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chantelle

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Everything posted by chantelle

  1. no it's not bad - you can worry yourself sick hearing a neighbour has been burgled or mugged, but chances are neither will happen to you.
  2. didn't it come with a dvd? i had the old style infant insert so can't really help. Not that I ever used it much - I hate all slings tbh but my husband still uses it from time to time with our 3 year old and has always been a big fan. We definitely used it more once our son could hold up his head, as I recall.
  3. i wouldn't read too much into the offhand comments made by strangers or even grandparents though. That has always existed. Far more worrying are the social and advertising messages that have taken things to a whole new level and put massive pressure on girls and women. Even boys and men are feeling more pressure to be perfect and well-groomed - there was a story in the Sunday Times, not that it's a new phenomenon. They'll never have it as bad as the girls but it's all part of our turbo-charged pornified and celebrified culture.
  4. porlock - that's awful - did they force the doors open or break glass?
  5. i don't think things are actually going for much more than in the past (check out land registry records to see) but asking prices seem to have shot up to often ridiculous levels. small 3 bed - 91 sq m - for sale on Marsden Road for ?575k - or severely run-down 4-bed on Grove Hill for ?595k - get real! and that's the Peckham Rye side.
  6. i've gotten the prospectus so that's about the extent of my knowledge. however, one thing i noticed is they run a morning coach through Clapham, Tulse Hill, Dulwich Village, Overhill Road, etc. so that suggests the intake is from a fairly broad area.
  7. yes childminder can be a good cost effective option but good luck finding one you like, that is convenient, and has a slot for you! we used one briefly before moving to ED from Kennington. I liked her a lot but there were some issues around extra children seeming to turn up all the time, though I'm sure most people don't breach the rules. Must have been to see/talked to about 15 before finding her. And then when we moved to ED it seemed mission impossible to find anyone. Obviously it does happen though! CM cost can be anything from ?35-70/day. Some charge per hour. and i think you usually still pay during your own holidays, though not always during theirs. (as opposed to nanny you pay 52 weeks/year).
  8. Molly - thanks very much for that. I do like the sound of the music program. ad2000, i spoke to the school and they said we would get in from the house we are considering. it's only about 220m away. Yes there are some tiny catchments out there (John Stainer went to 184m this year) but i feel pretty confident about that. Interestingly, Turnham didn't turn away any applicants this year - everyone who applied got a place. I imagine Ivydale nursery will be full though for starting this autumn.
  9. supergolden, thanks for that info on Turnham (and Stillness) too.
  10. thanks oldnewromantic. Oh yes, we have a lovely spreadsheet too! i think i can rattle off KS2s for most of SE London. i think you're right though, I do believe that the biggest determinant is the child's parents - seems the research is pretty clear that children will attain similar education standards. I guess the worry is that teachers are distracted by unruly or underperforming students.
  11. there are lots of nanny pay calculators if you do a google. I see a 10 hour 4 day week at ?10 net per hour coming to ?574/week once you account for tax. So clearly a lot more than nursery. You also have to account for any extra costs - for activities, petrol, nanny's car insurance, heating your house all day in winter, etc. A popular option is to share the nanny with another child of the same age. We do this and my per day cost is around ?70. Still not cheap but just a bit more than the pricier nurseries. You can also find cheaper nannies starting out charging more like ?7-8 net per hour - that would bring it down to about ?373 for a four day week. It's a very personal decision but I felt more comfortable leaving my then-one year old with our wonderful nanny who comes to our house and gives him tons of attention, rather than putting him in nursery which I feel can be somewhat stressful and chaotic for tiny children. i have friends whose little ones apparently thrived in nursery from as early as 6 months though so like I said it's a personal thing.
  12. my son was up at least twice in the night until around 11 months-1 year when he finally started to sleep through. I think becoming fully established on solids really helped. Plus they simply develop routines and it's up to the parent whether to accomodate that or try to "break" it. I personally would try to break the habit if I was confident my child was getting plenty of nutrition, and by 10 months they should be. I would stop offering the 4am bottle - maybe replace it with water and your granddaughter will quickly realise it's not worth waking up for. :) yes there may be tears but only for a couple of nights.
  13. thanks supergolden and nunheadmum (and others), i really appreciate these comments. I plan to visit the school asap because we are under pressure to get out of our rental house and hopefully into one of the lovely Nunhead homes we've seen. Also still toying with Honor Oak Park but Nunhead feels much more to me like the "next" East Dulwich/Peckham Rye. Leafier and more family-friendly, etc. Plus we'd still be near our beloved Peckham Rye Park. supergolden - it's interesting that Turnham has such amazing results but my not very well-informed impression is that it seems to be boycotted by white middle class parents - maybe because of its location and the "more than 4/5ths ethnic minorities" that would make a white British child one of onlya few in their class? I think i also saw it described as "like a military academy" somewhere! I'd be curious to hear what you thought of it, if you want to post more or message me. Fuschia - last KS2's were only 62% Level 4 Maths and Englsh, well below 73% national average. (and they've been consistently around that level for several years) I know that's not the whole story though with a school so I am really aiming to have an open mind - frankly my husband is the one obssessed with test results!
  14. thanks, i have read everything said on any forum anywhere in spitting distance but I still don't quite understand why parents love the school if it's not actually getting results? ok i get the caring and friendly thing, for sure, but isn't it still a worry if standards are so sub-par? i don't mean to sound judgemental - I just want to understand.
  15. Hi, we are likely buying a house in Nunhead that will put us in catchment for Ivydale. I have seen lots of praise for the school here and on the Nunhead forum but I am still a bit concerned about the extremely below-average KS2 results, not to mention the pretty rubbish Ofsted, though I understand that was widely seen as flawed. Is there just not enough focus on academics at Ivydale? And is anything being done to improve standards? because they seem to have consistently lagged despite an apparent rallying around the school by parents.
  16. depends how tough you are. I wouldn't move to that side of Peckham Road myself - Bellenden environs on the "good" side is lovely but not nearly so affordable unfortunately.
  17. porridge - cheap fast and easy. i don't believe in giving too many choices, i think it encourages fussiness. it's pretty much weetabix or porridge in my house.
  18. sorry to hear this. there are generally lots of people around at that hour heading to the train, etc.
  19. HelenGV - it's amazing isn't it? Sometimes we have to rouse him around 9:30. Unfortunately I have to leave for the office most days at 6:20 so I don't enjoy the benefits! the weekends are bliss though.
  20. my son also is 3 in july. He recently dropped daily naps but I do think he benefits from having one at least a couple of times a week. His normal sleep hours are 8pm (by the time he's sleeping) to 8am-9am, but he has been waking every single night pretty much since naps stopped a few weeks ago and needs to be cuddled back to sleep. i've subsequently read that night terrors and the like are more likely if the child isn't having naps.
  21. smb - thanks for that. i would be angry too - glad you've found an acceptable alternative though.
  22. i got stuck in that! it was mad. took an hour to go from E&C to Rye Lane.
  23. i haven't heard of the rate changing per child. If a nanny works for one family, the going rate is typically the same no matter how many children. ?10 net is roughly what to expect. You can find online calculators that will gross this up for you after tax, etc.
  24. we got a yellow one from John Lewis. I think it actually cost more - ridiculous.
  25. bottom line - how can a parent measure the distance of their house from the school gate?
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