natalieljackson

If anyone is looking for a party idea we have just had my daughter's 8th birthday party at 'Captured on the Rye', Pellatt Road (the East Dulwich branch) and it was fab! We had 10 children including our own two, which seemed a good number. The children could choose from templates or make their own design to print onto a t-shirt, with some spin painting thrown in while they were waiting for the printing process. They got to choose the ink colour and arrange their designs, then make silk screen prints with the help of Lou and Maya, the hosts. They were so excited to make their own t-shirts to take home and they were really high quality. Lou and Maya were so well organised and great with the children, it was the most relaxed party we've ever had. They organised a pizza delivery for us and made candy floss for the kids so all we had to do was bring cake I was running out of ideas this year so I'm really glad I stumbled upon this gem of a place, thank you Lou and Maya for making my daughter's birthday very special.

If you look up Ch?teau des Marais on the Eurocamp website, then book a cabin through the French site, not Eurocamp, it's far cheaper and a really lovely site. Not too far South of Paris, lots to do for a family with kids in the area. You can even stay in a tree house if your kids aren't prone to lemming behaviour like ours! The Eurocamp tents are great too as they have kitchenettes but I preferred the cabin as we didn't have to go outside to the loo!

We went last weekend, drove up there and parked on the same road as the museum, about 2 minutes away for free. If you go on Sunday you can park in a few marked parking bays on the road, but get there early. We got there at around 9.45 before the museum opened at 10.

Speak to the teacher and Head if necessary about your worries. As a teacher myself I can say that teachers and Heads are often pressured into giving more homework than they feel is beneficial, and will usually be very understanding if you let them know that you don't feel it is a positive help to your child at this age. I'm sure they will agree to let your little boy do what you feel is the right amount for him so as not to put him off school work for life! Good luck.

Hi admin, I have been using the forum for a few years now and it's very helpful, but I wonder whether it might be worth starting a new section for childcare needs/ ads. Whenever I post something for sale in the family classifieds it is pushed down very quickly by all the childcare related posts, and also when I've been looking for childcare a dedicated section would have been useful. Thanks for listening, Natalie

We have had both our kid's photos done at Fourways chemist on Half Moon Lane in Herne Hill. They are very good with babies as they have a grey cushion/ beanbag to lay them on and are very patient! They will show the photos before printing them so you can decide whether you like them or not before paying.

I second Whippersnappers. My children both loved it as babies and toddlers. We went to Brockwell Park Lido, then the one at Dulwich Park, both great! My daughter went to a Whippersnappers party today for 6 year olds, they also loved it! Diddi Dance was also good as you can dance with baby in a sling or they can just sit with you and enjoy the music.

Thank you! Lots of helpful advice in the thread you suggested.

Hi,Can anyone recommend a good, local ballet or dance class for my 5 year old daughter? It would have to be on a Monday, Thursday, Friday or weekend. Thanks, Natalie

Hope it works, I'm certainly no expert. My 2 year old son was awake at 4.30 this morning and didn't get back to sleep until 6am. The alarm clock goes off at 6.20. Every time we think we've cracked the sleep thing somehing changes! Let me know how you get on, xxx

We had a similar hard time with our daughter's bedtime not long after she went into a 'big girl's bed', and also not long after her little brother had arrived! She must have been around 3, and started to get up when she'd never done it before, or shout out and wake the baby constantly. In the end, something really simple worked, we told her if she stayed in bed quietly we would go back and check on her after 2 minutes. If she kept calling out/ coming down there would be no tv (or now, chocolate milk)the next day. We would go in, give her a kiss, or just say, "Good girl,night night." After a couple of nights of this working we went in after 3 minutes, then 4. She is 5 now and she still says "Come and check on me in 4 minutes!" as we put her to bed, but in reality it's usually 15 minutes, or we forget until we go to bed. She's usually asleep after 1 check. I think she just felt insecure and if she knows we're around and will check on her she's not worried. Hope this helps, it's so hard to work out what they need, and they're all so different, but it might be worth a try? Good luck, Natalie