snss75

My 4 year old son recently started Taekwon-Do with Mazuki in Dulwich and he's loving it! They do classes for the little ones called Minimasters on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Goodrich Primary School. Check out http://www.mazuki.com/ and/or call them up. The teachers are very friendly (there's always a few of them in the class) and really good with the kids. I also tried out another one called E.W. Tae Kwon Do in Honor Oak but was not as impressed as I was with Mazuki classes so for me it was an easy choice. With Mazuki you pay per term, with E.W it's pay as you go. Mazuki works out a bit more expensive but I think it's definitely worth it. You can do two trial classes with Mazuki before you commit which is quite good. Good luck!

Check out netmums for listings of playgroups in SE22 and surrounding areas: http://www.netmums.com/places/Parent_Baby_and_Toddler_Groups.437/southwark/. The Camberwell Salvation Army playgroup is nice if it's not too far for you: Salvation Army Parents and Toddlers Group 105 Lomond Grove, London, SE5 7HG Contact:Louisa Parrales Telephone:020 7708 5465 or 020 77016040 Email:gioandlouisa@aol.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tues, Wed and Thurs: 10am-12pm Term-time only ?1 per session, per child Car park available For parents with any pre-school age babies and children. ?Clean, spacious room with plenty of toys. ?Crafts and singing every session. ?Fruit, juice and biscuits provided for children and tea/coffee making facilities for adults. ?Lively, friendly atmosphere.

I've found ours (three of them) on Aupair World http://www.aupair-world.net/index.php/

Especially as a single parent getting an au pair may be a good alternative? Could always agree the hours when the rota becomes available and as long as this was made clear to the au pair at the time of hiring it shouldn't relaly be a problem I'd imagine.

plimsoul, I SO agree, nothing you do will change what time they wake up. mine has always been an early riser seemingly unaffected by clock movements in either direction... :))

Au pair can be a good option as well if you have the space and are happy to have someone living with you. Usually 18-25 years old girls who are not qualified nannies or Ofsted registered but often have some childcare experience and you can specify your requirements. A lot like a nanny but no experience :). There have bee some threads about au pairs here; do a search and you'll find more info if you're interested.

As womanofdulwich said, most au pairs are untrained/have little experience but having said that two of my au pairs have had first aid training and my next au pair is now graduating as a practical nurse! Also, all of them have been "certified" babysitters i.e. they have done a short training course in basic childcare and have had previous experience of caring for small children (not full time obviously).

Chirombo, if you get an au pair through an agency there are more restrictions on the hours, pocket money etc. than there are if you find an au pair yourself e.g. through one of the great websites where you can find au pairs & au pairs can find families. Also, depending on your au pair's nationality there may be further restrictions because of visa requirements and such but I'm not very familiar with those. I'd say that if you get an au pair from another EU country and do it privately you are fairly free to agree the terms with the au pair. I don't see what you couldn't ask an au pair to look after 2-5 year olds, I had my first au pair looking after my 1.5 year old full time and know quite a few au pairs who are looking after babies (like I did when I was an pair long time ago :))). I suppose in generally au pairs in the UK do shorter hours but I advertised for someone who was willing to do that and paid them above the average/extra for the longer hours. I think it's all about coming into an agreement with the au pair and being very honest about the requirements. Currently my au pair looks after my 4 year old full time during school holidays and during term time does the nursery drop off/pick up and the afternoons plus helps around the house. You can find some general info on au pairs here http://www.aupair-world.net/index.php/visa/uk/.

