New mums! Are you panicking about germs, sterilising and all round cleanliness?

A new study coming out of Northwestern University in Illinois found that women who have recently given birth have a much higher rate of obsessive-compulsive symptoms than the general population.

The study into post-partum OCD, which is described as large scale and longitudinal (in other words; qualified to have an opinion), found that 11 per cent of women at two weeks and six months postpartum experience significant obsessive-compulsive symptoms compared to 2 to 3 per cent in the general population. It’s not a large percentage of new mums but is certainly more than normal!

So firstly, what defines an obsessive compulsive disorder?

OCD can be described as repeated or unwanted thoughts or images that stimulate an anxious feeling. According study senior author Dana Gossett, M.D., chief and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (so again; qualified to have an opinion) OCD can interfere with normal day-to-day functioning, and in the context of parenting, meddle with appropriate care for the baby so much so that for the parent, the OCD becomes maladaptive and pathologic.

In simple terms, if the compulsive behaviour affects a mum’s ability to function as a mum, it may be classified as a psychological disorder.

OCD is usually triggered by stress, and the things mums are most likely to worry about are dirt or germs followed by compulsions to check that they did not ‘make a mistake.’

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In celebration of the Will and Kate’s royal baby, Krispy Kreme has announced plans to roll out a Bite and Reveal doughnut filled with blue or pink cream that will determine your baby’s gender with a bite.

How cute is that!?

And…

…with every Bite and Reveal doughnut you buy, you’ll have a chance to guess the sex of the royal baby, which will be marked on a Krispy Kreme prediction board.

There are a million cool scenarios that can be thought up with this swanky little Bite and Reveal doughnut at centre stage: send a special delivery to your partner (perhaps family too) at work; take a bite and post a pic; have a party (baby shower) and let the doughnuts to the talking; how about a ‘doughnut pile-up’ cake; or get friends and family to guess the sex by doughnut (baby needs calories, remember!).

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Here’s a typical scenario: your child falls, grazes her knee (usually whilst running or scooting), cries about it (at the top of her very loud voice).

Then: if you’re a super organised mum you’ll do a ‘quick fix’ with a plaster but if you’re the mum who never seems to have what you need when you need it (aka me), you’ll hope that kisses and cuddles will suffice until you can to a proper patch up at home.

When you get home: you’ll clean the graze with some warm water, dry it and put a plaster on it. And life goes on. (This is all in the case of a minor graze of course – nothing A&E worthy.)

But not if you’re my daughter.

With my daughter it’s not about the grazed knee at all.

If my three-year-old plants herself into the pavement with graze-inducing force, the first thing she does is feel embarrassed. This provokes an onset of tears, which gradually escalates as she becomes cognisant of the fact that she is in fact feeling pain somewhere on her body.

How she ascertains the degree of her reaction is whether her fall has produced blood. If it has – then there is a performance worth all of Meryl Streep’s Oscar winning moments. If not, then – praise the Lord! – howling should be kept at a minimum.

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How does your child react when meeting an unfamiliar dog on the street? My daughter is petrified. And I have no idea why.

Just the other day we took a walk to the shop and my daughter screeched a panicked “mummy mummy mummy” as a beautiful German Shepherd looking creature strolled past us. He was admittedly a big specimen but size is irrelevant in my three-year-old’s mind; Poodle, Chihuahua, Golden Retreiver, Great Dane – it’s all the same to her.

We don’t have a dog, I wish we did but our property is rented and our garden is not our own. So we don’t have a dog. But our family has dogs, including a Dachshund and bullterriers, and she is fine with them.

I’d chalk my daughter’s fear down to the unfamiliarity of the dogs she meets on the street, but she has also expressed the notion that cats will eat her. Maybe it’s her vivid imagination and the all-round unpredictability of animals that freak her out? Whatever the reason, I’m having to teach her how to behave around animals, dogs especially, so that’s he doesn’t unintentionally incite them.

My daughter is afraid so I don’t really have issues with her randomly approaching dogs but if you your child is an animal lover and can’t resist all things furry, here’s some children and dog safety tips:

• Ask permission from the owner (who will tell you whether dog is friend or foe). Continue reading →

Back in the day… the best thing about school photos was taking time out of class (I prayed for it to be maths) to exude a cheesy grin for a very bored photographer.

The backgrounds were blue or brown, usually motley, and the pose was classic; shoulders slightly angled with face looking straight ahead. Creativity was not a feature – except when it came to hair.

At my school, kids totally pimped their hair for the grand occasion. I, for one, was stuck in an 80s fashion capsule till about 1994, demonstrated by the side pony that punctuates every school photo from 1988. Like pretty much everyone with an old school photo in hand; I can do nothing other than shake my head and laugh out loud.

Nowadays, children (and parents) are given options – head and shoulders, full body, face only – and posing is encouraged – thumbs up, do a jump, bring your pom-poms to school or perhaps a samurai sword; it’s so much more fun.

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