Lyme Regis and Charmouth - Family Friendly?

Lyme Regis is a very family orientated 'resort'. There are toilets with changing facilities on every corner, all the pubs (I think) accept children and the beach is full of families just like ours. Children of every age group and lots of toddlers for Jamie to run after. Phoebe and Isabel were two of the little girls Jamie chased after on the beach!! This may have been because we chose the week before the schools broke up. Perhaps the age groups may be totally different during the school holidays, but it was great to see so many toddlers running around together. It was great we were able to hire deck chairs at £2 a day (50p deposit) and a parasol or windbreak if we had wanted.

Prams are everywhere on the beach and we did contemplate abandoning ours a few times as it is nearly on its last legs, but it was great for transporting all the 'stuff' you need to take to the beach with a toddler! The 3-wheelers seem to cope best with the sand. A few of the mums and dads brought little tents; some of who had got the hang of putting them up better than others. These seemed mainly for use by babies to shelter from the sun and a place to keep away from the seagulls who seemed to constantly be swooping down and pinching sandwiches from peoples hands!

There is a nicely sized amusement arcade with slots and 2 penny games, as well as a few more child-friendly games. Jamie however, got very scared of a 'Sooty' amusement; where for £1 Sooty and his band played a tune and then you got a prize. Not sure why it frightened him so much but he loves the teddy he got and calls him Sooty Bear!

10 years ago we would have truly hated Lyme Regis!!

Charmouth is less family friendly; mostly being populated by fossil hunters. The children that are on the beach usually seem a bit bored unless young Indiana Jones' types just getting into the dinosaur bug. Jamie loves the "Dinosaur" connection but that's Peppa Pig - or rather George Pig - excitement induced!

Talking Fun

On arrival back from our holiday we were greeted with a copy of the leaflet we had been promised at Jamie's 2 year check; 'Talking Fun'. I am glad to report that he does not really need any help at all with his talking now. The week away seems to have done wonders for his speaking and its beautiful listening to him trying to find the words and / or repeating what we say. He comes out with words and phrases that we did not know he knew! "Man Doing?" was a question he said on holiday when he did not know who the owner of the cottage was. "Again, Again" he shouted when we went paddling in the sea. "Tunnels" as we went under the trees between Charmouth and Lyme. "Muddy Puddles" was a phrase from Peppa Pig he said at Abbotsbury Children's Farm, and we found he loves "Birdies". He began shouting "Sea side" as soon as the sea came into view and daddy showed Jamie a "Magic Trick" which Jamie demanded every night on holiday (involving a coin and a small jewellery box). Worryingly he kept saying "oh no" and also "Help!". And when we were in Somerset he shouted "Tea Ready James" when playing in their wooden play house with the kitchen (must get one!). It is a truly amazing time at the moment....

What did the leaflet say?
T Talk about everyday things
A Add another word when your child says only one word
L Listen to your child and give him time to talk
K Keep playing with toys and picture books

The Concept of Sorry

While on the Jurassic coast, one day Jamie decided it would be fun to throw one of the Jurassic rocks at mummy. It bloody hurt I can tell you! We tried to get him to say 'Sorry' - or rather daddy did - as I was crying and rubbing the large lump on my head. He refused to say 'Sorry' and just wanted to get back to playing on the beach. Neither of us really knew how to handle it, but once we were back had a look at a few pages on the interest. We were relieved that he isn't some kind of psychopath but in fact quite normal...... and it seems it will be a few months yet before he really understands the concept of 'Sorry'.

Your two year old does not yet have a hard-wired, internalized conscience. Nor is he intellectually at an age of reason (which usually begins at around two-and-a-half). Therefore, making him say "I'm sorry," will have no long-term effect. A punitive approach really doesn't discipline a two year-old. It just teaches them the words that they have to say to get back to playing.

At this age, toddlers usually do not have highly developed social or language skills. Given their lack of verbal ability and interpersonal skills, they often turn to hitting and other forms of aggression (e.g. biting) to express their frustration and anger etc. Removing your child from the scene of the aggression and redirecting his attention to something else is a productive response with this age group. Try being firm and telling him that his hitting hurts and is not allowed. Then leave the room, and leave him to connect your departure with his misbehavior. Over time, this response will result in behavioral changes. Actions such as these have much more of an impact than lecturing, scolding, time-outs and insisting upon an apology.

http://life.familyeducation.com/emotional-development/discipline/41780.html

Jurassic Jamie and Travelling Ted

We have just all come back from a week in Dorset and then a weekend in Somerset. We took along Travelling Ted from nursery and had to fill in his passport, write a diary for him and take some photos to put in his photo album. This is what we wrote in his diary:

We all set off early Saturday morning and 7 hours later we arrived at our holiday cottage called ‘The Willows’ in Charmouth, Dorset. It was literally 5 minutes walk from the beach. Charmouth is world famous for its fossils. The remains of Jurassic sea creatures can be found. We visited Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre and Jamie’s daddy bought a book called ‘The Fossil Hunters of Charmouth’. Sunday morning we spent fossiling on the beach in the rain.

Jamie and I loved playing with the bucket and spade on the beaches at both Lyme and Charmouth. The beach in Lyme Regis was very sandy and safe for toddlers and bears. Jamie and I did lots of paddling in the water; which was lovely and warm. The only real problem on the beach were the seagulls that sometimes swooped down and pinched peoples sandwiches’, but Jamie kept chasing them away. Lyme Regis also had an amusement arcade where another little bear joined us after Jamie won him in a game.

