driving and avoid health risks drivers should regularly clean their cars inside and out. Clutter as well as germs can present a real hazard – for example a can or bottle rolling under a brake pedal would be very serious.” The research found that 60 per cent of motorists are totally unaware of the health risks a dirty car poses to them and their passengers. Around 1 in 5 motorists tidy the inside of their car just once a year, typically prompted by an imminent visit to the garage. Our car footwell was the filthiest area, with several thousand bacteria for every square centimetre. Old take-away boxes, CD cases, used tissues, maps and broken torches make up the bulk of the junk strewn around our vehicles. Dr Anne-Marie Krachler, from the Institute of Microbiology and Infection at the University of Birmingham said: “Cars can play host to a number of potentially harmful bacterial species. These germs can easily spread in cars that are not cleaned often, especially if you eat in the vehicle or leave litter and food.”

Mark Griffiths of Continental said: “Most people wouldn’t dream of using their home as a dumping ground for rubbish as they do with their car.

With real safety implications, it’s important car owners perform simple and regular maintenance on the inside, minimising the risks posed by both bacteria and clutter in the cabin,.”

However, many Brits do take a dim view of people with dirty cluttered cars, with 40 per cent of us referring to them as ‘slobs’ or ‘lazy’. It’s also bad news for singletons with a messy car as 37 per cent say they would be put off someone they had just started dating if their vehicle was full of clutter.

As a parent it can be worrying if your child is experiencing pain or a high temperature. While it’s not pleasant to witness your child struck down with fever, it’s important to remember that it is very common in young children, with 20 to 40 per cent of parents reporting feverish illness each year. Ensuring your child has the most appropriate treatment available to relieve their symptoms can be the key to helping them feel better, allowing you all to enjoy family time once again. If fever does strike there are a few simple steps which you can take to help ease your child’s discomfort: •

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• •

Offer fluids regularly: Be sure to replace your child’s fluids lost through sweating or a runny nose. Fluids help the body tackle infection, so make sure your child drinks water, or 100% juice, and if possible eats clear soups to get the liquids they need Medicine: Giving your child pain relief such as ibuprofen will ease discomfort and help to bring down a fever. Ibuprofen, the main ingredient in Nurofen for Children, has anti-inflammatory properties and provides relief from pain and fever as well as helping to treat the symptoms of cold and flu and a wide range of aches and pains in children Rest: Rest helps the body focus its energy on getting well, so keep your child has plenty of rest to help aid their recovery Use a humidifier: Placing a humidifier in your child’s room can keep the air moist and reduce any nasal and chest congestion

Nurofen for Children is trusted by mums - 9/10 would recommend the product to a friend. Clinically proven to last longer than paracetamol to relieve a fever, Nurofen for Children starts to work in just 15 minutes to bring down a temperature and relieves fever for up to 8 hours. Clinically proven to last longer than paracetamol to relieve a fever, Nurofen for Children prides itself on a well-established safety profile and is suitable for children aged three months (weighing more than 5kg) up to 12 years, which means you can feel confident in treating your child.

For more information, please visit: www.nurofenforchildren.co.uk/

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Family Focus

Young singers to star on Royal Albert Hall stage during Frozen sing-along Up to a thousand children from across London are being invited to take their places on the world’s most famous stage in November, leading the singing during the Royal Albert Hall’s very special Frozen sing-along shows. 15,000 fans of Disney’s award-winning animated comedy adventure will have the chance to enjoy the film in the iconic surroundings of the Hall on Monday 17 November, when it screens three times: at 2pm, 5:15pm and 8:45pm. The children, primary pupils from the TriBorough Music Hub – including its Young Singers choir – will star on stage, belting out numbers like ‘Let It Go’ – the YouTube sensation that has so far received over 500 million views.

Jasper Hope, Chief Operating Officer of the Royal Albert Hall, said: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for these young people: the chance to follow in the footsteps of the world’s greatest stars who have graced the same stage for nearly 150 years. We are delighted to be presenting the Frozen sing-along at the Hall, and the participation of these children from across London adds another exciting element to this unique interactive event.”

