Tag Archives: parenting

Royal Warrant Holder Fulton Umbrellas launches ‘The London Collection’

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 Fulton Umbrella’s 2016 Parasoled range Review
It is no secret that I love London and Frost Magazine can be quite London-centric (sorry to the rest of the UK. We love you too). There is a good reason for our love of London: it is the best city in the world. To celebrate Fulton have launched a London Collection. Fulton’s iconic style makes it a favourite of Her Majesty the Queen. I review the London Photographic print. It is beautiful and full of landmarks of London. The umbrella is well made of course. It is of the highest quality and fits well into a handbag. I am a fan. Pick one up yourself. There are five original designs.
Designed to pay homage to the city’s iconic landmarks and famous features Fulton launch The London Collection. Featuring classic cabs, red telephone boxes, Big Ben, the Royal Guards and the Union Jack, Fulton’s London Collection offers the perfect accessory to celebrate the city where the brand was born sixty years ago.

The collection includes a range of lightweight, compact models which feature bold prints to make a statement in showers this summer. The ‘Tiny’ is Fulton’s most compact style, without compromising on quality, making it perfect for handbags in case of unexpected downpours.The Birdcage, Fulton’s iconic style and a favourite of Her Majesty the Queen, is given a fresh twist with the London Icons pattern. Children aren’t forgotten, with a distinctive Funbrella featuring Royal Guards marching along its trim.

 

Fulton was founded in 1956 in the UK and from humble beginnings the company is now the UK’s leading umbrella manufacturer, exporting to countries around the world. As an international brand, Fulton is a great UK success story for innovation and style.

MumsThread: On Traveling in London While Pregnant

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babyonboardbadgetravelinginpregnantwhenpregnant
I love London so it is quite hard for me to write this piece. Now I love the tube, but it does bring out the worse in people. Everyone just wants to get home and it can be over-crowded and hot. So, excuses for my city over let me get to my point: traveling in London while pregnant is awful. Really awful. The entire time I was pregnant I was only offered a seat a handful of times and only once by a man. The man made his teenage daughter get up for me. I will be eternally grateful to him. Anyone who has ever been pregnant knows that being offered a seat while carrying another human being inside you is a pretty big deal. I had an awful pregnancy with acute morning sickness and low blood pressure throughout.

The truth is, even when wearing the great badge that TFL send free to pregnant women, most people will just bury their head in their book and turn their iPod up louder. The Baby on Board badge will spark good people to do the right thing, but sometimes it seems like there are too few of them.

Not getting a seat wasn’t the worst of it. While on the way to have lunch with one of my role models, the editor of one of the biggest magazines in the UK, I was pushed TWICE down an escalator by a man who wanted to shave a few minutes of his journey. I was walking down the left hand side whilst seven months pregnant. I guess pregnant women don’t walk fast enough for him and he pushed me twice hard, and also tried to shove me out of the way. I made my feelings clear to him, but I was shaking from head to toe. The upside is that a wonderful woman stopped to stroke my back and make sure I was okay while glaring in his direction. I am very thankful to that woman. It really helped me cope. It proves that a little bit of kindness goes a long way.

I still find it depressing that only one man offered me a seat when I was pregnant. He was even a tourist FFS. Add on the fact that, at most, five people offered me a seat in my over 41 week pregnancy then I am going to have to give us an F Londoners. It is not good enough so let’s try for an A+. We are the greatest city on earth and we can do better than this.

Please let us know about your experience of being pregnant in London.

 

Interesting, And Not Just For Children

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Should I re-think my snacks perhaps?

New research by Fruit Bowl, the brains and creators behind the leading brand in dried fruit snacks for kids, found that more than half (52%) of Britain’s four to 12-year-olds are often tired after school, with a quarter of parents reporting their child had difficulty concentrating when they got home from school but at the opposite end of the energy spectrum almost one in ten (9%) is “almost hyper” towards the end of the day, a survey of 1,000 parents has revealed.

 

The Fruit Bowl research suggests that fluctuating blood sugar levels are an important factor in these mood and motivation issues. Just over a third (34%) of parents reported their children “always” complained of being hungry when they got home and almost half (44%) said hunger was a problem.

There is good evidence to show that growing children are more reliant on snacks than adults to ensure steady energy levels.