Our 4th au pair is starting with us in June and I agree with mothergoose on lot of the points. The best starting point is to be very honest with the job description and your expectations as that will really set the tone for the au pairs whole stay with you and you want to make sure the au pair knows what she is getting herself into to to avoid confusion/disappointment/problems later on. I've always been very honest & specific in my job descriptions and had a good chat with the au pair on arrival to agree how we see things going. It is also worth mentioning to them that you encourage open dialogue should they feel they have any concerns etc. As mothergoos said, don't just pay your au pair for the bare minimum hours and then regularly end up exceeding those. It's better to agree bit longer hours and certain amount of flexibility and then actually be able to let you au pair go "early" sometimes; you'll definitely have a happier au pair that way! I also let my au pair go early or have random days off if I'm able to e.g. when I have a day off. I think that flexibility definitely works both ways and I've found that if I treat the au pair well & as part of the family they tend to return the favour. As mothergoose said, it is important for au pairs to have a "life", i.e. life outside your home & family so do as much as you can to help them make friends etc. On that note, we are in Peckham (Bellenden area) and have a Finnish au pair now & another one coming in June if you or anyone else is looking for friends for their au pair, feel free to pm me.

also, check Gumtree, maybe post an ad there?

Does you current au pair maybe know of anyone suitable? I don't know if you have any preferences for the nationality of your au pair but if you'd consider a Scandinavian one you may want to try contacting the Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian churches in London so see if maybe an au pair who's already in London is looking for a new family? The Finnish church at least has a pretty active au pair network in London (they have regular meetings and maybe the co-ordinator would be able to put a word out?) and used to also have a notice board for stuff like this so it may be worth a try. I've also used Aupair World but like you said 4 weeks is a very short time to find someone from abroad. Anyway, is you're interested, here are links for the churches: http://www.finnishchurch.org.uk/ http://www.swedishchurch.com/ http://www.norway.org.uk/Embassy/norwayuk/church/

I don't know why they changed the rules but it's been like that for quite some time now (before the summer already), it happened at the same time as the rule to wear socks at all times was introduced.

Here's a link to their website where you can find the course info and contact details: http://www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com/in-your-area/southwark/courses. I was under the impression that you can choose the course you want providing there's space.

I don't think it's absolutely necessary to buy a toddler bed, I have friends who have moved their kids straight from the cot to a single bed. You may want to get a bed frame that you can attach a bed guard on though. Alternatively, we got an extendable toddler bed which goes from toddler size (leaving only small opening in the middle for climbing in/out, no need for bed guards) to full single bed and it's been great. Our son refused to sleep in the cot when he was under 1 year old at which point we moved him to the toddler bed and extended the bed to full length when he was 3 and he was really excited about his "big boy bed". I'm sure your daughter will be fine with it as well if you decide to skip the toddler size.

There's a petition going on in order to change the law regarding reciprocal childcare, if anyone is interested in signing check out http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/reciprocalcc/?showall=1#detail.

We live in a ground floor flat, near train station & a big road and often have trains, fire engines and what not passing the house and my son sleeps through it all :)). We've lived there since he was a baby and no noise bothers him, not even the upstairs drunken girls ringing our doorbell at 4am when they couldn't get the front door open (woke me up for sure (6))... I think the best thing you can do knowing that your neighbors may be noisy etc. is not to teach your baby to sleep in complete silence at all and tip toe around when he/she is asleep and he/she will soon sleep through anything! I think your husband is right, babies are usually good that way, the sort of sudden loud noises are more likely to startle/wake them than e.g. talking.

All Saints Church Playgroup in Peckham: free play, games, sing-songs and story-time. There are 2 sessions held in the Hall every Wednesday morning during term-time, 10-11am and 11am-12noon. They are on Blenheim Grove SE15 4QS. http://www.allsaintspeckham.org.uk/whatson/children/

I think it's all very individual, some kids are ready before other but if he's waking up with dry nappies and seems to be able to hold it I would give it a try. That's what I did my son and it worked well. Accident may still happen sometimes so I'd get a bed protector sheet like Coach Bet suggested and give it a go. Just make sure you take him to the toilet last thing before putting him to bed and limit the amount of liquids he has in the evening. Having said that, my son always asks for a drink of water when he goes to bed and it hasn't made any difference to him keeping dry.

