Category Archives: parenting

children, parenting

Giving Children a Voice

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I read an interesting article today by Lisa Bloom about how to talk to little girls. The main argument was not to focus on how they look but on what they are interested in or thinking about.  This gave me much food for thought.  One of the main things I have wanted for my girls when they grow up is to be confident enough to say what they think, to question things and offer an opinion and to have strong self belief.  I would like them to be confident around other people like their dad rather than holding back like myself.

The article suggests asking girls about their mind – what they like and dislike and why.  I’m not sure that I remember being asked as a child ‘what do you think?’  I was told that I was beautiful, lovely and clever, I spent hours with my nose in a book, but I’m not sure anyone ever asked me to tell them about what I was reading. I’m not great at feeling that what I am thinking is important – I’d like that to be different for my girls.

So we tried it at the lunch table.  Sitting at the table together at mealtimes is another thing that is really important to me. Some of my friends think I’m a bit loopy because I eat at 12 and 5 with the kids everyday. I had such a positive experience at mealtimes with my eldest daughter when she was younger, talking about things, playing games and singing songs that I have kept it sacred for all of us.  It isn’t always calm or idyllic and sometimes can be stressful when each child is placing demands for things but at least we get the opportunity to talk if the need arises.

At the lunch table today I told the girls about what I had been reading and that I didn’t remember being asked what I was thinking or feeling when I was a little girl.  I told them that this is what I had been thinking about and I would go around and they could tell me about something they were thinking about or feeling.  Ok we didn’t quite get into philosophical discussions, but the girls began to tell stories.  We made up a story together about my middle daughter who decided she would like to shrink to go in a toy plane.  My 2 year old suggested that the magic could occur by pressing a special button on her fork. We talked about landing in a drink and thought about which drinks might be pleasant to swim in and others that would not, they chose orange juice amused by the idea that they would be sticky. 

How would you get out of the cup?

I could climb

So now you are all sticky how will you get clean?

With magic

Yes a fairy could come and magic you clean and then you could press the fork again to get bigger.

So we had a story and a peaceful and happy lunchtime. 

 I’m keen to encourage the girls to talk to me about things, I always ask my 7 year old if there is anything on her mind that she would like to talk about.  She rarely does and I respect that.  I hope that if I start to share some of my thoughts with them that they will feel comfortable enough to talk to me if the need arises. I want them to know that what they have to say is important – I’ll let you know if I succeed.

childhood, children, early education & play, imagination, parenting, play, pre schoolers

Monsters and Imaginary Friends

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My 2 year old has recently become pre-occupied with monsters, sometimes she is a monster, sometimes there is a monster in the room but she mentions them at least once a day.  I was fairly sure that this was a developmental stage connected with how young children make sense of the world .

She has also started talking about a bat that lives in her bedroom.  There is a small cubby hole in her bedroom where the stairs cut in for our loft conversion – the bat lives in here.   When I questioned her about it further she said that there were 3 bats a baby (with her baby sister’s name) a daddy (with her daddy’s name) and a mummy called Rachel.  There are also 3 ogres that live in the cubby hole with them – they scare away monsters.

This story made me think about the connection between the whole monster obsession and imaginary friends.  When my eldest daughter was around 3 she had an imaginary friend ‘Piglet’ from Winnie the Pooh.  Wherever we went Piglet came with us and usually my daughter would pretend she was Roo and I was Kanga.

By a strange turn of events as I was thinking about these things and trying to find some information about the development of imaginary friends and foes in young children, Penny at Alexander Residence wrote a post about imaginary creatures.

Imaginary companions usually start appearing between the ages of two and a half to three, around the same time as children start to engage in complex fantasy play. This also signals the beginning of abstract thought.  Children are starting to replace physical objects for mental images, for example they can derive comfort from the thought of a teddy bear in addition to the physical object.  Their fears also begin to change from concrete things like dogs or vacuum cleaners to abstract concepts such as monsters. You could help children to have the power to conquer their fears by capitalising on this imagination and asking them to suggest what the monster might be afraid of and making a concrete object to represent it.

