Packing for a School Trip

My son is off today on his first overnight stay with his school and I am pretty apprehensive. I wrote about it in my daily blog: https://mydailythougthsandfeelings.blogspot.com/2024/05/my-son-first-trip-away.html

I did almost pack the kitchen sink but had to remember he has to be able to carry it so downsized my originally idea of what to pack and what he’ll actually wear as he can be fussy when it comes to clothes.

He doesn’t like hoods so I found this waterproof tracksuit which comes in its own bag which is handy.

This is from Amazon by a company called Regatta Outdoors.

I have showed him and tried them on him and is a good purchase and bought him some wellies and showed a hack on Instagram and TikTok Putting his socks and pants into his welly boots and his toiletries in the other:

@typicallondongal

Packing for school trip and did this hack to pack toiletries, pants and socks #travelhack

♬ original sound – typicallondongal

Because he won’t wear a hood I am going to pack a baseball cap and have labelled all that he is taking as kids will leave things behind. So the more you can do to prevent this from happening the better they will remember to pick their belongings up.

I bought some miniature toiletries from Boots. There are Shower Gel, toothbrush, Flannel and sun cream, and labelled these aswell.

Depending on the weather make sure you apply sunscreen, and wear light cool clothing and a jacket and a sweater should the weather turn cold.

I bought him some thick socks from TU Sainsbury’s when I bought him knew wellies and have put in a pair of sunglasses and then there is water and snacks.

The school are providing lunch and then will have dinner at the place they are going to and so going to be a great adventure for him.

It is going to be hard and was getting a little upset as I am worried about it, but will be so good for his independence and is overnight so going to not show my emotions, as I want him to enjoy it and often it is best to keep your feelings and fears to yourself because, you don’t want your fears to pass on to them, but ask if they are okay and if they have fears and go through it their emotions, so they get as much out of the experience as much as possible.

I have prepared him for it as the school did a little leaflet about it to go through of the itinerary with my son and won’t be on his own when it comes to bed time so feel good in that, and so its just getting him dressed and ready.

If you have any advice or a comment about this blog, then please leave a comment below.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

When kids take over and their the boss

My son now turns off my alarm in the morning and when I haven’t gotten up when he has, he has pulled the covers off and pull my legs to the side of the bed, and gotten me up.

My son at the Cat Cafe in Westfields in Shepherds bush London

Now I have changed my morning habit I now get up before him and between 4:30 to 5am and it has changed me. I am getting stuff done like never before, and it just happened, check out my blog on everyonecanbuildacastle. com

When it comes to children they will start to be more responsible and they will start to do things for themselves and tell us that we’ve said something wrong. Like if I accidentally say take of your shorts please when he has to get changed, and he is wearing pants he will correct me and say “You got it wrong didn’t you?” and I reply “Yes that’s right sorry”, acting sheepish.

When we play football he will move me to the spot and places me of where he wants me to stand, when I am allowed to play that is and he has been watching a lot of Man City Football matches on his tablet and will turn my head for me to watch them too or tell me to “Watch the TV” or “Go back to the Kitchen” if I am making dinner.

I wrote a blog post about if they want to help with chores then let them: If your child wants to help with the chores let them

My son will help his Grandpa, who is a caretaker of a school, to help with the bins. My son likes to help with cooking sometimes, but he gets a bit bored and his enthusiasm doesn’t last long, but the fact that he has helped a little bit means that he is ready to learn more and learn how to cook. That is a skill that should be taught to all children in my opinion, because if we want our kids to be independent, then cooking is essential to help with that.

My son at the moment is walking around the house with a duster. “YES” I feel, because the one thing we still need to work on is, clearing up after he has finished with something and making his bed. Kids need to learn how to respect the home and their bedrooms and keeping them clean.

Yes I was the one who, when my mum and dad would tell me to tidy my room shove everything in my wardrobe and draws, and become overloaded. I remember one time, as I would hoard, and my mum bought me a swatch watch. It was the latest watch at that time. This is the 80’s and kept on asking about it, and which I lied, saying it was on my desk, and asked me “Can you go and get it” and after 20mins or so, came into my room and said “Robert” my brother “Will help clear up your room”. It was my worst nightmare and it made me look after my belongings and room.

When I lost my first tooth I got really upset about it because I was scared of this tooth fairy that I didn’t want her coming into my room and waking me up, and this was when I didn’t sleep as I am often reminded of, and so they had to tell me the truth and they put the tooth under my brothers pillow and still got my 50p which was the rate back in those days, and made it clear I didn’t want the tooth fairy, but still have the money.

