EDZ

We had an Ikea kitchen in our old house. We didn't install it, but when we left five years later (and seven years after it was installed) it still looked great. Only thing was the taps. Might be worth an upgrade on those. Thinking of putting one in our new house!

You can get a cheaper and bigger houses by going not very far. West Norwood, West Dulwich and Syndenham would be top of my list. ED is lovely but the houses are small and expensive.

GOing rate is net ?10hr and up to ?12+ net if they are in a nanny share with three or more children.

I think it helps to make sure they have basic skills, especially able to hold a pen correctly, use scissors, know numbers and letters etc.

I just want to recommend our furniture maker, Richard Jennings-Bramly. He did a fabulous job and this is the second house we have used him in so he is consistently good. He built us lots of bookshelves, alcove shelves and wardrobe. Attached are pictures of what he just built. They look amazing and we got three quotes and he was not the most expensive. He is also really good with design ideas. www.bramly.co.uk

I did Thailand twice and Cambodia with toddlers and babies. Admitedly we were staying pretty high-end, but as travelling goes its easy. The Thai's LOVE children. Our eldest (4 years) got badly bitten by mosquitoes and her face got all swollen. We went to a pharmacist and they prescribed anti-hystamines and in a day all the swelling went down. I found my children enjoyed the North more than the south. It was cooler and the ocean was not really there thing strangelly. If you go bring mosquito nets. But they really do have lots of stuff you can get there. Nappies are no problem to get. If you are in Bangkok you can stock up on anything you might need (they have Boots).

Its a good central location, but I think that road is about 80% flats. A number of which are counsel flats. Lived around the corner for 5 years and used to walk the road every day. There was a lovely drug dealer on it for a while....

We live close to Goose Greene and the noise is really bad. We can hardly enjoy our garden. We are moving. After 4 years we are still not used to it and it is driving us nuts. Its no way to live. We are moving further south and west into forest hill. We will still get planes but not the constant line of planes over our head. When I moved in I was shocked and in tears about the noise. I phoned Heathrow pointing out I lived 19 miles from the airport. I did not expect that. Woman looked up my address and said three flight paths converge at the top of goose greene. Joy....

We are also moving thinking of moving to the road. We have young children. We are a bit concerned with the traffic. It seemed reasonably heavy at rush hour. What time does it calm down?

Time out. Consistently and repeatedly as soon as they start to say no, throw something,don't listen etc. 1 minute when they are one, two minutes when they are 2. When they are little you have to stay near and make sure they don't move. They have to not move for the time allotted. so if they get off the step they need to start over. It doesn't work if they start the tantrum so you need to do it as soon as they are not listening. It also has to be very consistent and you have to not lose temper. In a few weeks they will get the picture, if you are very consistent

Time out. Consistently and repeatedly as soon as they start to say no, throw something,don't listen etc. 1 minute when they are one, two minutes when they are 2. When they are little you have to stay near and make sure they don't move. They have to not move for the time allotted. so if they get off the step they need to start over. It doesn't if they start the tantrum so you need to do it as soon as they are not listening. It also has to be very consistent and you have to not lose temper. But a few weeks and they will get the picture, if you are very consistent

We flying to Canada with a toddler and newborn. I want to take our P&T, but was wondering if anyone knows if we can take it right to the gate (or a similar large non umbrella type buggy). We are flying BA so will be in terminal 5. It will be our toddler's nap time while in airport and do not fancy having no buggy for three hours at the airport. Thanks

Why should anyone who can afford things like owning a TV, going out for a coffee daily, multiple pairs of shoes or car in the city get money from the government? I am not from this country and I find the sense of entitlement is astonishing. The government should be there to protect and support the most needy. People will be able to cope with the reduction in income by consuming less and buying less expensive options. It's not a disaster. Other societies have faced much worse! Let us all remember where this money comes from which we receive every month. From our own pocket. And frankly looking at how much the government feels entitled to take I would rather that it simply left more in my pocket!

I used an arm chair. I recommend this one, http://www.maisonsdumonde.com/UK/en/produits/fiche/armchair-cottage-50140296.htm It has a pretty small footprint and the farbic is washable. I tried a glider chair and didn't think the ricking motion was all that great. Any comfy arm chair will do, but it needs to have a full back (so you can rest your head back and have support for your shoulders) and arms at the side to give you support.

Find the nanny share first if you are going that route (and I recommend it both for cost and the benefit to your child of having another child to interact with). Finding the right nanny share is harder and then you can start looking for a nanny together. I think I started looking 3 months before I went back to work.