things to do to show children love every day

5 things to do every day to let your children know you love them

This is kind of stating the obvious, but I love my children.

I love them with every part of me.

But there are times when I wonder if they are aware of quite how loved they are.  They hear the words a lot, from both me and their Daddy.  But sometimes I think hearing the words isn’t quite enough.  I think they need more than that.

So I’ve come up with 5 things I can do every day to make sure they know I love them.

5 things to do everyday to let your children know you love them

5 things to do every day to let your children know you love them.

 1.  Say it.

Say “I love you” as much as you can.  This is a nice easy place to start if you’re anything like me.  We say “I love you” several times a day.  And when it comes unexpectedly you can just see their faces light up.

If you spend a fair bit of your day away from your child then think about leaving them a note in their lunchbox, or hidden in their bag, telling them you love them.

 

2.  Hug it out.

Give them a hug. And let them be the first to let go.

Generally just let them be physically close to you.

I know there are times when that much physical contact can just get too much.  I know I’ve had days when I’ve felt really touched out by bedtime.  But as much as you can, let them be close to you.

Cwtch up close on the sofa when you read or watch tv together.  Hold their hands as you walk.  Any time they reach out to you for contact, give them what they need.

 

3.  Ask them about their day.

On the way home from school, or nursery, or as you get them ready for bed, ask them about their day.  And really listen to their answer.  Ask follow on questions, and echo back key points they make so they really feel that you understand.

If you don’t get much from them when you ask “how was your day?”, then try asking about their favourite thing that happened that day.

 

4.  Let them overhear you saying good things about them.

Talk to your partner about something good your child has done that day, but make sure you do it so that they can overhear you.  Don’t make it obvious you’re doing it so they can hear you, let them think that you don’t know they’re listening.

Hearing you happily telling someone else about how great you think they are is a fab way to boost their self-esteem as well as letting them know how much you love them.

 

5.  Be visibly happy to see them.

There’s a photo that’s been doing the round recently.  A nursery in Houston put a sign up on its door telling parents to get off their phones when they picked their children up.  I don’t like the way the note was worded, but I do agree with the sentiment.

Of course there are times when we might have to take an important phone call just as the school doors open.  Or we might have a baby with us who need our attention at that moment.  But I do think it’s really important to make an effort to stop what we’re doing and greet our children with a big smile and a hug when they come out of school.

They need to know that we’re happy to see them!  The same goes for other situations too.  Look up from what you’re doing when they come in the room, and flash them a smile.  And when you first see them in the morning, try and move past the brain fog and grumpiness and say good morning to them with a happy voice.

 

So there you go, 5 things we can all try and do every day to show our children how much we love them.

If you want to go a bit further with this then you can read this post I wrote a while ago about love languages.  Once you’ve worked out what love language your child speaks then you can find even more little ways to show love in the way that they need you to.

Do you do any/all of these things with your children regularly?  Are there any other little things you do with your children to show your love?

This post has been linked up with KCACOLS.

 

listen-to-the-small-stuff

Listen to the little things

Rhys is a talker.

Some days it feels like all he does is talk.  He’ll talk to himself as he’s playing, and he’ll talk to us at every possible opportunity.

And, honestly, some days it’s just exhausting.

Some days I long for a few moments of quiet.

Some days I don’t really want to hear about Minecraft or Roblox or Pokemon.

There are times when I have to ask him to please, just hush for a bit.  Just give me 5 minutes of quiet.

And then I feel bad.  I feel awful asking my son to stop talking.

Because he just wants to share with me.

“Listen earnestly to anything your children want to tell you, no matter what. If you don't listen eagerly to the (4)

My son wants to talk to me about the things he’s passionate about.  And is it his fault that I’m not passionate about those things too?

No.  It’s really not.

At his age, it’s not his job to edit what he talks about.  Or how much he talks about it.

It is my job to listen to him.  To at least try to be interested in the things he cares about.

It’s not easy.