In my quest for information about imaginary friends and foes I found an interesting book about children’s imaginations, ‘ The House of Make Believe ‘ by Dorothy G Singer and Jerome L Singer. The book suggests that the key components to fostering creative children are

  • A key person who inspires play and accepts invention with respect and delight
  • a place for play
  • open-ended and unstructured time
  • simple objects to inspire the adventure

The book also discusses their research into imaginary friends.  They found that parents reported that children with imaginary friends were largely happier and more verbal than those children who did not have imaginary friends and that the children were not shy.  Imaginary friends are more prevalent amongst only or first born  children and they can help children to solve dilemmas.  Often they take the form of real characters from television or film in particular super heroes.

Charles Schaefer found that teachers of adolescents reported that their most creative pupils had imaginary friends as young children.  Imaginative children were more likely to have parents who valued imagination, curiosity, adventurousness and creativity.

So if your child has an entourage of imaginary companions don’t despair that they are disturbed or worried about something .  Develop the stories with them and enjoy it for the short period it lasts – I loved this imaginative phase with my first and I’m looking forward to the wonderful tales that my slightly bonkers 2 year old will unravel.

bristol, children, days out, netmums, outdoor play, parenting, play

Free or Low Cost Summer Activities for Children

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I was recently asked by Netmums to suggest some of my favourite free or low-cost ideas for keeping children entertained in the summer holidays.  Below are a small selection.

Things for Keeping  Active

  •   We particularly like woodland walks where the kids like to disappear into the woods to explore and find things, play hide and seek , build dens or run away from monsters. Blaise castle woods are a big favourite because we can hide in the caves or follow the trail to the castle. My eldest called our local woods  the hundred acre wood and spent hours role playing various Winnie the Pooh scenarios. The Woodland Trust have some great free downloadable resources with ideas for playing in the woods, Summer  activities and free things to do with kids.

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 Creative Fun
  • Give children a large piece of clay, for the younger children the bigger the better. Make it wet and squidgy and enjoy feeling the texture. Give them things to put in it, we use cocktail sticks, bottle tops, seeds, feathers, pebbles and shells. Older children can be taught to model clay around wire or make a flat tile with a picture on it.

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  • The best summer activity I had as a child was with an empty large cardboard box, we slid on it and built things with it and spent the whole 6 weeks playing with nothing else.
  • The best creative play comes from being outdoors with natural materials,  in the woods, park, beach or even in the street. If your kids aren’t old enough or you’re not happy about them playing outside without adult supervision, take a group of children to an open space and sit at a distance from them so that they can develop their own play but you can still see them. My kids love digging, building dens, pretending to fish, making pretend dinner and many other scenarios.

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  • Our local town has a flower show and the children love to enter the competitions, it gives them a sense of achievement and pride.
  • Give your kids pieces of material, old sheets, netting or even bin bags and get them to make clothes and have a fashion show – this was my favourite summer holiday game.
  • When its sunny it great to get a big roll of paper, spread it across the garden and let the kids paint , they can use hands, feet or whole bodies – great for babies too.

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Inspiring children
  • Children’s Festivals often give a number of inspirational ideas many are free or low cost.
  • We have been to some brilliant museum exhibitions and as museum entry is usually free it is a great day out. Our local museum has lots of activities for children of all ages to accompany the exhibits.
  • Go blackberry picking , picking your own fruit always leaves us inspired to come back and cook lots of yummy treats. In the US we pick huckleberries at the local park – they make delicious muffins.
 Keep them Laughing
  • Local councils often provide fun/play days in local parks, ours involve entertainment, games, activities and crafts – the children have lots of laughs.
  • Get Wet – be it in a  water park, paddling pool, swimming, with a hose pipe, playing with water bombs or splashing in puddles in the rain – have a water fight and you can’t help but laugh. Weston Super Mare has a fantastic water park opposite the sea front and splash parks are really common in the US. Check out these Seattle Splash Parks.

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I think sometimes we plan too much for kids, give them some freedom to make their own play, give them the chance to be with their friends and they will come up with some great ideas of their own.

early education & play, parenting, Random Thoughts & Life Stories, review, Uncategorized

Lauren Child

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I was going to write a very different post but have decided that on reading an email with a link to the new Lauren Child website, that it needed to be shared.

I am a huge fan of Lauren Child, I think she is a creative genius.  All of her books give me a warm fuzzy feeling, from the witty text to the colourful illustrations – and the children love them too. If I have as much talent in my little toe as she has, I will be happy.

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A while ago I took 3 children to the Lauren Child exhibition at Cardiff Museum.  I was awestruck.  The children had an amazing time playing in Charlie and Lola’s kitchen  and dressing up in their clothes.  They read books and played with puppets, even the one year old had a great time.

