So the question is, how should we talk to her about death, when should we… heck should we talk to a small child about death?

Best wishes

Family & Parenting Magazine reader

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If you are looking for the perfect new-mum/new-baby gift, then look no further than Jellybox. With a large collection of luxury gifts for boys and girls of assorted ages, it’s a really interesting concept for a business, especially when the media fills us with tales of woe and financial doom every day – by focussing on high quality, organic, beautiful products, Elizabeth Walters has created a business that whilst delivering value for money – delivers top quality goods.

In order to test out the service, we ordered a soft book for our 18monther. He’s just started to love his books and nothing he likes more that picking up a book and demanding some mummy or daddy time to flick through the pages with him… well at least until about 3 pages from the end where his excitement for the next book gets the better of him and he’s off to the bookshelf for the next one.

When the package arrived, you knew you were in receipt of something special. Everything about the packaging has been thought through with care and attention to the smallest details. We opened the outer box, branded with the Jellybox attractive colour scheme and inside was a fragranced, hand-packed Jellybox their trademark keepsake box come packaging.

As adults, it was impressive to see this level of care taken in the packaging, when we’re all so used to the polystyrene and wire contraptions that most children’s toys arrive in nowadays. As an 18 month old baby (not letting go yet ), ok, toddler, the thrill of opening a brightly coloured box, full of exciting packing materials only to find a wonderful soft book inside was almost too much.

I would highly recommend taking a look at the website www.jellyboxuk.com – there are gifts from £5 and the Jellybox keepsake box comes as standard for gifts above £20. For a gift for a new baby, it’s beautiful.

Planning a child’s party can be overwhelming for some parents, especially if they have never planned one before. Here are five simple steps of what needs to be done with some good advice:ersHe

1. Decide how much you want to spend and try and stick to it!

2. Set a suitable date and time for the party. If your child is in school then weekends work best, especially Saturdays. You can be more flexible with the little ones. It doesn’t matter if the party is not on their actual birthday. If you are planning to have an entertainer, or book a party venue then you will probably have to work around suitable dates. It’s a good idea to start planning your child’s party about 4-6 weeks in advance to allow plenty of time for on-line shopping and any cake orders.

Good times to have the party are… 11am to 1pm or 3.30pm to 5.30pm. Ideal for little ones too, as it works around nap times and parents then don’t have to worry about giving their kids lunch or supper as they would hopefully have eaten enough at the party! Two hours for the party is sufficient enough, otherwise kids tend to lose interest and parents get stressed out! Most party entertainers also charge for two hours.

3. Who to invite? This really depends on how big you want your party to be and what your limits are. It can be tricky not to invite all the children in your child’s class at school, especially when all the parents know each other! However, you shouldn’t feel compelled to invite every child in the class if you feel you cannot cope with so many kids. Quality of the party is more important than numbers! Your party will be more successful if you invited your child’s closest friends, this way you know they will get on well and have much more fun! A good number of kids to have at a party is between 8-16. (Most party tableware come in packs of 8!) It’s not mandatory that you invite the siblings of your child’s friends, or even parents (unless children are very young). Most parents enjoy the break from their kids and you won’t feel so much pressure to entertain adults.

4. Pick a party theme. Involve your child as much as possible in this, and once you have decided this, the fun of shopping for your kids party supplies can begin! But before you actually purchase the tableware supplies, it is useful to know how many children will be attending the party, as you don’t want to order too much or too little.

5. Send out your Invitations. It is best to give out your party invitations as soon as possible, 3 to 4 weeks in advance is recommended. Any earlier than this, the guests may end up losing their invitations or may even forget to reply! It does look better to choose an invitation card that fits into the party theme. Ensure that you request an RSVP and don’t forget to include your name, contact number/email on the invitation. If you don’t get a reply after 5 days, do remind them as some parents are just too busy!

About the author:

Razia Smith is a mum of 2 children who has recently decided to set up her own online kids party shop, where busy parents and carers can simply buy everything they need for their children’s parties in just a few clicks.

Website: http://www.bestkidsparty.co.uk
Contact: Razia Smith
Email: sales@bestkidsparty.co.uk

Planning a kids party for the first time? The basics you need to know!

As Richard Desmond took over Channel 5 there was always a danger that the programming could go to pot. However the results of the survey carried out within my own house have returned a rather different view – Channel 5 documentaries are now a regular on the viewing schedule and have managed to transcend the boundaries between celeb-gossip and hard hitting docs.

Kym Marsh was a teen mum with Emily and David her two not-so-little-now children, and with this experience under her belt, she’s out and about on the streets of Manchester offering support and advice to some current teen mums.

The documentary managed to draw attention to a range of issues faced by today’s teen mums (and all parents to a certain extent); including loneliness, financial worries, and striking the balance between being a caring mother and living a life of your own.

If you would like to see more then visit the Channel 5 site here. Unfortunately it appears it was a one off, but it left me wanting to see more. Come on Kym, let’s see you champion motherhood and present us with more documentaries.