And I hate to admit it but there are times when I let my lack of interest show.  There are times when I sigh at hearing the words, “Mummy, can I tell you something?” for the 20th time that hour.  Because I know it’ll be another thing about something he’s seen in Minecraft.

But I am so aware that I need to listen more.  And to listen with interest.

I need to listen now to the things that matter to him.  Because I need him to know that he can talk to me and that I will hear him.

As he gets older I want him to be able to open up to me.  To tell me what’s on his mind.  To discuss his hopes and fears and dreams with me.

If listening to his endless chatter about Minecraft now means he’ll talk to me about the big issues when he’s older, then surely it’s worth it.

I just need to remember that it’s also ok to take breaks every now and then, even if it’s just leaving the room to put the washing on, or make a cup of tea.  Just to relish the quiet for a second!

 

Cuddle Fairy
christmas-week-box-new-books

Christmas week boxes – keeping the children entertained in the run up to Christmas

If you’ve got children chances are you’ll have come across the idea of a Christmas eve box.  

It’s quite likely you’re putting one together for yourself, or browsing the various websites that now sell them to find a special one to buy.

On the off chance you’ve not heard about them, here’s the gist.  You put together a box or basket or bag of special bits and pieces for your child to open on Christmas eve.  Something to start the magic a little bit early.  Most people put new pyjamas, a Christmas film and some treats in there.

We’ve not done them before, mainly because I’ve not been organised enough to sort one out.

But this year things have conspired to make my life a bit easier.  We were sent some lovely new slippers for the children from Wynsors, along with some chocolatey treats and we were also given three fab new books from Penguin and Britmums.

Being sent these bits so close to Christmas, I really wanted to put them away for the children, as little extra presents for them.  Then I considered putting together a book advent box for them, but realised I would end up spending a fortune on new books if I did that!  And I’m not sure there’s room on our bookshelf for 24 new books.

So then I thought I would put all the bits in a Christmas eve box for them instead.  But then I realised that we had a whole week off school before Christmas day.

A whole week of excited children asking if it was Christmas yet.  A whole week of needing to come up with fun things to do to keep us all occupied.

So, I decided to put together a Christmas week box.

I bought a few more books to add to the ones we were sent so that we have a new book to read every night next week at bedtime.  I popped into the pound shop in town and was really happy to find these three ‘read it yourself’ books.  I really love these books, as they’re stories that I can read to them but that Rhys can also have a go at reading himself.  And I’m so pleased that they had characters that my children love – Topsy and Tim, Harry (and his dinosaurs) and Charlie and Lola.

Charity shops are also a great place to go looking for books for your children, you can often find lots in there for bargain prices.

christmas-week-box-new-books

Next I bought some new pyjamas to go with the slippers we were sent.  Primark ones mind, so not particulary extravagent!  They’re really lovely and soft though, and I love the old-fashioned style of the checked ones I bought for Rhys.

christmas-week-box-slippers-pyjamas

I then went to the other pound shop and The Works and picked up a few bits and pieces.

Some sticker books.  We’ve had some ‘that’s not my’ sticker books before and they’re lovely, really nice quality.

christmas-week-box-sticker-book

Some activity books.  These were actually all in a pack together for about £2 I think, but I opened the pack up to spread the books across a couple of days.

christmas-week-box-activity-books

A couple of craft activities for us all to do together.  I think we’ll have a lot of fun with these, and they were such a good price.  I like the fact that they’re simple enough for Nerys to get involved with, but look like they’ll take a little while to complete, so will be great for a quiet few afternoons at home!

christmas-week-box-craft-activities

I also bought some fun bits to make cakes with their cousins when they come to visit one day next week.  I’m looking forward to seeing how creative they can get with the fun cake toppers and the sprinkles and stars!

christmas-week-box-baking-sprinkles

So basically there’s a new bedtime book for them to unwrap every evening, and something different for them to open up every day that will hopefully keep them entertained for a little bit!

Now I know some people might think all this is a bit OTT.  There does seem to be a bit of a debate about whether Christmas eve boxes are a good idea, or if they just encourage our children to be more materialistic.

