Review¦ Everyone feels sad or anxious sometimes, but it can be difficult for children in particular to express these feelings and how intense they are. The story of Cookie covers anxiety and depression in a gentle and heart-warming way for young children.
review
Swizzels sweets: The taste of childhood
Sponsored Post¦ What’s the first sweet you think of when you hear “Swizzels”? For me it’s Drumsticks, but I love all their other sweets too. It evokes childhood memories whenever I spot them in the shop. I used to feel like I’d won the lottery when I left with a Double Dip – the pack of strawberry and orange sherberts with the iconic Swizzelstick for dipping. In the 90s, it wasn’t a kid’s birthday at school if you didn’t come home with a pack of fizzers or a fruit pop lolly. I might have just turned 30, but I felt like a big kid when it came to trying Swizzels sweets again! Yet, there were a couple of things I was worried about…
Book Review: My Skin, Your Skin
Book Review¦ Racism has been bubbling away in our society for years. Sometimes under the surface, sometimes in more obvious places. It all came to a head in 2020 though, with the death of George Floyd. The Black Lives Matter movement certainly brought racism to the forefront of people’s attention. I have noticed since then, that there has been an increase in the awareness of and education surrounding racism. I know I’ve tried to educate myself more. Equally, I’ve been conscious of educating my daughter. I need to raise her to know that racism is wrong and what we can do about it.
I’ve largely done this in a gentle way. I’ve made sure that we have toys with a variety of skin colours and bought books that are about people from other races and cultures. Programming on cBeebies has been helpful too, thanks to programmes such as What’s On Your Head? When I was offered the opportunity to review a new book called My Skin, Your Skin, I realised that this would help me to take the next step of actually discussing racism with her. Spoiler alert: You need to add this to your children’s book shelf this Black History Month!
Christmas Gift Guide for Children 2021
Gifted¦ Christmas really is just around the corner and gift buying is in full swing! It can be difficult to know what to buy children, so here’s some inspiration for boys and girls of all ages and something to suit all budgets!
Review: Inspire Advent Tree
Review¦ As a self-confessed chocoholic, I love an advent calendar as much as the next person! However, advent calendars are yet another thing that has become more commercialised and less about their original meaning. So this year, our family will be counting down the days to Christmas using the world’s kindest advent calendar, the Inspire Advent Tree. My 5 year old daughter will have a chocolate one too, mind you, I’m not mean. However, I’m keen to show her that the Christmas season is about kindness, not just presents and sweet treats!