When it comes to food and kids, you just can’t win. Well, that’s my experience anyway. Despite having a good healthy diet and doing most of our cooking from scratch, my three year old will always ask for chocolate when I collect her from pre-school. Without fail. “Mummy, I want chocolate now. Mummy, can I have sweeties?” I must admit, I occasionally give in to the whining (I’m a big believer in picking your battles wisely) but will often try and distract the requests with an offering of fruit.

The thing is, sometimes (OK – often) kids don’t want “healthy fruit”. They want “tasty chocolate”. Just like adults, they want a treat, something that’s a bit special and naughty. That’s where the range of snacks from Kiddylicious come in. They tick both the “treat” and the “healthy” boxes.

Each bag of Kiddylicious snacks contains one of a toddler’s five daily portions of fruit and veg. Don’t let those healthy credentials trick you into thinking they’re boring though. From Smoothie Melts to Fruit Wriggles and Banana Bites, the snacks feature fun shapes and tasty flavours to leave toddlers thinking they’ve got one over on mum and dad, and won the battle for sweeties.

Don’t believe me? Then see for yourself. I’ve got a brilliant opportunity for one lucky winner to bag themselves £50 worth of Kiddylicious snacks – that’s enough to keep a snack-loving tot going for quite a while.

To get your hands on this tasty prize, simply complete the Rafflecopter widget on this post.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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With a baby with a history of refusing to let anyone put anything in her mouth (seriously, no Calpol unless she was holding the spoon – and certainly no bottle) I dreaded the thought of weaning.

Baby-led weaning sounded like a far more fun – if messy – approach. One that wouldn’t see me suffer a nervous breakdown anyway.

I was very enthusiastic. I saw my baby eat cool stuff. Proper food. It was a bit weird and that was why I loved it. I wrote articles about it. I interviewed the Baby-led Weaning gurus on more than one occasion. I was a total convert.

And here I am, with a two year old child who has fads.

A few weeks ago at supper she pushed her plate away and said, “No Mummy! YOGHURT!” before tipping the contents of said plate on the floor. She tried the same tactic the following evening. I got cross. Never before had I been faced with a child of the fussy variety. I started breaking every rule in the Baby-led Weaning book.

“You will NOT leave this table until you’ve eaten at least THREE MORE SPOONFULS young lady!” I reprimanded. And then I gave in and let her have a yoghurt.

Once the flood-gates were open that was it. “No pudding until you’ve eaten your main course! Every. Last. Mouthful,” I frowned. “Eat your greens!” I scolded. “No you will NOT get down until you finish what’s on your plate,” I chided.

In short, I became a dinner lady from my own childhood. It’s amazing how ingrained these habits are. I stopped trusting that my daughter knew when she was full. I started turning mealtimes into a battle that I had to win.

After 18 months of happily trotting to the table, Frog started having tantrums about eating. Just the odd one, but as a foodie from the age of 6 months, this was odd.

So I made a radical decision a few weeks ago. Back to basics. Back to the Baby-led Weaning books.

I brought her mealtimes forward half an hour, so she wasn’t tired. I made sure I always ate with her, rather than sitting opposite staring at her. I offered fruit for pudding, but put it at her place setting next to her main course of food. I ignored what she ate.

And she ate.

She ate and she ate and she ate.

This is her two weeks ago, on a family trip to our local pub for her birthday. She ate pan fried scallops with Asian inspired slaw and ginger. That starter was far more interesting than the pasta and tomato sauce on the kids menu:

And last night? We had fishfingers, chips and peas, with lashings of ketchup. (We like to mix it up a bit.)

My toddler still has the odd tantrum around mealtimes. But now I’m confident enough to accept it’s because she’s tired and she’s not interested in the food.

There’s nothing she won’t eat, but there’s plenty she’ll refuse on certain days. Sometimes yoghurt is the in thing, sometimes it’s curry or paella or piri-piri chicken. Whatever. She knows what she likes and she knows how hungry she is. If she doesn’t want what she’s offered, then fine. But there’s nothing else on the menu. So that’s that.

And guess what? Food is fun again. It’s so fun, the toy kitchen bought for Christmas is back in use…

***

This post was written for this week’s Gallery at Sticky Fingers. Head over there to read the rest.

The post Toddler-led weaning, or “let her eat what she wants” appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

Frog discards her spoon and rams her tiny fingers into the middle of her plate.

After much rummaging, she proudly brings forth a piece of pepper.

And the conversation goes thus:

Frog: Wassat?

Me: Pepper. It’s very yummy.

Frog: Huh?

Me: It’s called pepper. It’s a piece of pepper.

Frog: Wassat?

Me: I told you – it’s food. You eat it. It’s called pepper.

Frog: Ah…. PIGGY!

That’s it. I’m banning Peppa Pig from now on.

***

I’m linking this post up to The Things Kids Say at Thinly Spread.