I would look after my own money. I like it when my son wants to pay for something. Like one weekend ago he wanted to use his money to buy a coffee at a coffee shop. It took me until I was at secondary to going into a shop and buy something for myself. I had such little confidence and would give money to a friend and she would get it for me. When a child wants to help with handing over money or use their parents bank card it is good, as they need to learn to pay for things themselves and be responsible when it comes to money. Check this blog I wrote that talks about teaching kids about saving money: Teaching kids about Saving money

Eventually our kids will have to go out into the big wide world, and create a life of their own and it is good to allow them to take charge, on different areas of life, as long as it is good and learn real skills. Lets share our lives as parents to support each other as parenting is a skill and so lets help one another to grow to help support our kids development, which helps us to develop and I am thankful for having my son, who brings me so much joy. I hope that this blog helps you, and thank you for visiting my site if you are new and you can subscribe which if you do, will be alerted when I upload a blog and I have a daily blog, check it out here: https://mydailythougthsandfeelings.blogspot.com/

I also post a newsletter each month on my site Everyonecanbuildacastle.com

I am also a author and so check out my Pinterest under My Books and this will lead you to my books, which I have written two parenting books, self help book and novels.

Have a good easter and there will be more blogs to come.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Behaviour Issues and setting Boundaries

The mornings are challenging at the moment, because my son won’t get his school uniform on without a fight. He is obsessed with Kinder Eggs and takes ages to eat his breakfast. If any of you are nodding, and you are having these issues, then fear not, as you read, you are not alone.

I find it is someway, payback because I wasn’t always an easy child and it would take me ages to get up and get dressed too, for school. My son likes getting up, I hated it. And I never liked going to school, so I get him.

He has so much energy that I find hard to keep up with him, and now that he won’t get dressed or brush his teeth, without me and his dad getting cross, it has added to my anxiousness in the mornings, making sure he gets ready for school in plenty of time.

Setting boundaries helps and so if he doesn’t get dressed then I remove his tablet, until he gets ready for school, and he must eat his breakfast. When he comes home from school he has to get changed and not allowed to play in his uniform, so if needs washing we can do that, and helps not having to wash his uniform all the time and make sure that he puts any dirty clothes, in the washing machine. It is important to me that he has responsibilities and looks after his stuff otherwise, he won’t be given another toy or a bit of chocolate and that he is thankful for the things he has in his life and family who love him.

This is not to make kids feel guilty but know what is right and what is wrong and care about what he has and so if he doesn’t do as I ask then he needs to see that, he can’t get what he wants if he pushes a boundary that is set into place. At my sons school he has been learning about sharing as he finds it hard, but to form good relationships sharing is a must. This was something I picked up from my grandparents and parents. because it is how you learn to be respectful and be kind to others.

Whenever I have a pack of crisps I will always offer one and was how I built up friendships and it would be reciprocated, and my son can be kind hearted. If he sees someone with a dog, he will now ask of their name, and if the dog is friendly as at one time he would just go up to a dog and that can be okay, but dogs can attack and so it is good to install boundaries when approaching an animal or a person and not fuss if he can’t sit down on a bus, and if someone gives him something he will says thank you, and will always make sure, and it is effective, is praise and give a good reaction so it installs goodness in his mind, and being kind and sharing becomes a natural process, and like drinking water and eating, just does it without being prompted.

Kids play up and often because they want to test your boundaries, and my son thinks if he asks over and over again, of something he wants but can’t have, eventually we will give in, and it can be tough, because part of me feels guilty and question myself, but he needs to understand that, he can’t have everything he wants and he needs to be good, and listen and do as he is asked.

Please check out my Pinterest site which has a lot of my content, including videos that you can watch: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/thetypicalLondongal/the-parenting-adventures/

I also write books, check out amazon, under the names. Carrie Challoner and Carrie Holmes.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Kids and food how it changes

There was a time when Henry would have certain meals because he wouldn’t eat any vegetable, yet this week, he has eaten Chinese Food, gone back into having a Banana, he has eaten berries. and this morning he had scrambled egg on toast instead of his normal cereal.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.com

This could change, so treading carefully, but yes and has eaten Vegetarian food and avoided him having too much chocolate. I do thank my mum and step dad for helping, because now it becomes easier when it comes to meal times, and the tip I say is to keep trying. Not False feed, but say you can have chips on occasion but you have to eat your cucumber for example aswell.

Cutting all treats is a hitting a disaster, but minimising them, really helps widen their food choices. It helps when going out of meal. It can be hard to know what they will have and if they don’t have a kids meals. Now though many restaurants to cater for all, and so it is not restrictive. I didn’t have my first Curry until I was 21 years old.

My son will eat spicy food and again just give the a pea size amount at first when it comes to spicy dishes and sauces, it good for them to get used to different tastes.

Having chips everyday is not good, but a bit of everything. I now will eat Vegan food depending on what it is and helped conquer my fear of such food.