Honestly, I hesitated a bit before putting this post together as I’m really not sure what people will make of it.  Especially as I have wrapped up all the items in our box.  But, for me, having the things wrapped up just adds a bit more fun to the whole thing.

And the thing is, this really didn’t cost me that much to put together.  I used a hamper we already had in the house, and bought everything apart from the pyjamas from the pound shop and The works.  And I would have spent the money on them anyway, on bits and pieces here and there throughout the week leading up to Christmas.  This just feels like a fun way to enjoy the Christmas holidays with my children.

What do you think?  Do you put together Christmas Eve boxes for your children, or are you not a fan of the idea?

christmas-week-box-keeping-the-kids-entertained-in-the-run-up-to-christmas

 

Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday
Let them eat dirt and why keeping things clean might not be best for our children

Let them eat dirt

Lots of people, when they become parents, become obssessed with keeping everything clean.  They worry constantly about dirt and germs.

They do whatever they can to clean and sanitize and sterilise everything in their baby’s world.

But is this really the best thing to do?

I’ve always felt that a little bit of dirt is good for children.  That they need to be exposed to germs and bacteria to be able to build an effective immune system.

Let them eat dirt

 

To my mind, it’s like peanuts.

Stay with me, I’m going somewhere with this!

When I was pregnant with Rhys, the general advice was still to avoid eating peanuts and peanut products.  It was thought that this would help prevent peanut allergies in the baby.

But, I wasn’t convinced that this was right.

My gut feeling on it was that, surely, it’s better to expose the baby to small amounts of things like peanuts.  To me it made more sense that a child would be more likely to react to something that they’d never been exposed to at all.

So I did some research and it turned out that, at the time, the UK was pretty much the only place in the world to advise women to avoid peanuts during pregnancy and yet we had one of the highest rates of peanut allergies.

Women in other countries were happily enjoying their peanut butter on toast every morning and, if anything, doing so seemed to reduce the chance of their baby having a nut allergy.

So I made a choice to keep eating my peanut butter too.  And not long after that the advice here changed to say that it was ok to do so.

Because exposing babies to allergens early on makes it more likely they’ll build up a tolerance to it, which makes it less likely they’ll develop an allergy to it.

And I think of dirt and germs in a similar way.

If we expose our babies to these things, then they’ll build up a tolerance to it.  Their immune systems will develop to be stronger and more resistant to bugs.

And a new book has been released that supports my beliefs.

Let them eat dirt‘ is a really fascinating book on the benefits of exposing our children to dirt and microbes.

let-them-eat-dirt-book

It was written by B. Brett Finlay, PHD and Marie-Claire Arrieta, PHD and is all about this idea that our current obsession with keeping things clean and sterile is potentially harmful to our children.

Which makes me feel better about the absolutely non-sterile state of my home!

I remember when Rhys was a baby, and I was still worrying about sterilising his bottles, and his dummy.  My husband made the excellent point that he was crawling round on his hands and knees all day, and then putting his fingers in his mouth.  And his toys were often on the floor, and then in his mouth.

And he seemed to be doing fine!

So I relaxed a bit after that point.

And kept in mind that any germs and bacteria he did pick up would most likely be doing good things to build up his immune system.

This whole idea of sterilising bottles is actually addressed in the book:

“The American Academy of Pediatrics no longer recommends sterilizing bottles used for babies of any age.  If the water at home is safe enough to drink, it is also safe enough to use to clean bottle and nipples”

They also mention an interesting study that was conducted at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.  The study found that children raised in homes that washed dishes by hand (rather than in a dishwasher) were less likely to develop ezcema by the time they reached school age.  Which suggests that “a less-efficient dishwashing method promotes more exposure to microbes early in life, which has been shown to protect children from allergies and asthma”.

And as for toys, the book’s authors suggest that they only need to be cleaned when they’re visibly dirty, or if they’ve been played with by a child that’s poorly.  And plain old soap and water will do too, no need to break out the dettol!

let-them-eat-dirt

So, if that’s the case with toys, which are more often than not left lying around on the floor, then is it ok to pick a dummy up off the floor and give it back to your baby?