Frozen is the highest-grossing Disney film of all time, having made over $1 billion at the global box office. Critics and audiences are united in their praise for the film which, amongst its many accolades, has won two Academy Awards® for Best Animation and Best Original Song for ‘Let It Go’, as well as a BAFTA® Award and a Golden Globe®. In November, the film will receive its special screenings at the Royal Albert Hall, which has become the place to see lavish, innovative

productions of crowd-pleasing movies both new and old. As Frozen is shown in stunning high-definition, the lyrics will be projected on the screen – with a bouncing snowflake allowing audiences to join in with the youngsters, and the film’s stars Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad and Jonathan Groff, and to sing-along. Future shows at the Royal Albert Hall include film-with-live-orchestra screenings of both Titanic and a special concert celebrating the work of film score composer Danny Elfman, which premiered at the venue last year.

For more information, please visit: www.royalalberthall.com Tickets £14.74-£28 (inc booking fees), with half-price tickets for 5-16s, free entry for under-4s (maximum of two free tickets per every adult ticket purchased, available only by calling the box office) Box Office 020 7589 8212

Following the recent success of BlockBusters Disney Frozen, Jumbo Games has encapsulated the adventure into three enchanting puzzles. The jigsaws offer an opening into a world of adventure, allowing the mystical journeys of Anna, Kristoff and Elsa to be brought to life. Learning and development can be expanded while children rebuild the story. Can the young girl Anna save the kingdom from destruction? With help from Elsa the Snow Queen and Kristoff, can they put an end to the icy spell that has trapped the kingdom in eternal winter?

Enter our fabulous competition on page 81 for your chance to win the full set!

B Kids are having a splashing time celebrating Right Start Best Baby Essentials Award Win 2014 Spray N Play Right Start Best Baby Essentials Award Winner 2014 The tension is building for the Right Start Baby Best Essential Awards 2014. The team of experts at Right Start have been judging hundreds of entries for many months now.

Finally the judging process has been completed and after stiff competition B Kids Spray N Play new bath time toy is a Winner. We knew bath time was a competitive market and wanted to bring something totally new to bath time toys. The Spray N Play is designed to entertain, educate and let children just have fun. This innovative bath time toy offers an array of activities including water displays, floating characters and helps with hand eye co-ordination, colour recognition and builds confidence in the water. The tension will continue to build as

Right Start will officially announce the Gold, Silver and Bronze award winners on the Right Start Awards event hosted on the 2nd October 2014.

Ian MacCrimmon was delighted with the news “Spray N Play has been in development for many months and we are excited to know our new bath time toy is a winner with parents today.” B Kids Spray N Play in now available online Amazon.co.uk and will be arriving in Argos stores soon. Suitable 12 Months Plus RRP £12.99 Find out more about B Kids collection by visiting: www.bkids.co.uk

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Family - Real Life Stories

Young Mum Loses 9 Stone and Gains a New Life Nicky Payne was 24 when she realised that she was in trouble. Having had her daughter Sky six months earlier, she was very unfit, and needed to lose weight.

“I had not faced up to the reality that my weight was seriously affecting my health. I’d been having some problems at home and was not looking after myself. Yet it was still a shock when the doctor broke the news that I weighed more than 21 stone. I cried, and a day later resolved to my Mum that this was not going to be my solution and that I would get my weight and my eating under control another way.”

A friend of hers suggested that she try Forever’s Clean 9 programme. Clean 9 is a 9-day nutritional cleansing programmem, which involves drinking Aloe Vera gel, taking bee pollen and garcinia supplements, and using shakes as meal replacements for the first two days. For the remaining seven days, there is also a 600-calorie meal in the evening or at lunch.

Nicky was sceptical at first, and found it hard as a single Mum to justify the investment. A few weeks later however, she decided to take the plunge. Following the programme closely, Nicky dropped a stone with the programme. Her friend suggested that she continue with Forever’s Nutrilean programme, but Nicky again found it difficult to justify spending on herself in this way.

“I decided to develop my own version of it. I kept drinking the Aloe Vera Gel, taking garcinia and used the shakes as a replacement for one of my meals each day. I also stuck to the 600 calories for my evening meal. I did occasionally indulge; if I wanted an ice-cream then I would have one – as a treat and not as something that I was eating on a regular basis.

Since making the decision to address her weight, Nicky has now gone from a size 24/26 down to a size 14. “I cannot help but get emotional when I talk about how this has changed not just my life, but that of my daughter. It is still all quite unreal to be honest. I can now run and play with Sky in the park – something that was quite beyond me. I studied for a qualification in nutrition, and exercise is now a regular feature in my life. In September I will return to education to become a personal trainer.

