Ideas for eliminating the January blues and banishing ‘Blue Monday’

Themed Film Nights

We always watch a lot of Christmas films in December, but after Boxing Day that’s it! To fill the void in January, pick a theme for each weekend, such as 1980s classics (I’m really enjoying re-visiting these with my kids) or comedies, and watch a series of films together. Don’t forget the popcorn and cozy blankets!

Plan a Future Trip

Research and plan a big day out, weekend away or even a family holiday. It’s something to look forward to and the anticipation and excitement of planning gives everyone a boost. We had a wonderful time plotting our route and stop offs for a European road trip. Not quite as far afield, but we’re excited about going on the City of London Mystery Adventure, which I got as a family present at Christmas. My mother-in-law coincidentally got me a voucher for another Mystery Guide so we’re thinking that we may head to Oxford for our next adventure and make a weekend of it.

January bakeoff

Get the cookbooks out and try out new recipes as a family. Bake some biscuits, make homemade pizzas or sausage rolls, be adventurous with an unfamiliar country’s cuisine or create a delicious dessert. Cooking together is a great activity plus you get to enjoy the results. I cherished our bake-alongs on Zoom with friends during lockdown.

Arts and Crafts

Gather some art supplies and bits and pieces from around the house – think spare buttons, bits of wrapping paper, ribbon, old cards – and get creative. You can paint, make crafts or even create a family scrapbook with photos and memories.

Games, Cards and Puzzles

Break out the games and cards and have a family games night. It’s something we do regularly. We have lots of favourite board games and play a variety of card games – including poker – but also like more active games.

The surprise hit of 2023/2024 is Chicken vs Hotdog. It’s a silly game, but so much fun, and kids and adults love it equally; it went down a storm at the New Year’s Eve party!

We’re also fans of jigsaws. It’s a great collaborative experience and actually very relaxing.

Home Spa Day

Relax together with a home spa day. Chill out, put your feet up, put on face masks and have some calming music in the background. You could add in some yoga, give massages and have an all round pamper. It’s also a good opportunity to pay attention to those winter chapped hands and lips.

Walks in January

There’s nothing nicer when it’s cold and crisp (and sunny if you’re lucky) than to rug up and head out for a nature walk. Exploring the winter landscape can be really refreshing. There’s still plenty to see even if it seems a barren time of year on the surface; if there’s snow so much the better. Our National Trust membership comes into its own.

Learn Something New in January Hobby Month

My eldest daughter started learning a bit of Italian with Duolingo last year. I want to get the rest of the family doing this too. Knitting is seeing a huge resurgence, and a lot of this could be down to its dopamine-releasing effect. Similarly crochet has become very popular. You could keep it even simpler and learn a new card game together.

Indoor Gardening

Start a windowsill garden with herbs or small vegetables. We did well with our Eden Greens Microgreen Grow Kit. It’s a great way to bring some green inside and maybe sprout an interest in gardening. You could get even more creative and make a miniature terrarium.

Become a Twitcher

The birds really need a helping hand at this time of year. Leaving food out will attract lots of feathered friends, which are fascinating to watch. The Big Garden Birdwatch, which is taking place the 26th to the 28th of January, is a great activity to take part in. As well as helping collect vital data about the UK’s bird population, it’s the perfect opportunity to take an hour out and get closer to nature.

Would love to hear your ideas; please share below!

The post 10 Ways to Beat the January Blues appeared first on The Parent Social.

The current cost of living crisis

I’ve often talked about money saving and money-making ideas as a way to boost income and reduce costs. However, we’re currently experiencing rather unique circumstances and for the first time I’ve been properly talking to our children about how the macro things affect us.

I’ve always advocated talking to children about saving and budgeting (when they are old enough to understand). Now more than ever, I think it’s important we talk about what’s happening and its personal impact. It’s also vital to have these discussions to put into context what children have undoubtedly consumed via their peers, TV or social media.

How we’re talking to the children about rising costs

Honesty is the best policy. We’ve been having lots of conversations about topics such as inflation, interest rates, mortgages and rising food, petrol and energy costs (and how they all interlink). We’ve stressed the importance of being mindful about our consumption but at the same time have allayed concerns. It’s a fine line between raising awareness and causing panic; we’ve tried to counter the sensationalist headlines they’re exposed to.