You might judge me for this, but my response to a dropped dummy was always to just quickly pop it in my mouth to ‘clean’ it before giving it back.

But you often see parents grabbing a pack of wipes out of the changing bag to clean a dropped dummy.  Well, you can even buy little containers that keep them sterilised on the go!

According to ‘let them eat dirt’ though, my more relaxed approach might be for the best.

“A study by the Swedish research group suggests that the best way to clean a pacifier that has been dropped is to put it in your own mouth first.  They found that the sixty-five babies raised by parents that cleaned their pacifiers by mouth had a significantly lower risk of developing allergies at 18 and 36 months of age”

I honestly find this whole area of research fascinating.

A lot of the studies need to be replicated on a larger scale, but the findings definitely point towards it being a good thing for our babies and children to be exposed to microbes and bacteria.

So maybe we all need to relax a little bit.

Obviously we need to use some common sense and do what we can to stop diseases from spreading, and to be wary of germs from food that’s past its best.  And the authors aren’t saying we should actually be encouraging our children to eat dirt.

But maybe we need to cut down on the constant disinfecting and sterilising.  

I’m not saying we should live in a complete mess.  I think we all feel better when our homes are clean and tidy.  But, lets not get carried away!  Our homes don’t need to be sterile.  We don’t need to get rid of every last germ and microbe.

What we need to do is let our children be children.

Let them go out and play in the mud.

Let them explore the world around them.

Let them come home covered in dirt and grass stains, with grubby faces and mud under their fingernails.

I’ll leave you with a great final quote from the book:

 “Let your kid be a kid and interact with their world, and develop as kids have for the past million years.  Let them eat dirt!”

 

You can get a copy of ‘let them eat dirt’ via Amazon, just click on the image below:

I was given a copy of ‘let them eat dirt’ to review, but all words and opinions are my own apart from those indicated by quote marks.

This post has been linked up with KCACOLS.

I won't do my son's homework for him

Why I won’t do my son’s homework

We had a ‘meet the teacher’ session at my son’s school last week, where we were told all about what they would be getting up to in year one.

And one of the things that was mentioned was homework.  

For the most part the homework will be based around reading and spelling, but the teacher did remark that there will be one or two bigger projects now and then.  Like making posters to go on the classroom wall, and building model houses after a trip to St Fagans.

The thing is, I swear she said to us parents “you’ll be making models”, not “your children will be making models”.  And my immediate thought was that I certainly won’t be making anything!

I’ll help, of course, but I refuse to do my son’s homework for him.

Why I won't do my son's homework

 

Here’s why I won’t do my son’s homework for him:

  • It tells him that his efforts aren’t good enough.  By taking over and doing it for him, it implies that I think he can’t do it well enough by himself.  And I always want him to know that his best effort will always be good enough for me.  Last year he had lots of letters to practise writing as part of his homework, and sometimes those letters were the wrong way round, and wobbly, and imperfect.  But HE did it.  He sat and he tried his best, and honestly, at 4 years old surely that’s all that matters?!

 

  • He won’t learn anything!  What’s the point in him having homework and then me doing it for him?  He won’t learn anything from it in terms of academics, but he’ll also never learn life lessons about trying your best, about failing and that being ok!

 

  • It’s not my job.  I mean, I’ve been through school, and back then it was my job to do my homework.  But I’m not in school any more!  It’s my job to help him, to explain things to him, to support him, yes.  But it’s not my job to do it for him.

parent-help-homework

 

It seems like I’m not the only parent who feels this way.  I asked some fellow parent bloggers for their thoughts and this is what they had to say:

“I don’t think (apart from spellings and reading) homework should given in Primary school until years 5 & 6 to prepare them for secondary school. They have enough time in school each day to learn – they shouldn’t have to come home and do more. Hometime should be a re-coup time and time for doing things they want to do.”

