Posted inReal mums

The ultimate last-minute Christmas present

With Christmas only days away and the UK still recovering from snow disruptions people up and down the country are panicking about what to buy loved ones. Well, Westfield Shopping Centres may have the answer with their Westfield gift card as it’s still available to order online and pick up in store.
Posted inReal mums

Looking for a business partner for 2011? Try your grandparents or your parents – if they are retired!

business with parents
Retired parents and gransparents can make great business partners

Being retired often means that your parents have more time than income, so turning a joint hobby into a business will not only help to boost their income, but yours, too.

And the great thing is that because they are retired, they will have more time available than you – if you are juggling work and the children – so they can keep things ticking over while you are not available.

If your parents are not computer savvy, then get them on a course – there a free computer courses for silver surfers these days – speak to their local library or college for IT courses for over 65s!

Apart from enjoying what you do, the start up costs of a hobby-centered business can be quite low, because you will already have most of the materials already.

Posted inReal mums

Breastfeeding at work ”“ the last office taboo-b?

mother breast feeding her baby
Even working mums want to give their baby the best start in life with breastfeeding

No matter how soon women decide to go back to work after having a baby — this could be after two weeks or an extended maternity leave of over 52 weeks — mothers may feel they are faced with a difficult dilemma should they want to continue breastfeeding.

For some women, continuing to breastfeed once back at work can be a good way of coping with being separated from the baby for the first time. Women shouldn’t worry about continuing to breastfeed when returning to work as there are certain rights that are laid down by law.

Options for breastfeeding at work

There are several options in which mothers can breastfeed when back at work. Depending on where the baby is being cared for, women may be able to visit the baby at their childcare during the working day.

Posted inReal mums

Calling all dads: Channel 4 wants to give you the ultimate childcare challenge

dad playing with child channel 4 series
Are you up for the Channel 4 challenge?

Channel 4 is making a new documentary series which aims to show how important men are in children’s upbringing. It will explore why so few men choose to work in nurseries and look at men who want to be better fathers themselves, but have no idea about what it takes.

Currently, only 2% of people working in childcare are men. Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, made a keynote speech in June 2010, in which he highlighted this issue.

The Channel 4 series hopes to empower a nation of men to spend more time with their own kids and even inspire some to consider the childcare profession.

The idea of the show is to select four men who live in or close to LONDON to work in a rea-life nursery for three weeks, under the careful supervision of the nursery staff. The men will be carefully selected and undergo extensive checks.