Imagine a personal trainer who used to weigh 21 stone!

The Forever products have been the means to this life-changing result. I went to a Forever launch with absolutely no intention of joining the business. I virtually took over the meeting, talking about how Forever’s products had helped me personally. At the end of it, Danielle, who was hosting the meeting, said to me, ‘Nicky you’re a walking advert, why would you not do this?’

“Four months ago, I signed up as a Forever distributor and my life has taken yet another turn for the better.

There are now 10 in my team and I have lots of clients,

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many of whom are seriously overweight. I’ve found a way of helping others, I spend a lot of time on the phone giving them support; I completely understand what it is like to be in that place – unhappy and unhealthy and feeling stuck. I’ve now handed my notice in at work so I can pursue my Forever business – I’ve found my purpose now and my life has been transformed in more ways than I could have ever dreamed of.”

For more information or to purchase any other Forever Living products, please contact Nicky on: Mobile: 07824 394600 Email: nickypayne86@me.com

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Family Focus

ORGANISE YOUR PREGNANCY WITH A TRIMESTER TO DO LIST!

Spatone partners up with Midwife Maggie Evans to help parents to plan their pregnancy

Midwife Maggie Evans

Pregnancy can be an exciting time for parents to be – watching the bump grow, thinking about names, stocking up on baby clothes and decorating a nursery might be just a couple of things that expectant mums and dad do in anticipation before the big day. However, it can also be a daunting minefield of conflicting old wives tales, what to do and when to do it, and pregnancy nerves which can leave pregnant parents heads spinning.

Spatone, a natural liquid iron food supplement, has partnered up with midwife Maggie Evans to help parents navigate through the nine months with handy tips on for the different trimesters.

Ist Trimester Tips • •

•

Remember Folic Acid is recommended for all pregnant women. Best started before pregnancy, but do commence as soon as your pregnancy is confirmed.

Get serious about your nutrition – is absolutely essential for a healthy pregnancy and your baby’s development, but it’s quality not quantity that counts – you only need an extra 300 calories from 5 months onwards.

Your first blood tests will be due in early pregnancy – this check includes your blood group, iron and rubella amongst other important tests. Now is a good time to start your daily Spatone to help maintain iron levels during your pregnancy.

2nd Trimester Tips •

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If you have been suffering from some of the pregnancy ailments such as nausea and tiredness, the good news is that for most woman these should start to ease off in the next few weeks.

You will have probably been excited to have heard your baby’s heartbeat at your antenatal visit and felt your baby moving for the first time. At around 20 weeks you will be offered a scan to check your baby’s development, which provides you with an opportunity to have a peek at your baby too if you wish.

Although your body is adjusting to your pregnancy and you will have put on some weight, it is still important to ensure you get plenty of exercise and fresh air and a good night’s sleep daily.

There is often a lot going on – so make a list of questions for your antenatal visits and discuss any concerns with your midwife.

3rd Trimester Tips • •

• •

•

You may find difficulty in sleeping due to to discomfort – try experimenting with pillows and wedges in your bed.

It is still important to continue to eat healthily right until the end of your pregnancy. Now is the time when your baby’s brain is rapidly developing – essential fatty acids and iron are crucial for brain health.

Iron demands rise steeply in the 3rd trimester so now is the time to increase your Spatone to two sachets daily.

As you get nearer your due date you may experience an increase in Braxton Hicks contractions, heartburn and backache, although uncomfortable, these are all signs that your pregnancy hormones are active and busy preparing your body for birth – so just be patient and await events.

Lastly, don’t forget to pack your birthing necessities well in advance and make sure you include your birth plan if you have made one.

Spatone contains Spatone iron rich water sourced from the Welsh mountains of Snowdonia National Park – which can help top up your iron levels whilst causing fewer of the unpleasant side effects often experienced with conventional iron food supplements[i]. Generally, iron is a very difficult mineral for the body to absorb. However, the iron naturally present in Spatone has been shown to be easily absorbed, with an average of 40% bioavailability[ii], compared to 520%[iii] from food and other iron food supplements. Spatone is available from Boots priced at £8.75 for 28 sachets (4 weeks supply).

It is important to follow a varied and balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a healthy balanced diet

For more information, please visit: www.spatone.com

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Family Focus

Thousands of women are currently seeking career changes or simply an exciting new project. The Birth ROCKS Academy (BRA) is an online training course for women wanting a new career. In addition it’s a great way to boost their existing skills, discover new talents and increase their social circles.

