Ole

I find the whole thing a massive, constant guilt trip.

The level of inflexibility of some employers is shocking, I have so often been made to feel that I should be grateful that I am being 'allowed' to work part-time at all given my 'circumstances' (i.e. don't want to hire full time childcare so that I can actually spend some time with child). My husband is the main breadwinner by far in our household therefore I only work part-time, but boy are they making me work hard for it...(basically you just end up doing one-and-a-half full time jobs but on half the salary).

My son had chicken pox in January and he had it pretty badly and was left with loads of red marks which I could not see how they could possibly ever clear but they have, over time they have faded and now apart from a couple where he scratched all the red/purple spots have disappeared. It has taken a good 3 months to do and his legs are still quite covered in them but I can see that they are slowly fading away. I do make sure I moisturise his body once a day but I don't know if this has helped in any way.

I hope that the hijacking of this thread by the 'how dare you taint all dogs with the same brush' brigade does not put people off warning others where there have been incidents (doggy or non-doggy related). Dog or no dog involved, nobody should be assaulted. Some dogs are scary-looking. Fact of life.

From what I have read, the dog running into the victim triggered the attack therefore it is very relevant that the dog be kept in the title. Brockwell park is a nightmare in the mornings, there are lots of dog walkers about and you there are dogs running about seemingly out of control dogs. I stopped taking my son to this park in the mornings because of this, more than one or twice he has had a dog running towards him and stopping just short of him, if you can imaging being small and having an animal that is roughly your height charging towards you, I'd call it a scary dog regardless of its breed. If I have a dog running towards me I find it scary too regardless of its breed, with animals you just don't know how they are going to react.

I found that when my son started tantruming (at about 15 months old or so I think), instead of ignoring him I would just hold him and try to calm him down by telling him it is OK and to calm down whilst stroking his back. The first couple of times it took a while for him to calm down but other than those couple of times I can't really say that he has ever had a full on tantrum. He has his moments of course but never of the screaming throwing himself on the floor and making a scene type. I got this advice from the forum, it might have been Fuschia? I can't remember, but whoever it was, it was very effective, and it makes sense because most of the time the reason why toddlers tantrum is because of frustration, so if they learn early on that it is OK to feel frustrated and acknowledge their feeling instead of ignoring them when they are older they will be more likely to be able to cope with their feelings. This is pseudo-pychology and just one of the many theories which I am sure are out there.

I dread the getting ready in the morning and evening ready for bed. For us our 3.5 doesn't tantrum or make a fuss, he just won't do it or get easily distracted. We have to ask him at least 20 times to get on with it. Every single time. When he is brushing his teeth he will start playing with toothbrush and water, when I need to put his creams on (bad eczema) he will wriggle and run away from me and won't stay still for even a few seconds, when I ask him to get dressed he might put a sock on and then go off to play then put the other sock on and then go off to play and on and on it goes. I know he is still only little and one day it will click and he will get on with it by himself (fingers crossed), but jeez it is taking a long time!

Or don't rush home after work and take yourself to meet up with your friend and stay out as late as you want without feeling guilty and knowing that in the morning you won't have to deal with the morning routine

My husband finished jury service a couple of weeks ago. Although he works full time he does the nursery pick up and although I could also have done the pick up whilst he was on duty that particular week was very inconvenient for me so he wrote an e-mail to them asking explaining and to defer and told them which months would be a good alternative and they came back to him with a revised date that suited us both, so they were very helpful (might just have been lucky).

I don't know if this is the right place to post this but as it is a family question I thought I would but if it needs moving please do (administrator). I am looking for a bike to ferry my son to nursery and as I am on the short side I definitely need one with a lowered bar or a specific women's bike (those that are a classic style?). If it comes with a child seat attached to it already so much the better, and it definitely needs to have gears because there is a nasty hill on the way back from work. If you have one and are looking to sell it please drop me a pm.

My brother and my husband's sister have 3 each and they love it. Their houses are always messy and noisy but fun. I only have one and I'd like to have more children but for medical reasons it is unlikely to happen, therefore if you think you would like another one go with it and let nature take care of the rest, otherwise you will always be wondering what if. If I could, I would have 3.

