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I’ve been quite lucky really, in that both my children have always been good at getting enough to drink.  They’re even both pretty good at drinking plain water, which is really great.

They do enjoy fruit drinks as well though. 

Especially when they come in fun cartons or pouches it seems!

They were so excited when a parcel arrived from Appy Kids company recently, and they opened it up to see various pouches of fruit juice drinks with some of their favourite characters on.

We were given a few different flavours to try – mixed berries, apple and orange.

The mixed berried juice drink comes in a box of five pouches, all of which are bright pink with pictures of Dora the Explorer on it.

The apple and orange juice drinks also come in packs of five, but these have pictures of the characters from Paw Patrol on them.  Both my children like both Dora and Paw Patrol so were really excited to see the characters on the drinks.

I was most excited by the fact that the drinks have all been created to be a healthier option for children.

The Appy kids company mission is to be the number 1 healthier choice for families, and they have spent a lot of time making sure their drinks not only taste great, but are lower in sugar too.  The drinks we’ve been trying are all sweetened with Stevia which is a plant-based sweetener, that is about 200 times sweeter than sugar so you don’t need to use much at all to get that sweeter taste.

The drinks are also all fortified with vitamins A, C and E which is a real bonus to me.  Anything that gets a little extra goodness into my children is good in my book!

Nerys in particular has been absolutely loving trying out the different drinks we were sent.

I may be slightly regretting my decision to put them into a cupboard that she can get into easily!  Although to be fair she does always ask before going and grabbing one, and she can’t actually open them by herself anyway because it is a little bit tricky to pierce the pouches with the straw.

I just love the fact that she feels like she’s getting a real treat when I let her have one, while I know that they’re actually a pretty healthy option for her and not jam-packed with sugar.

The pouches are a great size and feel nice and sturdy so I think they would hold up well if they were put in a lunchbox for school.

With them being so sturdy they stand up well instead of toppling over when the children put them down, and they’ve been able to hold them quite firmly without the juice being squeezed/squirted out of the straw.

All in all, we’ve been impressed with the drinks we’ve tried from Appy Kids company, I have a feeling it’s something we’ll be popping in our trolley in the future!

You can see the full range of products that Appy offer on their website – www.appykidsco.com

You can also follow them on their social media channels:

Facebook – Appy Kids Co

Twitter – Appy Kids Co

I’ve written a few times on this blog about how Rhys is a sensitive child, who quite often feels anxious and worried about different things.  The other day I was watching Bake Off, and he got really upset when he realised that it was a competition and that someone had to leave each week.  I had to reassure him that it was ok, that they were happy to go back and see their families and that they all got to come back at the end to see who won.

That gives you a sense of how sensitive he is though.  He really takes things to heart, and I think all sorts of things play on his mind that might not bother other people in the slightest.

I’ve mentioned before that we try to encourage him to talk to us about his worries, and this does help him to work things through.  I’m always looking for different things that might also help though, so was really pleased when I was asked if we would like to review a worry plaque from the Irish fairy door company.

The worry plaque is a really wonderful idea, from a company that specialises is bringing fairy magic to the lives of children.

It is designed as a way to help children to let go of their worries, rather than holding on to them.  The way it works is lovely and simple.  Your child places their hand on the plaque and thinks of the thing they are worried about.

The hand imprint glows red as the fairies listen to the worries, and then glows green to let your child know that the fairies have heard the worry and taken it away.

As soon as the plaque arrived I was impressed.

The packaging is bright and colourful; I really love the rainbow design that gives that impression that this is something a bit magical from the start.

Inside the box is the plaque, along with screws to fix it to the wall and a nice little information booklet.

What’s worth noting is that the 3 AA batteries that you need are not included, so make sure you have some at home if you want to be able to use the plaque straight away.

One thing I did think was really useful though, is that the information booklet can be used to help you if you want to hang the plaque on the wall as it has guide holes marked on it at exactly the right distance apart for where you want the screws to go in the wall.

After I’d taken the plaque out of the box I was able to take a good look at it.

The plaque is made of plastic, but it’s designed to look like a piece of wood cut from a tree trunk, which I think works really well.  In the middle of the plaque is the hand imprint, which is the perfect size for children (it’s just a teeny bit too small for me to comfortably fit my hand in).

There is also a little rhyme written around the plaque that I really love:

“A fairy’s magic, changes red to green, gone are your worries, never to be seen”

It’s a nice little reminder for Rhys that when the light changes from red to green it means his worries have been heard and taken away.

As soon as we had put the batteries in Rhys was keen to give the plaque a try.

Rhys seems really taken with the idea behind the worry plaque.  Although he’s a bit confused about the fact that it lights up, and the light changes colour, even if he’s not thinking of a worry at that time.  So I think we’ll keep the plaque somewhere out of reach and get it out for him when he actually has something he is anxious about.  Hopefully that way he’ll keep his faith in it, and it’ll work its magic to help take his worries away.

I think the worry plaque is such a lovely idea.

For younger children who still believe in fairies and all things magical, it’s a wonderful idea for helping them to let their worries and anxieties out.

And in case you’re wondering, the fairies use the energy from the worries they take to grant wishes for children around the world!

You can find out more about the worry plaque and the Irish fairy door company on their website – www.theirishfairydoorcompany.com

Also over on the website is a whole host of videos for your children to watch, to help reassure them even more after they’ve used the plaque and given their worries to the fairies.  The videos cover a wide range of common worries, from spiders and insects to worries about friendships at school.  So whatever your child is worried about there should be a quick video for them to watch to help them feel a bit better.

Disclaimer – we were sent the worry plaque for the purpose of this review, but all words and opinions are my own.