After the long lazy days of summer, thousands of children are now back to school and getting back into the swing of things. One big factor in this is trying to get them back into the pre-summer sleeping routine. After weeks of staying up late at night and getting up late in the morning, the sound of the alarm at 7.30am, signalling that it is time to get up for school can become the sound of doom – I remember it was for me at least…still is!

from www.cartoonstock.com

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So after a couple of months racking your brain about how to entertain the kids every day, they’re finally back to school. School uniform check! Sports kit check! Stationary check! Healthy packed lunches…hmm not yet got that sorted?

With fresh news of Jamie Oliver getting out there to the schools once again and banning butter on sandwiches, I think we’re all realising how important it is for kids to get the right nutrients on a daily basis, without all the junk food. Another factor is that the food needs to keep them full throughout the day – a hungry child is a grumpy one!!

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What a sportastic week last week was. Usain Bolt broke yet another world record (now that man can run!), England won The Ashes , excuse to open another beer! And Burnley F.C. the underdogs beat both Manchester Utd and Everton! After watching all those highlights in the comfort of my lounge, I feel like it’s time to get out and get some exercise as a family.

As we are all aware this weekend is the last bank holiday weekend of the year, time to campaign for one more around October, that aside tt also marks the countdown until the kids go back to school and so I’ve been thinking of what to do to ‘send the kids off in style’ while not spending an arm and a leg!

Now there are the normal ideas such as camping in the back garden, a trip to the swimming pool or a big family meal (using our Recipe of the week) but I want to do something a bit more fun. A few brainwaves came over me including:
- Building a tree house (don’t know if the Daddies will be up for this on their weekend off!)
- A boat trip down the Thames (if you live in London)
- A speed boat ride on the Wave Rider in Scarborough (£4 for adults, £3 for children)

The best last minute idea I came up with (which actually lasts a whole day) is to take them on safari!

knowsley-safari-park

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Do the words ‘family holiday’ instantly ignite stress, worry and anxiety? Well, for me they do! “How far away is the holiday, how secure is the hotel, will there be any swimming pools for the kids to fall into” and the list goes on and on! (Not to mention “Are we nearly there yet?” followed by me banning the question!)

However, I have come across a saviour on the net which is an award winning family holiday company, Tots to France. They also own Tots to Italy if your kids prefer pizza and spaghetti!

Their aim is to make it much easier to take your children away on holiday. They visit every single property that they put on the site and look at it through the eyes of a parent to make sure that it is baby and childproof.

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My little boy Kian aka Evil Kenevil currently has no road safety awareness, in fact it’s fair to say he has even less than our dog Baloo which is saying something. As August is National Road Victim Awareness month, I was staggered by the facts that some 30 million people have been killed on the world’s roads since 1896 when records began, and every year sees a further 1.2 million killed and 30 million injured! Those statistics are enough to shock anyone into reinforcing road safety to their children.

Yes, I know, pretty serious stuff but it’s one of the things that I think, as parents, we worry about the most. How many times have you drilled into your kids “Stop, look left, look right, look left again and go”? I still remember the little hedgehogs in the road safety advert a few years ago.

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