Fruit and vegetables are the favourite snacks for restoring children’s energy levels, with almost a third (29%) of parents putting this healthy option at the top of their list, followed by biscuits or cake (12%) and a sandwich or toast (10%).

 

More than a quarter of parents report that their children can be fussy about fruit with one in five (22%) saying their offspring stick to one or two favourites and 5% saying it’s a struggle to get them to eat any fruit at all.

 

Dr Carrie Ruxton says: “Every parent knows how fussy children can be, and how difficult it can be to encourage them to try new flavours. Fruit-based snacks are a great way to encourage picky-eaters to try new flavours

 

“Fruit-based snacks, such as Fruit Bowl® School Bars, Fruit Flakes and Fruit Peelers for example are made from the juice and/or pulp of fruits and typically count as one portion of 5-A-DAY depending upon the product.”

Fruit Bowl® Fruit Peelers (RRP £1.50 for a pack of 4 individually wrapped 16g Peelers

 

 

Ella’s Kitchen Cereals Range And Kids’ Snacks Range Review

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My son loves Ella’s Kitchen so much that his little legs start kicking when we pass that section in the supermarket. When I heard about the new cereals range I got very excited indeed. So did the little one. He has been a happy little tester. Here is what we thought:

ELLA’S KITCHEN’S NEW CEREALOUSLY SCRUMMY CEREALS RANGE FOR TINY TOTSbanana ELLA’S KITCHEN’S NEW CEREALOUSLY SCRUMMY CEREALS RANGE FOR TINY TOTSmuesli ELLA’S KITCHEN’S NEW CEREALOUSLY SCRUMMY CEREALS RANGE FOR TINY TOTSporridge ELLA’S KITCHEN’S NEW CEREALOUSLY SCRUMMY CEREALS RANGE FOR TINY TOTSmultigrainrice

The cereals have a range of textures for the weaning journey and are all organic.

Multigrain Baby Rice

Super smooth and deliciously scrummy, these two taste-tingling multigrain baby rice products offer bags of flavour + can be enjoyed any time of day. Suitable for tiny tums 4 months+, the carrot multigrain baby rice is a great way to teach little ones to love veggie tastes, right from the start of their weaning journey! The little one loved these. We don’t give him too much rice so it was a new experience for him. Both samples ended up with a clean plate. 

Porridge

This berry good breakfast will help introduce little ones to more exciting flavours + is jam-packed with delicious strawberries + raspberries! Textured with yummy crispy bits and not too lumpy, the consistency is perfect for tiny tots from 7 months+. The LO loves porridge. This one did not go down as well as I thought it would. Babies are fickle. Strawberry porridge was his favourite but I think he has gone off it now. He still eats it though. 

Muesli

Made to help little ones learn to chew, this new cereal for 10 months+ is the perfect next step on their weaning journey. With a chunkier + lumpier texture, this yummy muesli is full of scrum my banana + cinnamon to tickle tiny tastebuds. This was LO’s favourite. His mouth was wide open every time. No matter how big the portion was, he wolfed it down. 

 

Easy-Peasy

The cereals range comes in great packaging which allows you to easily reseal the pack. It is also easy to pour, making it mess-free. I love the range and the little one did too. Thumbs up.

 

The Ella’s Kitchen’s cereals range is available in-store now with a RRP of £2.30 for Multigrain Baby Rice (125g), £2.50 for porridge (175g) and £2.70 for muesli 175g).

Also new from Ella’s Kitchen.

Look out! Our super tasty + super cool Kids’ Snacks range has landed – yippeee! Created especially for big kids from three to five years, these delicious snacks are not only super tasty, they’re super fun too!

Featuring two scrummy products and seven BIG taste combos, the 100% organic range provides bigger kids with snacks that are lower in sugar and introduce exciting veggie flavours to encourage healthier appetites.

ELLA’S KTCHEN’S SUPERHERO ADVENTURE WITH NEW SUPER COOL SNACKS FOR BIGGER KIDS! ELLA’S KTCHEN’S SUPERHERO ADVENTURE WITH NEW SUPER COOL SNACKS FOR BIGGER KIDS!2 ELLA’S KTCHEN’S SUPERHERO ADVENTURE WITH NEW SUPER COOL SNACKS FOR BIGGER KIDS!puch smooshysnack

Smooshy Snacks

Representing one of your five a day, these four taste-tingling smoothie combos feature a mighty VEG ingredient to show big kids just how cool veggies can be!

