A few weeks ago I was browsing on social media somewhere and I came across a version of these screen time rules for children over the summer. Over the last few years I've seen lots of different versions copied and shared at this time of year.
I showed it to the children to see what they thought and must admit that their reaction wasn't particularly positive. They seem not to have noticed that they usually have to do many of these things anyway - dress, breakfast, brush teeth and hair - before we do any kind of activity, whether it's in front of a screen or not.
Apart from that, I must admit that we are very lax when it comes to enforcing any kind of screen time restrictions. I know that I just said they must be up and dressed and so on before starting the day, but when I say that I'm not counting the time that they spend on their iPads before breakfast when the husband and I are dozing before we have to get up!
Until now I've always been happy that the children do use screens, but that they can entertain themselves without one. Even though there can be a bit of overlap - for example recently Harry has become a bit obsessed with learning to complete a Rubik's cube, but he needs to refer to videos on YouTube to help him learn the moves. Mia likes to write stories, but prefers to type on a computer as it's quicker.
Recently though I've noticed that Mia in particular is struggling to entertain herself without a screen. She's quite capable of spending ages in her room with her teddies and other figures and will play complicated games by herself, but only when she takes herself off to do it. She's not very good at spontaneously entertaining herself if I decide that they need a screen break. She's always needed someone to play with and entertain her, and if Harry wants to play by himself or read a book then she gets cross, frustrated and whiny.
It's very easy to offer her a screen in these situations, because the alternative is me sitting down with her to do an activity or play a game, and often I have something that I want or need to do. But I'm well aware that this is a lazy approach, and it's something that I need to avoid otherwise it will only get worse.
I do try and spend time away from my phone around the children, and I'll read or work on a craft so that they can see examples of things to do that don't involve a screen. I think what I really need to do is come up with some kind of list of screen free activities that they could turn to - like reading, getting out a particular toy or an activity like Hama beads or play dough. I might need to start getting on with that now, ready for the holidays!
How do you manage screen time for your children over the summer holidays? I'd love any tips!
Wednesday, 27 June 2018
Monday, 25 June 2018
Spending time with a newborn
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to spend some time with my new baby nephew. He is very sweet, very tiny, and he looks a lot like baby Harry did, albeit with less hair. When he was just a few days old I spent an afternoon with him while his parents had some much needed rest. He was quite fractious, and so we spent a bit of time settling him and getting him off to sleep, then he slept for a good couple of hours.
It brought back many memories of those first few days at home with baby Harry. Like all new parents we were completely shell shocked. I remember spending our first proper day at home sitting on the bed in our room, trying out the new nursing pillow and attempting to get to grips with breastfeeding. I didn't find breastfeeding easy and I've always felt that I was never able to feed him properly.
I always blamed that for Harry being such a grumpy baby. He never seemed happy or content, and although he must have been hungry he never wanted to feed for very long or to particularly enjoy it. But to fair, even when I moved to bottles, first of expressed milk and then to formula, he never went for that either. Even when he was approaching a year old I'd watch as other babies guzzled down massive bottles of milk - I'd be lucky to get three ounces into him!
I must admit that I found the baby days with Harry very difficult. He did make up for it - he was a lovely toddler and he's turned into a delightful child. Mia was an easier baby, and of course I found her easier because I had more of a clue what I was doing. So those hard baby days seem a long time ago now.
But what surprised me was my reaction afterwards. When we had left the new parents to it, I felt very tearful, and the feeling lasted for a day or two, not at all something that I've experienced with other newborns in the family. I think that because it was a baby that looked a bit like Harry and behaved a lot like Harry it suddenly brought all those memories flooding back, and they weren't always good ones. Perhaps it was also a bit of relief that those days are behind us, I'm not sure that I could do it again!
It brought back many memories of those first few days at home with baby Harry. Like all new parents we were completely shell shocked. I remember spending our first proper day at home sitting on the bed in our room, trying out the new nursing pillow and attempting to get to grips with breastfeeding. I didn't find breastfeeding easy and I've always felt that I was never able to feed him properly.
