The family dynamics of modern society are vastly different to those of older generations. Many, if not most, families live miles apart – countries apart – and it’s no longer a matter of popping into mum’s down the road to drop the kids off for an hour or two of respite.

A new study By One Poll highlights the importance of childcare support and reveals that 1 in 5 mums with toddlers are so exhausted by the pressures of parenting they only enjoy half the time they spend with their little ones.

* 52% of mums with children under 5 didn’t have any childcare support because they couldn’t afford it.

* 76% of mums wish for just an hour or two child-free time a week.

* 43% said they would employ more childcare if they could afford it.

* 25% of those who didn’t use any childcare said a lack of good quality care in their area was the reason.

The study also asked mums how they felt about using childcare:

* A positive 33% of all mums said childcare was a good thing for them and their children; half cited developing socialisation skills as the biggest positive for their child.

* But almost a quarter (22%) of said they felt guilty about using childcare.

Raising children, no matter the age, is tiring – and it’s okay to admit it. We love our babies and family is the most rewarding thing in the whole world… but it requires work and dedication and sometimes we need a little help!

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In our family my hubby is the one with green fingers.  Herbs are his forté and my little girl loves to help her daddy in the garden.

‘Helping’ usually entails digging up newly planted soil and scattering it everywhere but in flower beds and pots… where it should go. And my two-year-old has a stone fetish, which is great to observe but not so great to tidy.  That said; I love that my little girl is interested – the mess and mania is all part of the fun and learning and it is something really special when you get your kids gardening.

For parents who are keen to get their little ones involved in gardening, Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins, is working with MyGardenSchool to create a course on gardening for kids. Aimed at parents and grandparents, teachers and youth workers, the course is designed to encourage the next generation of gardeners.

The course designed to get your kids gardening is packed with engaging activity, exciting projects and practical approaches to gardening with children. Included in the four week online gardening course will be top gardening projects, how to grow vegetables, and top ten tips for gardening with children.

As the courses are online it is possible for people everywhere to be able to access this information, and then get straight out in the garden with the kids and get their hands dirty.

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I love make-up; eye-liner is my best friend and eye-shadow my guilty pleasure. I don’t wear it every day but when I ‘do my eyes’ it’s a matter of go big or go home!

My two-year-old daughter is besotted with my make-up. I have a small mirror that I usually work at, and Amelia hovers in front of my reflection and makes the whole make-up application process take about ten times its usual length of time. It’s like two divas fighting for a microphone.

Not only am I engaged in a battle for my reflection but I am constantly fishing for mascara, brushes and lip gloss that have found themselves suspiciously spirited away by a certain curious toddler.

My frustration (euphemism for raging anger) reached its max when I discovered a lipstick graveyard on my bed. Dear Amelia had used a stool to reach my hard-to-reach make-up drawer… she then proceeded to extract my beautiful lipsticks, the contents of which she pulverised with her excited little fingers.

Sigh.

My solution was to buy Amelia her own make-up. Now, don’t panic ­– I know she’s only two. I got her some ‘eye-shadow’ that was basically lip gloss… not too detrimental to her beautiful, young skin and hopefully enough to distract her from my make-up application process.

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Today I decided to do something really ambitious. Shop without a pram.

My daughter is nearly two; she has legs and loves to walk. I just needed milk and nappies. The shop is only a bus ride away.

What was I thinking!? Leaving home without the most useful shopping tool for Mum?

So we set off and I was soon to discover that today, of all days, so happened to be one when my precious child had woken up in one of her psychotic ‘dart hither and thither with reckless abandon’ moods.

As soon as Amelia set foot out of our front door she took on the persona of a caged animal that has been set free after years of captivity. I sighed and persevered.

Amelia was brilliant on the bus, brilliant in the shop (within the confines of a trolley) and brilliant on the way back… until we dismounted the bus.

To cut the trauma of a long story short – getting a toddler to obey your commands whilst encumbered with 46 nappies, 4 pints of milk, Halloween paraphernalia (it could not be helped) and no pram is not all that easy. It’s like she knew my powers were limited and took full advantage!

Darting into shops and driveways, through gates and up staircases… sigh.

The expedition ended with a screaming child sitting on the pavement refusing to budge and an infuriated mummy calling on every possible reserve of patience. And a great deal of sighing.

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Need a unique birthday party idea? A cooking party is a great one. It may seem fairly obvious (and a whole bunch of work) but what about a cooking party with a difference!?

Cooking party company Splat Cooking has just launched ‘Molecular Gastronomy and Food Science Parties’. The idea is to incorporate cooking and science to make food even more fun.

I am all for encouraging kids to go all Heston Blumenthal on their food! Eating is amazing and food is for enjoying – sometimes the best flavours come from experimenting with ideas that were initially suspect.

Splat Cooking is offering three new party themes, all complete with mad scientist lab coats and protective goggles….a completely fun and unique birthday party idea for kids.

Splatsploding Party – aimed at 5 year olds and up. The party, a mixture of science and cooking, is themed around dinosaurs, space, fashion or fairytales. The children learn to cook and also take part in cool, food science experiments such as making edible slime, creating an exploding volcano and seeing whether the birthday child can ‘walk on custard’.

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