– Lisa from It’s a blogs life

 

“I don’t do it for them, actually I wrote a post on it.. there’s no point me doing it for him, as he may as well not do it. I will help I.e. talk him through it if he’s stuck or suggest where he may look for answers. Eldest is year 4 and has had homework since year 2. I think it enhances his ability to be able to learn independently.”

– Vi from dancing in my wellies

 

“My son has just started Year Two and is a very reluctant writer. I won’t do his homework for him but I will help him and guide him or otherwise he’d never do any of it. If it’s written work he has to do, then we talk about what he wants to say one night and I write it all down, then another night we work on a shortened version of his thoughts. I’ve written it down in his words and then he’s copied it. He’s just had to do a family tree project, again writing is a nightmare, so I suggested he made a tree with ivy leaves, we printed photos and he just wrote labels for relationships. He did the work but with a lot of guidance.

I’d rather he had nothing except reading, spellings and maths for a few more years but it is what it is.”

– Mary from over 40 and a mum to one

 

“I totally leave my six year old to it, but that is because she is very self motivated. If anything I tell her to stop and leave it for a bit as she gets carried away trying to do too much. It depends on the child as some need more guidance than others. It needs to be a partnership bewteen school, child and home. As parents we do have a responsibility to get involved I believe.”

– Emma from emma and 3

 

“My daughter is 4 so has just started receiving homework, it’s usually something like “Draw a picture of something small & something big”, so I’ll discuss the topic with her, in this example, what things are small & what things are big, and then leave her get on with the work. But she’ll often have to write what her drawing are, so either I’ll tell her the letters to write herself or if she can’t remember her alphabet, I’ll write them on a scrap piece of paper for her to copy, with me telling her the names of each letter as she goes along.”

– Becky from hectic diabectic

 

“Things like spellings and times tables my son does himself but some of the harder homework we have done together. I certainly don’t tell him what to do but I sometimes help guide him in the right direction and then we talk about how he came to that outcome/ answer. I think sometimes a little help can be much more beneficial than them getting frustrated and giving up!”

– Jess from tantrums to smiles

 

“My son has just started reception, we are asked to do 10 mins a day of “reading or writing practice” which is a lovely way for us to see what he’s learning at school and so far feels like a treat for him to have 1:1 time with me or his Dad. I like that it’s flexible and there is no pressure on him yet to produce something to hand in! I wish homework could stay this chilled forever!”

– Amy from 2 boys 1 mum

 

“You can tell when a parent has done the homework and it’s not fair on the students. Not just their child but others, it puts pressure on everyone else.

I help my son but he completes it and if he struggles I write a note to the teacher.”

– Jaymee from the mum diaries

 

“My 4 year old has just started infant school so homework hasn’t started yet aside from a reading book each night. It does irk me when parents do their kid’s homework, especially if they are open about it too. Guidance and encouragement is key. I do find that some schools can be a bit suspicious of a good result of homework particularly if a parent works within that particular field, i.e, science or geography for example.”

– Sophie from sophie and lily

 

“I understand that when a child is little they might need some help with certain school projects, but it never ceases to amaze me the lengths that some people go to. There is absolutely no point in parents doing the homework for the children. My eldest took in a cereal box that I wrapped in paper for him and then he coloured in to make it look like a house for the Great Fire Of London. That was enough work for me! Some children had wooden houses with thatched roofs! It means so much more for them to do it themselves.”

– Louise from a strong coffee

 

“My daughter has just gone into year 6 and I have always just helped her not done it for her. If she is stuck and I can’t help her do it herself it gets left. The teachers prefer this as they then know where she is struggling and can help her more on that particular area.”

– Tracey from one frazzled mum

 

“I help if they don’t understand something but I usually leave them to it. I always make sure my teens do theirs but to be honest it’s only now my son is in year 6 that I make him do his. Any younger and I think they do enough in school without having to do even more at home.”