Launched this month, the Academy is the brainchild of Cheryl MacDonald – founder of global women’s yoga and birth franchise, YogaBellies – and her team of birth and baby professionals, Nicola Bradley and Lisa Logan. The aim of the Birth ROCKS Academy is to provide women with the opportunity to train in something that they feel passionate about, helping to prepare parents for birth and baby. The great thing is that they can now do this in the comfort of their own home and at a pace that suits them. Birth ROCKS is the only bespoke birth preparation programme created for parents as individuals – as opposed to being a ‘one size fits all’ approach to pregnancy and birth. Founder, Cheryl MacDonald says: “My aim is to make training for birth and baby professionals as accessible as possible to women who want to work around their families. So many women want to start their own business but are afraid of going it alone or don’t have the finances. BRA gives every woman the opportunity to train in a subject they love, have the backing of a well-respected brand, teach when suits them – and ultimately make a huge difference to another woman’s life at an amazing time in their lives.”

There are four types of Birth ROCKS Academy training available: •

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•

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Birth ROCKS Mentor Course: The world recognised birth preparation qualification, enabling you to work with expectant parents in your area as a Registered Birth ROCKS Mentor (RBRM). It covers everything you need to help guide parents on their journey towards birth and is strictly accredited. The entire course – including your first year’s registration with BRA – costs just £599.

Baby ROCKS Mentor Course: This course enables you to teach Baby ROCKS, the unique parent craft educator course which helps parents prepare for life with a new baby. It has four modules; initial care following birth, growing baby (0-6 weeks), hands on baby care and postnatal care of mum and family life.

The course – including your first year’s registration with BRA – costs just £399.

Birth ROCKS Massage Course: This has been designed to teach qualified therapists to work with pregnant and post natal women and offer them comfort and reassurance during pregnancy and beyond. The aim of the training is to provide you with as much knowledge about the physiological and psychological effects of pregnancy and how to ease these symptoms with gentle massage. If you are already a qualified Swedish massage therapist you can do their ‘add on’ training online or can undertake the accredited live Swedish massage training. For qualified massage therapists, Birth ROCKS Massage Courses cost £399 + VAT. For those with no base qualification, it costs £599+VAT and includes two days of live training and complete home study and a qualification in Swedish massage.

Birth ROCKS Angel Package: This is the complete package for those who wish to complete all three of the above mentoring training courses – where you get 20% off the overall costs coming to a total of £1,117 (for those already qualified in massage) and £1,412 for those who aren’t.

Many of those women who become Birth and Baby ROCKS mentors are former midwives or were inspired when they took the course themselves during their own pregnancies. Jenny Gough is one graduate of the Birth ROCKS Academy who has been teaching

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Birth ROCKS and Baby ROCKS across London since she qualified in February 2014. Formerly a midwife, she was forced to leave the industry due to recurring back problems. She says: “I love my job as a Birth ROCKS mentor and helping women and their partners through this exciting time in their lives. I’ve met hundreds of people I would never have met in my old day-to-day life. It’s a great way of networking and developing my knowledge of parenthood and birthing. Although I loved being a midwife the support just wasn’t there like it is with YogaBellies and the Birth ROCKS Academy, and I prefer the flexibility and freedom I have compared with the tiring night shifts on the hospital ward! I really do feel more alive now and I can’t explain how passionate I am about my job.” With Jenny’s existing midwifery skills, she now help hundreds of parents prepare for their big day and new addition to the family, and has the freedom of training from home and running her own business. As Cheryl is a pregnancy yoga teacher, many of the Birth ROCKS techniques are from authentic yogic techniques such as breathing, relaxation and self-hypnosis adapted to focus on preparation for birth preparation and the transition to parenthood. BRA has a revolutionary approach to birth and baby education and educator training and is an exciting addition to its sister organization, YogaBellies.

Cheryl adds: “There is a real gap in the market for more Birth ROCKS mentors because midwives (certainly in the UK) just don’t have the capacity to spend as much time with mummies as they’d like and mum generally won’t have the same midwife throughout her prenatal care of birth. Quite often women don’t even know their midwives when they go into labour but as one of the most important days in their lives, this shouldn’t be the case. It’s essential they are prepared and not worried about the experience. A Birth ROCKS Mentor can help fill this gap by gently guiding parents from conception, through pregnancy and birth and even once baby arrives.”