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For those of you who are aspiring writers Lauren Child’s website offers useful advice on writing for children and the Frequently Asked Questions  give  some great insights into her writing.

My eldest loves the Clarice Bean series, reading the books over and over. She loved them so much she wrote to Lauren and was very excited to receive a reply. One more reason to love her.

If you haven’t read any of her books, please do, I promise you won’t be disappointed

parenting, Uncategorized

My Grown Up Weekend (Part 1) Cybermummy 11 – Living up to the Hype

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This weekend I had a proper grown up weekend away doing and learning things for me.  Saturday was spent at Cybermummy a conference for mummy bloggers and Sunday at The Festival of Education.

I have been watching fellow mummy bloggers counting down with excitement and anticipation in the lead up to Cybermummy.  There has been talk about what to wear, what to pack, creating business cards, haircuts and manicures – you would think we were a bunch of mums who never get out!  This was to be my first Cybermummy experience and as I hadn’t met any fellow bloggers before I was going alone.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect but hoped as a relatively new blogger to get some useful tips and meet new people.

The day began in a crowded room packed with fellow bloggers, iPads, cameras and notebooks in hand and many already heavily laden with goodies.  There was a buzz in the air as the more experienced bloggers chatted with familiar friends but even for the newcomers like myself everyone was very friendly and interested to learn about new blogs.  The keynote by Sarah Brown was an excellent start to the day, she was an engaging and entertaining speaker.  Her recommendation to use your voice and collectively make a difference resonated with me.

Following the opening session we headed for coffee, cake and the stands at Cybermummy Central, but not any ordinary cake

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(Trust me, the only photograph that I took at Cybermummy was of cake!)

I don’t think that I had ever seen so many freebies in one place, each stand giving away big bags of goodies and loads of competitions to boot.  I wasn’t quite sure how I would get it all back on the train. The P&G Recharge Room looked amazing.  I really wanted to get my hair, make-up and massage but as a newcomer really didn’t want to miss any sessions.  Next year I will definitely be making time for a pamper.

The sessions left me with much food for thought, from ideas for using my blog as a vehicle for other things to connecting with the academic world and bringing academic research to the masses.  I loved the crowd sourced keynote with its blend of comical and heart wrenching posts and thought the little book produced by Johnson’s containing the blog posts was a lovely touch.

The highlight for me however were the wonderful people that I met, they were fun, warm and interesting just like their blogs and I ended up pouring my heart out to a few over a curry.  My roommate for the night Kirsty from Imperfect Pages introduced me to many friendly bloggers but I’d hit the wine by then so can’t quite remember who everyone was.

The Netmums Bellini Reception followed by a curry was a great opportunity to meet familiar bloggers in the flesh of including Kate Gunn, Superamazing mum and Penny  at Alexander Residence

So as a Cybermummy virgin did it live up to the hype?  Absolutely and I can’t wait until next year.

death, early education & play, parenting, toddlers, wildlife

How my 2 year old learned about deer and death.

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dead deer in a gardenIt’s not every day that you wake up to the sight of a dead deer in your garden!  I was first alerted to the fact when my dogs hadn’t come to whine at the door after being let out. My 7-year-old went to find them and see if they had gone into the woods at the bottom of our garden.  She returned and said that there was something lying down behind the dog,  I asked how big and she said she didn’t know.  I was expecting to find a frog or maybe a bird but was confronted by the above.

I wasn’t sure whether to let my 2-year-old see it,  she really wanted to see the ‘reindeer’ but I thought she might be frightened.  However, I’m always keen to avoid sheltering my children so we went to the bottom of the garden so that I could gauge her response.

She was in fact absolutely fascinated by it.  It isn’t often that you will get the chance to see a deer that close so we could look at it and talk about it.  I pointed out its hoofs and she said

maybe it will get proper feet – does it have to go like this? (standing on tiptoe).

From the outset I talked about how it was dead.  I think children are very matter of fact about such things and their questions should be answered honestly but in a sensitive manner.  She saw that it had hurt its legs and was very concerned,

Maybe we could put it in the shower or in the bath and make its leg better?

I explained that we couldn’t put it in the bath and that we didn’t need to make it better because the deer didn’t hurt anymore, he couldn’t feel it because he was dead

Does it have arms?

No it has 4 legs like the dogs. Most animals don’t have arms.