I always blamed that for Harry being such a grumpy baby. He never seemed happy or content, and although he must have been hungry he never wanted to feed for very long or to particularly enjoy it. But to fair, even when I moved to bottles, first of expressed milk and then to formula, he never went for that either. Even when he was approaching a year old I'd watch as other babies guzzled down massive bottles of milk - I'd be lucky to get three ounces into him!
I must admit that I found the baby days with Harry very difficult. He did make up for it - he was a lovely toddler and he's turned into a delightful child. Mia was an easier baby, and of course I found her easier because I had more of a clue what I was doing. So those hard baby days seem a long time ago now.
But what surprised me was my reaction afterwards. When we had left the new parents to it, I felt very tearful, and the feeling lasted for a day or two, not at all something that I've experienced with other newborns in the family. I think that because it was a baby that looked a bit like Harry and behaved a lot like Harry it suddenly brought all those memories flooding back, and they weren't always good ones. Perhaps it was also a bit of relief that those days are behind us, I'm not sure that I could do it again!
Friday, 22 June 2018
Creating a perfect life for Instagram?
I've recently ventured into the world of Instagram stories. I'm loving watching them, and learning how to put together my own creative stories. I'm not one for talking directly to camera, so mine are snapshots of things that I've been up to and things that I've seen, generally accompanied by a few lines of text. I also love embellishing them with little graphics, pointy arrows and so on. If you want to check them out you can find me here - Jennifer Jain on Instagram. I've even made little buttons for highlighted categories!
However, as I take my Instagram photos and set up my stories, I am very conscious of the fact that most of the time, as well as selecting what is on display I'm also choosing what to leave out. I might take a close up of a bowl of homegrown strawberries on the table, cropping out the mess on the counters behind. I take a carefully composed shot of my legs propped up in the sunshine with no wobbly bits on display, and my pictures of our vegetable patch certainly don't highlight the weeds.
So although my Instagram shots are showing off my daily life, in truth it's not as honest as it might appear. I might not spend nearly as long curating my Instagram feed as other bloggers do, but I'm definitely thinking carefully about what I'm sharing. I usually post one photograph per day and it's showing a highlight - like a fun family moment shared around the firepit, not a family moment spent shouting at the children to get dressed and brush their teeth!
But the truth is that I don't want to be sharing photos of the messy or miserable parts of life. I think that as long as you understand that people are only sharing their best moments on line - whether it's Instagram, or Facebook, or on their blog - people want to see happy photos. And I'll be honest, occasionally the prospect of sharing something on Instagram will get me to go and and do something different - to go for a wander by the beach, to pick up a craft project, or to spend a bit of extra time decorating a cake. And that's not a bad thing!
However, as I take my Instagram photos and set up my stories, I am very conscious of the fact that most of the time, as well as selecting what is on display I'm also choosing what to leave out. I might take a close up of a bowl of homegrown strawberries on the table, cropping out the mess on the counters behind. I take a carefully composed shot of my legs propped up in the sunshine with no wobbly bits on display, and my pictures of our vegetable patch certainly don't highlight the weeds.
So although my Instagram shots are showing off my daily life, in truth it's not as honest as it might appear. I might not spend nearly as long curating my Instagram feed as other bloggers do, but I'm definitely thinking carefully about what I'm sharing. I usually post one photograph per day and it's showing a highlight - like a fun family moment shared around the firepit, not a family moment spent shouting at the children to get dressed and brush their teeth!
But the truth is that I don't want to be sharing photos of the messy or miserable parts of life. I think that as long as you understand that people are only sharing their best moments on line - whether it's Instagram, or Facebook, or on their blog - people want to see happy photos. And I'll be honest, occasionally the prospect of sharing something on Instagram will get me to go and and do something different - to go for a wander by the beach, to pick up a craft project, or to spend a bit of extra time decorating a cake. And that's not a bad thing!