There is no commitment required to undertake a BRA training course, making it the perfect way to test the water to see if working for yourself is the right choice for you or to add to an existing birth, baby or yoga business you may have. The courses can take from three months to two years to complete, depending on how much time a person would like to put into it. The courses include video content, audio, downloads and a reading list to consolidate your learning. Each person partakes in online exams and assignments that need to be a set standard in order to achieve Birth ROCKS Academy status.

Birth ROCKS Academy (BRA) are looking for mentors across the world to join them with their new online training academy for birth and baby mentors.

For more information visit birthrocksacademy.com

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Competitions

We have more great competitions for all our readers to win this month. Simpy email your answers to me at: info@babybuzzmagazine.com - GOOD LUCK!!

We have reviewed the most incredible craft book by TOFT called Edward’s Menagerie (which you can see online by visiting our website:www.babybuzzmagazine.com/news/book-reviews.

TOFT would love to offer our readers the experience of a crocheting workshop and are giving away two pairs of workshop places. The‘crafternoons’ are on Thursdays 1:30-4pm to learn how to make the Ed’s Menagerie animals from the book. These are normally sold at £40 per person and includes tuition, crochet pattern, and materials. TOFT is based in Rugby, Warwickshire and the prize would not include travel. For your chance to win, simply email your answer to the following question: Q: How many toy animal crochet patterns are in the book ‘Edward’s Menagerie’?

£450.00 For your chance to win this fantastic prize, simply answer the following question: Q: Where is Big Bang Lightbox based?

Do you have a budding builder at home? Mega Bloks, the number one brand in preschool construction toys, is giving away five of its First Builders Big Building Bags, perfect for little hands as part of Bloktober! The bags are jam-packed full of 60 large, bright, colourful blocks, ideal for fun learning and hours of creative play. Experience the endless possibilities watching your child’s creations change and grow along with their imagination! To find out more about Bloktober, First Builders and Mega Bloks, visit: www.megabloks.com/en-gb.

For your chance to win one of five First Builders Big Building Bags, simply answer the following question: Q: How many blocks are in the Building Bag?

Terms and Conditions: The winning photo session includes 10 high resolution pictures in JPG format, taken in one session (up to 4 hours) in Central London Zone 1 and 2. Photographs will be delivered in a private image gallery through a link with a private password where the client can choose 10 of a group of at least 30 pictures. Client will be able, in case they want to, to buy more photos with an extra cost. The session can be held in the clients house or in a public space to choose with the family where the kids feel comfortable. A studio can be requested, although additional charges and reservations will apply. This promotion is valid until 31st December, 2014, only for one session per family and can be used as a private photo shoot or for a kids party. Big Bang Lightbox will be allowed to use the images through its online networks for promotional purposes.

Following the recent success of BlockBusters Disney Frozen, Jumbo Games has encapsulated the adventure into three enchanting puzzles. The jigsaws offer an opening into a world of adventure, allowing the mystical journeys of Anna, Kristoff and Elsa to be brought to life. Learning and development can be expanded while children rebuild the story. Can the young girl Anna save the kingdom from destruction? With help from Elsa the Snow Queen and Kristoff, can they put an end to the icy spell that has trapped the kingdom in eternal winter?

We’ve teamed up with Jumbo Games to give one lucky reader the chance to WIN the full Disney Frozen puzzle range. Simply answer the following question and email your answer to us: Q: What is the name of the snowman in Frozen?

I wonder how many people remember the lovely stories of Meg and Mog, I know I certainly do! There is a brand new Meg and Mog story about to be released called ‘Meg and the Pirate’. This is the first new Meg and Mog story in over 3 years and the first one without the wonderful Helen Nicholls, Helen sadly passed away in 2012. Jan Pienkowski has teamed up with David Walser to create a brilliant new adventure for this well-loved duo.

We have three copies to give away, all you need to do is answer the following question: Q: When was Meg and Mog first published?

Win a family day pass to Willows Activity Farm’s Pumpkin Festival? Willows Farm are having their annual Pumpkin Festival between 25th october and 2nd November!

Pick your FREE pumpkin from Willow Pumpkin Patch as part of your pumpkintastic day out full of wholesome activities, shows and rides. For your chance to win a family day pass to this wonderful event, simply asnwer the following question: Where at Willows can visitors carve their pumpkins?

