Parenting Teens - Happy Birthday to my Beautiful Teenager

Happy 13th birthday to my amazing daughter Kezia Rose. 

My fourth child has at last reached the milestone of becoming a teenager. One big brother and two big sisters have gone through it already and are now making their way in the big wide world as adults. Kezia has waited for it to be her turn for so long. She has been so grown-up for such a long time, but now she can officially, at long last, call herself a teen!

So many people complain about the teenage years, but for me, it's one of my favourite stages of parenting. By this age, your child is well on the way to becoming the adult they will one day become. You see in them all the years of hard work that we as parents have put into their upbringing. You recognise family traits, quirks and ideologies, combining with their own individuality and uniqueness. They have their own ideas and expectations, and are at the brink of forging their own path through life.

Identities are explored through the medium of clothing, hairstyles, make-up and music. Rather than recoiling at the ripped skinny jeans and baggy band tee, the black nail varnish, back combed hair and the thick eyeliner, I rejoice in the fact that my daughter is finding herself. Her punk rock and grunge tastes mirror my own teenage choices.  Music gets louder, but as Nirvana and The 1975 blare out from her room, I smile at her playlist. Instead of shouting at her to keep it down, I sing along with the songs. Ian's vinyl collection of LPs from the 70s and 80s are suddenly back in demand and we have many a session rocking out in the living room. 

I have always maintained that open and honest communication with your child, recognising their right to their own opinions without judgment, is the key to parenting a teen. I love that we can discuss anything. Nothing is off limits, there is no embarrassment or censorship. She knows that whatever she is going through, I have probably been through something similar. I admit to my past mistakes and share the wisdom that has come from my age and experience. Growing up is never going to be plain sailing and I know problems are inevitable, but as long as we can discuss things with honesty and without fear, nothing is insurmountable. Burying my head in the sand is never an option. There will be relationships with boys and the temptation of numerous vices, but preparing them for such eventualities is better than denying they exist. Equipping kids with the tools to make good decisions is fundamentally important, and something I have tried to give to my kids from the word go.

Kezia is such a great person: disarmingly charming, funny with a very quick, dry wit and extremely loving and caring. I know there is a school of thought that says you should never be your teenager's friend and that if they don't say they hate you at least once, you've somehow failed as a parent. To that, I say utter rubbish! Kezia is without doubt my friend as well as my daughter. Why would I ever not want someone as wonderful as her in my life as a friend as well as a daughter? She has so much to offer and I enjoy her company no end. We can laugh together, cry together and have fun together. Long may it last.

Sharing tastes in clothing, music and films has meant there is no generation gap in our home. I remember growing up in a house where my dad's tastes hadn't evolved since the 1950s. The modern culture that I enjoyed was utterly alien to him and he made no secret of hating it all. My kids have never had to deal with that. Both myself and Ian are totally open to anything new and the kids love retro stuff. We love the same films, TV shows and music. I'll happily listen to 5 Seconds of Summer in the car and watch Misfits on Netflix. And Kezia loves her dad helping her to bleach and rip her jeans to make them look punk rock, just like we used to in the eighties. Sharing experiences is such a unifying thing.

I utterly adore my family. We have grown up together, evolved together and all have a strong allegiance for Team McD! Life is too short for fighting with your children. I believe in compromise and discussion rather than hard fast rules and laying down the law. I believe in choosing happiness and laughter over grounding or confiscating mobile phones or laptops. I don't enforce that my children do chores, I'd rather they helped out if they wanted to. I never forget that my kids have rights, just as I do, and finding a solution to problems is better than 'winning' an argument with them. Yes, they might be 'under my roof' - but it's their roof too.

I only have to look at my older kids to know that I have raised three amazing, well rounded and successful adults, who are still so close and connected to us. They are some of the best friends I have in the world. I am now raising my wonderful teenager Kezia with the same love and respect. I wouldn't want things any other way. Teenagers rock as long as you are still in touch with your own inner teen! 

So happy birthday Kezia - my beautiful teenage dirtbag! We're in this together - so let's enjoy it!