Reinforcing good habits

We’ve mainly tried to reinforce habits that we’ve always promoted and explained how these help. These include:

• The importance of saving
• Switching off lights when leaving a room
• Turning off appliances and electronic devices when not using
• Not wasting food
• Not spending money on ‘stuff’ for the sake of it (differentiating between wants and needs)
• Being savvy when it comes to shopping
• Putting on a jumper instead of immediately whacking on the central heating (this will be coming into play soon!)

Cutting back and lifestyle tweaks

We’ve said that we’ll need to cut back a bit in the autumn and winter but have not been dramatic. Ultimately, it’s important to be realistic. It’s also important to not paint it as an insurmountable problem (even if it feels a bit like that). A key thing has been to emphasise how they can actively help.

Be clear with children if the current climate means you have to cut back on some of their favourite brands at the supermarket, or if you need to take them to more budget-friendly clothing stores to pick out new items. Reassure – but don’t promise – them this should only be temporary and help them to understand how important it is to appreciate all that they do still have, rather than what they don’t.

Brean Horne, a personal finance expert at NerdWallet

I think it’s imperative to manage expectations especially with celebrations such as Halloween and (dare I say it) Christmas coming up. Whilst we might previously have bought a new costume for Halloween, we’ll be customising stuff we already have. Similarly, we won’t be ordering costumes off of Amazon every time there’s some event or dress up day at school.

We’ll be cutting down on things like bowling, cinema trips and pub lunches. Instead, we’ll be hunting for new walks and doing free and outdoor activities such as going to the seaside, visiting museums and having more film nights at home. Our National Trust membership is very cost-effective for days out. We also love having family games nights, which don’t cost a penny.

And finally…

I often find that children are more perceptive than we give credit for. By involving them in conversations and explaining things realistically, you might be surprised at how understanding and helpful they are.

The post Discussing the rising cost of living with children appeared first on The Parent Social.

It was with a collective sigh of relief that restrictions lifted and the children went back to school on March 8th after the best part of three months at home. Juggling work, homeschool and bandwidth was a pressure on us all.

School life isn’t exactly ‘back to normal’, but it’s a huge, happy step in the right direction.

Restrictions lifted – April 12th

It’s been brilliant having some normality resume and more freedom. We’ve enjoyed alfresco dining, went away for five nights, met outside with a few friends; and it’s been nice to go into non-essential shops again.

Since April 12th, school clubs and external ones have resumed. The children have been so excited. My own weekly exercise group Totally Mama also started back (although I’ve kept up with weekly online poker nights).

Shock to the system

We’ve had many pretty inert weeks and our world got a lot smaller for a period. Then suddenly all activities resumed in unison and it was a bit of a whirlwind. I’m not complaining, but it’s been quite an acceleration in pace: swimming until 7.30pm, early morning netball, kids’ club, gymnastics until 8.30pm and Saturday morning netball…

It’s certainly more hectic again and coupled with renewed social engagements and doing things ‘in real life’ once more it’s requiring a bit of readjustment.

I felt a little guilty for being misty-eyed for the period when I didn’t have to remember lots of timings, have swimming/gymnastics/netball gear to prepare and wash and have to re-schedule dinner times and breakfast to accommodate everything.

Then I was rather reassured by an email I got from my Totally Mama group, which echoed the exact same sentiments. It made me realise that perhaps I’m not alone in finding the 0-60 a little overwhelming.

One of the positives from lockdown was learning to take my foot off the gas a bit when it came to home life, and smell the flowers. I really wanted to continue this, but have realised it’s difficult to maintain as normality resumes.

…..

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Post-lockdown wish list

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The first lockdown certainly taught us to appreciate the simpler pleasures in life. However, even with a glass half full attitude, it’s been harder this lockdown. It’s winter so it’s dark earlier and it’s colder and generally less clement. The novelty factor’s worn off; the local ‘discoveries’ of last time are now very familiar. Our daily exercise (which we’re struggling to fit in because of the overload caused by juggling homeschool and work) is mundane and routine. Homeschooling is hard, even harder than last time.

