Losing Out To Technology

A couple of days before Christmas, Aalliyah misplaced her iPod and after spending the best part of three days turning the flat upside down and driving myself crazy by searching the same places ten times over, I had to face facts. It was lost. It was frustrating as the only possible way of it becoming lost was in a matter of five minutes walking from one street to the other. She had run home from her nans house, so chances are it fell from her pocket. With Christmas day looming, I thought it was best to just deal with the issue afterwards as I didn't want it to put a cloud over our festivities.  As much as I was annoyed at the time, I really can’t blame Aalliyah for losing it. Since getting it over a year ago she has been amazingly responsible with it. It’s just one of those things and as much as I am sure I will be replacing it for her soon I can’t help feeling slightly pleased that just lately I seem to have got some quality time with her back again. Now don’t get me wrong, we do spend time together as a family whether staying in for game night or going out for a walk somewhere, but there were days when she would literally spend the best part of the evening glued to that iPod. She is an avid gamer (Minecraft in particular) so is ever so slightly addicted to those gaming videos on YouTube.

I came to realise that up until the point she got her iPod, she was a very regular reader. She has always had an exceptional aptitude when it comes to English and reading and her reading level has always been ahead by years. She would literally devour a book in one sitting and loved nothing more than getting a new book. I remember when we joined the library. You would think it was Christmas with how ecstatic she was. She would always mention new books she knew were coming out and I would always do my best to get them for her. I loved her thirst for knowledge and didn't mind paying for books as opposed to toys or games as I knew they were expanding her vocabulary and she was learning through doing something she enjoyed. When Christmas comes around, it is the perfect excuse for me to stock up on reading material.Tesco always seem to have such a wide variety of kids’ books and I am always spoilt for choice when deciding on new ones to purchase. Just look at this beautiful selection of children’s books below. This is just a small selection of the books she actually has. They are just crying out to be read. Aalliyah recently stayed at her nans house for the night and where she is used to a DVD before bedtime she had to take a book as there was no TV. She came back the next day full of excitement and telling how good the book was and how much she was enjoying it. This is what I wanted to see. I want her passion for reading to come back.

Aalliyah has made a commitment to herself to read more. She knows that she will inevitably get a new iPod but has made a promise to not only me but herself to not let it take over her other past times that she loves. In particular, reading!

Are you an avid reader? Do your children share your love of literature? Or are you left out in the cold from technology? I would love to hear your thoughts..

** This post has been contributed by Tesco.

In The Blink Of An Eye

Isn't it scary how quickly the years seem to fly by? I know people say it all the time but time really does seem to pass us by so quickly especially when it comes to our children growing up. It seems like only yesterday I was choosing Aalliyah's pushchair and cot bedding and yet Monday I found myself choosing her secondary school! I went to an open evening at a local secondary school that both myself and Aalliyah are eager for her to get in to. It really was an amazing evening touring the school but as I sat there in the auditorium surrounding by hundreds of girls and their parents it suddenly dawned on me, this time next year Aalliyah would be in her secondary school and more than likely helping out on the next presentation evening for prospective pupils. Its not like I am totally unaware of her age, but it just hit me like a bullet. 

I got thinking about all the "firsts" that I would never experience with her again. Her first words, steps, smile. Her first day of school, the first bit of artwork she brought home for me. It is sad to think that I will never get them years back but then as I looked at her watching the presentation with so much excitement in her eyes I started to think of all the new wonderful things we were yet to experience together. Starting secondary school, her first love, her first heartbreak, university, her graduation, passing her driving test and buying her first house. There are so many exciting adventures that lay ahead of her we will have so many "firsts" to still enjoy. Although she needn't think I'm going to be purchasing all these "firsts"! Who knows, maybe when she graduates and makes her "first" million she can actually buy me my "first" mansion. Ok, so not a mansion but there are plenty of beautiful country houses for sale that I wouldn't say no to.

Time really is precious and although its sad to see her leaving those baby years behind it is exciting and wonderful to watch her blossom into a beautiful, intelligent and independent young lady.

*This post in in collaboration with Strutt&Parker

The Gallery - Back To School

Never mind the six week holiday going fast, for me the past ten years have flew by! Where have those years gone? I can hardly believe that Aalliyah will be starting her final year of primary school tomorrow and then this time next year I will be sending her off to secondary school! When did my tiny, fragile baby become a strong, independent, young lady?

Strong willed, intelligent, independent, beautiful and ambitious are just a few of many words to describe my amazing daughter and I hope she continues to blossom and really succeeds in her final year of primary school. But most of all I hope she makes a lot of wonderful memories this year too as they will stay with her forever!

The Gallery theme this week is "Back To School" Head over to Sticky Fingers Blog and check out the other entries.

TV Time.. How Much Is Too Much?

Most children are introduced to television at a young age. I remember when my own daughter watched her first bit of television and watching her nearly burst with excitement as she watched the colourful things bopping around on screen and listened to the music. She would often sit in her bouncy chair after breakfast and watch something (Fimbles , If my memory serves me right) But did this make me a bad parent? Did that hour of television make me a lazy parent? Regardless of what the other hours in the day were filled up with?

There have been endless studies into the link between how much time a child spends watching TV and their weight. Personally I think this is ridiculous. Children of overweight parents are more likely to be overweight and children that do not participate in games/sports/outdoor play are more likely to be overweight but the fact is that nine times out of ten the parents and the lifestyle they choose for their child will determine weather or not your child will be a healthy weight. Not how much time is spent watching TV.

You will always find contradictions in what ever research you come across. My daughter is 9 years old, and in very good shape athletically as well as having a good and balanced diet. She still enjoys her not so good sweet things (in moderation) and YES! she does watch television. In the mornings , after getting up, having breakfast etc there is no time for television, which is good as we would end up being late! Even I tend not to watch as I always end up sucked in to some story on daybreak and end up running late. But when she comes home from school, she normally spends the first hour, getting changed, doing homework etc then I will let her have a few hours of television (Providing her homework/reading is complete). During this time she will no doubt have dinner. I live in a ground floor flat so Its not a case of laziness having dinner infront of the TV, but I have no dining room and no where to eat other than our small coffee table that we sit at and eat. Yes the TV is still on at this time, but more or less not being watched and we still enjoy conversation over dinner abot her day at school and so on.

Aalliyah has watched TV from a very young age. She has also (past year) began using the internet a lot more. She does research for projects and homework, but also spends a lot of time on various websites, such as Cbbc, Mathletics etc. I have yet to find her on a game which had no learning value! She is doing fantastically at school, with high levels in Maths and English. Again yet more information which contradicts most of the research you will find online.

Overall I would say Aalliyah watches TV on average 2 hours a day, more at weekends, if we are not out somewhere and she will play a DVD at night when she goes to bed. The DVD is never watched past 5 mins and she is asleep. But these are all choices that I make for her as her parent, I feel they are right for us as a family, and If I felt they were affecting her behaviour or abilities in anyway, I would change her routine.

Every single parent is different, and I guess there is no right or wrong answer to the worldwide debate of TV time.