Horrifying Haribo for Halloween

This Halloween, I am preparing for the annual Trick or Treaters with a little help from HARIBO. They have sent me a Trick or Treat multipack, some Minions Gone Batty, some Horror Mix and a tub of their Share the Fun treat packs. The neighbouring kids will love to get their fangs into these treats. Having individual mini-bags to hand out makes it quick and easy when little ghouls come knocking.

The Limited Edition Minions Gone Batty put a spooky Halloween twist on everybody's favourite yellow characters while the Horror Mix gives kids witch's hats, spiders, snakes, bats and brooms to munch on. They are great for sharing at parties. Each Trick or Treat bag has ten small packs of assorted HARIBO, while the Share the Fun tub contains twenty four mini bags. That's plenty to keep the Trick or Treaters happy!

Getting my Bake On with Bacofoil

It's the grand final of the Great British Bake Off next week and we are all extremely excited to find out who will take this year's crown. I'm hoping that Tamal will take first place. Watching the series always inspires me to get baking, although the show stoppers and technical challenges are a bit out of my league!

I love baking some good, home made goodies for the family. Whether I'm making Oreo brownies or Red Velvet cupcakes or a vegan chocolate orange cake, home baking always go down well with everyone.

Bacofoil have sent me some of their Easy Bake Non-Stick Paper and their 2 in 1 Parchment and Foil to try out when I bake. I am already a convert to the Bacofoil Non-Stick Kitchen Foil so I was very interested in trying out their other baking products. I now have a drawer full of Bacofoil products in my kitchen!

The Bacofoil Easy Bake Non-Stick Paper is non-stick on both sides so there is no need to grease tins or baking trays, simply line with the paper. It means nothing you bake is going to stick and washing-up is a breeze. It's time saving and gives you confidence in the end results. The paper is also great to use as a non-stick surface for rolling out pastry or dough and it can even be used to make a piping bag.

The 2 in 1 Parchment and Foil can be used in a host of creative ways. The non-stick parchment is lined with foil to insure an even bake. It also acts as an insulator to keep heat in if cooking something in a wrapped parcel. It also allows you to scrunch or shape the paper to create any shape needed for a recipe. The 2 in 1 parchment and foil is freezer and oven safe and the non-stick lining stops food sticking. It's a very useful product to have in the kitchen.

Even Mary Berry would be impressed I'm sure!

The Non-Stick Paper is £2.50 for a 10m roll and it is available in Morrisons stores. Find out more at www.bacofoil.co.uk.

Keep an eye out for a Cranberry and Sunflower Seed Cookie recipe, baked using the Non-Stick Paper, coming soon to the blog!

Personalised Halloween Storybook

I always love personalised gifts bearing my children's names. There is something so special about seeing your child's name emblazoned on something lovely.

Born Gifted have treated Freddy to a gorgeous personalised picture book featuring a spooky Halloween story where he is the star. Perfect to commemorate a child's first Halloween or to celebrate the occasion with a young child, the full colour pages include plenty of references to your child's name, in both the text and in the illustrations.

The softback book "Freddy on Halloween Night" comes with a personalised dedication on the front page, making this a lovely gift. The fun rhyming story tells the tale of Freddy's Halloween. Dressed up as a ghost, he meets a whole array of scary characters. At first Freddy is a bit frightened of all the spooky costumes, but he soon discovers that there is no need to be afraid. It definitely makes Halloween seem a lot less scary to little ones when they realise who is underneath the fancy dress outfits. A funny twist in the tale on the last page turns the story on its head and shows children that there is no need to fear make-believe monsters.

The paper is glossy and the illustrations are fun. Little ones will love sharing the rhythmic text and older kids will enjoy reading it themselves and spotting their name throughout the story.