Weekends don’t have the promise of meeting with friends and family or interesting excursions. At the moment, weekends are more about offering respite from the eternal work and homeschool treadmill.

Snow day

Last night I saw snow was forecast – I kept my fingers crossed. Like the kids, I love snow, but I knew we’d love it all the more right now. There was no snow first thing, but then it started… and it was settling. HURRAH! The kids were so excited. We rushed straight out into the garden and played. After breakfast we got the sledge and headed to our local park. Even the walk there was fun; the disruption, the break from the norm… the snowball fights.

Our local park has lots of hills, and the kids and I had a blast sledging down them (Matt wasn’t so brave ). We weren’t the only ones. It was so lovely to see and hear so many (well distanced) people having fun. The girls said they were having a wonderful time.

My WhatsApp was pinging but there were no messages lamenting another dull weekend. Instead they were all messages saying how great the day had turned out. Similarly, my Facebook feed was filled with snowy pics and beaming faces. It was a much needed tonic for many.

Just like that, our glasses were half full and we were appreciating the simple pleasure of the ordinary, extraordinary great British weather.

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Here are Clarks pointers for measuring children’s’ feet:

• Get the child to stand on a piece of paper and draw around their foot

• Draw a dot at the little toe joint and another at the big toe joint

• Take a measuring tape over the foot and measure from one point to another (in mm)

• Measure from the tip of the longest toe to the heel on the paper

• Repeat for other foot
• Phone Clarks with the measurements and they’ll convert into a size

Clarks stressed that this wouldn’t be as accurate as an in-store measurement. They also said to bear in mind that there is only a difference of 4mm between shoe sizes and because of this it’s often better to air on the side of bigger so they get some growing room.

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Cruisers, walkers and Jimmy Choos: Shoes

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Sadfishing

This is a social media trend where people make exaggerated claims about their emotional state/problems in order to get sympathy. I find this worrying from a number of angles.    

My primary concern is that children who actually are feeling low or are suffering from specific mental health problems could be afraid to communicate this for fear of being accused of sadfishing.

Another fear is for those who indiscriminately post about and exaggerate their emotional problems. They might get a temporary, superficial boost from a high volume of engagement/comments but they’ll be crushed if responses then dwindle. It’s a catalyst for insecurities… “Does nobody care about me anymore?” There could also be the ‘boy who cried wolf’ effect should they ever have real problems they want to flag. Oversharing and exaggerating can also mask the issues that make children genuinely unhappy.

The trend of sadfishing could also discourage children from seeking proper help and advice for anything that’s worrying them.

Distorted reality

I think one of the major problems with social media is it distorts reality. You all too often see the edited, picture-perfect ‘best’ version of someone’s life. You seldom see the banal, day-to-day stuff on a person’s social media channels. Children often don’t appreciate this filtering (even if they do it themselves). I’m sure it must lead to feelings of inferiority and the belief that their life isn’t as ‘good’ or ‘exciting’ as someone else’s.  

Obviously sadfishing is the exact opposite. However, it’s still a distortion of reality and is another thing that makes it difficult to distinguish between facts and half-truths.

Constant connectivity can actually be exhausting

I speak from experience here. I’m a member of a lot of WhatsApp groups; some related to school (three separate classes), some friends and family ones and some for outside interests. They’re all really valuable in different ways, but sometimes it does feel like a barrage when your phone is pinging constantly. Coupled with texts, other messenger services and push alerts from social media platforms and websites it can be all-consuming, and a time drain. It also affects my productivity and ability to focus. I need to alter my habits so I can lead by example and ensure my kids don’t get swallowed up by social media.  

Immediacy

Social media apps and sites are playing a significant part in breeding a culture where we expect everything instantly. I’m guilty of it too and I’ve witnessed it with my children. I do try to go against the tide and actually make the kids wait for things so we don’t lose the element of suspense, build up and excitement. 

And don’t get me started on TikTok…l

You can find out more on promoting safe and responsible use of technology on the Digital Awareness UK website.

You may also like: Things to Consider Before Giving Your Child a Smartphone

The post Sadfishing and Other Social Media Pitfalls for Children appeared first on The Parent Social.

Here, Charlotte Baldwin, shares a few other additional simple ideas for reducing plastic in a busy household, including how you can better educate your children about the importance of recycling and get them started on a path to eco-consciousness.

The need for reducing plastic

Currently, an average household of four people uses around 2,760 plastic products a year – most of which will go to waste, as half of all plastic products made are for one-time use. All of this adds up to the eight million tons of plastic waste that is dumped into the ocean every year. This highlights why it’s so important that everyone does everything they can to help in reducing plastic waste. Simple lifestyle changes will help you do this with ease.

Repurpose and upcycle

One of the most obvious but beneficial things you can do, and teach your children to do, is to re-use and repurpose plastic instead of just putting it in the recycling bin. For example, you could easily re-use ice cream containers to hold other items or for food storage/freezing – you can even upcycle them so they become a feature in the kitchen. Alternatively you can get the children to decorate them and create pieces of artwork. You could also buy plastic products that have been repurposed by others. By doing this you get the products you want but don’t add to your plastic footprint as the items have been previously used.

Reusable bottles

Another factor that adds massively to global plastic waste is the use of plastic bottles. Children’s packed lunch boxes frequently contain water or juice bottles made of plastic. All too often these bottles are simply thrown away after use. By swapping to a reusable water bottle instead you could save so much unnecessary waste (and money)! This enables you to teach your children how every piece of plastic they save is helping the planet. Plus, children love picking a water bottle just for them! [my 10-year-old and her friends are obsessed with the BOGI ones – Fran].

Reusable shopping bags

For families whose shopping is likely to fill more than a few bags, it’s especially important that you use reusable bags. Many shops sell themed tote bags, so you can get your children to chose the designs they want and have them help you pack the bags when you get to the till. This not only gets them involved with the day-to-day chores by making them a little more fun, but also helps to teach them about reducing plastic consumption at the same time.

Say no to cling film

Many people underestimate how environmentally damaging cling film is, and also don’t realise just how much they use on a daily basis. It can add up quickly, especially in bigger families with lunchboxes to fill and leftovers to wrap! Cling film takes hundreds of years to degrade once it gets to the landfill, which typically happens as many people don’t recycle it. Why use it at all when you can use beeswax wraps and reusable storage containers? These are much safer for the environment and – in the case of containers – are great for children, since different coloured ones are available for them to choose from; they can even customise them.

Watch your shop

When doing your weekly shop, it’s not just the reusable bags that you need to watch out for. Think about the packaging of the products you’re buying. For example, you could buy laundry detergent in cardboard boxes rather than bottles as cardboard is much easier to recycle than plastic. While walking around the supermarket, you’ll soon see other small changes that can be easily made.

Each of these small steps will instantly help reduce your family’s plastic footprint and teach your children about saving the environment along the way. Every little thing you do helps when it comes to saving the planet!

About The Author

Charlotte Baldwin, Operations Manager at IQ Cards:
IQ Cards is a fundraising company that provides schools and establishments with the necessary tools to fundraise via selling high-quality and unique gifts designed by pupils. Several of the IQ cards team are mothers and PTA members themselves appreciating and understanding school protocols extremely well. IQ Cards is an approved supplier for Parentkind. For more information please visit: http://www.iqcards.co.uk/

Other posts you might like:

• Find out how you can make money and help the environment by recycling old clothes
• Upcycling secondhand crockery – a thrifty idea, which boosts childrens’ creativity
• My post for Epsom and Ewell Families on TerraCycle

The post Reducing Plastic Waste as a Family appeared first on The Parent Social.

I’m no social media influencer but a couple of photos of her sploshing about got a tonne of comments, likes etc. Sure there were a lot of mums who said their daughters (no mention of sons as of yet) would love such an outfit, but there were a lot of adults that wanted one too!

Christmas wish list

 .

Maria put ‘mermaid tail’ on her Christmas list. I rolled my eyes; her dad said not to get it. However, on her succinct list, which was edited a couple of times, it remained a constant. I searched for one and discovered that it was indeed quite a thing. There were loads of versions. They generally came as a five piece set including a bikini top, bikini bottoms, head band, mermaid tail and fin. I ordered one and confess, despite not being a girly girl, I could see the appeal.

The girls all like dressing up and role play and I knew the mermaid costume would add an extra dimension as it could be used as a complete costume in and out of the water and also function as a ‘normal’ swimming cossie.