But we have arms.

Yes.

Perhaps when we talked about the deer not feeling hurt, she was thinking of feeling as touch.

Not that it’s likely that many of you will encounter a dead deer in your garden, but would you know what to do if you did? Probably not, well neither did I and it took about 2 hours to find the answer. First port of call  the vets – I thought they might be able to point me in the right direction.  They gave me the number of the RSPCA and the local council.  According to the council a wild animal can only be collected from the roadside or public place, if it is on private property then the disposal is your own responsibility.  If I couldn’t find anyone to collect it then it became an environmental health issue and they would come and collect it.  The RSPCA suggested I contact DEFRA .  They said that they would normally advise people to dispose of animals in normal refuse, but that a deer probably wouldn’t fit! Their advice was to call the council again. The senior staff at the council finally authorised collection free of charge.

The men arrived and my 2-year-old delighted in showing them the way, saying ‘we think it is dead’.  I think they had visions of an animal that as soon as they moved it would start kicking out – I reassured them that it was dead.  The small antlers were caught around the tree and the deer was too big to fit in the bag they had brought so they carried it up the garden.

Oh look it’s awake now

my daughter said when she saw its eyes wide open.  She wanted to see them put it in the van and know where it was going.  I told her that they would probably bury it.  They put it in a yellow bag and onto the truck.

Are the mummy and daddy reindeer dead?

I don’t think so, they might be looking for it – poor deer

It’s alright reindeer you’ll get better soon.

We waved goodbye to the deer and the men.  So that was her first experience of death – we will see what other questions it raises in the coming days.  For now she has gone to bed with her cuddly reindeer kissing it’s legs and telling it she will give it a plaster to make it better.

parenting, Random Thoughts & Life Stories

Mothers and Their Neglected Talents

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I’ve just spent a weekend away for a friend’s hen party. We were in a party of 3 stay at home mums and one who works full time.

What struck me about our conversations at the weekend is that although all 3 stay at home mums are intelligent, skilled and have had good jobs in the past, our confidence about returning to work is rock bottom.  Part of this is a lack of direction, having been out of the workplace for a while, what do we go back and do?  Some of us are petrified about entering the world of work again and some don’t want to get caught up in demanding careers and feel guilty about neglecting the children.

For me work and career are a big part of both my identity and my self image.  I think we all agreed that staying home full time is more demanding than any job.  I love having some time away from the children, but for me work isn’t really about that.  Work is partly about having some financial independence so that I don’t feel guilty if I get my hair done or buy some new clothes.  Any job that I do has to be financially rewarding enough to pay for childcare for 2 children and leave a bit over.  Mostly, work gives me a sense of purpose and achievement. In any job I do I need to feel that I am challenging and developing myself and ideally I’d really like to make a difference. Work gives me a different aspect to my identity, at work I’m not just mum but someone people listen to and look up to.  I think I’m a better mum too when I work because I appreciate the children so much more and think about more than what I need to add to the shopping list.

I think there must be an abundance of mothers out there who have many talents but are drifting or working in jobs that undermine those talents.

Last week I went for a job interview for a full time job with some travelling and lots of responsibility.  The job was very exciting but I began to think about working full time and the impact it would have on the children. I got a glimpse of what it might be like to be a  full time working mum and the guilt about the lack of time you would be able to give your children.  I didn’t get the job, which was probably for the best.  I talked to another friend recently who has managed to hold on to a fulfilling career.  She feels that she never completely succeeds at anything because she is spreading herself between wife, mother and business woman and each one suffers in some way.

Going back to work this time will be the beginning of a new chapter, as the children grow up and I can build a new side to my identity.  As a qualified teacher I could easily drift back into a job in the classroom but somehow this doesn’t feel like moving forward. Maybe I should just take the easy option, earn a bit of money supply teaching and switch off to it at the end of the day. I’m hoping something more inspirational will strike me.  If anyone is looking for  someone who is passionate about early education, loves a challenge, writes, sings, can juggle a household of 3 kids and 2 dogs amongst many other talents give me a shout.

books, parenting, reflection, review, Uncategorized

Where Has My Little Girl Gone? Questioning the Way We Bring Up Girls.

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My eldest daughter has just turned 7 .  She will soon be going to Junior school and moving away from Early Education, my area of expertise.  I am not overly worried about her growing up too soon but  I am sure that the Junior school years will throw up new challenges.  So when the offer to review a new book ‘Where Has My Little Girl Gone?’ by Tanith Carey came my way, I thought it might be interesting to read about the challenges that might be faced along the way for all 3 of my girls.

