Sunday Supplement

It's Sunday and time once again for the round-up of reviews and recommendations that is the Bringing up Charlie Sunday Supplement.

First, baby monitors. I'm on my own with two kids every day. With the best will in the world you can't keep your eye on them for every second and now and then (shock, horror!) I have to leave them unattended. It's never for long and always while I do something else like start cooking supper, hanging out the washing or even going to the loo.

I've tested baby monitors with a camera before, not all that successfully. But the new Kid Cam from UK technology company Storage Options is a bit different. For a start, it's made by a firm not known for its baby monitors; second, it comes with two wireless cameras and a split-screen facility which allows you to see what's happening in two different places (say, a baby's bedroom and a toddler's playroom). That's a real bonus. Third it's entirely wireless, and fourth - it comes supplied with both permanent mounting brackets and strong, suction cup mountings that allow you to experiment with different locations. And that's important. I've discovered, for instance, that our kitchen is something of a wireless blackspot for all manner of transmissions, from monitor signals to WIFI. Being able not only to wall mount the screen (as well as cameras, of course) in order to keep it out of the way of whatever I'm cooking but to easily change the location to improve reception is a real bonus. Oh, and I forgot to say how easy it is to set up. And that you can use it in the car (there's an in-car charger available) and garden.

Next, a top secret assignment. Listen very carefully. I shall say theesss onli wance. The 'top secret' Ministry of Letters - an ordinary-looking postbox in the shadow of Big Ben, but in reality the place where all the words in the world are made - has just launched Operation Alphabet.

It's the story of little Charlie Foxtrot who has started school with a bad case of 'alphabetaheebeegeebees'. Fortunately, the Special Alphabet Service (S.A.S) is on hand and they embark on a top secret mission to find Charlie, teach him the alphabet and open his mind to a love of letters and stories.

Like an increasing number of books, Operation Alphabet is, well, more than just a book. It's an interactive website, a couple of YouTube videos as well as a poster, a blog and - coming soon - a show. The aim is not only to help teach children the alphabet but to make it fun and to inspire a lifelong love of language. As they say in their manifesto song...


Our mission, friends, is clear and true -
To help boys and girls like you!
To show how wonderful words can be -
All from the humblest A, B, C.


Finally, a little more about backache. Or more specifically, how to avoid it. As I mentioned in Friday's post, I attended a briefing for parents given by the British Chiropractic Association last Saturday. The aim was simple - to give us a little more information about looking after our backs, from the rudiments of good posture to lifting babies safely. Here's a short video, starring Dr Tim Hutchful, with some of the main messages. But don't forget the one I've already mentioned. Brushing your teeth standing on one leg isn't some kind of bizarre adult game to play whilst sharing a bathroom. It's actually a simple way of improving the decompression of your spine. Preventive exercise, in other words. And something you can do without going to the gym. It really was one of the most useful and interesting sessions I've attended and you can find out more by visiting the British Chiropractic Association website.

So, until next month, consider your Sunday well and truly supplemented. And for the sake of your back, don't forget to brush your teeth.

Oranges and Lemons

I spent a very pleasant day in London last weekend at this:

I'll tell you more about it in another post. I learnt an awful lot about backs, the cause of back problems, and how to avoid them (the problems, that is, not the backs). For now, just try brushing your teeth while standing on one leg.

Anyway, I had a bit of time on my hands before heading for home and as I wandered along the Strand I happened on St Clement Danes Church. This is one of two London churches claiming to be the inspiration for the nursery rhyme (the other is St Clement's, Eastcheap) and the story goes that the association with citrus fruit comes from both from the docks that were once nearby and the fact that porters used Clement Danes as a short-cut to a nearby fruit market. In fact, no lesser source than Charles Dickens claims that the church charged them a small toll for the privilege, and Clement Danes still holds an annual 'Oranges and Lemons' service as well as playing - as you'll soon see - the rhyme on its carillon daily.

Unfortunately, the truth behind the famous nursery rhyme (first recorded by Playford in 1665 though almost certainly older) is rather less wholesome. For the bells of the various London churches mark in music the journey of a condemned man from the river to his execution at Newgate gaol. Hence the rather macabre (and little performed) ending to the nursery rhyme:

Here is the candle to light you to bed,
And here is the chopper to chop of your head.

Of course, Newgate gaol never did have a chopper. It had the gallows. But that doesn't rhyme.

Anyway, enjoy the tune. And if you want to find out more about the murky origins of those nursery rhymes we love to teach our children I've a copy of Albert Jack's excellent Pop Goes the Weasel: The Secret Meanings of Nursery Rhymes to give away. Just leave me a 'pick me' comment below. And don't forget to brush your teeth on one leg.

Do dads raise more adventurous kids?

Just over a week ago I was contacted by someone on behalf of Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity, about their Free Range Kids campaign. The idea of the campaign is that children today should be able to do the things their parents took for granted, such as cycle to school, play football in the street and, well, have a free range childhood.

As someone who took for granted the freedom to go AWOL all day in the summer - returning home only when hungry - I was immediately interested. I'm a firm believer that risks - calculated risks - have to be taken and that children who are wrapped in cotton wool, kept free from all dangers are more likely to come a cropper later. But here's an intriguing question: do 'free range' kids do even better if they're lucky enough to have a 'hands on' rough-and-tumble, spirit of adventure father. In other words, do dads raise more adventurous kids?

That's what former stay-at-home dad Noah Fagan, an architect from Bristol, thinks. Here's his guest post.