Maria was absolutely delighted with it and her sisters are equally obsessed with it. It has become a feature of every bath time.

Is mermaid the new unicorn?

Mermaids have an enduring appeal, but it certainly seems to have intensified in the last few years and I think they’re starting to displace unicorns.

John William Waterhouse’s 1900 painting

Mermaids have inspired awe for a very long time. They’ve been depicted by many artists; Hans Christian Andersen’s famous fairy tale The Little Mermaid was written back in 1836, the Disney film version was released back in 1989 (1989?!?), and let’s not forget Splash. Alongside the book, the films and the toys, there’s the TV programme Mako Mermaids, which my younger two love, there are the mermaid blankets, a whole raft of mermaid beauty products and services including adult ‘mermaid facials’ (?), mermaid slime, you name it…

Mako Mermaids

The bird/woman combo of sirens and harpies certainly don’t get such a good press. So what is the appeal of mermaids? Well my poll of three revealed that they are: pretty, kind of sexy, sassy, very interesting to look at, they care for each other and care for all the living things in the ocean. There you have it.

If you your child wants to channel their inner mermaid, here’s where you can get the outfit (child and adult sizes): Amazon. Randomly you can also get them decorated with Israeli and Palestinian flags!

The post Mermaid Costume appeared first on The Parent Social.

The group is hosted by the passionate Devenia Besant (Dee). As and active user myself, I find this a very friendly, community-orientated and interactive place. Members can share information, ask for advice and recommendations, find out what’s happening and even sell things (however, there are no spam posts and it’s not for business advertisers). The group is a hub for families in the area and is a wealth of really useful information.

Epsom and Ewell Families – a new website

The Facebook group has snowballed and boasts well over 5000 members. Consequently, Dee has created the Epsom and Ewell Families website to fully service the community needs.

It is a one-stop platform that provides the local community with useful information and connects them with the business services they need. Additionally, there is a specific services directory and a blog. The blog focusses on ‘what’s on in the area and discusses issues of local interest.

The directory

The directory, which is constantly updated, contains a very comprehensive list of local services complete with reviews for each. All listings are reviewed by at least three people who have actually used the service because of this you get a real, honest opinion. It includes everything from beauty services and messy play children’s classes to wine educators and cake makers. 

The blog

Check them out here: 

Schools

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I’ve worked part-time from home for the last few years and it’s a great set up whilst the girls are at school and creates a good work/life balance. During the six weeks holiday I take a couple of actual weeks holiday where the out of office goes on, and the other four weeks balance out nicely with a combination of work days and fun days.

Working this year

This year has been rather different. I’ve been working on a large scale project. Such was the scale of the project that in the first instance, two week’s holiday was shaved down to nine days. The holiday was great, we had a brilliant time and I would certainly recommend Menorca as a great destination for a family holiday.

When we got back I felt a weight like I’d never felt before when working during the holidays. I knew my husband was going away for work for over two weeks so this was certainly a contributing factor, but this wasn’t the primary reason.

Over the holidays I’ve been working on a project that’s LA-based so there has been an eight hour time difference to contend with. In some senses that was good, we could do activities in the daytime and then I could work into the night. However, there was a flip side… From 4pm onwards I was a bit on tenterhooks knowing that my working day was about to kick off; I felt like I was too focused on packing the kids off to bed so that I could get on. I was working until late and then going to bed feeling wired and tired. The next morning I’d be checking my phone as soon as I opened my eyes to see what I’d missed whilst I was asleep. Breakfast was often quite delayed as I responded to something that had happened overnight, even though the recipient of the email wouldn’t be seeing it for at least six hours.

We’ve been on plenty of excursions: Hampton Court Palace, Tulleys Farm, Birdworld, Littlehampton, Wisley, Garsons to name a few, but this hasn’t stopped me feeling bad.

I feel like I’ve projected my stress too much and not shielded the kids from it enough. Sofia made me breakfast in bed twice whilst Matt was away and all the girls made me cards, which I feel shows that they thought I needed looking after/cheering up. That makes me feel rather guilty.

I don’t feel like the holidays have been the carefree experience of other years; I’m just hoping that the girls don’t view them the same way.

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