The book ties in with a recent ‘mumsnet’ campaign ‘Let Girls Be Girls’ which campaigns to stop the sexualisation of young girls.

The book looks at the aspects of modern life that are fast-tracking our daughters through childhood. However, it is much more than a simple account of the sexualisation of young girls. It encourages parents to question the influence we have over girls growing up in this generation.  It discusses influences including body image, mobile phones and the internet.

 There are insights into the most extreme examples such as parents paying for their daughters to have plastic surgery and children pole dancing but is also full of practical tips on how to help young girls become rounded individuals, rather than focusing purely on beauty. The section on body image certainly made me question the messages I give to my daughters.  I am fortunate that I am naturally slim but I have never been completely satisfied with my body.   Though I don’t diet and try not to talk about losing weight I am sure my negative body image must have some effect on my girls.  I have hoped to have breast enlargements once my child-bearing days are over.   I hadn’t considered before now that this might make my girls view appearance as the most important factor in life, or see surgery as a quick fix.  Though I am not having second thoughts, it has made me realise that I need to approach the issue sensitively with my daughters.

 There is a particularly good section about boosting self-esteem.  It gives some lovely examples of things you can do to help girls feel unique, from simply asking their advice to building a scrap book of their artwork and writing, from the very first scribbles and sharing it together over the years.  I like the idea of this one and it’s something I can imagine doing with all of my girls.

 There is also some very practical advice on how to praise daughters and some lovely tips on how to help your daughter to understand about friendships that fall out or people being unkind.

 Another message that hit home for me was about spending quality time with your daughters, taking them for coffee and having  proper conversation. I think this was something I did a lot when my eldest was an only child but we don’t spend much time together alone anymore and I can already see her retreating into a book, game console or tv programme. The book talks about showing that you are interested in what they have to say and giving them your full attention.  I’m sure we have all glazed over when they talk about some television programme that we know nothing about, and how many times do we not really listen or give eye contact because we are too busy doing something else?

Spending time with your daughters, helping them to question things is a key message in the book. It doesn’t suggest banning commercial television, magazines, pop music or internet but to watch things with them and discuss the issues that arise.  In our house we have always been against commercial television and rarely watch adverts.  When we do we have frank discussions with our children about how advertising is often aimed at getting you to buy things you don’t really need, or promising you things that aren’t necessarily true. ‘Blah, blah, blah’ my daughter says every time an advert comes on.

There is also a lovely section for fathers and the importance of their involvement

‘a girl sees it as her mother’s natural role to care for her, she feels that time spent with her dad is his choice’

It talks about rebellious teenage girls testing their fathers to see if they would fight for them and encourages fathers to appreciate their daughters achievements instead of pushing them immediately to try the next thing.

I think that we are fortunate to have not seen too much evidence of our daughter growing up too soon.  She likes pop music and pretty clothes and sometimes wears make up, she is influenced by her older friends and occasionally speaks in an annoying american accent, but on the whole there is nothing that worries me. We may not shield the younger ones quite so well as they try to emulate their older sister. I’m sure that this book will give me many valuable tips for the things that life may throw at us as the girls grow up.  It has certainly made me think about the relationship I have with them and how I would like that to be in the future.

For anyone bringing up girls this is a really valuable read and it certainly made me stop and think about the quality of my relationships with my girls. Since reading the book I have reflected upon some of the messages I give to my girls.  Whilst my girls were watching a Disney Princess DVD, I considered that I may need to encourage my daughters to question the notion that finding your Prince Charming is the most important thing in life.  It has also made me think about the messages I give to them about the role of a mother.  I would like my daughters to grow up feeling that they can achieve anything and they do not have to give up a part of themselves to become a good mother.  Being a stay at home mum for a few years I feel that I may have reinforced the stereotype that it is a mum’s job to look after the children and house and that dad’s are the successful ones.  I hope that I can give my girls something to look up to so that they can see that women can be successful too.