On Wednesday it was raining and so we all went to Abbotsbury Children’s farm where Jamie took a baby goat for a walk and gave it a bottle of milk. We also saw lots of other animals. Jamie cuddled a guinea pig and touched a tortoise, talked to the alpacha's and birdies in the walk-in aviary. He also rode a tractor and played in the soft play area in The Tithe Barn.

In the afternoon we stopped off in Weymouth and Jamie took me for a walk in the pram along the pier; where we saw some very big boats and lots of people sea fishing. It was raining but we all had an ice cream to cheer us up.

There was a pub in Charmouth village where we went for tea a couple of times and they also had a couple of goats. But it was their Beer Garden with all its swings and slides and big play boat that we liked the best!

On our last day we visited Dinosaurland Fossil Museum at Lyme Regis and mummy bought Jamie some dinosaurs to play with later. As we went for our last walk on the beach we saw a man Stonebalancing. Then we heard a loud noise and The Red Arrows appeared! They did a fantastic display over the harbour as part of Lyme Regis and Charmouth RNLI Lifeboat week. Jamie bought a blow up Red arrow which is now hanging from his ceiling at home.

On the way home we stopped off at some of Jamie’s mums friends in Somerset who had a big party on the Saturday night and then took us all to Perry’s Cider Mills; a working Cider Farm, in Dowlish Wake on the Sunday.

We ate far too much on our travels to Dorset and Somerset but the Ice Cream and the fish and chips were lovely. We are all going to go on a diet now.


The holiday ran (mostly) smoothly with a few tantrums from all of us along the way. The key (as always) is to be prepared and to fill the car as much as possible in order to be ready for any eventuality. This meant we had swimming costumes and waterproofs, sandals and wellies; all of which we needed due to the changing British weather! Jamie however, loved all aspects of it; from jumping in muddy puddles like Peppa to jumping in the sea!

Although we purposefully chose a cottage on one storey so we would not have to worry about the stairs, we still worried about Jamie getting up in the night and going into the kitchen or getting into trouble elsewhere. This meant that one of us always slept with him; either in his room or he slept in the big bed. Unfortunately none of the beds were what you would call comfy!

Just Like Flowers....

If you can let go of worry, and be peacefully and enthusiastically open to change, relaxing into each moment of the process, the answers to questions will come. You can’t control change. You have to let it guide you. Just as a flower doesn’t have to plan how to reach toward the sun, but reaches unerringly in the right direction in response to moment by moment signals, you too can open to your own sun without knowing beforehand where it will take you. Trust that being present in the moment’s flow will provide the answers. Trust, and become calmer. The calmer you are, the more the next steps in your life will reveal themselves. When you feel focused instead of agitated, the elements of your new life will gradually come into focus.

Just like flowers, we are all changing moment by moment. Sometimes, the process of change is more obvious than others, but life is definitely about change, not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. When we understand this truth at a deep level, we begin to focus on being present and balanced in the moment, available to respond fully to whatever comes our way, rather than trying to control outcomes.

Self-Empowerment: Part Seven by Ingrid Bacci
http://www.ingridbacci.com/

Girly night out

It was good to meet up with Karen and Kate on Wednesday night and I was proud to tell them about Monday. The next issue to deal with however, is the bedtime routine of a certain 2 year old! Obvious really, but with him not going to bed very early means that mummy and daddy have less time for themselves, which means they get stressed with Jamie and each other.

The tips given were; Routine, Routine, Routine. I am not sure how this will work in our house - especially as daddy does shifts and so our routine changes from week to week - but we have to at least attempt to get Jamie into bed before 9pm every night!!

Sometimes you just have to be selfish...

What with us all being so sick last week, and having the trauma with my teeth the week before, I really have not had any time at all for myself. And then I foolishly agreed to work two 4 day weeks as we are so short staffed. The weekend came and was a wonderful blur of children's parties. Saturday it was our God-daughters 6th birthday party at Rand Farm www.randfarmpark.com/ and then Sunday it was Jo's Christening and he had a lovely party at www.woodcockspub.co.uk/ Jamie was laughing and smiling all weekend and so were mummy and daddy. We were all very tired Sunday evening and I am afraid I had a bit of a melt down....So Monday morning ran work and told them I could not get a baby sitter to cover.

After only two hours of peace and quiet I felt myself beginning to chill. Letting Nanna have Jamie in the morning and then letting Granddad play in the afternoon meant I had a few hours to clear the clutter - both in the house and in my brain! It also made me determined to only stick to 3 days max at work from now on and appreciate the time I have with Jamie.

One is our Lucky Number

I saw an old friend a few months ago who just has just the one child. I asked her that question that everyone is asking me now; 'Are you going to have another?'

She replied; 'If you won the lottery would you buy another ticket?'

Four Years Old.....

....not Jamie. This Blog!! (and I have certainly felt better).

After I was 3 weeks late with my period I rang the Dr and told her how I was feeling, but told her that I had a negative test. She simply said ‘You probably are pregnant but not enough to show yet!’ While lying in bed last weekend I sent a current pregnant friend a text to tell her this (as we had thought we might meet up). She said she had had the same with her 1st - a negative test when she actually was pregnant. So for a few days I really thought I could be.

But when I was being so sick last weekend all I kept thinking was how I didn’t want to be pregnant. I hated being pregnant and spent 8 months in near panic. I had forgotten how much I really did not like it! As I have said a number of times over the past few days, if someone could just hand me a baby and say ‘It’s yours’ I would gladly have another tomorrow, but being so ill and then Jamie being so sick, reminded me of why we are probably better off with just the one. He truly is exhausting at the moment. If I could have my time again I have started trying a few years earlier. But then we probably would not have been ready then. Perhaps one is our lucky number.