Calling all lurkers! This is YOUR week: prizes to be won!

[RebeccaMumsnet]

AHOY! LONGTIME LURKERS!

We know you’re out there and we long to welcome you into the light. If you’ve been reading the boards for a while, but haven’t quite plucked up the courage to jump into the fray - or simply haven’t been able to settle on a username from your longlist - then this is YOUR week.

We’ve created a new topic - Newbies’ corner, especially for you. We’ve updated our ‘getting started’ guidelines in your honour (and even put them into video form, to make things easier still). We’ve come up with a guide to Mumsnet’s acronyms, so you’ll be spared the embarrassment of having to ask what a BFP is, or what you’d be doing if you LTB. We’ve summarised the key things you need to know about Mumsnet in a handy infographic (click here to discover exactly how many teabags we get through a week in MNHQ), and gathered the most legendary threads in the site’s history in one place, so you can do your background reading.

We've got a clutch of offers available exclusively to de-lurked MNers - and as if all that isn’t enough, we’re also offering spot prizes to those of you who make their your first post this week. Yes, really! So if you want to be in the running for

-two pairs of Kickers and £100 vouchers from <a class="break-all" href="http://track.webgains.com/click.html?wgcampaignid=185523&wgprogramid=10431&clickref=competitionthread&wgtarget=www.tower-london.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tower London

• a midweek family break for four at Crieff Hydro
• a Benefit beauty hamper worth £200
• a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Bloom and Wild
• tickets to the Ideal Home show
• Audible are giving all new members five free books

among many other prizes, get posting now.

And! We'll be awarding all stalwarts who extend the hand of friendship to newbies with your very own halo emoji, to say thanks

So come on folks, don't be shy: venture on below and tell us what you think of MN, and we'll pop your name into the lurkers' hat to win some fab goodies. Happy posting! MNHQ

I'm newish.

I kinda just lurk and read stuff and think yup that's me too. Or LTB lol.

Anyway I'm 35, mother of 3, failing at my 2nd marriage...based in Staffordshire.

I'm a seasoned lurker but have just found out what YANBU means and I feel like my Mumsnet career might begin here...

I feel like a bit of a guilty lurker, although I have posted previously a few times- nothing major though!
I love reading about product tests- I'm always on the lookout for new things to try and I like to know what others think too! I also love AIBU threads and the weekly talk round up email is hilarious! I don't like to comment on people's AIBU threads as I don't want to offend anyone about their own personal problems, although I realise the whole idea is that the OP is scouting for opinions, I just don't feel brave enough to give it!
I love the competition threads where mumsnet themselves ask for opinions or ideas- I don't feel like I'll offend anyone with my opinion there as it doesn't feel like a person asking for it but a company.
Hope this makes sense! Thanks for this thread!

I'm thinking of starting a Kumon franchise but there seems to be a lot of negative comments about their method of teaching. I would be very interested to hear any views of parents that have used Kumon and what they feel the positives and negatives are.

Help! Is my childminder in breach of contract. I advised her that I would collecting my son early from her by text saying I will arrive around 4pm. To which she replied ok. I then get a call from the school saying my son was there and that the childminder said I was collecting him! At no point did I instruct her to not collect him school and I have proof on my text messages. I sent an email to complain and she rang me shouting at me it was my fault. I do not want my son going back there but the notice period I 6 weeks!

There used to be a thread on here where parents who had partners working away shared their woes. It was mostly army wives but I can't find it.

My husband works away 3 weeks and is only home for 1.
It's hardsad
I've just had a tough couple of days where the school our DS goes to has lost their probationer teacher (she was homesick, I think) and now they can't find a supply teacher to cover, so they are going to cover it with 5 different teachers.
DH has not been available to talk to so I've tried to contain my panic alone.
It didn't work. I foolishly put up a Facebook message group asking other mothers in the class if they were as worried as me and what we ought to do to help the HT sort it.
It went wrong, the other mothers, well a minority, didn't seem fussed and eventually told me to just go see the head teacher if I had a worry.
Fair enough, that is , of course the correct route but I had wondered if a meeting would be a better idea rather than a number of us individually asking her to repeat herself. But thought I'd get the lay of the land first.
I came away feeling very foolish and completely unsupported.
One mother even said that I ought to watch out that I wouldn't make the HT feel like it was a witch hunt shock
Omg that really rocked me, it was the last thing I wanted to do.

Anyway, upshot is, I feel alone and that I'm struggling to cope.
There have been lots of tears today over it and that's not really like me.
My mum died suddenly 2 years ago and in this I am really missing her and her advice.
I would have turned to her First before (given the DH is so hard to contact) but I felt I had no one to contact and reached out to the wrong people.
I'm looking for the right people and MN was so great when my LOs were little (DS7,DD9)
I hope I can find them here again.