This is a very practical and thought-provoking book – a worthwhile read for any parent of girls.

parenting, Uncategorized

A break from the routine sometimes helps

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I’ve been away for the weekend with my friends whilst my husband  looked after the girls. It was touch and go whether I would go as he has a broken foot and dealing with a temperamental 2 year old and a baby whilst hobbling on crutches can’t be much fun. Selfish wife and mummy I hear you cry……… but something worked.  On the first night my 7 month old slept through the night for the first time .  Result, no more sleepless nights with a baby in my bed continually feeding.  I had my first full nights sleep in months last night and my bedroom no longer looks like a nursery. To add to this my 2 year old, after months of coaxing, finally used the toilet.  For the first time today she asked to use the toilet and spent a successful afternoon in knickers. Well done Dad for breaking 2 well entrenched habits.  Maybe we shouldn’t worry so much about trying to encourage the kids to do things – perhaps just pass the buck to someone else. Of course it could just be a fluke.

Maybe I should go away more often.

children, parenting, toddlers, Uncategorized

Are Twos Really Terrible?

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The bedroom door opens and a loud and enthusiastic voice proudly announces that she has opened her own door. She attempts to climb over everyone in the bed  asks for covers and then announces that she is hungry and wants breakfast. We are lucky if we get breakfast on the table without a shriek of ‘No me’ or ‘mummy do it’ if her sister tries to help.  ‘Me do it’ is the favourite phrase when getting dressed, followed by a Rumpelstiltskin stamp and jump if she fails.  Late for school again, we are lucky if we make it that far without  a tantrum over picking a flower, whether to walk or get back in the buggy, wanting to bring something we have left behind or failing to say hello to someone on our way.

Welcome to a typical morning in the McClary household  courtesy of my challenging middle daughter aged 2 and a half.  I don’t remember the 2’s being particularly terrible with my eldest, perhaps memory fails me, but then she didn’t have to compete with 2 sisters for attention.   I was once told that 2 year olds are not deliberately difficult, they just make mistakes.  I’m not always convinced – particularly when I say don’t wake your sister and she proceeds to shout in her loudest voice . We give her a hard press sometimes but always come back to how gorgeous she is.   When a day starts in this way it’s often difficult to focus on the positives but in reality there are lots of lovely things about 2 year olds.

The pride that they show when they achieve things – my daughter beams and says ‘I did it’ .  As difficult as it may be to let her do things herself , especially when we are in a rush it’s wonderful to see her achieve things.  Hopefully she will soon be independent and able to dress herself by the age of 3 like her sister.  I also remember my eldest making me breakfast for the first time before she turned 3.

Though often toddlers like to challenge us and do the opposite of what we say, they also love being helpful.  If you give my  daughter and her friend a special job to do they are eager to help.  She is good at tidying up, putting things in the bin, helping put the washing in the machine and feeding the dogs.

She is incredibly loving .  She loves to have hugs and often says ‘I love you’ .  She wakes me in the morning with a hug and a kiss and if her dad is away says ‘ I want my daddy’ and sometimes when her sister is at school ‘ I want my sister’.

I love the way she can hold a long telephone conversation .  She makes funny little mistakes like showing my dad that it is raining in our garden ‘ look, see, in this garden.  It is raining’ or that anything that happened in the past is referred to as yesterday. She sometimes has telephone conversations with her best friend.

Her vocabulary is improving all the time and never ceases to amaze me.  I love listening to her use new words and phrases and hearing  the things she has obviously picked up from us or her sister.

I love hearing her laugh – she is incredibly ticklish and it’s lovely to hear her unrestrained laughter.

She is still working out how things work so sometimes comes out with funny things.  Recently she said ‘mummy remember I lost you and you were in hospital, then we went to hospital to buy my baby sister’ or the time that she saw horse manure on the road and said ‘mummy has the road done a poo?’

I love that she is learning new things all the time and her beaming smile when she discovers something new.  Her latest discovery is rhyme and often recognises rhyming words  and proceeds to list as many word as she can that rhyme with the original word.

I love reading stories with her.  She has had a love of books from before she was a year old and is always asking for stories.  When she is getting difficult because she is tired she will sit and cuddle in to you sharing her favourite books.  It’s also lovely to see her ‘reading’ books for herself – reciting the well-known phrases verbatim .  If you give her a book with single words accompanied by a  picture she believes she can read and looks so impressed.

I often find myself hoping that the 2’s will soon end in the hope that we will have a more civilised little girl.  This exercise has reminded me of all the lovely things about her and that sometimes I should take a step back and remember those things. Children grow up so quickly and soon these times will have been and gone and I’ll wish I had appreciated them more.