Considering getting a bread maker. Any good? Fed up with tasteless supermarket bread.

in our household, since the 1st of December, we have had the following: 1 x chest infection 2 x flu 1 x chicken pox 1 x acute tonsillitis 1 x faringitis 3 x colds

How about offering party package ideas? For example, you could offer different themes and then put all the materials necessary in a box that gets delivered? I would find the process of contacting you and engaging in lengthly discussions a bit too much so I'd rather just but a package off the shelf so to speak (themed paper plates, napkins , bunting, filled party bags etc) and a selection of party foo. Even better if you have websites with these offering so you can order online.

We got out then 2 year old the John Lewis Boris toddler bed but now I wish I had gone for the full sized as he is 3.5 and we are starting to think of a normal sized single bed. Actually might consider selling it as it is in such a good state M

Also join the local library, the refurbished peckham library is fantastic, not just for novels but book on how to manage your finances, cookery books on easy cheap meals, etc etc. I love browsing the shelves and for me being able to spend an hour browsing the library without a child pulling at me is a treat.

I find things like casseroles and pies cheap to make (bulk out with veg and service with rice or pasta), a big batch of spag bol can be spread over a couple of days. Fish pie is also quite cheap (offsetting high cost of fish by using cheaper types of fish and smoked fish is cheaper than fresh fish?). Anything that you can make a big batch of and use over a couple of days or freeze to use another day is good value I think (and saves time!).

1. Make a list of all unavoidable expenses (mortgage, bills, petrol, etc) 2. Deduct these from monthly income. Divide the leftover income into categories (savings, food, treats, clothing, children't stuff etc depending on your lifestyle) and decide how much you are going to allocate to each category, and stick to it!! 2. Make a weekly menu and stick to it (and the budget you have given yourself) 3. Do online shopping for said weekly menu 4. Check your bank balance once a week to make sure you are keeping to your budget! I read a book titled 'Orchids on a budget' (or something like that) and although it is set in the 40s I think, the advice is very useful. The percentages it gives as an indication of how much you should be spending (for example it says that 30% of income should be on rent, 10% on bills, 20 on food etc) is outdated since at the moment cost of living has spiralled out of control so the percentages are all wrong but it does give good tips on how to manage your finances and make room for extra treats (when I worked our budget I found that our biggest expense is actually the utilities bill which you have little control over even after shopping around for the best deals - crazy!!)

Thanks for all the suggestions. We are going to test drive a Kia and see how that goes.

My husband once had a golf (I think was 4-5 years old) and a few months later had to spend ?800 on it so he is wary of them too but perhaps he just had bad luck?

Ideally we'd spend max ?10K. I'd prefer an estate but happy to compromise on space for reliability. Worried about new car depreciation so ideally would be after something that is 18 months old or so so still under warranty. I guess my wish list is: 1. reliable 2. under 10k 3. roomy without need for an estate 4. within warranty 5. ages well (not going to clap out after 3 years if bought new) what make would be the best fit?

We have to get a car and being of the 'don't-really-care-what-to-get-as-long-as-it-gets-us-around-and-does-not-leave-us-in- the-gutter-too-often' mindset, I was wondering if anybody has some wisdom to impart as to what make to go for? I have knee problems so it needs to be automatic. We have a son so relatively spacious but not an urban tractor. We use it mainly for short trips and to visit relatives out of london/ And yes, we need a car even though we live in London because my commute makes it essential (trust me!). Any reasonable sounding suggestions will be researched.

Thinking of going there for a week-long autumn break with a 3 year old but was wondering if 1 week is too short?

Thinking of heading there for a long weekend. Anybody have any recommendation on where to stay/what to do? Prefer near a beach. Have 3 year old boy. Thanks

This is what I cook when I feel guilty for not having proper home made food in ages and when I am back from work late. takes a minute to prepare and usually plenty of leftovers for the following day: In casserole dish fry 1 chopped onion Cut pack of sausages in half (or add them whole if so prefer) and brown. Add whatever veg you have lurking in your fridge (chopped carrots, peppers, parsnips, etc). Stir a bit. Add can of drained beans (aduki, chickpeans, lentils, red kidney beans - whatever you have in cupboard), stir a bit more. Add tablespoon of flour, stir. Add a bit of tomato puree and top of with boiled water (or buillion if you want to go the extra mile, or omit the puree and add jar of tomato passata instead). Add bay leaf. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer until liquid reduced (usually about 15-20 minutes). Serve with rice or mashed potato or pasta or quinoa or.....(you get the drift).