– Katie from mami to 5

 

“I’ll help my daughter (year 3) but only to expand on her thoughts. I’d never do it for her, it undermines the whole point of getting the homework. I’ll help her by testing her spellings in preparation for a test or I’ll read through something to make sure it makes sense but I’m lucky in that she doesn’t mind homework so needs little support. If she’s really stuck then I’ll explain what the teacher is looking for so she understands it better but not do it directly for her”

– Alice from living with a jude

 

“It’s homework day today. My daughter tends to rush through it, get it wrong because she hasn’t read it, gets cross with me and storms off upstairs stamping her feet for added effect. So when she eventually comes back down we talk about the homework, she gets it and re-does it correctly while telling me she wants to be on her own. Fun…!! She’s just turned 7 and is in Y3. Reading and spelling are much easier to deal with as she enjoys those.”

– Jo from mum-friendly

 

“I will sit with my children while they do their homework (quite often doing my work at the same time). If they need something talked through I will go through it with them but ultimately it is their work. I don’t even correct their spelling mistakes, I might just point out that they need to double check the spellings of a couple of words. If they’ve done it badly it still gets handed in. I think it’s important from an early age to get used to working on your own and under your own motivation too. They will soon learn they get rewarded at school for good homework which motivates them.”

– Alina from we made this life

 

“Absolutely a parent should not do the homework. We are paying a lot of money in taxes for our children’s education, what’s the point if parents are doing the work for them?”

– Hayley from life as a butterfly

 

And a teacher’s point of view:

“I don’t know the homework expectations at Primary level, but at Secondary level, I expect students to complete their homework themselves, except if parental input is part of the homework’s requirement. This is not to say that parents can’t guide or give any support, but I don’t want parents completing their children’s homework. It defeats the purpose of extending students’ learning beyond the classroom and challenging students to develop their independent learning skills. Also, homework contributes to overall assessment of students’ progress, and parental completion of student homework does not contribute to this. I expect completed homework to reflect the student’s ability, and not their parents'”

– Mo from a novice mum

 

So there you have it fellow parents!  

General consensus is that, yes, we should help our children as necessary.

Especially when they’re little and need a parent to sit and read with them.  But we should NOT be doing the homework for them.

So anyone feeling like a bad mom after watching Amy in the movie with a huge papier-mâché Richard Nixon head that she made for her son, please stop!

We’re doing much better by our children by letting them do these projects for themselves.

 

This post is linked up with Pick ‘n Mix Fridays.

Barefoot-coaching-cards-parents

Coaching cards for new parents – #YouGotThis blog tour

One of the things I’ve realised in the 5 years that I’ve been a parent is how important it is to talk, openly and honestly, about how you’re feeling, what you’re thinking and how things are going.

So many things change when you become a parent, and it can be really hard to adjust.  Especially as a new mum.  Your hormones are all over the place, you’re not getting much sleep and it can feel like your whole world has been turned upside down.

I know when I first had Rhys I was all over the place.  I was really happy to be a mum, but I was also sore, tired, overwhelmed, and honestly a bit shell-shocked.

It can be really easy to just bottle up these feelings.  

We tell ourselves that we should just be happy, and that we should be coping.  It can be really hard to admit that you’re feeling anything other than happiness.

But, honestly, the best thing to do is to let our feelings out.

Either by talking to someone we feel comfortable with, or by writing down how we’re feeling in a diary, or even a blog.  I absolutely love all the parentings blogs out there now, where women are starting to talk with complete honesty about how they feel about being a mum.

Sometimes though it can be hard to know how to start talking about these things, and that’s where these brilliant new coaching cards come in.

Barefoot coaching cards parents

What are these coaching cards?

 

The coaching cards for new parents from Barefoot coaching are a set of 50 cards, each with a question on that will help parents start meaningful conversations.  These conversations can then help us to get to know ourselves and our loved ones better and improve our relationships.

They’re designed so that you can dip into the pack whenever you have a quiet few minutes to sit down and chat, which is perfect for new parents who don’t have a whole lot of time to spare!

 

To celebrate the launch of these new cards, Barefoot coaching are having a blog tour where a few of us bloggers are writing about our experiences with the cards and thinking about some of the questions from the pack.