Sorry to hear that Fairysnuf Facebook groups can be rubbish with supporting people. I think Mumsnet is good at offering support and advice when someone is feeling rubbish. Sometimes in with that you can get more robust opinions but other posters will usually handle them.

For what it's worth I think you are right to have some concerns, as younger children do need to develop a close relationship with their class teacher.

To other newbies, I've only been here about 18 months, I lurked for a while, posted on a few threads just to feel my way and now I post really regularly., although I've only ever started a couple of threads. What I love is there is usually something new to catch you attention and you end up having opinions on discussions that you never knew you had. I've become quite a parking expert

Whether or not I'm a prizewinner, I might just be eligible for some kind of award, as I must be one of your longest Lurkers - at least 8 years, I reckon, in one guise or another.

Probably the reason I've lurked rather than posted is the sheer razor sharp wit of Mumsnetters, which frankly can be a bit daunting.

But, more than that, that same wit is also truly, utterly, mascara-rivulet-inducingly hysterical. I've lost count of the number of times I've been near asphyxiated, unable to get the breath to share with DH what I'm finding so funny. Mumsnet Classics has the power to bring sunshine on any miserable evening I can think of.

And only last week, the person next to me on the bus moved because I was chortling out loud like a weirdy (how can the simple phrase 'U kmm' be responsible for that?)

So, whether I scuttle back off under my cushions now I've posted this, who can say - but please take a bow Mumsnetters, you are true legends.

(Oh and for anyone who is yet to find the joy of U kmm, meet Richard. http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/amiibeingunreasonable/2528860-To-be-shocked-at-the-rudeness-of-Childcare-co-uk-on-their-app)

Hi mum's , please can someone recommend an excellent tuition centre in and around east London I can take my child. I have only joined Kumon for about a month now andbits not suiting my needs. I feel I am the one doing the teachers work and still paying them just for do called work sheets. Thought of explore learning but I have read some bad comments about them...mainly computer based learning...

Oh god this is brilliant. I'm dying to know what TAAT means!

Thread about a thread :)

Mostly lurking.. I'm trying to start posting on threads. Getting better..

cookie am I being unreasonable, sister in law, darling husband

D(letter) is generally darling husband/son/daughter etc
(letter)il is sister/brother/mother etc in law

STBXH is one I struggled with - soon to be ex husband

I'm a long time lurker, but post occasionally. Classics is my go to page if I'm feeling down, they're hilarious especially the legendary 'fat balls' I love how there is always somebody around to talk/answer you even if it's 3.30AM and you're up with a baby feeling lonely.

Hello mums
Never ever posted before on anything so here goes. I feel isolated ATM because I'm trying to get my children through childhood with the least amount of artificial rubbish possible and im struggling. There we go. That's my mission!!!

Hi everybody,
I"m new here. I found this website because I'm trying to get as much info as possible about Cornwall and particullary about Penryn and the around area.
There might be the possibility that we (my two kids, my husband and me) will move to Cornwall due to my husband's job. We are currently living in The Netherlands...and I'm trying to get a picture about how it looks like to live there :)
Oh well!!!! I'm SO excited...I can not sleep
Would you be so kind to give me some suggestion?
First of all I have been trying to understand the UK school system...not really sure that I understood, but I will appreciate a lot if someone would be so kind to give me some review about some primary school in the area. My kids are 5 and 8 years old, and they have to learn English...
And also, can I ask some places name where you think it would be nice to live? We love the countryside, but we would prefer to be in an area where people are living the whole year and not only during the summer holiday!

Thanks a lot in advance
Cheers :D

Welcome new people. I have been here about 9 years , but don't have time to post much these days, so have reverted to lurking.

It's lovely to see you all here.

Maybe it's time to take the plunge- just posted on the relatively tame "baking" - next stop AIBU!

Hi
I'm new but have been lurking for years. I feel a bit nervous typing this and hope my grammar is okay so I don't get told off!

Just joined mumsnet and wanted to say hello. I get a lot of very useful information on mumsnet.

I've been lurking for a while now and this week I posted a few comments. It's kinda nerve wracking!

I have lurked for years, long enough to know about naice ham, Pom bears and penguin bollards (and to have favourite posters to watch out for). Like others have referenced it seems a bit daunting to start your own post, and so far my brief forays into specific topics have only earned me a thread killer badge. But hello to everyone and this site has me howling with laughter at times

One tip for people choosing a Username. There are some posters who get a bit sniffy about usernames with numbers at the end (not sure why). That's why I changed my name to SilverBirchWithout ... Without means with no numbers!

You can change your user name in the My Account section in the My Mumsnet link at the top right hand of a page.

Alternatively just be proud if those numbers

Name changing can be helpful if you become a regular poster and want to talk about something very personal or separate to your normal stuff you post.