–     mango + pumpkin

–     orange + carrot

–     strawberry + beetroot

–     apple + cucumber

These are a great addition to the Ella’s Kitchen pouch range. The flavours are interesting and work well together. The little testers were fans.

ELLA’S KTCHEN review ELLA’S KTCHEN’S fruitbars ELLA’S KTCHEN’S SUPERHERO ADVENTURE WITH NEW SUPER COOL SNACKS FOR BIGGER KIDS!fruitbars

Fruity Bars

With three exciting taste combos on offer, new Fruity Bars are completely unique and

includes tasty additions such as crisped rice, oats, flaxseeds and coconut.

–     briiilliant banana + raisin

–     pow powww pineapple + coconut

–     rrrocketing raspberry + mango

The fun doesn’t stop there though! Featuring super cool comic strips on pack, kids will meet an entire cast of superhero characters, including a cheeky rabbit causing mischief with a crew of fellow superhero animals. To join in the superhero fun, simply use our pull-out superhero masks + collectible pop-out finger puppets. Snacking has never been so cool!

These are a brilliant idea. The packaging is fun and gets kids interested while the snack itself is yummy and nutritious. Super cool indeed. 

How to find us

Ella’s Kitchen’s Kids’ Snacks range is available in Sainsbury’s and at sainsburys.co.uk with a RRP of £3.49 for Smooshy Snacks (4 x 100g) and £2.50 for Fruity Bars (5 x 20g).

 

 

The London Fire Brigade has appointed their first-ever Young Fire Safety Officer

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Such a great story has reached Frost Magazine:


The London Fire Brigade has appointed their first-ever Young Fire Safety Officer, 7 year old Archie Cosaitis, to head up the PLAYMOBIL 150th anniversary firefighter crew

The London Fire Brigade has appointed their first-ever Young Fire Safety Officer

Archie is a lifelong fan of the Fire Brigade, and will be launching 65 collaborative open days across the capital throughout this 150th anniversary year, to get the essential message across about fire safety in the home.

The London Fire Brigade has appointed their first-ever Young Fire Safety

Limited-edition London Fire Brigade versions of popular PLAYMOBIL Fire Brigade sets have also been created for little ones to learn through play at home. 10% of proceeds will be donated to the Brigade’s charities of choice, with toys available from April to purchase at the open days and from PLAYMOBILE customer services.

Archie was inspired by the PLAYMOBIL crew’s catchy sing-a-long video already being used by London Firefighters and the Brigade’s Education team as part of their fire prevention outreach work. It shows children how London Fire Brigade fights more than just house fires and highlights how much they do for the community.

Duties in his new role include blowing out the candles of a birthday cake made by Great British Bake Off star Firefighter Mat Riley, giving fire safety advice to his classmates and testing out PLAYMOBIL’s latest Fire Brigade vehicles.

The anniversary open days will be perfect for anyone who’s ever fancied playing firefighter for a day. These will take place across London from April through to December. Children big and small can meet real firefighters and life-sized PLAYMOBIL ones, plus enjoy toys and activities galore.

The London Fire Brigade has appointed their first-ever

Jamie Dickinson, Marketing Manager of PLAYMOBIL UK, commented, “Archie is doing a sterling job so far in bringing the fun factor to learning about fire safety. He’ll have me out of a job if I’m not careful!”

London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said, “The 65 open days across the capital are a great opportunity for people to celebrate our birthday and interact with firefighters who do so much work protecting London every day. Our Education Team does a great job instilling fun into our fire safety advice and Archie is an important ambassador for the work we do.”

 

Click here to see all 65 anniversary open day dates and locations: http://bit.ly/PLAYMOBIL_LondonFireBrigade

Watch the all-singing, all-dancing video here:

http://bit.ly/PLAYMOBIL_LondonFireBrigade_Video

 

 

Acquaint 100% Natural Sanitising Water Review

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Aquaint UK Generic 50mlAcquaint was a huge hit with the parents at Frost. Having a baby means lots of sterilising and washing your hands. Babies immunes systems are weak and keeping them safe is a priority. Acquaint is a sanitising water that is 100% natural and can be used on babies from birth. They can even swallow it. Impressive indeed. We loved it and will be buying in bulk. A genius idea that makes parenting easier, and anything that makes parenting easier is a hit with us. Frost loves.