I don't know how far from ED you are willing to go but there's a B&B in the corner of Bellenden Road & Choumert Road: http://www.wishingwellinn.com/index.php. My mom is staying there this weekend so if you're interested I can let you know what she thought next week!

We had Maxi Cosi Priori XP and our son loved it. I never had any problems with the straps either. As I understand the Maxi Cosi Tobi is very similar to the Priori, however it's higher and hence fits better on SUVs etc. We loved our Maxi Cosi and bought the Rodi as the next step.

I agree with womanofdulwich! My son is soon 4 and LOVES mommy! Nobody compares, for real. I used to love it when he was a baby but often feel like I prefer it more and more the older he gets, if that makes any sense. I suppose all the ages are "the best age", it feels like there something equally amazing about all the different stages.

Hey, I just signed my soon to be 4 year old son up for the Ducklings classes at Peckham Leisure Centre. As you said, there is always minimal to none information available on their website and at the reception and I had been asking about the classes for a long time and was getting really frustrated as well. Just as I had prepared for an argument with yet another unfriendly staff member I then happened to catch a friendly & helpful (!!!) receptionist in Peckham last week who sorted it all out for me! Best thing to do is to go there in person; you just have to be very assertive and not let them brush you off and leave the desk until you get all the information you require! The Fusion courses start every 10 weeks; current ones in Peckham started week 32 so the next courses will start on week 42. They said that the courses from 4 years up fill up quickly but they may still have availability in Ducklings (3-4 years) so check the schedule which is available at the reception; you can sign your child up if there is still space and just pay for the portion of the course that she will attend. My son also missed the first class so I didn't pay for that. After you get your child signed up for the first time, apparently (according to the receptionist) they will then get automatically pre-booked for next 10 weeks before new starters (they give you a letter and you then just have to go pay for the course if you wish to continue) and also move up to age appropriate course if necessary, like it will be for my son. I'd definitely start even mid-course if there is space on your chosen day to get on the course. If there currently is no space on the day & time you require, I think you fill in an enquiry card and leave that at the reception. I'd keep on their case and stop by there closer to the date to ensure something's being done, just in case (as you see, I don't have much faith in them)... The lessons are 30 minutes each and my son thoroughly enjoyed his first lesson! Good luck!

Kate, check out netmums, you'll find loads of playgroups, activities and places to go there and can look up by an area as well: http://www.netmums.com/places/Parent_Baby_and_Toddler_Groups.437/. I had the same "problem" with my son at that age, he used to take long naps so many of the afternoon playgroups were not so great for us. I don't know how local you want to remain but I used to take my son to the Camberwell Salvation Army playgroup (Tuesday - Thursday) 10-12 and All Saints Church (in Peckham) playgroup on Wednesday mornings and he loved going to both of those until he turned 3 and started nursery last January. Both groups offer varied activites and loads of interaction with other kids. Unfortunately many of the playgroups run term time only.

HH, recovering from c-section doesn't necessarily have to be hard, just like with any other delivery I think it's very individual. I had a planned c-section myself and had no problems at all, in fact I felt much better after the c-section than I did after a smaller operation for ectopic pregnancy! My son was born on Friday morning and I got to go home on Sunday morning (I had my bags packed at 7am!) and felt fine with some painkillers. I was able to look after my baby from the very beginning and was out and about less than a week after the delivery. Having said that my midwife was telling me to take it easy but I was never good at sitting down and doing nothing :)) I think lot of women who have to have emergency c-sections end up with much less positive experiences. Anyway, my point being that if you do decide/have to go down the c-section route I would not worry about it too much or feel bad as at the end of the day you're doing what's best for you and your baby, like the others have said. I just thought I'd add a very positive c-section experience here, in case that's what you end up with! Good luck in any case!

Thanks for the ideas everyone! Temporary tattoos would probably go down well and will definitely consider the ice cream bar!