The post On renaming food appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

Brother Max gorgeousness

This is the latest offering from one of my favourite baby and toddler ware designers, Brother Max. The exceptionally trendy (far too trendy to be just for children, I might add) easy-hold plates and easy-hold 2-in-1 snack pot.

I have a thing about quirky stuff. Ever since I started my blog and started searching for products online, I realised that gorgeous baby and toddler products do exist. And stuff doesn’t necessarily have to be pink for girls, blue for boys or cream to represent neutrality. It also doesn’t have to feature pictures of teddy bears or fairies or cars.

And because I love the individual, as well as the useful, I have been constantly drawn to the products made by the ever innovative Brother Max brand. From bath toys to thermometers, high chairs to plates, the products all have one thing in common: they are cool with a capital C.

Take these easy-hold plates, for example. They come in a lime green and bright pillar box red. They’re rimmed at the edges to prevent spills and they have a cute little handle for mini (and independent) little fingers to grasp hold of.

My 22 month old foodie is definitely a fan:

Red is for beans on toast

She likes to mix it up a bit and change the colours around depending on her meal:

She also rather likes the easy-hold 2-in-1 snack pot. It’s a ladybird, you see. And ladybirds are (at the moment) one of her favourite things. She also likes to put her hands through the clever non-spill lid. It seems to create the effect of a lucky dip type scenario.

Her excitement is huge, even if it’s only a raisin that she pulls out each time:

If you’re looking for some new hardwearing, stylish and quirky kitchenware for your toddler, I definitely recommend these products from Brother Max.

Now all they need to do is design some larger ones, for me.

***

Disclaimer: This is a review post. All views are my own. I was not paid to write this, although I was able to keep the sample items. Brother Max is my CybHer sponsor.

The post The trendiest plates you’ll ever find for a toddler appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

Behold. The latest for environmentally conscious parents.

The Beco feeding set, from Beco Things.

I’d never heard of this brand until they got in touch to introduce themselves. I have to say, I was a bit sceptical at first. I mean, I know it’s trendy to be environmentally aware and all, but aren’t eco potties and plates taking it a bit far?

And then I tried out this feeding set.

Call me fickle, but the fact it’s made from natural plant fibres, is biodegradable and is created using ethically conscious manufacturing is, quite frankly, at the bottom of the list of positives for me. Because it’s just so darn pretty.

I know, I have my priorities completely straight, right?

The thing that I love about this set is the way it looks and feels. It’s got a texture like china, which makes a change from the usual plastic tat Frog tends to eat off. This plate and bowl have a “grown up” feel, but are still very non-toddling toddler friendly.

The edges of the plate feature a handy lip, to stop food going astray…

The cup is made from the same material and has an equally satisfying shape. It’s slanted in the middle, making it easier to drink from for those less experienced in Big Girl Cup Drinking.

But it doesn’t have handles.

For us, this is a bonus, because we’re trying to get Frog more used to drinking from normal cups rather than the “sippy” and “doidy” variety. The sooner she can drink from such vessels the sooner I can stop lugging around spare cups in every handbag.

The bowl is also rather lovely. Perfect for banana eating…

My only criticism of the Beco Feeding Set is the fact it doesn’t come with a helpful assistant to teach your child which utensil goes where…

***

The Beco Feeding Set is available to buy from £11.99 from the website.

This is a review post.

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This time last year I was starting to think about weaning. I read a few books and about a million articles online and decided, in a rather New Age way, to try out Baby-led Weaning.

This isn’t a post about Baby-led Weaning.

No, what I would like to talk about is all those mothers who don’t have the luxury of obsessing over whether their baby will be puree fed or go straight to solids. Those mums who can’t worry if  it’s too soon to introduce a bread stick or whether all pear should be peeled, because they’re more worried about when they will next be able to feed their child, let alone what that food will actually be.

I have laughed about how messy Frog’s journey with food has been. I’ve celebrated her ability to eat (and throw) everything. I’ve sat proudly while she’s cleared her plate at a restuarant and I’ve worried fruitlessly about when she’ll get any good at using a knife and fork.

But all that’s inconsequential really. She’s always had food. She’s never gone hungry. She doesn’t even know what hungry feels like.

But the same can’t be said for 400,000 children around the world who face major food shortages. Recent price hikes mean the crisis is particularly bad in East Africa, where 750,00 people face death by hunger.

Save The Children are campaigning to end this. They want the UK government to sign up to the Charter to End Extreme Hunger. This Charter calls on governments to take life-savng measures to protect children around the world. So far over 6,000 people have signed it.

Save The Children are now asking people to take the campaign up a level, with their #66Cities project. They want people to champion their cities, write to their MPs, encourage other people to sign the petition.

I know I can’t do much on my little blog. But you can.

So I have this idea:

• Share a picture of your child covered in food eating beautifully on your blog. Then ask your readers to sign the petition asking for David Cameron to support the Charter to End Extreme Hunger.
• Tweet about it, using the #66Cities hashtag.
• If you want to, come back and link your post here. I will tweet it too and shout about it a bit (I have a rather loud voice).