Wednesday, 20 June 2018
School maths in the real world
The other day I was helping Harry with his maths homework. Luckily he's quite good at maths so I don't have to do much, it's more about supervising him to make sure it gets done. I myself used to be pretty good at maths, but when I look at his worksheets I must admit that my eyes slowly glaze over, and I realise that my brain usually no longer works well enough to understand what he's supposed to do. It doesn't help that he's been taught different techniques to get to the answer, and most of them make no sense to me - more than once I've had to ask my teacher friend to explain something!
Nowadays, if I need to work out a sum I turn to the handy calculator right there on my phone. Remember when teachers said that we wouldn't always have a calculator with us?! But I'm also trying to demonstrate to the children how important it is to work on your maths. Even if you have a calculator it definitely helps to be able to make a ballpark guess in case you make a mistake when typing, and knowing times tables really does help in lots of every day situations.
I'm often stood in the supermarket in front of the shelves trying to work out which is the best deal. Sometimes there will be a price per unit printed on the shelf label, but I've found that it's not always correct and doesn't always take a special offer into consideration. So it's really useful to be able to work out a few sums and compare the prices.
I also remember being taught interest and compound interest at school. Unfortunately I don't remember it ever being put into context - it would have been much better if they'd given us a real world example, for example showing how the interest adds up on a mortgage or a credit card over time. I only learned it for my GCSE, I never saw how it could be useful to me in the future.
I do remember though a few years back when Ram and I were looking at pizza deals. We were trying to decide if it was better value to buy one large pizza or two smaller pizzas. We managed to remember the formula for calculating the area of a circle (A = π r2 of course) so between us we worked out the areas of the two different pizza combinations to see which would give us the most pizza for our money. I can't remember the result exactly, but I do remember that it wasn't the one we were expecting!
So the maths that you learn at school can definitely be useful!
Nowadays, if I need to work out a sum I turn to the handy calculator right there on my phone. Remember when teachers said that we wouldn't always have a calculator with us?! But I'm also trying to demonstrate to the children how important it is to work on your maths. Even if you have a calculator it definitely helps to be able to make a ballpark guess in case you make a mistake when typing, and knowing times tables really does help in lots of every day situations.
I'm often stood in the supermarket in front of the shelves trying to work out which is the best deal. Sometimes there will be a price per unit printed on the shelf label, but I've found that it's not always correct and doesn't always take a special offer into consideration. So it's really useful to be able to work out a few sums and compare the prices.
I also remember being taught interest and compound interest at school. Unfortunately I don't remember it ever being put into context - it would have been much better if they'd given us a real world example, for example showing how the interest adds up on a mortgage or a credit card over time. I only learned it for my GCSE, I never saw how it could be useful to me in the future.
I do remember though a few years back when Ram and I were looking at pizza deals. We were trying to decide if it was better value to buy one large pizza or two smaller pizzas. We managed to remember the formula for calculating the area of a circle (A = π r2 of course) so between us we worked out the areas of the two different pizza combinations to see which would give us the most pizza for our money. I can't remember the result exactly, but I do remember that it wasn't the one we were expecting!
So the maths that you learn at school can definitely be useful!
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| Photo credit jeshoots via Unsplash |
Monday, 18 June 2018
Our new fire pit
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
A couple of weeks ago we went on our first camping trip of the year. We didn't venture as far as usual, just a few miles up the road to Washington Caravan and Camping Park. Previously we've always camped in the New Forest, but our reason for making the change was that this campsite allows fire pits. Ram has had a hankering for an open fire for some time now, and we thought that it would be fun to give it a go. We were able to hire a fire pit at the campsite for £5 (plus refundable deposit) and we paid £7 for a net bag of wood.