On Halloween Night personalised book from Born Gifted is £9.99 and dispatched in 3 working days of ordering. Standard delivery is £2.95 or free for orders over £40. Born Gifted also stock an exciting range of lovely gifts and toys, both traditional and unusual, for babies and children.

www.borngifted.co.uk

Little Stars - A Hetty Feather Adventure from Jacqueline Wilson

Hetty Feather has started a new chapter in her life as she embarks on the road to stardom as a glamorous music hall artiste along with her dearest friend Diamond. They dramatically escape from Tanglefield's Travelling Circus and eventually seek the bright lights of London's theatre world, dreaming of a glittering future. They become the Little Stars of Miss Ruby's show, performing alongside many colourful acts including a face from the past. But life at the Cavalcade Theatre proves dangerous for the girls when Miss Ruby's nephew starts paying unwanted attention to Hetty. She has to fight to protect little Diamond and find a good future for them both.

The book introduces new characters alongside old friends. The return of Bertie, the butcher's boy, brings some drama into Hetty's life as she struggles to understand her feelings for him. Flirty Bertie has become quite the star on the stage since they last saw one another. Hetty wonders what her future will be, thinking about husbands and settling down. Attending her first love Jem's wedding further adds to her confusion. Has she lost her one chance at true happiness?

Will the girls find a place they can call home? Will Hetty's dream of being a successful actress come true? Will Bertie ever figure in her future? These questions are explored in this thrilling tale of stardom, heartbreak, love, loss and self-discovery.

Jacqueline Wilson's style brings to life a time long ago, when Mrs Beeton, workhouses, penny farthings, music halls and frilly frocks were the norm. It gives a gentle insight into Victorian England and gives today's readers a chance to see what life was like for girls like Hetty Feather. Nick Sharratt's illustrates the front cover and adds a silhouette sketch to start each new chapter.

This is the fifth Hetty Feather story from Jacqueline Wilson, so fans of the wonderful and irrepressible Victorian girl will delight in catching up on her latest quest for adventure. The book contains some slightly mature themes and is aimed at girls aged 9 - 12 years old.

Little Stars will be published by Doubleday on October 8th in hardback for £12.99. It will also be available as an e-book.

Little Live Pets Cleverkeet Playground Set Review

Freddy has been a big fan of Little Live Pets ever since we attended the Little Live Pets Takeover event at Eureka back in the summer of 2014. The interactive animal toys give children the experience of handling toys that act like the real creatures, which respond to their touch and voice. Freddy loves the birds, which mimic what you say to them and sing songs. He was delighted to have been sent one of the latest Little Live Pets toys from Character Options; the Cleverkeet, which comes with its own interactive playground playset. 

Taking the interaction even further, the Little Live Pets Cleverkeet not only responds to your voice, sings and talks, it also dances, drives a cart, swings on a perch, flaps his wings, shakes his head and eats food, all the while chatting to whoever is playing with him. It certainly is very clever!

The Cleverkeet comes with demonstration batteries and will do a selection of his interactions in demo mode. Once replaced with 2 AAA batteries and switched on, the full functionality of the bird is unleashed. You can name him and he will respond to that name during play. He even comes with his own adoption certificate. Freddy called his Cleverkeet Squirtle.

The Cleverkeet chats away asking to be positioned on the swing, at the food bowl, on the hand perch or in the cart. It also likes to dance in front of the mirror on its perch and asks you if you have any tunes that you can play for him. Freddy had the Cleverkeet dancing along to Britney Spears and while it grooved away it told him that the song was awesome! It's really good fun.

The Talk to Me and Talkback functions allow the Cleverkeet to record and repeat phrases and use them during play. Sometimes it will mash up phrases to make funny sentences, which amused Freddy no end. For example it started saying that it was really good at bananas instead of dancing, which Freddy thought was pretty hilarious. The Cleverkeet can also be quite sassy, again making Freddy laugh. When on the removable hand perch, it will copy back what is said instantly, just like a real talking parakeet does. Sometimes, it will ask you to ask it a question and will reply to any yes/no type question with a comment similar to a magic 8 ball. The level and complexity of the chatter is really quite impressive.

The Cleverkeet really gets going when placed in the handcart. Once correctly positioned, it will tilt its body up and down to propel the handcart forward. This is a great addition to the toy that can be used independently from the rest of the playset. The Cleverkeet is also very good at swinging on the swing perch, making its body rock to and fro, creating its own momentum. These independent movements take the imaginative play to a whole new dimension. The flapping, bobbing, tilting and head movements definitely add extra action and realism to the interactive nature of the toy.

