Carbonara

I have been avoiding this discussion as I assumed the title referred to a blow dry following a Brazilian Waxing, and it sounded weird, outlandish and pervy! I gather it is (head) hair straightening?

e.g wheelchair access, needing to be in a school far away from a parent with an injunction against going near the child, a family of police needing to be away from their 'constituents' for extreme reasons, an adopted child needing to be away from an abusive birth parent, a school with a specialist dyslexic unit.... Not a shy child wanting to go to the same school as friends from nursery. Or the school being easy for the childminder to pick up from.

My son had a doll (asked for) and also a cheap fold up toy buggy. The doll was a typical high st Baby Annabelle / Baby Born type doll, he liked her to have accessories, such as a sledge (Woolworth's sale - those were the days!). The doll was treated more like an imaginary sibling (oldest child) than a child.

People who live more towards the Rosendale / W Dulwich catchment area might like to consider the new Reception class opening at Dunraven, which is becoming an all-through school, with children from the primary classes given priority for the secondary. The primary school will be under the same leadership as the secondary. Traditionally new schools seem to have a much wider catchment until reputation grows, so it might be a realistic option which also widens your options at secondary. Information evenings: Wednesday 21 November 2013 (3.45-4.30pm) and Thursday 22 November (6.30-7.15pm). http://www.dunraven.org.uk/page/?title=Admissions+for+Reception+in+2013&pid=203

The car park is a nightmare, and very expensive, too, especially as you will more than likely sit in the waiting room for a while before your appointment so will end up paying for at least 2 hours. Don't join that massive queue for the car park, waiting while one car is admitted each time someone leaves. If there is a queue, drive past and look for on-street meter parking or go to the garden centre, or the Fox On The Hill pub makes a reasonable charge for parking. But if it is possible to arrive by train, bus or walking it is far easier.

I think practice under simulated test conditions can only be a good thing! (but am not currently involved in having a child tutored). But now it has been thought of and discussed many parents will not rest until they have found a way to make it happen, lest the competition get there first ;)

This issue is crucial to successful parenting. Your child's whole life depends upon it. It is NOT a decision to take lightly, and if you make the wrong decision you will, quite rightly, be judged as a bad parent. I will not sit on the fence on this matter. You MUST feed your child. One way or the other, bottle or breast, if you do not do one or the other you fail as a parent.

If you failed in the scrum there is a table top sale of quality second-hand baby gear and clothes at St Margarets Church, Cricklade Avenue, Streatham Hill on Saturday 17th November 2.30-4.30pm. Also toys and clothes in good condition for older children.

Those of us with older children wanting to get the best out of carefully structured educational material were also parents of toddlers, of course! I'm not saying 'banish the toddlers' or any such thing. But if a child is absorbed in a process, as planned and provided by the museum at considerable expense, why should that be the moment they are interupted so that a toddler can have a bit of a romp? Why does that have to be the moment that the older child learns to appreciate the needs of younger children? I am only suggesting that indulgent parents of toddlers recognise that older children's needs can be respected too. Of course toddlers should be in musems and encouraged to be curious and find things out (as mine were), but not if older children are expected to be sabotaged by parents who think their toddlers rights to push in and interrupt other people's enjoyment and engagement are paramount. Remember I used phrases like 'push in' and 'monopolise' and that parents 'encourage' both. Launchpad at the Science Museum has some great exhibits and some take a bit of time to generate results and understand them. Older children can't get the benefit if a toddler interrupts every single time. It isn't aimed at toddlers.

Which is perfectly respectable!

Transport Museum Discovery Centre. Aquarium at S Bank (expensive) Can I make a plea? There are loads of really good educational inter-active sections in museums, and every time we have gone, the 7 and 9 year olds have been trying to get into the exhibits and do the experiments, only to have a parent encourage a 2 or 3 year old to push in and monopolise the exhibit, have fun pulling the levers etc but with no understanding. Find a genuinely toddler-friendly section. Museum of Docklands has a great section in the basement.

I wouldn't choosea secondary primarily on results anyway - too many variables. But it is mystifying. And frustrating. The school must be aware that there is parental concern, why don't they give a simple explanation? It must be upsetting for the children who contributed to those results, too, not to see the customary congratulations to them on their school's website. :( Schools that are PR savvy in one situation need to be aware of the downside of not being PR savvy in other situations. A good school is creating confusion and doubt.

I THINK the published distances refer to those made on first round of offers. There is often quite a lot of movement before September as peple get waiting list places, so don't despair of putting your preferred closest school top of your list, if you know other people in your road who go there.

