A Spoonful of Sugar

We were on a short break last weekend on the outskirts of Weymouth when no2 comes down with a very high temperature and a series of rotten nappies. While she was a little clingy had it didn't really spoil to much and we were all able to enjoy a lovely time at thanks to a steady supply of Neurofen.  On returning home my wife took her to the local GP, convinced it was tonsillitis, our local GP couldn't make a clear diagnosis from an un-cooperative 2yo who refused to open her mouth, insisting her big sister should be at the doctors instead. A late night rush to the out of hours GP on Saturday finally confirmed that it was in fact a case of Mother knowing best as tonsillitis was diagnosed and antibiotics prescribed.

And that dear reader is where the problems began... 

On returning home from the late night chemist tired and ill, we decided to started the first course straight away. The first bottle prescribed proudly stated 'Sugar Free' and was a bright orange and smelt faintly of citrus. 'No2' took the syringe swallowed a tiny amount then pulled a face 

Ewww. No. That’s Gross. | Gifrific

The remaining 4ml we tried to hide in ice cream, jam, yogurt, jelly, we tried bribes, promise and reason... to no avail, all rejected to the point that she wouldn't trust us to even put her to bed for fear we'd trying and slip medicine in somewhere. In a final resort we tried to forcefully give it to her with a syringe, wrapping her up in a towel so she couldn't thrash around like a octopus trying to be put in a bag. The antibiotics went down for around 11 seconds before they were vomited back up, to bed she went tired and poorly with two frustrated parents.  "How bad can it be?" i asked the wife and tasted a tiny amount. After violently retching several times i vowed to called the Dr's first thing in the morning for something more palatable. 

The 2nd bottle of antibiotics also claimed to be sugar free, and looked more like the contents of a glow stick poured into a bottle, it too came with a taste which was more reminiscent battery acid. Mary Poppins rum punch flavour this most certainly was not... Again this was rejected out of hand by 'no2'. I turned to Facebook and twitter for help, and got several suggestions - Mash it in with Jam; 1/3rd of a jar was not enough to mask 5ml of the noxious florescent yellow stuff. I tried several other ways of trying to mask it, i tried to force it down but only ended up covering clothes and furniture, this was not going to work. 

I called the Dr and we spoke at length about the situation of trying to get Children to take foul tasting medicine, she agreed that it was a problem and suggested amoxicillin the banana flavoured antibiotics i remember from my childhood which while not being ideal might work, it's still not the nicest tasting medicine when it first came on the market 40 odd years ago now but it's still the only one that is adapted for children. 

'No2' is on the mend again, but this episode highlights a total lack of understanding from pharmaceutical giants that having an ill child is stressful enough without them rejecting the very thing supposed to make them feel better. That as parents we could not give a shit about our poor little monkeys teeth, about how much sugar is in the pediatric suspension, or how many e-numbers were put in to make it easier to take.  You can bet that if you could purchase the stuff over the counter they'd all be fighting it out to make them better tasting, more palatable and more appealing to Children. 

The NHS cannot absolve itself either, bad tasting medicine is a false economy i now have 3 bottles of antibiotics in my fridge, surely it would have been cheaper to give us one slightly more expensive bottle 'no2' would have been willing to take?  I know these medicines exist, one pharma' sales manager has already been in contact to say it's not kids medicine is not rocket science and that his company is producing chocolate & orange flavours. 

As for sugar helping the medicine going down, it certainly does, and as it's medicine our little darlings aren't going to be drinking it by the litre now are they? 

  

3 into 2

The Boy is due in August which seems ages away but i know will sneak up on us pretty quickly, so we're planning on putting the girls together in the same room from this weekend. Bunk beds are due to be delivered on Thursday, so swearing will be heard across the home counties from Saturday morning as i attempt to put them up.

And it's in a good time too, Number 2 has just started climbing out of her cot i say climbing out, more getting herself over the top of it and letting gravity do the damage on the way down. It's a thunk followed by a scared just under 2 year old crying...

The downside to them both going into one room beside having to decorate the nursery again, which has had much of it's wall paper peeled off around the cot... the little bloody ASBO monkey.  What concerns me the most is how badly it could go with them keeping each other up all night, or number 2 escaping and running amok.

Only the other morning did number 1 go downstairs to be greeted with a "hello... How are you?"  as number 2 helped herself to the breakfast cereal while Saturday we were woken by two child follow my leader/ conger line around the bed...

Any tips anyone?

Reviews - Protect Yourself from Catching the Clap

I had my first approach from a PR agency this week.  I won't lie i was incredibly flattered that someone had read my stuff, stuck me on a mailing list and offered me something to review.