1.

2.

3.

Carving Cavern Carving Room Carving Den

Entries will be drawn on 24th October in time for the start of the event.

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Festive Fun

Get into the Spirit of Christmas!

www.spiritofchristmasfair.co.uk 4th -9th November 2014 The home of Christmas shopping is just around the corner, with an exciting new collection of independent boutiques and emerging design talent, the Spirit of Christmas Fair is a chance to indulge in an exceptional Christmas-shopping experience like no other. Uncover unique and stylish gifts for family and friends and gain inspiration to help create the perfect Christmas. A treasure trove of beautiful gifts, all hand-picked for their quality and originality, and simply not found on the high street. With an eclectic collection of gifts and treats including fashion, interior accessories, gifts for men, gifts for children and babies, Christmas decorations and more this really is a date for the diary.

But Christmas isn’t just about gifts, Spirit of Christmas Fair has got the food covered too in the ever popular Food Hall. Discover gastronomic delights from the finest artisan producers and Great Taste award-winners and be inspired to learn about festive tipples and specialist delicacies. Taste and compare their delectable treats before stocking up on their famed Christmas fayre from delicious chutneys and preserves, sumptuous liquors and chocolates to specialist cheeses, olive oils, awardwinning Christmas cakes and mouth-watering puddings.

Jo Malone London, let Biscuiteers share their icing expertise and indulge in a Champagne experience with Louis Roederer’s Master of Wine. Lastly, no shopping experience would be complete without a visit to the Mosimann’s Winter Restaurant, the appointed caterers to HRH The Prince of Wales. Offering breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea there is no excuse not to pop in and enjoy their seasonal and delicious menu.

The Fair was launched in 2001 at Olympia, London. The Fair celebrates the start of the Christmas season and builds on the Spirit brands values of setting the benchmark for high quality products from hundreds of the UK’s finest independent retailers. The fair’s partners include; Mosimann’s, Louis Roederer, Friends of The Royal Marsden, Cowshed, True Grace and The Great Taste Awards.

Get into the spirit of Christmas 4th -9th November 2014

Over and above shopping, learn invaluable festive tips from expert-led workshops this season, visit the complimentary and interactive workshop hosting an exceptional line-up of leading experts. Divulge in the secrets of scenting with Miller Harris or

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Festive Fun

This year, make it a Christmas to remember with Amazon Local.

Just the ticket! - Enjoy music, laughter, thrills or drama at London’s best-loved shows With access to all of the West End shows, Amazon Local is the ideal destination to find unforgettable gifts for all your family and friends.

For children there’s The Lion King (from £44), for a night of drama at one of the World’s most iconic musicals choose The Phantom of the Opera (from £68) or for an evening of laughter at an award-winning production check out The Book of Mormon (from £42). Plus, it’s easy to use simply browse the available offers on Amazon Local or the Amazon Local app and purchase tickets using your Amazon.co.uk account. Customers can even personalise their preferences and wake up to tailored offers in their local area every day.

Please note the offers shown are available at the time of going to print.

For the most up-to-date availability and selection, please visit: www.amazonlocal.co.uk

Magical Experiences for Christmas - Make it an unforgettable Christmas with unique gift ideas With the festive season fast approaching, Amazon Local is the ideal destination to find unforgettable and affordable gifts for all your family and friends. The daredevils in your life will get a rush from bungee jumping with the UK Bungee Club (from £49, save 18%), whilst those in need of pampering can be treated to a luxury spa day for two at the award-winning Spa in Dolphin Square (£119, save 48%). Teens will delight in receiving a day of paintballing for 5 people (£10, save 87%), grandparents can enjoy an opulent dining experience at the Michelin-starred Galvin La Chapelle (from £29) and parents can indulge in a much needed romantic escape to The Carlton Hotel in Edinburgh (from £139 per night for two, including dinner and wine). West End shows to entertain all ages are also available, with tickets to Matilda the perfect choice for kids (from £29). Give everyone on your list the present they’d least expected, but secretly longed for - and at a price to suit all budgets. Plus, it’s easy to use - simply browse the available offers on Amazon Local or the Amazon Local app and purchase using your Amazon.co.uk account. Customers can even personalise their preferences and wake up to tailored offers in their local area every day.

Please note the offers shown are available at the time of going to print.

For the most up-to-date availability and selection, please visit: www.amazonlocal.co.uk

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