So I’ve had a good look through all the cards and chosen this question that really stood out to me, as it’s something Steve and I have talked about a few times over the last few years.

 

How would you describe your experience of being parented?  Is there anything you would like to emulate/do differently?

 

I absolutely love this question.

I think it’s really important to look back at my own childhood and remember what made me happy and what things my parents did that I appreciated, so that I can apply those things to my own parenting.

Barefoot coaching cards parents 002

I would describe my experience of being parented as balanced.

By which I mean I think my parents found a great balance of being there for me, helping me out when I needed it and being completely supportive while also knowing when to step back and let me make my own way in the world.

This kind of balance is what I really hope to achieve as a parent.

I try my hardest to make sure my children have total faith that I’ll always come when they need me, and will always keep my word to them.  I hope that by giving them that strong foundation of support and love they’ll be better able to step out on their own as they get older.

My mum has always told me that your children are only lent to you. 

And I honestly do believe the best thing my parents did for me was to let me go (as much as you ever actually let your children go!).

They fully supported my decision to move miles and miles away from home to go to University, and since then have always been there for me when I need help or advice but have also let me reach my own decisions without interferring.

I really hope that as Rhys and Nerys grow up I can do the same.

They are their own people, with their own lives to lead, and I honestly want them to make their own choices and find out for themselves what the best course of action is for them.

All with that safety net that if it all goes to pot they can always come home.

Writing this has made me aware of how lucky I am, because I really can’t think of anything that I would go out of my way to do differently.  I’m sure if I went back and talked to my teenage self I’d have something different to say, but looking back, now that I’m a parent myself, I think my parents did a great job and for that I’m eternally grateful.

 

If you’d like to get some coaching cards for yourself, or even as a gift for some new parents in your life, then you can get them directly from the Barefoot coaching company.

You can also find out more about the other coaching cards they offer by going to www.barefootcoachingcards.co.uk/life, and you can follow Barefoot coaching on Twitter and Instagram.

Make sure you don’t miss the next stop on the #YouGotThis blog tour.  You can read Helen’s post over at Beautiful Things on Tuesday 6th September.

Here’s the full schedule for the blog tour if you want to check out all the posts.

 

#YouGotThis blog tour schedule

I received a pack of coaching cards in exchange for taking part in the blog tour, but all words and opinions are my own.

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Tips for making packed lunches less boring and more fun

I’ve made a bit of a promise to myself that I’ll make more of an effort this year to make Rhys’ packed lunches a bit less boring and a bit more fun.

See, he can be so picky with what he eats that last year I was really guilty of giving him pretty much the same thing every day, because I knew he would actually eat it.

This year though, I want to gently push both of us to branch out a bit and be a bit bolder with food, so I’ve been scouring Pinterest for inspiration and think I’ve come up with a pretty good list of different things I can put in his lunchbox to make lunchtime a bit more interesting and fun for him.

So here goes:

The main event.

Last year, the main thing in Rhys’ lunchbox was a soft cheese and ham sandwich.  Most days made with white bread, occasionally made with 50/50 sandwich thins.  Really not very exciting or fun!

So here are some ideas for alternatives to sandwiches, or ways to make a simple sandwich a bit more interesting:

  • Quiche.
  • Pizza.
  • A bagel (probably filled with soft cheese and ham to start with, so it’s not too far removed from what he’s used to!)
  • Other kinds of breads, like soft rolls, wraps, sandwich thins, granary bread, pitta bread, baguettes etc.
  • Pasta salad.
  • Cous cous with red and green pepper.
  • Little pasties or a sausage roll.
  • Sandwiches cut into fun shapes with cookie cutters, instead of boring old squares!

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And here are some filling ideas for days I want to just fall back on the trusty soft cheese and ham:

  • Sliced cheddar and cucumber.
  • Ham and sliced cheddar.
  • Tuna mayo.
  • Peanut butter (although we’d need to check that this was ok, I’m not sure if there are any children with allergies at his school)
  • Cold chicken.
  • Cheese spread and ham (a tiny twist on our classic!)
  • Honey and sliced banana.
  • Grated cheese and grated carrot.