We all really loved it, we had no problems lighting it and keeping it alight, and the children loved running about hunting for sticks and leaves to throw on. We sat around it until it was dark, and wonderfully it really encouraged us to just sit around and chat as a family with no other distractions. There's something soothing about staring into the flames, and it's quite satisfying to watch the logs as they burn down. I noticed that both Ram and I were able to put our phones down and really spend time enjoying time together without feeling the need to turn to a screen every few minutes, which is definitely something that I like to encourage.
So when we got back we went straight on to Amazon to look into getting one for the garden and found that they are quite reasonably priced. After a bit of research we opted for this one - La Hacienda Firepit with Grill
(affiliate link). It's very light, has a cover, and the legs fold down for storage and transport. It also comes with a carry bag, and can be used as a barbecue although we've only used it for toasting marshmallows so far! We also bought a big bag of firewood
(affiliate link) to start us off.
I was terrified of fire when I was younger, and I wouldn't light a match until I was in my late teens, so I was pleased to see that my timid Harry was more than happy to have a go at lighting the fire (under strict supervision of course!) He loved trying out different ways to get the fire to light (for reference, Amazon brown packaging paper is rubbish, newspaper is much better) and different ways to arrange the logs for optimum burning potential.
We have a never ending supply of dead leaves from some bushes next to our driveway which provide a quick burst of flame when they are thrown on, and both children love toasting marshmallows for us. Mia is a bit of a fidget, but Harry loved sitting around and staring into the flames as much as Ram and I, and it was so nice to sit together talking. We used some leftover coals from our earlier barbecue and only four pieces of the firewood, so I'm hoping that the bag will last us for a few evenings. I'm also looking around the garden for things to burn - there are a few bits of empty trellis that I'm sure we don't need!
Over the summer holidays, when we don't have to worry so much about getting the children into bed at a reasonable hour, I'm hoping for some lovely warm and clear summer evenings of sitting around the fire pit and enjoying our garden!
This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
A couple of weeks ago we went on our first camping trip of the year. We didn't venture as far as usual, just a few miles up the road to Washington Caravan and Camping Park. Previously we've always camped in the New Forest, but our reason for making the change was that this campsite allows fire pits. Ram has had a hankering for an open fire for some time now, and we thought that it would be fun to give it a go. We were able to hire a fire pit at the campsite for £5 (plus refundable deposit) and we paid £7 for a net bag of wood.
We all really loved it, we had no problems lighting it and keeping it alight, and the children loved running about hunting for sticks and leaves to throw on. We sat around it until it was dark, and wonderfully it really encouraged us to just sit around and chat as a family with no other distractions. There's something soothing about staring into the flames, and it's quite satisfying to watch the logs as they burn down. I noticed that both Ram and I were able to put our phones down and really spend time enjoying time together without feeling the need to turn to a screen every few minutes, which is definitely something that I like to encourage.
So when we got back we went straight on to Amazon to look into getting one for the garden and found that they are quite reasonably priced. After a bit of research we opted for this one - La Hacienda Firepit with Grill
(affiliate link). It's very light, has a cover, and the legs fold down for storage and transport. It also comes with a carry bag, and can be used as a barbecue although we've only used it for toasting marshmallows so far! We also bought a big bag of firewood
(affiliate link) to start us off.
I was terrified of fire when I was younger, and I wouldn't light a match until I was in my late teens, so I was pleased to see that my timid Harry was more than happy to have a go at lighting the fire (under strict supervision of course!) He loved trying out different ways to get the fire to light (for reference, Amazon brown packaging paper is rubbish, newspaper is much better) and different ways to arrange the logs for optimum burning potential.
We have a never ending supply of dead leaves from some bushes next to our driveway which provide a quick burst of flame when they are thrown on, and both children love toasting marshmallows for us. Mia is a bit of a fidget, but Harry loved sitting around and staring into the flames as much as Ram and I, and it was so nice to sit together talking. We used some leftover coals from our earlier barbecue and only four pieces of the firewood, so I'm hoping that the bag will last us for a few evenings. I'm also looking around the garden for things to burn - there are a few bits of empty trellis that I'm sure we don't need!
