| |
7,813 / 60,000 (13.0%) |
Harry's much better today. Thanks to everyone for their good wishes.
My journo friend Kelly Rose Bradford wrote a fab piece for the Daily Express on guilty crushes and, of course, I had something to say on the subject!
(Click on pic to embiggen.)
Okay, the toxic babies article also needs to include tips from "real" mums on what parents can do (or what she does) to keep their baby safe from any (or all!) of the following:
* Babies’ socks and shoes – can they cause permanent damage to babies’ feet and legs?
* Babies bottles – is the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) that they contain dangerous to your baby’s health?
* Lead paint in toys.
* Cleaning products and being ‘too clean’ in the home – could you be setting your child up for a life of allergies (eczema, food allergies, etc) if you’re over-zealous with your cleaning at home?
* Pesticides in food – how dangerous are they for your baby, and should you really buy organic food for him?
* Additives in food.
* Combined vaccines (eg MMR).
* Obesity.
Obviously that's a lot of comments, so I'd be grateful for anything any of you have got to say. Only names required, no pics. Thanks!
I'm writing a piece for a parenting magazine on the recent health scares relating to babies: lead in paint, toxicity of plastics, etc., and I need a case study of a mum (with a baby aged under 1 year) who is living a completely non-toxic life – i.e. organic diet, avoids baby products such as bottles/toys containing chemicals that may be dangerous, etc.
I'd need her to talk about her lifestyle, when and why she switched, and the benefits she believes non-toxic living has for her baby. Plus I'll need a couple of photos of the mum and baby.
Know anyone?
No, not in *my* house (don't be silly). Just, you know, stuff I've been meaning to mention and keep forgetting...
1. Thank you so, so much for helping me get to and then beyond the 80% target for New York. It's less than two months away now and I am so excited (and also worried, because I can't remember the last time I walked one mile, never mind 13...).
2. There are still a couple of knittens to go out. I know I said end of August, but my arthritic fingers haven't dealt very well with the changeable weather and there's only so much knittening they can take. They'll be with you soon, though. Honest. Soon.
3. Over on the right there, under that pic of me, you'll find some new links. In the WRITING one you'll find a couple of JPegs and even some PDFs of article's I've written. I'll be updating them periodically. (Get it? Articles? Periodically? Oh, never mind.)
4. There's also something called TODAY'S DANCE which is the song that me and Harry have danced frenetically around the lounge to that day. With the wonder of technology, you can point to it with your mouse, wait for the Snapshot thingie to open up and then actually play the video ... without leaving my blog! Feel free to frug furiously around your own home.
5. And then there's FRIDAY PHOTO, which was going to be my response to a Friday photo challenge from another site, but they've stopped setting them. However, I like it so I'll keep doing it. In future it'll just be whatever photo I'm liking on whatever day I put it up. And I'll probably change it to PHOTO OF THE WEEK or something, if I remember.
While I'm being self-indulgent (although it is my blog - where can I be self-indulgent if not my blog, eh?), here's a Blossom pic I did this very morning. I'm going to colour it in at some point (Ha, get me. Colouring in. I'm 36!) and then I'll upload the coloured one too, assuming I don't make a pig's ear of it.
So that's me. How are you?
Parents of under fives? Fancy answering any of these for publication (names, ages and location only required):
Why are kids harder to discipline these days?
Are parents too soft with their children?
Do our own upbringings determine how we bring our kids up?
Is there too much conflicting advice on getting it right?
Has commonsense gone out of the window - as maybe the older generation might say?
What are best ways to create reasonably well behaved children – those that listen and do as they are asked?
What boundaries are important to set?
How early can you start – does a baby or toddler really know difference between right and wrong.?
How much can you expect them to understand and remember on a daily basis?
Any ideas? Thanks.
I'm writing an article looking at how strict you should be as parents in order to bring up your children in the best way.
I'm looking for lots of case studies of parents using varying degrees of strictness (to varying degrees of success!). These are for the body of the article so names are required but not photos.
I'm also looking for a particularly laid back family willing to tell me how they feel it works with their kids. I'll need a picture for that one.
So if you've got strong feelings on parenting (and I bet you have!) - and are the parent of a child or children under 5 years old - then I'd love to hear from you, either in the comments or via email. Thanks!