Watching my son scale the ‘big kids’ climbing frame in the park last weekend - while his friend quivered at the bottom - a sly smile spread across my face. My three-year-old has got to be one of the ballsiest kids I know. And I like to think I’ve played a key role in that because for 16 months, I was a stay at home Dad.

Back in 2008, I was lucky enough to be made redundant three weeks before Isaac was born. I say lucky, because what followed was nearly two years of working for myself, from home, which also meant spending a lot of time with my family – something many ‘big business’ dads miss out on. My wife works for herself too, so we fell into a blissful, if slightly impoverished, ‘new-bohemia’ where whoever had work was at the desk while the other one did childcare. In general though, when it came to the physical stuff like swimming or the park, the responsibility fell to me.

Isaac has never showed any fear in the playground and I’ve never discouraged him. He was one of the few kids that could climb the ladder by the time he was 18 months. He jumped off the top of it when he was 20 months! While mums in the play area twittered around their kids, telling them things were ‘too high’ or ‘scary’ for them to attempt, I’d be giving Isaac a leg up to the fireman’s pole. As a result, he’s the first to throw himself into the pool each Saturday, the last to cry if he gets pushed in the playground – even a bee sting didn’t elicit any tears.

This success, in my opinion, hasn’t been without criticism from others– and I hate to say it, but mainly women. ‘There is a road there!’ one woman yelled a couple of weeks ago, as Isaac ran along in front of me happily. ‘I know, and he’ll stop when he gets to it,’ I smiled. ‘You hope!’ she hissed, rolling her eyes. Another lady, about a year ago in the park, kindly ‘helped’ my son off the top of the slide. ‘He was about to go head first!’ she chuckled nervously, handing a – by now – screaming toddler over to me. ‘That’s how he likes it,’ I smiled politely, putting him right back on. You see, while I’ve been keen for Isaac to explore his limits, I’ve always been there in case he crossed them. He knows to stop when he gets to the road, because I taught him to do so. He’s not afraid to ask for help if he climbs too high, because I’ve shown him there is no shame in knowing when to back down. He’s not a hard nut or a future adrenalin freak, he’s just a boy whose sense of adventure has been pandered too, not discouraged.
Last year UK charity Sustrans launched their Free Range Kids campaign in an attempt to encourage parents to let their kids play outside, and other roads users to be more responsible as a result. We want our two boys to cycle to school, to walk the streets with their mates. I don’t want my teenagers to be stuck in the house playing the Wii because they don’t know any different, and I worry the UK has fallen foul to a cotton wool culture, where our fear-driven attempts to keep kids safe are actually limiting their childhoods, maybe even putting them in harm’s way. 

Last week, my wife brought Isaac back from the park, covered in mud from the zip slide. Apparently they spent ten minutes trying to encourage his friend to give it a go, but to no avail. ‘His mum said to me, “aren’t you afraid Isaac might be a racing driver or something?” And I said how cool that would be!’ my wife laughed. So, on reflection, maybe Isaac’s dare devil persona isn’t all down to me – but there is one very unscientific test we could try... Eli, son number two, is six months old and being raised primarily by my wife. If he’s not leaping from the playground ladder by his first birthday, I’m going to claim victory. Watch this space... 

Do you want an environment that encourages kids to be active? Signing Sustrans' pledge is a quick and easy action you can take if you agree. Visit www.sustrans.org.uk/freerangekids

A rubbish post

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Well in my case the good intentions usually consist of something to do with recycling, reducing my carbon footprint, reusing stuff instead of throwing it away or otherwise reducing the harm done to the environment. The hell - on earth - will be what's left of our planet if we don't.

So I've signed up for Karen Cannard's Rubbish Diet challenge. Over the next eight weeks I'm going to slim my bin. And I've already begun this morning by doing this...

Ok, not much; I'm sure the planet isn't going to feel the benefit just yet. But it's a start. And I'm hoping there'll be more. Karen's site - The Rubbish Diet - contains a whole host of ideas. There's surely something, however small, that everyone can do. I'm not sure I shall be able to meet the challenge of having a zero waste week at the end of the eight-week programme, but I'm determined to do something to slim that bin. 

Fancy doing something similar? You can find out more about it right here, and there's a post launching the eight-week challenge published this morning. 

If we all did something, anything, however small... 

...there'd be less work for the bin-men for a start.

Win an LG Optimus 3D Black

A while ago, thanks to Tesco Mobile I ran a competition to win an LG Optimus 3D smartphone. All you had to do was leave a comment with your favourite money-saving tip, the connection of course being that Tesco Mobile Capped Contracts are designed to give you complete control of your mobile spending, eliminating any unexpected surprises in your monthly bill.

Well, it proved so popular they're offering another. This time there's an LG Optimus 3D Black up for grabs, boasting 'crystal-clear, eye-popping 3D imagery' and well as 'dual core, dual channel and dual memory technology.' Here's what it looks like:

And here's what you have to do to get your hands on it. Simply share your favourite New Year money-saving resolutions. It could be something short-term, designed to help ease the pain of all that Christmas spending. Or it could be a top tip designed to last the whole year. And it doesn't have to be anything to do with mobile phones either! (Although feel free to share any mobile tips you've got.)

You can find out more about Tesco Mobile Capped Contracts by having a look at their latest TV advert. In the meantime, get those money saving resolutions rolling and the first thing you might be saving is a cool £420, which is the price of the Optimus, sim-free. The competition closes at midnight on Saturday 21st January and I'll be announcing the winner on Sunday.

This competition is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered!