The BritMums Blog

How advertisers intend to ‘let children be children’

Since June’s Bailey Review raised concerns over the commercialisation and sexualisation of children and called for more responsible behaviour by broadcasters and advertisers, pressure has been on advertisers to control the “wallpaper” of sexual imagery facing today’s children.  

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) says it has taken a number of steps to help protect children, including – as it was asked to by the Bailey Review – reducing inappropriate sexualised imagery from outdoor advertising where kids could see it.

Video: Show Biz Kids

There’s no business like show business like no business I know! But our video bloggers ask if it is the right kind of business to be encouraging your child to tap dance, warble or pantomime their way into? 

Like Ruth from geekmummy.com asks, why would you encourage your child into showbusiness any more than accountancy or any other interest of theirs? 

Guest post: Keeping kids safe online

We recently saw Emma Jeffs, Norton’s Internet Safety Advocate for the UK, talking about online safety at a blogger parenting event, and she had some powerful suggestions and statistics to share.

We asked her to write a guest post to share the tips and tactics with all of you, but we'd love to hear your experiences of dodging digital difficulties too. 

VIDEO: Me time... easier said than done?

Those of us with school age kids and kids back in childcare are just about rumbling into a post-summer routine around now.

Some of us have the house back in the daytime, some of us are finding our groove again in the workplace, and now, perhaps.. just maybe... we can snatch a little bit of time just for us. 

Or can we? As our video bloggers discuss, sometimes the mummies are willing but the flesh is off hanging out the washing, typing up urgent documents or dealing with every other daily demand. 

Guest post: Considering private school?

In the final post of her series on choosing and applying to primary school, Sarah Ebner, author of the Starting School Survival Guide who also writes for The Times' school gate blog looks at the other side of the coin – private school. The different types, the fees and the routes in... 

You may decide that you want to send your child to a private – or fee-paying – school. These have their own vocabulary, starting with 'pre-prep' schools, which run from ages two to seven (many prep schools also have pre-prep sections).

Guest post: Scrutinising school options...

In the third of her series on choosing and applying to primary school, Sarah Ebner, author of the Starting School Survival Guide who also writes for The Times' school gate blog shows us how to really get under the skin of potential primary schools...

Make sure you visit

You should really visit local schools and see what’s on offer. Something which looks terrific on paper may not actually feel right to you in reality. What others call the ‘best’ school may be too authoritarian for you (or your child), too big or too small. You can’t find that out without going to the school itself.

The ‘B’ word: Where is the line between bully and boisterous?

In our latest collection of videos from BritMum video bloggers, we hear several sides to the ever-challenging question of child-on-child aggression.

With the recent furore and strangely flat response from the authorities over child cage fighting the debate comes at a time we’re raw and ever-concerned about the experiences our own children are going to have.

What do super skinny models teach our girls?

Deborah aka Metropolitan Mum is a regular attendee to London Fashion Week shows and while she loves the clothes and adores the shows, there is one aspect that has increasingly upset her: half the models look half dead.

She says: “I know for a fact that a lot of girls in the industry – not only models but also designers, editors – keep their weight down by very unhealthy measures.”

Child cage fighting is A OK say police. We say, er, no

It’s a story that has sent shockwaves through parents across the UK, and the biggest shock of all is that police have said there are no issues for them to pursue.

Two boys – without padding or head gear – took part in a cage fighting match at the Greenlands Labour Club in Preston, Lancashire in front of 250 paying adults on 10 September. A video of 10-minute bout, which appeared on YouTube and has since been removed, showed the young boys rolling on the floor, flailing at each other and one putting his head down and pushing into the other’s chest.

School admissions: When should you panic?

In the second of her series on choosing and applying to primary school, Sarah Ebner, author of the Starting School Survival Guide who also writes for The Times' school gate blog looks at the timescales and panic decisions that kick in around now...

Some say it’s never too early to start stressing about school! If you are the kind of parent who plans well in advance, you may have moved into a particular area because you knew the local state schools were good, or put your child’s name down for a very over-subscribed private school (from birth in some instances).

Guest post: Parents, teachers are not childminders

Julia Skinner, retired-headteacher and vociferous blogger lifts the lid on an unpleasant phenomenon creeping into some parents’ attitudes to schools… So, do you or anyone you know think of the school as somewhere to ‘put’ the children rather than a source of enriching education? 

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s recent speech caught my eye especially with his list of things schools and teachers are not:

“We already expect our teachers to be social workers; child psychologists; nutritionists; child protection officers. We expect them to police the classroom, take care of our children’s health; counsel our sons and daughters. Guide them, worry about them. And, on top of that, educate them too. 

“When you consider that list, it is phenomenal that so many rise to the challenge. But it is too much to ask. Teachers are not surrogate mothers and fathers; they cannot do it all.”

