Planning to take a newborn to Olympics – well think again….
2012 organiser Locog has said every child, including babies carried in their parents’ arms, must have a ticket.
According to the London Evening Standard, a press spokesman said the Olympics helpline had received calls from pregnant women and expectant fathers whose babies will be a few weeks old when the Games start. They have been told they can try to buy an extra ticket for their chosen event otherwise the infant will be excluded.
Locog risks appearing anti-babies compared with other organisations. It is common practice for airlines and train companies to allow babies to travel free of charge as long as they sit on their parents’ lap.
The issue has attracted fury on the Mumsnet website. One woman said: “The whole thing is ridiculous, there are people who bought tickets before their babies were even conceived – how are they supposed to know to buy a ticket for a child that doesn’t exist yet?”
And an expectant mother wrote: “There are no children’s tickets for the horse jumping so I have to pay £95 to have a three-month-old in a sling!!!”
Another woman accused the organisers of discrimination: “It is generally accepted that a new baby is an adjunct of its mother, especially if breastfeeding.”
Bizarre headline I know, but the BBC reports that US authorities have warned parents about the dangers of posting infected lollipops to other families who want their children to catch the disease….
The news that some parents have been apparently posting saliva-soaked tissues and licked lollipops to each other in an attempt to spread chickenpox among their children has been greeted with widespread condemnation. Doctors have cautioned that licking a supposedly infected lollipop is unlikely to pass on chickenpox – which is mostly an airborne virus – but could expose a child to other, more serious ailments.
And Jerry Martin, US attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, warned that anyone attempting to send so-called “pox packages” through the mail would be breaking federal laws against shipping biohazards across state lines.
A Facebook page on which parents were discussing “pox packages” – Find a Pox Party In Your Area – has now ceased to exist.
Do you have any thoughts on this?
For all those savers amongst you – tax-free savings accounts for children, known as Junior Isas, are available today for the first time. This will replace the Child Trust Fund which was supported by goverment vouchers.
Family or friends can pay money into a child’s Junior Isa, run by banks, building societies and investment groups, up to a total maximum annual contribution £3,600. This can be entirely in a cash savings Junior Isa, or an investment version made up of shares, bonds and investment funds, or split across both.
Children are currently limited in the amount of tax they can shield from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Junior Isas are a way of side-stepping this limit.
Various providers have calculated that if parents invested a full allowance each year, they could accumulate savings of up to £100,000 by the time their child reached 18, based on growth of 5% a year.
The Treasury has estimated that six million children will be eligible for Junior Isas at launch, with 800,000 more eligible each year after that.
Unfortunately, if you still have Child Trust Funds you cannot (currently) convert them into Junior Isas, so you may well be left with a poorer rate of return than those on the new scheme…
Ronald McDonald House, Birmingham is independent Charity that provides “home away from home” accommodation free of charge for the families of seriously and terminally ill children attending Birmingham Children’s Hospital. They have 60 ensuite bedrooms,themed lounges, commual kitchens and dining areas. We can accomodate up to 240 people each night. In 18 months they have helped over 2200 families (including mine) and when you have a poorly child in the hospital the place is a godsend and I can’t thank them enough.
I have received the following email from them and I wondered if any of our lovely followers could spare a few minutes to help…
We wondered if you could possibly help, we have applied for a £6,000 grant from NatWest through their Community Force Project. If successful we will use the money to turn our balconies into “urban” gardens. Offering our families an outside space in which they can relax.
So how can you help? Well for us to be considered we need to get as many votes as possible. At the moment we only have 62 votes and with the voting closing on the 22nd October we have very little time to get our desired 200 votes.
To help us with this please do the following:
1. Go to Community Force at NatWest
2. Register on the site.
3. Confirm your registration via your email when prompted.
4. Log back on and search for our project using Ronald McDonald House.
5. Four projects will be shown, our project is in the middle of the map (Birmingham).
6. As you have 3 votes in total please support one of the other House projects listed.
This process can take a couple of minutes, but your vote could make the difference between us receiving the funds or not.
Thank you x
I was sad to read that some of our best loved children’s characters may soon be leaving the UK after being sold off to foreign bidders. The media groups owning characters from Peppa Pig to Bob the Builder and the Mr. Men are struggling with mounting debt and are likely to make sales to the USA.
So next time you watch Peppa she may not be making so much of a ‘honk’ but a ‘howdy dooo’!!
The Daily Telegraph reports that a couple from Essex, are heartbroken after being banned from fostering after the husband smoked two celebratory cigars in 18 months…
Clare Baker, 34, of Brentwood Essex, and her husband, Paul, were 10 months into the application process when they were asked if they were smokers. Although neither of them smoke, Paul thought honesty was the best policy and admitted puffing on a single cigar at a wedding and another one at a work party. The couple were devastated when they were told the following day that they were not fit to be foster parents because Paul had smoked. But the couple, who have four children, have slammed the ruling as overly zealous and have the backing of Paul’s GP who has written to say his patient is a non smoker.