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Something snacky.

Alongside his sandwich last year Rhys would have a little tupperware pot with crisps in, more often that not teddy bear crisps, ready salted flavour.

Here are some alternatives to mix it up a bit:

  • Popcorn.  Plain, airpopped stuff is the healthiest option, but there are tons of varieties out there now.  My favourite is still the toffee stuff though, can’t beat it!
  • Pretzels.
  • Cheesy biscuits.
  • Bread sticks.  Again, this doesn’t have to be as boring as it might sound, you can get some pretty interesting flavours of breadsticks now, and throw in a little tub of hummous or dip and you’re away!
  • Rice cakes.  Plain, sweet, savoury, even Marmite flavoured!
  • Vegetable crisps.
  • Cracker crisps.
  • The same old teddy bear crisps, just in a different flavour!
  • Chunks of cheese.  Or mini babybel.  Or cheese strings.

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Something healthy.

I would normally slice up an apple for Rhys and wrap it in clingfilm for his lunch, but I really should offer him more variety because he does actually like quite a few different fruits!

Here are some suggestions for the ‘healthy’ element of a packed lunch:

  • Apple slices.
  • Pear slices.
  • A banana, either left whole or chopped up.  You can get banana protectors if you’re worried about them getting bruised in your child’s bag!
  • A handful of grapes (sliced lengthways).
  • Mixed berries.  A little pot of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries would be a real treat!
  • Carrot and pepper sticks.
  • A small pot of raisins.
  • Cucumber, either in chunks or sticks.
  • An orange.  Or satsuma, or clementine, whatever’s available!

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Something for pudding.

One of my big missions is to get Rhys eating yoghurt.  He used to love it, then went off it completely after a holiday to Marrakech when he was about 15 months old, and still won’t eat it now.  So he’s not really been having a pudding as such in his lunchbox, but I’d love to start giving him something nice to finish his meal.

Here are my ideas for what he could have:

  • A yoghurt.  One day he will cave and try it again and remember he likes it!
  • A small pot of custard.
  • A small pot of rice pudding.
  • A jelly pot.  A little bit of birthday party fun would really liven up a lunchbox!
  • Fruit pieces, the ones in little pots either in juice or in jelly.

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Make it fun.

I remember when I was at Primary school I had school dinners every day, and used to be quite jealous of the children who had packed lunches as their meals seemed to be more fun than my steak and kidney pie and rice pudding.

I want Rhys to have good memories of lunchtimes at school, and I want him to look forward to opening his lunchbox every day.

So what can I do to make things more fun for him?

Here are some ideas:

  • Include a treat.  I don’t want to be putting a big bar of chocolate in with his lunch every day, but now and then a little Kinder bar hidden in there would really make him happy.
  • Make something together to go in the lunchbox.  We often bake fairy cakes together, and I think it would be lovely for him to have one as part of his lunch to show his friends!
  • Make the lunchbox itself fun.  There are so many options now for lunch boxes there’s no excuse for anything boring!
  • Include a little note or joke.  Now Rhys is getting more confident with his reading I could start popping in a little note to him, to surprise him when he opens his lunchbox.  There are loads of ideas on Pinterest for lunchbox notes if you like the idea but need some inspiration on what to write.

 

Talking of keeping away from boring lunchboxes, how cute is this one from Hartleys?  I love the retro vibe!

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You can get your hands on one by collecting 12 special edition green lids from their pots of No added sugar jelly, and you can make it even more fun by personalising it with a set of stickers that comes with it.

This would definitely brighten up lunchtimes!

 What are your top tips for the perfect lunchbox?  Do you tend to mix things up every day or does your child often have the same things in their lunchbox?

 

This post is an entry for BritMums #HartleysYourLunchbox Linky Challenge, sponsored by Hartley’s Jelly.  

We were given the lunchbox and some jelly to try, however all words and opinions are my own.