Over the summer holidays, when we don't have to worry so much about getting the children into bed at a reasonable hour, I'm hoping for some lovely warm and clear summer evenings of sitting around the fire pit and enjoying our garden!
This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Saturday, 16 June 2018
Making the most of our garden
We are very lucky to have a nice big garden, and I'm often aware that we don't make as much of it as we should. It's fairly low maintenance, mainly grass with a couple of small patio areas, and we have a lovely vegetable patch with a raised bed. We also have a little summer house which is great for storing toys and easy for the children to access. Being on a new build estate it is a bit overlooked, although not from our immediate neighbours, so that sometimes makes me feel a bit self-conscious when I'm out there.
Now that the children are that bit older and can generally be left to their own devices either inside or outside the house I'm determined to make the most of our outdoor space. I'm not much of a gardener and we don't have huge amounts of money to invest in anything fancy, so it's more about making the most of what we already have.
A couple of years back we bought some outdoor furniture which was a really worthwhile purchase. It wasn't expensive, it's just a small sofa and two seats made of plastic rattan with cushions and a small table for the middle. It's really comfy though and it's so nice to have it out there ready to use. We also bought a couple of sun loungers although I'm not really one for lying about in the sun - the children tend to use them as ramps for their cars and trucks!
I think because the weather this year has been so lovely it's really motivated me to make the effort to spend more time in the garden. I work from home and so I've been trying to make the effort to sit outside for just a little bit every day when it's not raining. Whether that's to enjoy a morning cup of tea or hot chocolate or to catch up with some of my social media channels. Even if I feel that I have to justify to my unseen-yet-potentially-observing neighbours that I am "working" not just faffing about on my phone!
We already enjoy lots of barbecues in the summer. We are vegetarian but we are gradually increasing our repertoire - we still include the veggie burgers and sausages but have upped our intake of halloumi and have been experimenting with different ingredients to fill wraps and pittas. We've also discovered toasted marshmallows served on chocolate digestive biscuits - I think I'm indulging more food-wise than I do over Christmas!
The children like eating outside too and when they have finished we let them get down and play. I prefer them to be outside in the early evening when it's not so hot and they can burn off some energy before bed.
I'm really hoping that this lovely weather lasts through the summer, especially into the school holidays as it makes it much easier for me to entertain the children during the day and I don't have to worry so much about bedtime if we want to enjoy some late sunshine!
Now that the children are that bit older and can generally be left to their own devices either inside or outside the house I'm determined to make the most of our outdoor space. I'm not much of a gardener and we don't have huge amounts of money to invest in anything fancy, so it's more about making the most of what we already have.
A couple of years back we bought some outdoor furniture which was a really worthwhile purchase. It wasn't expensive, it's just a small sofa and two seats made of plastic rattan with cushions and a small table for the middle. It's really comfy though and it's so nice to have it out there ready to use. We also bought a couple of sun loungers although I'm not really one for lying about in the sun - the children tend to use them as ramps for their cars and trucks!
I think because the weather this year has been so lovely it's really motivated me to make the effort to spend more time in the garden. I work from home and so I've been trying to make the effort to sit outside for just a little bit every day when it's not raining. Whether that's to enjoy a morning cup of tea or hot chocolate or to catch up with some of my social media channels. Even if I feel that I have to justify to my unseen-yet-potentially-observing neighbours that I am "working" not just faffing about on my phone!
We already enjoy lots of barbecues in the summer. We are vegetarian but we are gradually increasing our repertoire - we still include the veggie burgers and sausages but have upped our intake of halloumi and have been experimenting with different ingredients to fill wraps and pittas. We've also discovered toasted marshmallows served on chocolate digestive biscuits - I think I'm indulging more food-wise than I do over Christmas!
The children like eating outside too and when they have finished we let them get down and play. I prefer them to be outside in the early evening when it's not so hot and they can burn off some energy before bed.