Kids taste buds change, and often when kids see you eating and is something different to what they have seen before may ask to try and so if they do, allow them to have a bit, just to widen their tastes, to just see.

Do check the nutrition labels just in case before making them meal, and why not get them involved in the cooking. My son this morning helped make his scrambled egg, and he asked me if he could. Never be reluctant as it is good for their development.

It all about trial and error. Never fear if they change their mind again, never make a meal out of it, pardon the pun. It is them growing and getting to know about themselves. Kids need to learn about cooking, aswell as reading and writing. It is all about independence and preparing them for the outside world.

I do Parenting videos on my Youtube channel, so please check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDFIqjVKLy7NhtcR6Hy0Tg

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Typical London Gal

Gaining a Kids Trust/How kids change their mindset with feeling safe to unsafe

In today’s society it can be a tricky world, and it can take its toll on us and our kids. For no fault of their own they may be unsure of you, even if you are their parent. Trusting is a key word for me, when thinking about the relationship I have with my son, and want him to feel that he can come to me in full confidence and will support him whatever he decides to do.

Gaining a kids #trust is something that is very important that we all do, so they know that we, the child’s parents and we will never allow anyone to hurt them, but they will get hurt. I hate to face that fact, but it is true. They will fall when they begin to walk, they will catch a cold, they may squabble with another child. This is how they learn to walk and get up when they fall. If kids can use a room as a playground they will. To avoid this have toys out that they can play with and set boundaries.

Never limit kids but have rules that if they want to play and jump on the cushions to tidy them up and teach them not to put cushion over their face, especially if they are really young. control on what they watch on their devices, because they will copy.

If they find that a video scares them, never avoid but let them know it is okay and they don’t have to watch it if they don’t want to, and their fears will change. My son for example as a toddler would cry when he watched You Spin me right round, by Dead of alive and so would turn it off and just play the song without the video, using Youtube.

Henry, my son is very friendly and loves seeing other kids and when he went swimming one of the little girls there got a bit fearful of Henry and another child who looks older than his age, and so the instructor took her in and made her see it is okay.

Never fuss too much about this as they will adjust, and Henry was scared himself when he first began swimming lessons, but through being persistent and not allowing his fear to not go, is now super confident and loves it.

If they see you worried then this can pass on to them, and so it is important as a parent to have peace of mind and I know the swimming instructor, would never allow any child to drown, and if they see you are okay then they will be too.

Its taking gradual steps and you supporting them whenever and wherever possible and let them know each day they are loved, will instantly make them feel safe and that what we want our kids to be.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Five Skills for Your Kids Wellbeing

Hello and welcome! So if you haven’t watched my new video of my series of The Truth About Parenting then check it out my new video here: Truth about parenting/teaching kids about money and budgeting

In this blog post I am talking about 5 Skills for your kids wellbeing.

So with the internet it can, and it has be proven to cause kids to have anxiety and lack of self confidence and so it is more important now than never to look after our kids mindset and making life simple and easy living for them as much and as possible.

I have created a Printable with these skills too, which is completely free and I hope you find useful:

5-skills-for-your-kids-wellnessDownload

1. Let kids make their own choices. So instead of you picking an outfit for them, let them do it and have low sized wardrobes and racks, and chests of draws with handles so they don’t trap their fingers and choose their clothes for the day
2. Discuss mental health with your kids. This is so important as I became aware of my #mentalhealth at a young age and it helps them help you to meet their needs in terms of mental health and tell you how they are feeling
3. Teaching kids about mindfulness and meditation. Once I get to spend time with my son and other children again soon, this is something that I’d like to teach them should they feel stressed and if they are having any worries, and if you as a parent not done this before, it is good for new parents too. I am going to talk about Mental Health, being a parent in a post or video, because it is a common factor. If they decide it doesn’t help them, then that is fine, but it is a skill worth practicing and you can use wellness flash cards so they can go through different emotions of mental health and again can discuss the different feelings of the human mind to help deal with mental health problems that can effect children
4. Have a child look after a pet. As a kid I grew up having cats as pets and knowing people who had dogs, and they can be a great source of wellbeing. I found it gave me a sense of responsibility and when the cat didn’t attack me, being “Target number one” he would sit on my lap and a cuddle. With a pet can be a lovely sense of unconditional love, and it good for kids to know about animals and creatures, its a great way to get in touch with the world
5. Do a project with your kids. So as many kids are off from school due to Lockdown, why not do projects, like a Science project, write a book, like a children’s book or have them do a computer project example: teaching kids on Desk Top Publishing.

So I hope these tips have helped you, and thank you to those who have liked and followed me so far on this site and I will be back with one next week, and if there is a topic you’d like me to talk about them please leave a comment below.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X