 

Acquaint is a sanitising water that mimics the body’s immune system by using water and Hypochlorous Acid (HCIO) to cleanse and kill bacteria from any part of the body, or on any equipment.   Hypochlorous acid is known as a biocide that we already have in our bodies, making it extremely safe.    Aquaint contains .003% of this acid, and nothing else, no additives at all, making it the safest sanitiser on the market today

 

How?

Stage 1, bacteria, viruses or other harmful pathogens get into our bodies and start to invade the human cells

Stage 2 Neutrophils, which are the most abundant white blood cells live in human blood vessels and detect the pathogens and travel to the infection site where they surround the pathogen

Stage 3 Once the pathogens are then surrounded it produces an oxidant called Hypochlorous Acid (HCIO)that kills the bacteria almost instantly

 

When Aquaint is sprayed onto anything, the Hypochlorous Acid or HCIO is used virtually instantly to kill the bacteria, and all that is left is the water.   Aquaint is a unique, revolutionary and multipurpose 100% NATURAL Sanitising Water that kills 99.9% of bacteria in seconds. The water provides the base for it to be highly effective as a cleanser, and its only other ingredient, a NATURAL ACID (Hypochlorous Acid) that is produced in the human body to fight bacteria and germs, provides its anti-bacterial properties. Aquaint is endorsed by Allergy UK as an ‘Allergy Friendly Product’ and has passed stringent UK drinking water tests, making it the safest sanitiser on the market.

 

 

Why is Aquaint Different?

ü  It does not contain alcohol, fragrances, preservatives or harmful chemicals

ü  It does not leave behind any chemical residues and therefore it does not need to be rinsed off

ü  It does not dry out or irritate the skin

ü  It is gentle, powerful and extremely safe

ü  It is harmless if swallowed and is as safe as drinking water

ü  It is suitable for repeated use

ü  It is suitable for use during pregnancy and on new-born skin

 

Where can Aquaint be used?

ü  It can be used to sanitise the hands and skin (from birth) and in the mouth

ü  It is also suitable for use on surfaces, even on food

ü  To clean and insert contact lenses

ü  On any equipment, toys, kitchen bathroom etc

ü  On any broken skin, cuts without stinging

ü  Can clear athletes foot

ü  Can clear cold sores, and quickly

ü  Can clear Blepharitis

ü  Can be used to sanitise and use around animals, including use on them if necessary, it does not harm them

ü  Suitable for sensitive and allergy prone skin

ü  Can be used for nappy changing

ü  Suitable for elderly skin

ü  Effective mouthwash

ü  Babies soothers

 

From ocado.com and jojomamanbebe.co.uk

 

 

 

Family First Aid For Babies And Children

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post natal depression, PND,By Tracey Taylor, first aid spokesperson for the British Red Cross who will be speaking at The Baby Show taking place from the 23rd-25th October at Kensington, Olympia 

Being a parent means you never quite know what’s around the corner. Children are naturally inquisitive which means lots of exploring and discovering is normal. Of course with that comes the inevitable little bumps, bangs, trips and tumbles. While most of the time that quivering bottom lip can be vanquished with a hug and appearance of their favourite cuddly toy, it’s always important to have a little first aid know-how. That way, if you were faced with a more serious emergency situation, you’d have the skills and confidence to be able to help. Here are my top first aid tips for families:

1. Firstly learn first aid in whichever way suits you best! Anyone can learn it, it’s easy to recall and the confidence it will give you is invaluable.

2. Go on a baby and child first aid course such as the British Red Cross baby and child first aid course. Take your family and friends along and you’ll all leave with miles more confidence and with the skills to be able to take action in an emergency situation. Plus it’s really easy to learn and you’ll have an experienced trainer there to support you throughout.

3. You don’t need a first aid kit. There are lots of everyday items that you can use in an emergency; cold milk is great to cool a burn if you don’t have access to cold running water, or frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel is ideal to sooth a bump to the head.

4. Burns and scalds are common in toddlers as the little explorers don’t always know what is safe to touch or not – at times we need eyes in the back of our heads! If your baby or child burns themselves, cool the burn under cold running water for at least ten minutes. Whilst cooling get someone to call 999 for an ambulance if necessary. Once the burn has been completely cooled, cover it loosely with cling film or a clean plastic bag and ensure you get your child checked out.