Guest post: Living with Postnatal Depression

Angeline Brunel  has only been blogging for a few months, but her honest accounts of living with Postnatal Depression have provided a refreshingly supportive mirror to other sufferers – and their loved ones. 

Here, she recounts those darkest days and how much lighter her life is now. 

I was delighted that I was given the opportunity to talk about Postnatal Depression (PND) becauseI have experienced this and know it like a mole on my skin. Ever present, big and dark. 

Guest post: How to choose a primary school

Welcome to the next stage of your life, says Sarah Ebner, author of Starting School Survival Guide: everything you need to know when your child starts primary school. If you have a three or four-year-old child (or, if you are impressively efficient, one even younger than that), you need to start thinking about applying for primary schools. 

In part one of our four-part series, Sarah who also writes for The Times' school gate blog, talks you through making the right choice. 

Choosing a primary school is probably one of the scariest decisions you’ve had to make in your life as a parent so far. Schooling seems so important and grown-up. It also seems like something that really will make a difference to your child’s life. No one wants to get it wrong. 

Ladies who lunchbox

Our video bloggers are an industrious bunch and their latest topic for your delectation is the humble school lunchbox. From making meals go further to baking an easy apricot loaf to ingenious use of the freezer...

“After a busy day at the office, I love nothing more than setting about in the kitchen making delicious nutritious snacks for their packed lunches the next day ...” jokes Catherine from babygenie.wordpress.com. 

The reality, is something far more recognisable – but you’ll have to watch the video to find out. 

BritMums chat with Sarah Jessica Parker

On the evening that I Don’t Know How She Does It is released in cinemas nationwide, five BritMums were lucky enough to have a chat with the film’s star, Sarah Jessica Parker.

Jennifer Howze and Susanna Scott, co-founders of BritMums, were joined by seasoned blogger Karin Joyce, journalist and editor Liz Jarvis, and freelance writer and editor, Holly Seddon. 

From tackling the much-beloved character in Allison Pearson’s book to competitive chilli cook-offs to a future career as a travel blogger (not really), SJP was open, honest and really, really good fun. 

Guest post: Not back to school, today, or next week

Jax’s children were not among those starting or returning to school this September. They’re not at home because they’re poorly, or truanting. They are instead among an estimated 100,000 school-age children in the UK who are home educated*, a figure that is rising by 15% each year. Here, Jax from liveotherwise.co.uk/makingitup talks us through a life less ordinary... but lots of fun.

 Along with a growing number of families in this country, we home educate. This means that my three children don't go to school, instead getting their education at home, or indeed, pretty much anywhere, anytime.

One of the suggestions in writing a guest post here for BritMums was that I describe a typical day. I'd do just that, if we ever had one! We don't do school at home, or have any set routines, although I do know people who do or at least are rather more structured than we are, so there's not a great deal typical about any day here at the moment. 

I do require a certain amount of maths to happen during a week. It's a subject that I feel benefits from regular practise and we use an online system following the national curriculum. There's no requirement for home educators to do that for any subject, but I like to feel that we're covering all the bases. In fact the only legal requirement on any parent is that they provide an education suitable to age, ability and aptitude, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. It's that otherwise bit that makes home education perfectly legal.

Guest post: Reflections on child rearing

Mum of three Toni Hargis blogs as ‘Expat Mum’, and shares her life as a Brit raising a family in the “strange land of the US of A”. Here, as her eldest reaches a crucial milestone, Toni reflects on her years of raising children. 

Having just sent my firstborn, the Queenager, off to college (sob) it’s safe to say I’ve notched up a few parenting years. Now, while I’m no expert on the subject, I have definitely learned some lessons:

BritMum to judge mum of the year competition

Tara Cain, member of BritMums and respected mummy blogger, will join leading lights from the worlds of entertainment, sport and business to help choose winners in the Mum of the Year Awards 2012.

A former newspaper features editor, Tara quit after realising she spent “far too much time travelling up motorways and in power suits and not enough time with my babies.” 

When is the ‘right’ time to start nursery?

This week, our video bloggers grapple with the thorny issue of when to send pre-schoolers to nursery... and even, should they send pre-schoolers to nursery.

With a bombardment of mixed messages in the mass media, this is an emotive and financial issue, as well as a purely practical one. 

Guest post: When I think about grandparents I think about…

“…my late grandmother – who used to phone me regularly at 11pm on a Sunday evening (waking me up every time) to ask why I was in and not out finding myself a husband.
 
“She would just be back from some do or other, fresh as a daisy in her high heels and I’d be under my duvet barely able to speak. I was 30 something. She was well into her 90s. I miss her,” says Cari Rosen, author of The Secret Diary of A New Mum (Aged 43 ¼) and Community Manager of Gransnet.com. Here, on Grandparents’ Day, she reminisces about the influence her incredible grandmothers have had on her, throughout her life.