But it got me thinking. I started to look around some of the other parenting blogs recently and was surprised at how much PR material was posted up as content, of how many freebies were handed out from large multi-nationals all in the name of 'grass roots' coverage.

Everything from lingerie, toys, buggies even test driving family cars were dished out, and with it came fawning  reviews and 'look at me' tweets of piles of lots of lovely free stuff.  All gaining lots of coverage for the PR agency, who are paid tens of thousands of pounds for this, to push under the nose of their client.

I shouldn't really be surprised, after all I see it from the other side in my day job in Marketing. I spend millions a year searching and courting evangelists for my products, desperate to drive word of mouth to seemingly spring up and positively influence people.  So hopefully the following advice from a novice blogger might hold a little weight?

I'm going to start with a metaphor (technically i think it's a simile. Writing reviews and working with PR agencies is a bit like getting into bed with an attractive stranger... it might be fun but can also lead to catching an STD.

The single most important thing if you choose to review things on your blog is your audience. We marketing folk are not paying an agency lots of money to dish out products to bloggers to get a fawning review we're doing to to get access to your readers and your peers.

You might think that a positive review will get you into the good books with PR agencies, it probably will for a short period, until your readers realise you're nothing more than a stooge, a fraud that is writing positive things in return for free stuff.  That your reviews can't be trusted... Bad news that handsome stranger you were romping with has just given you the Clap.

What you'll see next is your visitor numbers dropping off to the point where the PR agency is no longer interested, you're too small time... you've trashed your own reputation, destroyed your following and burned your blog for a 2 nights stay at Pontins in Great Yarmouth. Was it worth it?  Sitt there with your antibiotics  staring at your mobile phone wondering why they stopped calling?

So to avoid this just follow these simple rules.  And please remember despite being an inexperienced blogger i've had 15 odd years of targeting people like you and me to write these reviews.

• Don't write for the PR agency write for your audience - your audience is interested in your experiences and thoughts not reading what you think a PR agency wants you to say 
• Write a Reviews Policy on your blog. Some of the best parenting blog have these, they explain your principles to both your audience and any potential suitors so there are no gray areas
• Don't be afraid to say what you think if it's the best product you have ever used say so.  Like wise if you didn't like it explain why. Many PR agencies and companies know their product isn't perfect, and honestly will hold no grudge should these be pointed out

...are there any others that people would like to add? Or you think i've missed off? 

The Joy of Fatherhood?

This is an important one to me; I've been reading https://reluctantdaddio.wordpress.com/ about one’s man’s difficulty about becoming a dad for the first time. It’s an excellent read into what is a somewhat of a taboo subject…

My own experience was very similar, below is an abbreviated slightly edited comment that I left on his blog that I wanted to share, to make sure it’s clear that not everyone lives in a ‘Hollywood’ world of parenting where everything is fine and dandy.

“I make no bones about it; I remember standing in the kitchen with the baby crying thinking “ I've made the biggest mistake of my life… I don’t want this.” everyone told me it would be an amazing experience, that it was magical, and how lucky I was. Bollocks! I absolutely hated every single second of it. I was surrounded by other dads talking about what their baby was doing how they loved it, I thought it was just me that felt this way and there must be something wrong.

The baby would not stop crying, it wouldn't sleep, it was always angry, you hear stories of a parent just losing their temper and committing infanticide, while I never entertained those thoughts I could totally understand it. I didn't bond with the child, I was disinterested… I wanted my old life back. My wife was moody & depressed (PND); I had to put on a brave face for her even though I was feeling exactly the same. After all my wife had 9 months of change to her life during pregnancy, for a dad it’s like switching a light on, and even my own mother tells me I was no good with ‘change’ as a child!

As my daughter grew up things gradually changed, as she grew from baby to little person the bond started to happen. Interest in world around her meant all of a sudden I was of use, the fact she was sleeping and could start to communicate through some baby signing helped. Things are different now; I love it I really do.  Sure there are times that you wish for an afternoon spent in the pub with mates or a round of golf, and then you think of life without kids and think yourselves lucky.

However one thing I always do is try and make a point of openly telling new dads that I meet how much I hated the first year of fatherhood. My wife will often tell me off saying I sound like I hate my daughters, that isn't the case, I grew to love them. It’s a taboo that new dads never mention or too afraid to mention, you’ll be surprised how many others out of earshot of their other halves or over a beer say the same.”

Dad’s need to be more open about their difficulties in coming to terms with fatherhood, there is a ton of help for new mums but as far as I’m aware next to nothing for new dads. When we dare mention we're not 100% happy we’re often told to grow up, that we're being selfish or to stop wallowing in self-pity.  It’s reactions like this that mean dads struggle in silence alone, afraid to talk and with no help or support and worst cases see the only solution as leaving the family unit.  Maybe we should all think twice at the 'advice' we offer and support both new Mothers and Fathers?

