It’s not easy finding suitable childcare for one’s offspring. Should you choose to hire a nanny, you might find it useful to read some of the top tips I’ve gleaned over the last few years. When hiring a nanny it’s essential to consider the following points; 1. How attractive is she? You don’t want one so […]
Parenting
Having a Mummy Crush
I wish to make a confession; my name’s Emily and I have a Mummy crush. It’s been several years since my last crush. Back in the 1980s, carting my gangly legs and crooked teeth off to secondary school heralded the start of a series of perfectly platonic crushes on other women. How I envied the sixth formers […]
Frost
At this time each year I hibernate. For five weeks between November and Christmas I shut out the cold and wish away the long weeks which went so quickly when they cradled a child. Grief overtakes me like the frost creeping over anything uncovered, its silvery chill frosting every path. If I stay indoors, if […]
The monster in the book shop
I like book shops. I particularly like independent book shops, who compensate for the absence of three-for-two offers by providing expert knowledge, little-known titles and interesting book signings. We have one such shop close to my house and I like to skulk around inside at weekends, imagining my own book on display. I had my […]
Do you have an ugly baby?
I was at work the other day when a colleague showed me a photo of what was quite possibly the ugliest newborn baby I’d ever seen. “Isn’t she beautiful?” I gave a non committal murmur and let others in the office do the cooing and aahing. Now, obviously I wouldn’t expect anyone to shatter our […]
What's the perfect age gap for children?
Is there such a thing as a perfect age gap? My mother loved that the four years between each of her children gave her one-to-one time with each baby, just as their older sibling started school. Amongst my friends it seems common-place to begin trying for a second shortly after baby’s first birthday – aiming […]