Sorry if you responded to the original query - the brief has changed ... completely!
Now I need case studies (willing to be named and provide a photo) for any of the following:
Continue reading "UPDATED! Calling all parents (of under fives!)" »
I'm looking for a mum to feature in a magazine piece about the benefits of reading to your babies from REALLY young.
If you think your child(ren) benefitted from being read to please either leave a comment or email me. (If you think they started reading earlier as a result that'd be even better!) Thanks!
I'm writing a short piece for a parenting magazine on someone who was turned away from hospital mid-labour. Carry on over the cut if you think you might be able to help.
Can whoever left a comment on the scan request post please email me with your details.
You've got a "strapping" 5-month-old and your comment was regarding an early scan and the Lucozade test.
Thanks! :)
I'm writing yet another article for a national Parenting magazine, this time about the various scans and tests you have to have during pregnancy. I'd love to liven it up with some first person experiences, good or bad.
I'd particularly like to hear from anyone who has had the test where they get you to drink lucozade then test your blood, CVS, or amniocentesis, but even stories about ordinary scans/tests gratefully received. You can either leave a comment or email me. Thanks!
I'm writing an article for a national parenting magazine about the countless things kids do to embarrass their parents in public ... from making a scene (throwing food, running around) in restaurants, to tantrums in the supermarket (cue tutting), to commenting on people's appearance ("Why's that man's hair so funny?", and more ("Who trumped?").
Please send me your amusing anecdotes asap! (Children must be aged 1-5. No photos required except for one particularly embarrassing/hilarious featured case study, but you will need to be named.) Thanks!
This week has been mega-productive.
- I've written and submitted three articles - three!
- I've finally done my tax return*
- I've done double duty on Trashionista because Diane is t'internet-less
- I've even got the scanner fixed! I know!
So tonight I'm making dinner (David's out), putting my feet up and watching Ugly Betty and High School Musical.
Sigh.
* I'm getting a rebate. Only a small one, but still - woo-hoo! I had a few moments of: I can use it to go to Paris! I can buy one of these (the red one)! I can, I can ... before I realised I'd better put it away for next year when I will most likely owe tax.
Despite the fact that you were no help at all last time (particularly Maz who knew of an incident, but wouldn't tell me because of "fear of retribution") - way to pique a girl's interest, Maz! - I thought I'd try you again.
I'm doing an article for a teen mag about how your late-night mobile call to your boyfriend, best friend, whoever, could put you at risk of being attacked.
Does anyone know any teenage girls who have been mugged for their mobiles, particularly when making a phone call to let someone know they were safe?
Even an attempted/unsuccessful robbery would be okay (I feel like an ambulance chaser with this one ...). They'd need to be named and provide a photograph for publication. You can either leave a comment or email me. Ta.
I'm writing a feature about violent behaviour in young children, and what parents can do about it - whether it’s their own or someone else’s child doing the hitting, biting, punching, scratching, etc.
I need examples both from parents whose children have been the ‘victims’ and also the perpetrators. I need some serious and some humorous and I need them asap (as this is the shortest deadline I've ever had - eek!).
More info over the cut, but I'd love to hear from you if you think you can help.
I'm writing a piece on how to get the best customer service so I'd like to hear your stories of particularly bad (or good) customer service please!
(And if you know anyone who works in customer service I'd love you to "hook me up" with them.)
And then you'll be "rewarded" with my C*ntinental Airlines story. I've just checked the archives and I chose not to write about it at the time. What was I thinking?
From the Jan/Feb/Mar issue of Mslexia.
Oh dear, that was hopeless. I'll have another go.
Nope. Didn't work. If anyone desperately wants to read it, email me and I'll send it to you.
I bought myself a printer/scanner/copier deely today with my ebay profits! So now, not only can I print out my novel (ha! my novel!), but I can also scan my articles in for your viewing pleasure. I'd quite like to have them in the sidebar, but I think that's beyond my capabilities (also they look crap as thumbnails).
So this was the first one, in the November 2005 issue of Essentials*. Click on each pic to enlarge. Enjoy!
*And, no, I don't know where I stand copyright-wise. I'm hoping that linking back'll do the trick!
