Tag Archives: Children

Blake New YA ebook by Sarahjane Funnell

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Children’s Author Sarahjane Funnell has published her
first YA fantasy story entitled Blake, launching as an
ebook with Amazon and myebook.com on Monday 10th
October 2011, published by Gibson Publishing.

Blake, downloadable for £2.99, is the latest literary addition
to her published repertoire, which includes the short story
Princess Rose and the Royal Tea Castle published within
the middle grade Children’s Anthology A Pocketful of Moondust.
Blake is an aloof and mysterious guy. He possesses a sharp glint in his eye and
harbours a hidden secret. Ebony, a schoolgirl, becomes completely mesmerised
by him and his strange character. Longing to unveil just what it is that makes
Blake so different, Ebony desperately searches for him to find the answer. When
Ebony finally has an opportune moment to discover the secret that surrounds
Blake, she learns that it is not only he who hides an unknown identity but that she
too has an inner secret that stretches far beyond her own existence. An unknown
secret that changes not only her thoughts and the ways of the world but also her
physical human form.

Blake is a captivating short story that will spark the imagination of Young Adult
readers, taking them on an emotive journey of self-discovery within two
contrasting worlds. Featuring rich language and powerful emotion, Blake is
perfect for readers looking for an introduction to fantasy fiction or shorter reading.

A Promising Taste for Adventure

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Despite reporting the fussy and faddy eating you might expect from toddlers, the Toddler ‘Census’ commissioned by growingupmilkinfo.com, a website for parents seeking information about toddler nutrition, revealed today’s toddlers have some adventurous tastes. 30% of toddlers had tried olives, 30% had tried smoked salmon and over one in ten had tried sushi! Plus, 17% had tried granola and 5% had tried lobster!

Whilst some of these foods might be too high in salt for toddlers to eat everyday, an adventurous palate and wide range of tastes is to be encouraged says child nutritionist Amanda Ursell, who adds: “Even ‘everyday’ staple foods can take ten or more tries before toddlers will accept eating them.”

The ‘Census’ gives some fresh perspective on “the state of the toddler nation’s plates”, with eight out of ten parents questioned unaware that toddlers require different nutritional supplements to support this extraordinary period of growth and development. Six out of ten mums surveyed for the study said they were unaware of the UK Departments of Health recommendation that toddlers should receive a daily supplement containing vitamins A, C and D and responses showed 74% of toddlers are not given these extra vitamins

Visit growingupmilkinfo.com for more information and Q&A with experts, and to see a sweet animation of this period of extraordinary growth visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx7gUu1-FX4

David Beckham to be a delicate dad

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David Beckham is learning to be more “delicate” with his newborn daughter.

The soccer star and fashion designer wife Victoria – who already have three sons, Brooklyn, 12, Romeo, eight and six-year-old Cruz together – welcomed little Harper Seven into the world on Sunday and he admits having a girl is different to having boys.

In a video on his Facebook page, he said: “To have another girl in the family is really incredible. We’ve got three beautiful, healthy boys already and we’re so lucky to have that and now to have a beautiful little girl, it’s amazing.

“Having a daughter is a whole new thing. Having pink in the house and lilac in the house. And you have to be a lot more delicate with girls than with boys and I’m not used to that so it’s a whole new experience but it’s an amazing experience. To have that little bundle of joy and your hands and her making her little noises and opening her eyes – it really is an incredible moment for us.”

The British athlete – who wore the number seven on the back of his shirt for many years – also spoke about the reasons behind Harper’s name.

He said: “A lot of thought goes into our children’s names and Harper was a name we’ve loved for a long time for a couple of reasons.

“One is them was because Harper is an old English name which we loved and one of the other reasons is because Victoria’s favourite book is ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ and the author was Harper Lee. And it’s a very strong passionate book so that’s where Harper came from.

“And Seven is partly because of the shirt number I wore for many years because I had so much luck around wearing that number and it was such an influential number throughout my career and a lucky number but that wasn’t the main reason. The reason behind Seven is that it symbolises spiritual perfection and is a lucky number around the world. We love the name. We love Harper Seven and we’re very proud of having her in our family.”

Motherhood has given Alicia Keys a “reason in life”.

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The ‘Empire State of Mind’ hitmaker – who has an eight-month-old son, Egypt, with husband Swizz Beatz – says becoming a mum has changed her life in a “fun” way.

She explained: “Motherhood is heaven. It’s so purposeful and such fun. I feel much wiser in the choices I make. I have a reason in life I never had before.”

Alicia’s new outlook on life is a far cry from when the 30-year-old singer first found success and she admitted her fame was “scary” to begin with.

She told the Daily Mail newspaper: “I suddenly found myself doing tours, TV shows and flying every day.

“Everyone wanted a piece of me and that was scary. Being from New York, I covered that up.”

Now with a successful career and a happy personal life, Alicia is looking to the future and first on the agenda is a collaboration with Kings of Leon.

She said: “For a while I’ve wanted to do something with Kings of Leon. I definitely want to do it – I’m just waiting for the right moment.”

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have to "hide behind some walls" to escape their celebrity status.

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The ‘Tree of Life’ star – who raises children, Maddox, nine, Pax, seven, Zahara, six, Shiloh five and two-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne with the 36-year-old actress – thinks he now has his lifestyle down “pretty well” after spending 10 years getting used to being known as one of the world’s most famous actors.

He said: “It took me a good decade of hiding in my house and not going outside to even, like, get my arms around this idea of celebrity, where suddenly people are looking for you to pick your nose or get a shot of you kissing some woman.

“It’s a very discombobulating thing. But Angie and I have got it down pretty well. We have to hide behind some walls, but we’re good.”

Despite being happy with his domestic life, the 47-year-old hunk still struggles with his views on religion – having been brought up in the mid-west of the US, which well-known for its Christian views.