Petting the Cleverkeet unlocks extra animations and sounds when it is in the cart, on the swing, eating or being held. The more you play with it, the more varied the interaction becomes. Children feel like they are really taking care of the Cleverkeet, meeting its needs and having fun. If you stop interacting with it, it tries to get your attention for a while by making sounds, but will eventually fall asleep. You can wake it up and resume playing with it whenever you want to. It remembers what it has learned, but can be reset if needed, for renaming and to delete stored recordings.

All in all, this is a great addition to the Little Live Pets family. It's fun, with good interaction and it teaches children about what it means to look after something (even if it is just a toy). Freddy really enjoys playing with it, in particular with the recording and repeating functions. He will sit for ages making it say silly things or speak in funny voices. Freddy also loves the physical aspect of the interaction, with the cart, the dancing, the wing flapping and the swinging. Having the Cleverkeet on the hand perch and being able to carry it around with you is also a nice touch, meaning you are not restricted to playing in the playground itself.

At around the £60 mark, this is poised to be a popular toy this Christmas. Perfect if you don't want a pet but want all the fun of a super smart feathered friend to keep the kids amused! This innovative toy gives children a unique experience through its interactive functions. There is definitely hours of fun to be had with this toy, and even when not in use, it will look lovely sat on a shelf.

The Little Live Pets Cleverkeet is aimed at children aged 5 and up.

Here is a video of Freddy demonstrating some of the functions while he plays with his new super smart, interactive feathered friend!


                           

Star Wars CrocsLights and Crocband Jaunt Rain Boots from Crocs #review

When I was contacted by Crocs to try out some of their range, I was surprised to see that the brand offers so much more than just their famous range of classic clogs. In fact, they sell sneakers, boots, wellies, loafers, flats, flips and sandals too, in a host of colours and designs. There are classic Crocs for kids featuring favourite characters from Star Wars, Minions, Frozen and The Avengers. There are also some great wellies and boots that would see them through the colder weather. There is an extensive men's range too.

Freddy was sent a pair of Kids CrocsLights Star Wars Darth Vader Clogs. The black clogs feature a red strap with the Star Wars logo on the back. A permanent Darth Vader Jibbitiz charm decorates the front of the shoe. Other Star Wars themed Jibbitz are available to purchase to add further intergalactic decoration, attaching to the holes in the front of the shoe. Around the sole is a funky light up light sabre, which flashes red when the shoe is stamped on the ground. The effect delights kids of all ages who will feel that the force is with them!

Star Wars fans will adore these shoes. They are sturdy, lightweight, comfortable to wear and easy for kids to put on and take off independently. Freddy likes to wear his when he has his swimming lessons because they are so easy to manage: he can go sockless and they don't get soggy!

Freddy says "My Star Wars Crocs are amazing and I love them! The light saber is really cool on the side." So that's a definite thumbs up from him. He has been demonstrating the flashing lights to everyone he meets. I'm willing his feet not to grow for a while yet, because he will be gutted when they are too small.

The Star Wars light up Crocs are £39.99 and available in sizes up to size 3.

I received a pair of women's Crocband Jaunt rain boots in navy, the perfect welly style boot for the wet weather we've been having recently! They are made from fully moulded Croslite material, which is waterproof, lightweight and durable. They have a stylish retro stripe running around the sole and at the top of the boot are two reinforced holes for pulling the boot on. The sole has good grip, perfect for being out in the rain. There are two holes at top of the boot for attaching Jibbitz charms to personalise them if wanted.

Wearing this boot feels very different to ordinary rubber wellies, They are so light and bouncy underfoot and the moulded Croslite is stiffer and feels more sturdy. The fit is roomy with good width and are spacious around my calf.

These boots are going to be great for the garden, winter walks or for splashing in puddles with the kids. They keep your feet dry and warm.  They can be easily rinsed off after being worn keeping them looking good for the season.

The Crocband Jaunt Boots are £39.99 and available in a range of colours. They are available in sizes 3 to 9.

Find these and the rest of the range at www.crocs.co.uk