5. Febrile seizures can happen in younger children and babies when they become too hot – which can happen as a result of a fever. If your baby or child is red-faced and hot to touch and they arch their back, stiffen their body and have clenched fists, this may be a febrile seizure. The key thing you need to remember is to protect them from injury and reduce their temperature. While this would be a scary situation for you to deal with it’s worth remembering that it normally appears worse than it is and most children make a full recovery once they have cooled down.

6. Bumps to the head are common for little ones and are normally nothing to worry about. A blow to the head may result in the baby or child having pain or a headache. There may be a bump on their head and they may look pale. Firstly, get the baby or child to rest and apply something cold to the injury (e.g. frozen vegetables wrapped in a tea towel). If you are concerned that it may be more serious, if they become drowsy or vomit or their condition deteriorates, call 999.

7. Meningitis is a common concern for parents and one we get asked about frequently. Signs to look out for if your baby or child is unwell are; flu-like symptoms, a headache and a high temperature. They may also complain of a stiff neck and be sensitive to light. If you suspect meningitis call 999 – trust your instincts!

8. Bee stings are common in the warmer months and, while they are not harmful, can be scary for little ones. When an insect sting is visible on the skin, a credit card can be used to scrape it away. Using the edge of the credit card, drag it across the skin. This will remove the sting. Using a credit card or your fingernail is preferable to using a pair of tweezers as they can squeeze the sting and actually inject more position into the casualty.

9. Always make sure you keep harmful substances like alcohol, drugs (prescription or non-prescription) and chemicals (including household cleaning products) out of children’s reach. If they do swallow something harmful establish what they have taken, when and how much. Then call 999 right away.

10. Download the baby and child first aid app. Packed with useful information, animations and tips, it’s first aid at your fingertips.

 

 

 

Top 5 Money Saving Pregnancy Tricks

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By Layla Anna-Lee, English TV Presenter and soon to be mum.

pregnancysavingtips

Don’t buy a baby changing unit! A baby changing unit is literally a chest of drawers with a baby changing section on top and an extra zero added to the price. Proper padded anti-roll baby changing mats add the same amount of height to the sides of a mat that any changing unit would have. You must never leave your child alone on a changing unit or mat regardless. So don’t feel obliged to purchase overpriced units when your current chest of draws with a safety mat could be just fine! (Just make sure the chest of drawers is the right width for the mat and is strong enough to take the weight of a baby.) I bought mine from www.safetots.co.uk

 

Eco nappies.  In two years of a child’s life the average spend on disposable nappies is £1,800. The same stretch of time in reusable nappies is around £350 and if you are planning on having another child you can use them again saving yourself much, much more. Modern day Eco nappies are incredibly well designed, there’s no need for old fashioned soaking and can be washed at 30 degrees. Of course washing adds some expenditure but even then it’s less than all the bin liners and nappy sacs you’ll be needing for those disposables. Not to mention the cost on your conscience that disposable nappies are the largest single household contributor to landfill sites. I bought mine from www.totsbots.com

 

The Baby Show! Get your ticket, get there early and don’t leave! This was my favourite shopping spot of all. So easy to compare a huge range of baby products all under one roof and so many incredible discounts. I had purchased my buggy before attending the show then saw the exact same one at the show with over £200 off – That’s a pretty impressive discount and at The Baby Show discounts like that are everywhere. There are a variety of invaluable talks to attend, such as first aid and breast feeding talks are included in the ticket price. If you’re a savvy haggler stay right until the end and you might get even more taken off the price tag as exhibitors don’t want to pack up all the stock to travel home. The next show is taking place at Kensington, Olympia from the 23rd-25th October: www.thebabyshow.co.uk

 

You don’t need a cot straight away. When looking to save money sometimes timing is the answer and when choosing your cot you have time to get it right. A baby can sleep in a Moses basket up until around 3 months or until the baby can sit up or roll. This means  there’s no rush, you can wait for a sale, a hand me down from a close friend or indeed simply take your time to make sure you’re making an educated purchase. Mine is from www.mobauk.com

 

Don’t be afraid to ask for things you actually need. Everyone loves buying presents for a new baby. Whether it be an excited mother in law or if you’re throwing a baby shower. It’s important to be honest because your friends really do want to get you something you will actually use. If you don’t need 45 hats and another plush bunny rabbit then just say so! Make a little list of what you need and let your loved ones help you, it truly makes the world of difference.