I can’t make a difference on my own, but together we can. Remember, no child is born to die.

Link your post here:

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Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

The post A question of food appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

Difficult, because Frog has chicken pox and hasn’t been particularly happy about it. And wonderful, because it’s back to school time which means the (self-proclaimed) Northern Love Machine and I swap roles again, with him going out to do his teacher job and me staying at home. Yes it’s back to the juggling of writing while Frog sleeps (which hasn’t been much this week), but at least I actually get to see her, which is a definite bonus.

The chicken pox has put my usually greedy daughter well and truly off her food. She’s even been turning her nose up at the usual favourites of banana and spaghetti bolognaise (not together – that would just be weird).

But the same can’t be said for biscuits.

My diva child has pretty much lived on HiPP Organic apple elephant biscuits this week and HiPP Organic fruit cereal bars. The cereal bars come in two flavours, Peach and Apple and Plum and Apple. The Plum ones seem to be Frog’s favourite.

The biscuits are also rather handy to fend off any chicken pox related meltdowns and seem to go nicely with a cup of warm milk and the beloved magic blanket. We’ve tried them before in fact, and loved them so much we put them in jars for all the babies at the wedding:

The fuit cereal bars have been a welcome accompaniment at breakfast time; the fact they’re GM and Preservative free means I can get away without feeling like a terrible mother for letting my 14 month old have a bar of something sweet with her breakfast.

And they’ve even helped produce a few rare smiles this week:

So if you have a grumpy child, I can highly recommend these snacks from those clever people at HiPP Organic. And guess what? They’ve given me some to give away.

So, read on  if you’d like to win this little lot:

Five winners of this competition will each receive one of the following:

• A box of HiPP Organic Apple Elephant Biscuits
• One HiPP Organic Peach & Apple Fruit Cereal Bar
• One HiPP Organic Plum & Apple Fruit Cereal Bar

To enter, all you need to do is:

• Leave a comment below telling me how old your baby is.

• Tweet (for an extra entry):

“I want to #win @HiPPOrganic goodies in the #giveaway at @mothersright http://bit.ly/mxdGiV”

Terms and conditions:

Competition closes 12noon on Friday 23rd September 2011.

The winner will be contacted within 3 working days of the competition closing.

Open to UK residents only.

Items posted directly by HiPP.

Prize is non-transferrable and there is no cash alternative.

***

Disclaimer: The lovely people at HiPP Organic provided two fruit cereal bars and a box of Apple Elephant Biscuits to review for this post. Obviously they didn’t want them back afterwards. Lucky really, seeing as they’ve all been eaten.

Competition now closed.

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The post Silent Sunday appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

The post Silent Sunday appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

*sob*

My boob-loving daughter has, after a few false starts, entirely given up the boob. I know, I know. Get a grip and all that.

The thing is, this hasn’t exactly been out of the blue. First of all I whinged on about feeling rejected when she seemed to hate the boobs (it was the teeth – her teeth, I mean, not teeth on my boobs. That would just be weird). Then I moaned when she was all about the breastfeeding again. I wanted to wear pretty dresses and under-wired bras, see.

And now here I am, moaning again.

Don’t get me wrong, a big part of me is breathing a sigh of relief. So she doesn’t want that last feed before bed? Great, now I don’t always have to be the one to put her to bed. So she doesn’t want that first feed in the morning? Great, now I don’t always have to be the one to get up with her at the crack of dawn. I can wear dresses, underwired bras, even a jumpsuit if I’m feeling particularly daring (only joking – can you imagine me in a jumpsuit?). The wardrobe is my oyster. Finally.

But that doesn’t explain why I burst into tears in the middle of eating my chicken fajita tonight.

Yes, I’ve been a gibbering mess since Frog’s birth last June. And yes, there was a particularly sad scene on Waterloo Road. But that’s not what I was crying about.

I just had a really vivid image of a tiny Frog, all curled up against me, softly breastfeeding. And now she’s nearly one and she hates my boobs and she’s not tiny anymore and she doesn’t need me like she used to and did I mention she’s nearly one? AGH!

After wiping the tears off my soggy chicken fajita, I attempted to explain this to the (self-proclaimed) Northern Love Machine. Surprise surprise, he doesn’t get it. In irritatingly calm logic he pointed out that it’s all “part of nature” and that “babies grow up” (thanks for that). After I snivelled some more he shrugged his shoulders and said “it’s the circle of life”. It was at that point that I huffed out of the room – I don’t need someone quoting Elton John at me when I’m in the midst of a drama queen boob-related breakdown, thank you very much.

So it looks like I need to just get over it and stop harking back to the beginnings of Frog’s life. I need to look forward and get excited about all the new things we’re yet to experience, rather than the things that have now ended.

Not to mention making the most of this newfound freedom for lie-ins.

Back in the days of boob love

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