chantelle

that is a notorious place for break-ins.

i was a bit shocked walking down Grove Park (SE5) this afternoon - one car with its windows and lights smashed (a lock was on the steering wheel so it seems just for a bit of sport). Then the next car down was missing at least two of its tyres. !!

We got our son one for his 2nd birthday, and this seems to be quite a common practice. He had also been eyeing and trying to grab them for months. He was able to scoot straightaway and now, after about two months, has mastered the brake.

we got our son a YELLOW mini micro scooter for his 2nd bday from John Lewis - we are rebels, us. He got loads of books for his birthday. Puzzles are also a good bet. A friend got us a bubble blower but I can't say I expect to use it much. Bath toys are also nice, if you aren't already floating in ducks.

IMO the best place in the area to live. You've got a great local cafe - Petitou, nice new pubs - Victoria Inn and Montpelier, near Peckham Rye Station and Peckham Rye Park and can walk to Lordship Lane within 10 minutes. We moved in a year ago and love it. Welcome.

i read the story on saturday and felt it hit a nerve. London parents are caught between a rock and a hard place. we may treasure our quasi-urban lives and commutes but the reality is many of our local schools are falling short. unfortunately no clear solution to the issue has emerged after years of effort both within the state education system and externally. Parents are still forced to pretend they have embraced a faith, if only for a few years. triumphing over adversity is great, but tends to be the preserve of the few not many.

grabot, you have to look at the facts and data show that schools with a high proportion of non-native speakers perform worse. It's not to do with anyone's personal view. Out of interest, what do you think parents living near rubbish schools should do? Shouldn't parents do whatever they reasonably can to give their child the best education?

i think it always possible to take the buggy to the airplane door but only rarely possible to pick it up at the door on the other side, because it usually gets put in the hold. I'm travelling with my 2 year old in a few weeks to the US and am going to have him on my back in an ergo (no buggy). i'm sure i'll be in pain from it but i'm on my own with luggage so a buggy is not really feasible.

I'm glad we've clarified that all Nigerians are child abusers! Many countries don't have laws against smacking. I'd assume most don't. Yet I think you will find very few places indeed where kicking a small child would ever be considered acceptable.

Heidi - why on earth did you assume the child-beater's defense might be that it was acceptable in his country? what a strange thing to assume, and to say.

ok, i should never have mentioned my unsubstantiated claim of some study that I think i saw in the press. I do see that there was a study showing smokers have lower rates of preeclampsia, which is a bit odd. anyway, i certainly don't support smoking but i still think it's wrong to tell someone off for it. people standing outside the offices of doctors in the US who perform abortions, harassing patients and staff, are just protecting unborn babies too, but that attitude doesn't go down well with a lot of people who support women's right to choose.

i admit to being shocked when i met the wife of an old friend and she was 8 months pregnant with a fag in hand. after being pregnant myself, and reading so much about what is ok or not, I have more compassion for people and their decisions, and i also seem to recall a recent study saying smoking in late pregnancy is scarcely harmful at all.

how about jogging? I ran until 30 weeks, potentially starving my baby of oxygen.

I think you should mind your own business. It's not ideal but it's probably not putting her child at severe risk either. IMO, it just opens a can of worms if everyone thinks they can comment on others' choices and parenting styles. Some people think it's fine to berate a formula-feeding mother, for the same sorts of reasons. I don't.

well it was in a very poor state on Friday and Sunday ...

all i have to say is - good luck! I drove for 15 years in another country but needed to get a UK licence to be legal here. I practiced for many hours throughout London and rural areas, had several lessons and aced the theory test, 50 out of 50, but still failed miserably on my practical test! I did do some lessons (in our car) with DS in the back.

ryedalema - any chance of getting off the train a stop earlier to get some extra walking? your schedule sounds tough. otherwise I would just try to get a quick jog in on the weekends.

my son was only a few weeks old for his and there is a visible scar but it's pretty light.

Liz, thanks for posting those tips. I nearly always do the same 35-minute loop and feel at a plateau with my fitness so I am going to give intervals a go ...

Belle - I run to Peckham Rye Park (maybe 5-7 min to get there for me) and then try to keep to the grass. I have lots of aches and pains (sciatica mainly) but I think the benefits outweigh the negatives. new mother - does it hurt on the heel? that is planters fascitis. I had it in pregnancy and it flared up a few times after. Extra weight exacerbates it. It feels like a sharp pain in the heel when you first get up or have been sitting still, from the muscles tightening. Stretching the calf regularly helps a lot, as does losing weight.

i decided when my son was 7-8 months old that i really wanted to lose the extra weight (ca. 10 lbs) and went on a bit of a mission, running every day. It really helped kickstart things and I lost the weight within a couple of months. now, back at work for a year, i either get up at 6am to run before work or rush home by 5pm to have a quick run before nanny leaves. It's the only time I have to call my own, and it makes me feel better about myself in all ways.

Meadow - what happened outside Peckham Rye station? a bag snatching?

does St. John's even do nursery? I think not. The five days a week thing puts me off too, since we would like to keep our nanny full-time. Is it a big deal if they go straight into reception?

my son takes one look at peas and won't touch whatever it is. thank god for blenders to hide things in sauces!

wait - just because children go to private school means money is not an issue? maybe that is true for a minority of parents but i doubt it applies to most children at private school.