Toilet training at night can be utterly tiresome – let’s be honest! Stripping a bed in the middle of the night with eyes half open is not all that much fun. In fact, it’s not fun at all.

But there is a product that can make the whole process easier, a solution to bed wetting: the Brolly Sheet.

Designed by a mum who knows, Brolly Sheets aim to take the bother out of bedwetting. The Brolly Sheet has tuck in wings to hold the sheet firmly in place, a colour fast, 100% cotton top, a super absorbent middle layer and a water proof backing (not PVC or vinyl) to protect the mattress.

It’s tucked in on top of a fitted sheet and simply replaced when wet. There’s no need to completely strip the bed, saving time, washing and sanity.

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Maths equals boring in my books. When I was at school I could think of nothing more un-fun than punching numbers and learning tables. And things have not changed.

But Maths is essential and the plan is not to pass my aberration onto my child. That said; I am sure that there are many kiddies who feel as I did (and do), which is why I think Multibandz’ new timetable wrist bands might be a pretty great idea.

Accessories to help children learn maths sounds like a pretty good idea!

There are 12 in a pack and each brightly coloured band has a different times table on it (from 1 to 12). The bands even glow-in-the-dark… just in case your child feels like a little after-dark learning (feel free to laugh out loud). The bands have been carefully coloured (with silver and gold being the 11 and 12 times tables) and the idea is this:

Try giving your child one band at a time, starting with the x1 table.  As they learn each new table, reward them with the next times table.  When they reach the x11 table, they are rewarded with silver and then finally with the x12 table they are rewarded with GOLD.  Go for GOLD!

Okay, so here’s my sneaking suspicion: I can’t imagine that wearing times table accessories would complement the ‘cool factor’ in any way, shape or form.

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My nearly-two-year-old has just migrated from cot to bed. She looks so small lying on her ‘big girl’ mattress, engulfed in a duvet and piles of teddies – my baby is growing up! *tear*

So what prompted the move? The primary answer: a very excited daddy. We bought Amelia a bed a few months ago when we moved and my husband has been itching to build it ever since.

Of course, he is not the one who has to ‘sleep train’ her every nap time but the demon of DIY has a very strong voice and I knew Daddy was struggling to resist. So, in defiance of my tendency to procrastinate, I gave him the ‘go ahead’.

The short of it: my little girl is sleeping in a bed because her daddy likes to build things. And I spend an hour each day standing sentry outside my daughter’s bedroom door.

Part of Amelia’s the excitement over her new bed is the realisation that she is no longer confined by the bars of a cot. With this new found Freedom, however, comes responsibility – not to abuse said freedom. As a mum, it’s my job to make sure that Amelia understands her newly acquired freedom and complies with the resulting responsibility.

She goes to sleep easily at night – playing in the dark is not all that much fun. The lamp in her room is timed to turn on at the same time every morning; Amelia is allowed to get out of bed when her little light goes on. She understands this and, more importantly, listens.

But afternoon naps are proving more of a challenge. As my daughter lies down in her bed, I explain the rules (that she is to stay in bed, sleep, and may only get out of bed when I come in and fetch her) then I leave and wait to see what happens.

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Christmas is a time of indulgence, and while most of us adults know that we need to keep a lid on it or end up paying for it with our waistlines come January, it’s easy to forget that too much of a good thing at Christmas is bad for our children, too.

It would be almost impossible to ban edible Christmas goodies in my house, and I’m sure would result in my being evicted in favour of the chocolates hanging on the tree! So instead of denying any of us the pleasure of treating our taste buds, this year I’m planning on stepping up the exercise to balance it all out. Here are some Christmas health tips for kids :

* Lots of walks in the crisp, Christmas air: if you ask me, there’s nothing nicer and more Christmassy than wrapping up warm and going out for a walk over crunchy ground, taking in the winter foliage and collecting bits of holly or fir cones for a festive table decoration.

* Snowball fights! If we are lucky enough to have a white Christmas, we will burn up a few calories by playing snowballs, building snowmen, and sledging. Even just walking will work up more of a sweat than normal as we trudge through the snow and try to keep our balance on the ice.

* Many cities have temporary outdoor ice-rinks during the festive period, so get online and book your family a session of skating. It’s great fun and some have facilities to push small children round on sleighs, so no-one need miss out.

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School uniforms – bo-o-ring! For our children, that is. School uniforms are a God-send for parents; no need to fork out buckets of cash on cool-for-school kit and no ‘what I want to wear, mummy’ versus ‘what is appropriate, child’ arguments in the morning.

Regardless… school uniforms are just plain dull. I definitely thought so when I was a child. My school uniform was brown, orange and white – it can’t get any worse than that, seriously.

So, what would our children rather wear to school?

According to research by toy giant, Playmobil, the fantasy school uniform for boys is a Roman soldier’s helmet on their head, a secret agent’s suit accessorised with sunglasses and high tech gizmos, finished off with a pair of trainers.

Girls take a daintier approach opting for a ballerina’s tutu, crowned with a princess tiara and, like the boys, a pair of trainers to complete the look.

If I had pitched up at school with a black hair clip instead of a brown one, the fury would fly – never mind a tiara and a tutu! I guess that ‘keeping school…school’ meant that the novelty of our childhood fantasies didn’t have a chance to lose their colour.

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