He told the Guardian newspaper: “I grew up in the f**king buckle of the Bible belt.

“This idea of an all-powerful, watching being that’s controlling our moves and giving us a chance to say he’s the greatest so we get into some eternal heaven – that just doesn’t work for me, man. I got a real problem with it.

“I see the value of religion and what it offers to people as a cushion and I don’t want to step on that. On the other hand, I’ve seen where I grew up how it becomes separatist, and I get quite aggravated and antagonistic.”

HIGH-FLYING FEMALES SHOULD NOT FEEL “GUILT” RETURNING TO WORK AFTER HAVING A BABY

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Successful women in business should not feel any guilt returning to work after having children.

They will have made the decision to return to work because it is in the best interests of their families and themselves.

Niamh O’Keeffe, MD of First100, a global company which aims to help senior women executives return to their roles after maternity leave.

Leadership performance acceleration company First100, which has offices in London, New York and Dublin, works with senior executives to put in place plans for their first 100 days in either a new role or the same role after returning from having a child.

First100 has issued a series of tips for maternity returners, including:

· Let go of the previous role as full-time mother
· Return to the work environment as a confident woman and leader
· Find the right balance between the roles of mother and senior business executive.
· Everything will have changed so prepare well in advance.

Niamh O’Keeffe said: “Once a woman has made the decision to return to work, they need to let go of their role as full-time mother and carry no guilt. Guilt is something brought on by the individual and no one else.

“The woman will have made this decision in the best interests of her and her family and they need to be pragmatic in making it work.

“Living in the moment is critical. When the woman is at home, they need to be fully at home and not juggling their laptop and BlackBerry while making the tea or reading a bedtime story. Equally, when they are at work, it is vital they are not constantly calling home to make sure everything is okay.”

Niamh added that finding the “right balance” was crucial in order to make a true success of combining being a successful woman in business with being a mother.

“The working mum needs to take time out regularly to check they have the balance right. Sometimes one area of your life can get very busy which makes it easy to lose focus in another part of your life. Taking time out to refuel and refocus is very important.

“It is also critical to set realistic expectations at work and at home as there are only so many hours in the day.”

The majority of First100’s clients are male, but the company is finding an increasing number of senior women executives asking it to help them navigate their vital first 100 days in a role or when returning from maternity leave.

First 100 days plans are becoming increasingly common-place within global organisations such as Vodafone, Accenture, Telefonica 02, BP, BT and Merck.

Niamh said: “From my own personal experience and the feedback I receive from our consultants working with clients in the UK, Ireland and United States, female business leaders often make far more willing clients.

“Women are often easier to coach than their male counterparts and more willing to listen and take on board new skills to help them succeed in challenging roles. Sometimes senior male executives are instinctively more defensive and cynical and need a little longer to be persuaded as to the merits of the coaching.

“Undoubtedly, one of the principal reasons why women are generally quicker to understand the benefits of working with companies such as First100 is that they face the added pressures of competing in a still male-dominated business world, many with the challenge of juggling huge responsibilities both at work and at home.

“Putting in place a sound strategic plan for your first 100 days whether you are taking on a new role or returning from having a baby can make all the difference between success and failure.”

WORKINGMUMS LIVE EXHIBITION

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Mark Your Calendar – Tuesday 8th March 2011

Workingmums Live Exhibition, a brand new exhibition event, gives working parents the opportunity to:

* Meet with family friendly employers face to face including: Deloitte, Coca Cola, Santander and H&M
* Find flexible job opportunities
* Get advice on being self employed, starting a business or setting up a franchise
* Improve their CV and brush up on interview techniques
* Get advice on retraining from the experts
* Attend informative seminars on everything from party planning to tax credits
* Find out about childcare options and business funding

Venue: Business Design Centre, Islington, London.
Time: 10am – 5pm

Nearest Tube Station: Angel
The event is free for all attendees, and you can even bring your little ones as there will be buggy parks, changing stations and crèche facilities to make life that little bit easier.

To register, please visit www.workingmumslive.co.uk.

What not to call a posho {Carl Packman}

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When Samantha Cameron gave birth to her baby yesterday I was in an office in Central London. The news spread in that office of course like the news that Julie from HR has brought in some Rice Krispie treats made with cocaine.

While everyone was wincing and speculating on its weight, I was wondering whether the name would have a double barrel – mainly because my politics is stuck in the 80s (80s Cuba that is).

David Cameron has made it clear that benefits, such as that for a child, should not be received by middle class parents such as him (*cough splutter cough* middle class sir? Don’t let Grandad Sir William Mount, 2nd Baronet hear you say that).

But if DavCam is going to be middle class, will he be one of those postmodern middle class people whose names are Plum or Eggnog or something like that, will he stick with his roots and call his child something like Martha Cunningham-Gash or will he go all hug-a-hoodie and call his kid Beyonce or Vodkaandorange (a Dutch name I believe)?

Certainly David Cameron’s identity, back as a shadow leader, was stained by the synonyms of a name. Last year he was said to advise Annunziata Rees-Mogg to insist people refer to her as Nancy Mogg, so as to appeal to the voters of North West Somerset – though some wonder whether it was less about the “poshness” of the name, or whether it was too “foreigny” (that’s right, foreigny!).

Having found out about 30 minutes before writing this small entry I found out, and I think they made a good choice – perfect for postmodernism it has a bit of foreign in there (Cornwall is obviously a bit foreign with their foreigny flag) has a typical English name in there, and has the name of a nurse who saved the world (unlike the Cameron-led budget, which has overburdened the poorest – what a turn up for the books).

That’s right folks, the Camerons have called their latest child Florence Rose Endellion Cameron Rees-Mogg. That about sums it up really.