WAGfree in Brixton Village are brilliant. Pop down and have a look, and a taste. They will make a special cake to order.

Definitely go to Brixton Village. If you are there relatively early, as in eating before a film time, you might not find you have to queue. The Thai place there is Kao Sarn. Honest Burgers is excellent, also Bukowski in Market Row. Franca Manca Pizza, in Market Row, Sibellas in BV is good, as is French and Grace, Bellantoni if you like Italian...wander round, enjoy the atmosphere and see what you fancy. Don't forget to have an ice cream from the Argentinian Artisan Ice Cream Parlour on your way out, the salted caramel is fantastic. Walk through Market Row, look at Franca manca, the Mexican and Bukowski, then into BV to check out Honest Burger and Kao Sarn and all the other places there.

Duplo A ride-on wheely bug, or other ride-on toys A wheelbarrow (if you have outdoor space) Dressing up stuff from the ELC - fireman outfit etc. Pirate outfit Toy Kitchen - IKEA have lovely stuff Easel with a roll of paper - like the IKEA ones Play Doh A balance bike Toy workbench and tools (IKEA!) Toy wooden bed and a doll Oh, just look at the IKEA toys -some lovely stuff! http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/departments/childrens_ikea/18734/

Hedrin. The silicone lotion which suffocates the lice without chemical stuff that lice can become immune to. Use as directed, especially wrt to the second and repeat applications. And comb with a Nitty Gritty comb and conditioner for good measure.

Our little group of one mother and 2 birth partners attended the NCT classes together. It was a really good focus for the independent discussions we had afterwards, and enabled us all to talk freely about supporting someone in labour. We talked (in the classes) about new roles after the baby was born, what it was like for women on maternity leave, fathers or second motheres coming home to mess and an exhausted frazzled partner, about feeding, sleep, coping with a crying baby, our secret fears. The fathers learned a lot form each other and from being part of the classes. And we all made lasting friendships. The classes in the evenings have more fathers than the daytime classes. We did go to the midwife led classes, but there were only 3, so we didn't develop the real social bond.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bookham-commons/ And check out the list of National Trust places in Surrey and the SE. I haven't been but people rave about the Pinetum at Bedgebury. The deer park around Knole is lovely, and you can access the park and grounds without paying to go into the house.

Some cars are worse than others. We try to drive in such a way that we cut down breaking and accelarating in traffic, we slow down gradually towards lights, that sort of thing, and not lurching round corners. The way mini-cab drivers drive even makes me feel sick - they are often terrible lurchers and swervers. Point at things out of the window, and get her into the habit of looking out of the window and far away while in the car. Interesting that watching a DVD works - that would make me feel sick straight away! Friends use Joy Rides and say they work.

Dunraven becoming an 'all through school' and are opening a Reception class for admittance in Sept 2013. This might take pressure off the Rosendale catchment and attract parents from the Croxted Rd area, or you might be able to apply if you would be in the Dunrave catchment. I haven't seen any publicity about applying to Dunraven Reception class so it might be undersubscribed for 'distance' applications. Dunraven is reputed to be a very excellent school. I don't know if being in the primary school there will eventually give an automatic option of a place in the secondary. http://www.dunraven.org.uk/page/?title=All-Through+School&pid=203

That's good to know! We bought our pushchairs in JL, Bluewater, I loved it because we could park right by the car park entrance to JL, straight into the baby / pram dept, and they had a huge selection. I wonder what happened? Would rather buy local anyway.

Are individual children happy there? How do the results compare with the baseline scores of the intake? Can a high achieving child enjoy their education and do well whatever the average and despite being above it? Is there good pastoral care? Do children that need more support egt it and do well according to their own potential? Word of mouth sometimes tels a better story than statistics which are geared towards a certain average and which are commonly misunderstood. I know nothing about Deptford Green, but I'm not convinced by the insistence in the material you are so set on, eco79. The DoE website gives all the facts, including some of the more important contextual ones. Plus - the thread asks for advice on how to get there! You will be aware, perhaps, that many famillies have few choices wrt to available places in schools. What do you mean by 'pulling in punters'?

John Lewis in Bluewater? Look on the JL website before you go and see if they have a selection you might be ingterested in.

InTexas: Usually (without public whistleblowing) the entire process and the fact that it is even taking place is confidential - not just the outcome. Whatever is going on the drawn out publicity, uncertainty and intrigue is not fair to anyone. Especially the children and families.