Hopefully the experience of ‘Reluctand Daddio’ and others talking openly about their difficulties of becoming new Dads will help others who are concerned they don’t feel anything like that bloke from the Athena poster.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to me... Six Consoles Gaming

Given what I do for a living one of the most asked questions of me is what games console should I buy my child for Christmas? My answer is always it depends… you wouldn't buy a sports car if you and your family lived down a country lane would you?  And you wouldn't buy a 4x4 if you lived in the city… oh, perhaps scrub that last bit.

To the uninitiated it might seem like an odd thing to say, but pick the games console might suits you and your child’s needs.  They’re not all the same; some are much more suitable to different ages and types of entertainment.   If you don’t want to spend £300 for a very expensive box under the TV that isn't touched, or on a console that is deemed ‘babyish’ in less than a year’s time, read on.

Best Games Console For Child Under 5

If your child is under 5 my suggestion is don’t bother, they’re far too young to really get the moneys worth out of a games console.  Instead have a look at the Mobi-Go range which offers a more educational learning spin and offers both a touch screen and a Qwerty keyboard for learning the alphabet, spelling and numeracy. 

I was extremely sceptical of thinking that the apps on mobile phones or tablets are just as useful, until we purchased a mobi-go one for Number 1 last Christmas.  It costs around £50 and new games are £10-£15. While it does chew through batteries it’s simple to use, is of a solid build, chunky and portable it’s great for the kids to use on their own without worrying they’re going to scratch or damage it like you would with your tablet or smart phone (There is also no chance of having them in app purchase £500 of smurfberrys either)

Best for Long Journeys

For your younger ones look no further than the 3DS for a portable games console, it comes in a range of colours and has a large range of games.  It’s worth noting that Nintendo themselves recommend that the 3D option isn't used by Children under the age of 7 (a simple slider bar means you can switch it off easily) it’s priced around £130 and the games aren't cheap when you’re used to App store prices, at around £30. 

Sony’s PlayStation Vita is a lovely bit of technology straddling the line of tablet and games console with multiple touch screens, internet access and a massive range of music and films that can be downloaded (although the PSN store is not a patch on ITunes) it’s perfectly suited to older children & teenagers.  However it’s range of games are very expensive and quite limited, and while more are on their way, there might not be a huge amount of games for the future.  For those already owning a PlayStation 3 the Vita offers even more, offering cross play and inter connectivity between the two, really bringing value to the vita.  You can get some excellent deals pre-Christmas with the handheld and games bundle for less than £200

Best For Families

The Wii was a staple in houses up and down the country a few years ago, now seemingly consigned to the gathering dust in a cupboard it still has a huge catalogue of games at very low prices and can be enjoyed by the whole family offering that old fashioned board game fun on Christmas day. However once the games are finished there is very little else to recommend about the now rather dated Wii.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 are two of the big boys in the market and offer the widest breadth and range of games available everything from dancing & karaoke games to realistic military shooting games.  However connect them to the internet and they come into their own as a central part of the living room, both offer streaming of BBC’s Iplayer and equivalent Channel 4 and ITV versions. If you have Lovefilm and Netflix accounts you can access them through the consoles.  Both consoles offer direct purchase of Games and films (films can also be rented) as well as demo and video downloads from their own stores.  Both consoles also have parental setting so you can control what your little monsters can view & play.

As far as that family ‘board game’ at Christmas feel, Microsoft has the Kinect an expensive, if somewhat flawed, camera that sits on your TV but allows for some lovely group family experiences around the likes of Ubisoft's Disney Just Dance game & Kinectimals, 

Sony’s offers the JK Rowling Wonderbook: Book of Spells,  perfect for budding Harry Potters who will see their book come to life on screen and cast spells with their wands on screen.

So which one to Pick?  Tough.  Both have their merits and there is very little to choose between them both.  Find out what your circle of friends own so older Children can play online with people they know. Failing that just go for the best deal and there are some excellent ones out there.

Prices for the consoles begin at £130 and increase in price based upon the size of the HDD games retail for £15 - £50 

Best for Dad Pretending he’s Buying it for the Kids

That’ll be the Wii U, Nintendo’s new hope, the console launches today stock is limited and will be till after Christmas.  While Nintendo will be hoping that the console replicates the success of the Wii some commentators are more sceptical.

The console comes with a tablet style controller that allows dad the kids to play while someone else is watching the TV and makes for some interesting game ideas, where the touch screen can be used.

Its expected that both Sony & Micorosft will launch their new consoles next year so you might want to hold off for a little while before taking the plunge

If you can find one, prices are around £259.99