I'm really hoping that this lovely weather lasts through the summer, especially into the school holidays as it makes it much easier for me to entertain the children during the day and I don't have to worry so much about bedtime if we want to enjoy some late sunshine!
Thursday, 14 June 2018
June 14th 2018 is International Bath Day!
On June 14th each year we celebrate International Bath Day. Why June 14th? Legend has it that on the 14th June, the mathematician and scientist Archimedes was taking a bath when he was struck by the sudden realisation that it was possible to accurately measure the volume of an irregularly shaped object by submerging it in water. He was so excited by the discovery that he jumped out of the bath and yelled 'Eureka!' ('I have found it!) while running through the streets.
International Bath Day is a day to remember that bath time can be fun, but can also promote amazing discoveries. It's a great day to celebrate bath time with children! Mine have always particularly enjoyed being in the bath. I remember when they were little reading a quote somewhere about how if your children were grumpy you should put them in water and it's so true. It calms them down and relaxes them, and as well as being fun it's a great way for them to learn about the world around them.
You don't need fancy bath toys to help children learn and discover. A recent survery conducted in the US for International Bath Day revealed that 84.3% of parents use plastic cups, bowls and other items around the house during bath time with their child and this is definitely me - they've always loved making 'soup' and pouring water from one container to another, and I save interesting plastic bottles and containers to add to their bath toy collection. It's a great way to teach cause and effect, help them to learn about the properties of water and how it can be used and manipulated. In fact 73% of the respondents in the survey believed that it's important to use bath time with children as a time to explore and discover.
92.6% of the parents surveyed said that bath time is a time to bond with your child and I definitely agree with that. Because you can't leave a child unsupervised in the bath it means that they have your full attention which is great for you both, and gives you the opportunity to interact with them without any distractions.
I don't always save bath time for bed time either. 89.3% of parents said that they look forward to seeing their child relaxed and happy after bath time and that's very true for me. Sometimes if we don't have anywhere to go during the day and the children are starting to get a bit bored and crotchety they always lighten up at the thought of a bath because it calms them down and gives them something new to focus on.
I'll definitely be making a special effort to celebrate International Bath Day today with my children and making the most of this time we have together before they get too old to want me in the bathroom with them!
Do you enjoy bath time with your children?
International Bath Day is a day to remember that bath time can be fun, but can also promote amazing discoveries. It's a great day to celebrate bath time with children! Mine have always particularly enjoyed being in the bath. I remember when they were little reading a quote somewhere about how if your children were grumpy you should put them in water and it's so true. It calms them down and relaxes them, and as well as being fun it's a great way for them to learn about the world around them.
 |
| Photo credit Lubomirkin via Unsplash |
You don't need fancy bath toys to help children learn and discover. A recent survery conducted in the US for International Bath Day revealed that 84.3% of parents use plastic cups, bowls and other items around the house during bath time with their child and this is definitely me - they've always loved making 'soup' and pouring water from one container to another, and I save interesting plastic bottles and containers to add to their bath toy collection. It's a great way to teach cause and effect, help them to learn about the properties of water and how it can be used and manipulated. In fact 73% of the respondents in the survey believed that it's important to use bath time with children as a time to explore and discover.
92.6% of the parents surveyed said that bath time is a time to bond with your child and I definitely agree with that. Because you can't leave a child unsupervised in the bath it means that they have your full attention which is great for you both, and gives you the opportunity to interact with them without any distractions.
I don't always save bath time for bed time either. 89.3% of parents said that they look forward to seeing their child relaxed and happy after bath time and that's very true for me. Sometimes if we don't have anywhere to go during the day and the children are starting to get a bit bored and crotchety they always lighten up at the thought of a bath because it calms them down and gives them something new to focus on.
I'll definitely be making a special effort to celebrate International Bath Day today with my children and making the most of this time we have together before they get too old to want me in the bathroom with them!
Do you enjoy bath time with your children?
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| Photo credit Andrew Wulf via Unsplash |
This is a collaborative post.
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