Choose your battles - teaching good behaviour

Like every parent, I face daily battles with my children to get them to display good behaviour. Regular skirmishes include sitting at the table, eating vegetables, putting on jumpers and coats, and going to bed on time.

 

My son who has just turned 2 is transitioning out of having a midday nap. So he often falls asleep at 3 or 4pm and then we cant get him to sleep at bedtime.

 



It can be really challenging to be consistent in offering discipline. Ensuring a consistent routine takes care of most of the food and sleep issues (easier said than done!) but what about behaviour to others? Our 4 year old daughter can sometimes shout or speak in an inappropriate tone of voice, but she is most likely learning that from the way we talk to her. My husband and I are trying to practice speaking more calmly and giving the consistent punishment of a 'time out' rather than shouting or being too cross with her.

We are trying to use the language of the virtues in order to explain what kind of behaviour we would like to see. For example saying 'You need to use your patience at the moment' or 'Please show kindness to your brother'.

Most of the time I feel like I'm totally overwhelmed and incoherent as a mother, but I hope that's a sign that I'm trying my best!

I'd love to hear your stories of parenting challenges and victories. Thanks for reading :-)

Back to work... end of year accounts

Last month I wrote about the 10 reasons I love working from home . This month I've had no time for writing because I've been preparing our end of year accounts. I guess that is the down side to running your own business :-)

As our business (Serenity Baby selling maternity clothes and baby products) has evolved from a small side project into a full time gig for my husband and I, our method of working has evolved gradually, and accounting has been one of the last things to catch up. We've recently requested the services of a local accountant and she has really helped us see what we should be counting and why.

Over the past few weeks I've been grappling with the accounting programme Sage and finally feel that I've mastered the basics! I now know illuminating things such as: a) our business is profitable! b) nominal codes are a source of joy c) you need to add your stock value into your calculations (oops..) and d) what a journal is (OK I still dont know that, but now I can use one)

Write and let me know your self-employed year end traumas...



Nothing to do with accounting... just love the cute pic of my eldest and youngest!

Exmouth Beach and Fun Park

For a sunny day in the Easter holidays the family headed to Exmouth beach. It was still a chilly 8 or 9 degrees and quite windy, but you can't beat sand, a bucket and spade for little kids. We spent the afternoon at Exmouth because as well as being a naturally beautiful place it also has a Fun Park which the children enjoy (http://www.exmouthfunpark.co.uk/)

Exmouth fun park has a load of different activities. You buy tokens from the kiosk (50p each) and most things cost 2 or 3 tokens per child.

There are trampolines, small motorcars, pedal boats, a bouncy castle, a little train ride, an adventure playground and much more. The kiosk sells snacks, drinks and ice creams and there are about 3 other cafes within a few minutes walk.

We spent loads of lovely days out at Exmouth last summer and are looking forward to the good weather returning properly so we can have more fun at the beach. All in all, it's an ideal place for our kids - currently aged 5 months to 4 years.

Days out in Devon: Bicton Park

For Easter Sunday we spent the whole day at Bicton Park in East Devon (www.bictongardens.co.uk)

We have an annual ticket for the whole family which costs £45. Family day entry is £24.95 (under 3's free), so if you're going more than once then it is worth getting the membership. The membership also lets you in to Morwellham Quay near Tavistock. Bicton is open all year round.

There is a lovely train ride around the park which lasts approx 25 mins. It's a great way to see the gardens and is a must for small children. It costs £1.50 per person.

 We spent a good 5 hours at Bicton today, despite having been there many times before. This is a long time to spent out for us with 3 children under the age of 5, so gives you an idea of how popular it was! There are 2 outdoor playgrounds, some little cottages to play in, as well as an indoor play centre. During the weekends and holidays there is a bouncy castle inside the play centre and that was particularly popular with our eldest child.

 There is a cafe / restaurant which serves a variety of meals at average prices. There are picnic areas but they are all outdoors, so we chose to get something from the cafe today. Thankfully it was beautiful sunshine, but sadly still only highs of 6 degrees!

 

As part of the Easter activities Bicton had provided us with a treasure hunt and so we got explore the park grounds looking for numbered Easter bunnies. This provided plenty of entertainment as it took us to corners of the park that we hadn't been to before. We were given little bags of mini eggs on our way in so we dished those out to the children once the treasure hunt was completed.

I'd definitely recommend Bicton to families living in or visiting Devon, and I'm sure we'll be back there again during this Easter break. Thanks for reading...

Easter holidays: Making a vegetable patch

So after 8 months of living in the countryside we are finally ready to start growing our own vegetables. There's a nice patch of garden next to the kitchen window which is ideal for the purpose, so Mark and the kids have started digging it out. We've got potatoes, peas, onions, leeks and courgettes to plant.

Neither of us are any good at cultivating plants. We're hoping to learn as we go, but any advice would be welcome! So far it has been a good activity to do in short bursts as the weather is still very cold here, but there is some sunshine.

We're also planting a few flowers after growing seeds on the window sill. It has been a great exercise in patience as the children have to water the plants daily and wait to see the results.

Days out in Devon: Morwellham Quay

As the Easter holidays are upon us I'm writing about some of the great things there are to do in Devon. Whether you live here in Devon or are planning to visit for a holiday hopefully this will be of some help. For more days out please check out a useful blog I'm following at www.devon-mummy.blogspot.com

Morwellham Quay http://www.morwellham-quay.co.uk/


Our family has a season ticket to Bicton Park in East Devon, and the ticket also gives us free entry to Morwellham, so we thought we'd give it a try. Day entry is otherwise £7.95 adult, £3.95 for children (under 3's free), or family ticket for £24.95.                       

Morwellham is on the border between Devon and Cornwall, near to Tavistock. It is the site of a former copper mine and so has a range of related activities. We all enjoyed a great day, despite the weather. It was a dry day but FREEZING cold, yet the children all had a lovely time and we spent 4 hours there. We visited the cottages which used to belong to miners, saw the former school, looked at one of the boats used to transport the copper and learned about the former history of the place.

 

There is also a Victorian costume room where you could try on period outfits. For the little ones there is a playground right next to the entrance which our children loved, and which we had to eventually drag them away from. We enjoyed a tasty and reasonably priced meal at the Ship Inn restaurant on-site and felt welcome there as a family (ie I was breast-feeding the baby and my 2 older ones were noisy!). There are also picnic tables outside if you want to bring your own food.

The main feature of the day is a ride on the mine train (tickets £3.50). I wasnt sure whether this would be too scary or long for the children, but all 3 were fine (aged between 5 months and 4 years). The ride took 45 mins in total, but there was quite a bit of stopping and starting. Firstly the train went along the riverside and the driver stopped to talk about the past use of the mine. Then the train entered the mine where some audio description was played and lights showed several dioramas of miners at work.

 

Parents be warned: it was very dark inside the mine, and the train was also extremely noisy as it rattled through the mine. However, I cuddled my children close and they were fine with it all. Afterwards my eldest talked about how much fun it was. We'll definitely be going back in warmer weather as there was more that we could have seen and done.

 

 

 

I need my morning coffee

What keeps you going? I'm definitely addicted to my morning coffee as came sharply into focus when I realised by 2 year old son knows exactly how to make it.

I've tried to be vaguely healthy during pregnancy and breast-feeding, but I really can't do with my caffeine fix! With three children aged between 5 months and 4 years sleep is hard to come by in this household. Although in all honesty I was equally addicted before I had children.

What gets you through the day? I'd love to read your comments...