In my humble opinion, the world has gone mad…
WANTED! Mums-to-be having a Baby Shower party in the next few weeks!!!
We have received a call from Samantha Carty a Producer at FireCracker Films, she is working on a brand new observational Documentary which she hopes you may be able to help with.
Firecracker films are making a new Observational Documentary series for Watch (UKTV). We are looking for people who have something to celebrate including a baby shower!
We are looking for people from all walks of life and we want to follow them in the run up to the big day and join in the celebrations.
If you or anyone you know is having a baby shower and would be interested in having a chat with Samantha about the series you can contact her on my direct line – 02073493412.
Let us know how you get on and don’t forget you can get all your babyshower party supplies from MumStuff!
I just wanted to tell you all about an amazing place that we recently had the privilage to come across.
Our little girl was recently admitted to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for surgery. As we live over an hour away and she was going to be in for 10 days, we were concerned about where we’d be able to stay so we could be with her. We were extremely fortunate to get a room at Ronald Macdonald House which was just a few minutes walk from the hospital. This meant one of us could be with her overnight whilst the other got some well deserved sleep.
Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is an independent Charity which aims to provide free ‘home away from home’ accommodation at hospitals across the UK, enabling families to stay close to their child and maintain a degree of normal family life.
The accommodation was absolutely first class, the rooms and shared areas were immaculate, modern (the House is only 1 year old), fully equipped and very tastefully decorated. The staff were lovely and professional and well used to dealing with parents going through tough times.
It is amazing that places like this exist and it is not something you would even think about unless you had a child in hospital. Some parents can spend as much as two years staying at a Ronald Macdonald House whilst their child is in hospital and Ronald Macdonald Houses not only offer a haven for the parents but also for siblings too who are welcome to stay.
The houses are funded soley through charitable donations, so if you have any spare pennies please go to Ronald Macdonald House charities.
I’d also like to take a minute to thank all the staff – consultants, nurses, auxiliary, physios, teachers, – on Ward 10 at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. You are all amazing. Thank You 
We’re delighted to be promoting Yummy Mummy Week from 26th March – 3rd April 2011.
What is Yummy Mummy Week?
Yummy Mummy Week is a great opportunity to get together with other mums and children, have fun, celebrate all the great things about being a mum, and support CLIC Sargent. It’s about having a brilliant time and raising money to help families where a child has cancer.
Yummy Mummy is a fundraising event where mums and children do fun things together, to support CLIC Sargent’s work for children with cancer. Yummy Mummy is about having fun, being with friends and family… and raising money to help families where a child has cancer. Take part in Yummy Mummy by putting on a fundraising event, like a cake sale, party in the park, welly walk – whatever you want to do!
Some mums hold a pamper party, have a girls night in or even put on a party or ball – more yummy ways to raise lots of money.
About CLIC Sargent
* CLIC Sargent is the children’s cancer charity.
* Every day, ten families are told that their child has cancer.
* Children with cancer want to spend as much time as possible at home with their families during treatment
* We believe that every child with cancer deserves a normal childhood and the same opportunities as other children.
Why not do one of the following to to raise some pennies…
Arrange an event and invite other mums, friends and family. Here are some ideas:
* Have a party – it could be a coffee morning, afternoon tea, a dinner party, barbeque… as simple or elaborate as you like.
* Organise an event for mums at your work – like a ‘dress pink’ day, a clothes swap or a cake sale.
* Girls’ night in – a pampering evening, jewellery sale, dinner party etc. Ask the beautician or jeweller to give a percentage to CLIC Sargent, charge an entry fee or ask for donations at the dinner table.
*Get sponsored – to walk, swim, cycle, jog… with other mums or with your children.
You can find lots more ideas on the Yummy Mummy website!
For those of you fascinated by the ‘Breast milk ice cream’ story, you may like to know that the next installment involves Westminster Council confiscating the ice cream due to concerns it may pose a health hazard.
According to This is London, Brian Connell, Westminster’s cabinet member for business, said: “Following two complaints from members of the public and concerns from the Health Protection Agency and Food Standards Agency, our officers visited the premises and removed all ice cream being sold as containing breast milk.
“Selling foodstuffs made from another person’s bodily fluids can lead to viruses being passed on and in this case, potentially hepatitis.”
It doesn’t look like The Icrecreamists are going to take that lying down, according to their Twitter feed “The Icecreamists release ‘formula’ bovine version of Baby Gaga today. Cold war against food fascists in offing.”…
