4 years on

Superman is still flying but this time zooming around the Nurburgring circuit. Whilst our baby girls have become little princesses in every sense!

I miss Poddy!

Just got back from a weekend of camping with our friends. In our case glamping, as we opted for the luxury version of hiring a pod - a wooden wigwam style hut with carpets, heating and TV. Not exactly camping, as we were well sheltered from the elements, much to our relief when the heavens opened in the early hours of Sunday, but we did get into the spirit of camping - barbecues, toasted marshmallows and sitting around the open fire in our assortment of folding camp chairs!

For most of our group this was a new experience and despite our reservations it appears that the great outdoors still has its appeal. The kids had a fantastic iPad-free time, feeding the ducks and geese, dancing with Olaf, running around the well-equipped playground and my little girl has even asked if  she can stay in poddy and go crayfishing again!!!

The onsite entertainment and facilities were great, a vast improvement on those I remember having to endure as a teenager when I went on a school camping trip.

Looks like this group of happy campers and glampers will be coming to a campsite near you very soon!

You mustn't say Win!

"Mummy the man said win.... We don't say win!"

Feeling a bit bleary eyed today having got out of bed at 530am as I was curious to see what had happened to our political landscape.

Without getting into that topic I am struggling to explain to Jo San why the people on the TV are saying win and lose a lot today.

As adults we all know about losing and winning but children these days are constantly told that it's the participation that counts and the result is not important. Try telling that to Ed Miliband and David Cameron!

When exactly did 'win' become a bad word?

It certainly was not the case when I was growing up. I clearly remember trying to beat my fellow classmates in the annual sports day and setting my sights for first place in the Chinese school exams every year. Surely healthy competition is good for us. After all they can only be setup for disappointment if they are led to believe they can never fail.

I strongly believe that kids should be taught to compete and, just like learning to share their toys, children should also know they can't always get what they want. Just like real life, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Sometimes the choices you make might lose you the game but if you aim to win and achieve you will have more fun and gain more than those that are just there for the ride.

Dancing Queen

One of my favourite Abba songs and now I know why.

On my weekly trip to the supermarket last weekend what should be blaring over the speakers but this very catchy song.

And how does my daughter react? She begins dancing around the aisles much to my embarrassment and amusement of fellow shoppers.

This girl really does have the dancing bug. She is always dancing around the house, making up dance routines from Flamenco to Indian dancing and even Chinese dancing although it doesn't quite resemble anything I've seen before.

Maybe it's time to restart those dance classes.

Mummy's no. 1 helper

Growing up, my parents like many of my friends owned a takeaway. There we learned the value of hard work and the role we played in the family business. Weekends and holidays were spent at the counter taking orders and cleaning chip fryers late into the night.

Now without a family business how do we teach our daughter the meaning of work and responsibility. Maybe at four years old it's rather cruel to assign jobs to her but my ethos is if she wants to do it why not let her try.

Hopefully playing housework will become a habit that will last. But for now I'm quite happy to let her be mummy's number one helper.

Is 4 too early?

Is four too early to start Kumon, or other tuition classes?

Relief! We got our school!

April 16th! An important date for all parents whose kids are starting school or moving to the next stage in their school life in September.

Finally at 8pm we got the confirmation that our little one is going to the infant school 300 meters down the road. 300 meters?! It's a done deal right? Quite possibly but it's always nice to have the confirmation in writing. But 8pm! Tortuous! Whatever happened to automated emails. I heard that some councils issued their confirmations at 6am .... what possibly could have taken so long?!

Anyway I'm relieved that we got the school we wanted and Jo San's buddies are going there too. At least that should put to bed some of the separation anxiety that she's been suffering with.

Today, after two years at nursery I decided on the spur of the moment to leave and put her in a local pre-school. And what a difference the decision has made to my little girl. She was kicking and screaming and refusing to go to nursery this morning but by this evening, having enrolled her at the local pre-school where her friends go she's desperate to go to bed so she can wake up early for the taster session tomorrow.

Please please please let this excitement continue!!!