Jan '07 part 15: a big (calorie-free) bar of chocolate to cheer us up

[2Happy]

And dairy-free too if needed.

It's not been the best month for a lot of Januaries has it?

OMG - before I forget, did anyone else watch Supernanny last night?
I was in tears big time. It was so sad.

Boo - think Northampton must be the only place where the sun isn't shining!

we had a crappy night - not because of Z for a change, but because of dh. he just would not shut up! kept snoring, then talking in his sleep. then the one time i did manage to get to sleep, he rolled over and cuddled up to me, leaving me with about an inch of bed. i took one of the sides of Z's cot off this morning, and i have to say Hurrah for Ikea cots, it is so sturdy that it stands up perfectly well even without the side! and it means i can get to him easier in the night without needing to bend double to reach into the cot! soooo tired though...

Have you really been lurking on the lentil threads, Lizz?

That programme was horrible, I kept thinking about it when I went to bed.

Is 10/10 a lentil thread?! Oh No!
I'll have you know I made bean hotpot last night...from scratch (even soaked my own beans the night before!) am off to feed LO a fruit shoot in case my lentil weaverism starts to show in RL!

You'll be wearing a mooncup soon

What happened on Supernanny?

supernanny my F*cking arse.

that programme, and all programmes like that should be banned IMO.

Its not rocket science bringing up children, and although I do have truobles with DS1 I know how to make it better.

These people on programmes like this have let their children run riot since day 1 and that where the trouble come from.

I remember watching one once (MN had been debating it so I watched the repaet) and there was a mum with 3 or 4 children the oldest and youngest were, quite frankly horrible little sods, calling the mum a C*nt and phtsically fighting her. Punches and all sorts.
She'd just stand there and let them do it, with the occiasional "No, thats not very nice" type comment thrown in.

My chin was on he floor.

I'm not claiming to be supermum, christ I know I'm along way from perfect when it comes to parenting but its not rocket science. If youssay NO and mean no it's generally a good place to start.

Am feeding ds2 so bored so did a search for you Wilkie thread It says the progrsmme is repeated

LTH it was on the news (why? Is it really news?) that (I only caught half of it so not sure) either one of the psychologists or the BBC as a whole has decided not to do any more Little Angels programmes. They felt that they had already got messages of good parenting across with the series (what's the plural of series??) up to now, and now felt uncomfortable with the sometimes car crash tv like nature of some of the programmes. (Alternatively, there are lots of samey progs out there and they aren't generating the viewers they used to )

This was particularly awful as the mother had lost a baby due to cot death at 11 months and broke down frequently during the programme. They were suggesting her grief was preventing her disciplining the older child who had been two and a half at the time. It was dreaful to watch and I turned it off.

I would have done te same MrsC, what a stupid thing to suggest. personally if I was that poor woman I'd let my boys do as the wanted, when they wanted as long as there was resepct I wouldn't care because I'd jus be happy to still have them.....
Honestly those programmes make my blood boil.....its hardly entertainment is it.

I'm glad BBC etc have decided to stop them. It sabout bloody time.

It was really really sad, and you could see why they had problems. The oldest had a severe temper which they thought was caused due to trying to get his parents attention when he was 2 and his younger brother had died. They also had an angelic little 15 month old who they couldnt pay much attention to because of the 4 year olds behaviour.
The parents were at their wits end, I felt so sorry for the mother, she was just beaten by it all and looked in dire need of a weekend away.
But when SuperNanny sorted it out and he turned into a good boy and they built a garden in memory of their little dead brother, I was sobbing like a baby, and so was DP. It was so sad.

BUT - they lived in Northampton in a huge house, which I am assuming was a council house, but the garden was massive. The size of a football pitch at least. Seriously UD, I'd look into council housing in Northampton! They lived fairly near a large park too. Didnt look to scuzzy an area but you never can tell.

well there wasn't respect, there was a lot of spitting, punching and so on. What they needed was some serious family help/therapy etc, not effin supernanny.

Morning!

Dh back at work so 1st morning on my own. Have been out for a walk already with the lightweight buggy and feeling good

I didn't watch supernanny either last night as it drives me mad. I agree with LTH's sentiments if you say no you mean no and to start from day 1. We see all sorts of problems with my BIL's children because they're allowed to do what they like but it's so difficult to step in and say "you're making an ar** out of parenting!"

Wilkie - hope work's going ok. We're having our lo christened this sunday as well!! We did think about cancelling after my op but decided as it's only family we're inviting back to our house they can all muck in and at least I'll be forgiven for the mess

Off to do a bit of tidying before dh comes home and orders me to rest!

Lady next door to me has a 3 year old, and I can sometimes hear her threaten him with the naughty step. But she is very lily livered (hopefully not a MNer) and never seems to see it through. Its always, "this is your last chance", "I mean it, one more chance"..."seriously, stop doing this, or I'll get angry...." etc. I know its evil, but its funny to hear.

I am sure I will get my come uppance when my time comes!

DD came home froma friends and asked if we could have a naughty step.

And another thing...
That SuperNanny woman is a bit odd isnt she? She talks like she is a small child. "Jo, Jo is not very happy with you for doin that" etc...its all very small short words. And she keeps trying to get into the camera shot too. Its funny.

BTW - talking of last night's TV, did anyone watch the reataurant over on bbc2 with raymond blanc?

We got really excited over it because up until a couple of years ago rb did a similar competition every year in conjunction with the mail on sunday and the prize was a year's scholarship at his famous restaurant.

And out of thousands of applicants dh won it in 1999! He was quite famous for a while (in those circles )

We have a lean to/shed thing outside, and I have already told LO that if he is naughty I will lock him in here. (extreme naughty step!) I think he understood me.

(we have a naughty step )

on the no means no thing - i've started to say No to Z when he grabs my boob and pulls and scratches me (i am covered in bruises! ) and last night i lost it a bit and said NO really loudly, and his bottom lip quivered and he just looked terrified and burst into tears! i felt sooooo bad about it.

i don't really "do" naughty steps - when my godchildren were little, dgs had a "paddy pad" where he used to go to have some time on his own, but he would go there by himself, it was his space where his little sister couldn't go, and that worked well but only till he was 4 or so. i like the idea of alfie kohn but i'm sure i won't implement it. i'll be the mum you see in town on a saturday afternoon screaming ZAAAAAAC, GEDDERE NOW!!!!

I raise my voice alot with Aidan it isnt that easy sometimes when you have a toddler playing you up. Lizz you have it all to come .

I saw the RB programme last night, it was good but I wondered why they forced them to open after only a week of preparation. Mind, canmummy, your dh can come round and cook supper anytime! (I meant that in a culinary sense, somehow it sounds dirty when I read it back !) glad to hear you're feeling stronger, don't overdo it though!!

I think parenting can be very tough, and we've probably all had times where we've wondered if we're doing it right, or how we can do it better, or if there's any way we can get Tanya Byron's home phone number and sob at her at length (...or maybe that's just me?). But I agree that if you're in that position, a) it's probably a phase and you'll get through it and you're probably doing a great job really; and b) if there is a problem, you need proper help, not someone breezing in for a couple of weeks with a cameraman and sound person in tow looking for the best way to shock the viewers. If the woman on the BBC this morning was telling the truth, she wanted to get some of the good parenting techniques known and familiar by putting them on the tv, to sort of get the message out there. Maybe it has, but I wonder how the families who have been on the programmes have found the experience in the long term?