How Everyone's United By Football - Making The Most of Family Time During UEFA Euro 2016™

These days it's all about the screen time.  We are a nation obsessed with all things 'i' and android.  We experience huge swathes of our life online and converse in emoticons (as Facebook's new 'like' icons attest).

We parents can be as guilty of this as our kids.  At the end of a long day, it is just so easy to pick up a tablet and switch on and check out.

So it's a refreshing (and much needed) change to find an event that brings families together and generates an energy that doesn't come from a charger.

Now readers of this blog know that I am not the most sporty of women. I make no secret of the fact that I used to wear the Left Back bib in hockey because I used to be Linda Brooks and I liked wearing my initials.

But when you have kids, you quickly realise that an event like the forthcoming UEFA Euro 2016™ football championship is too good an opportunity to pass by when it comes to spending some quality time with the family.

We've got the kids enthused about the Six Nations Rugby Tournament and we watched last year 's Rugby World Cup together - except that the kids were really upset when Wales were knocked out (we were robbed).

The concept of national pride is very topical these days and, even though I moved to Wales in 1969 when I was 5, I consider myself to be Welsh.  The Husband was born in Cardiff and both my children were born in the Heath Hospital so their nationality is definitely Welsh!

There is something very emotional about supporting your own country's sporting efforts.

I think it's good for kids to see their parents cheering and shouting encouragement at the TV.  Caitlin and Ieuan's expressions when the Husband shouts for Wales to "come on!" is a sight to behold.  I don't think they realised he was capable of that volume of noise.

And then there's the subject competition.  I think kids need to learn that a game has winners and losers and that there is no shame in losing if you gave it your all.

As my mother always says "it's the taking part that counts" - not that I've ever seen her on a football pitch.

Kids need to see that achievement can be physical and not just academic. Watching a team sport is a great way to truly understand team work.  To see a team sprinting down a pitch like a well oiled machine is a noble thing.  To watch team players listen to the ref (without referring him to Specsavers) shows that rules are there to be followed.

Pulling together, 'having someone's back' - these concepts are made much easier to understand when watching a game.  We can use sporting analogies to help kids solve problems and get them to relate to the concept of achieving a goal.

Sport is also a great way to demonstrate that everyone has different physical strengths and that a team is a combination of different strengths arranged in an effective way.

Cue the role of the coach.

As kids develop and grow at different rates and as they discover their bodies have different builds, sport is a great way to teach them acceptance.

And when our kids enter the working world, being a team player is a vital skill in career success and overall happiness.

This year sees the UEFA Euro 2016™  European Championship, which will be held in France from 10 June to 10 July. Spain are two-time defending champions.

24 teams will compete in a new format and the matches will be played in ten cities -  Bordeaux, Lens, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris, Saint-Denis, Saint-Étienne, and Toulouse.

The French team have won the UEFA Euro 2016™ twice: in 1984 and 2000 and the winning team earns the right to compete at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup hosted by Russia.

We will obviously be supporting Wales who are in a group with England, Slovakia and Russia and our first match will be on the 11th June against Slovakia in Bordeaux.

Prior to qualifying for UEFA Euro 2016™, the team had only qualified for a major international tournament once in their history, when they reached the quarter-finals of the 1958 FIFA World Cup.

And since Wales knocked England out of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, our expectations for our footie team are, shall we say, pretty big.

I'm sure there will be a real party atmosphere here in Cardiff, perhaps even with a French flavour!

Of course we will be watching the game and perhaps adding a French flavour with hamburgers et des frites (chips!) and un peu du vin for the parents.

The Husband will no doubt expound on the rules of the game (don't ask me about the offside rule) and the kids will get to know the Welsh team members.

It will be a chance for us to all sit down together and cheer Wales on.

And how about this for a fabulous opportunity for your football mad youngsters?

Your child has the opportunity to be a Player Escort at one of three UEFA Euro 2016™ matches taking place in June or July 2016 by entering a competition run by McDonald's.

We would be thrilled if Caitlin or Ieuan had the opportunity to walk out with the Welsh team - it would be an experience none of us would ever forget.

Just launched by McDonald's ambassadors, Ryan Giggs, Martin Keown and Pat Jennings, the competition will give the lucky 9 children the chance to stand beside their national heroes and walk out at hotly anticipated fixtures throughout the tournament including England vs Wales, Northern Ireland vs Germany and the UEFA Euro 2016™ Final.

To enter, parents are asked to capture their child’s football passion and upload images of them enjoying the beautiful game.  It is open to all children in the UK who will be aged between 6 and 10 years old on 10th June 2016 and the lucky winners will join the qualifying home nation of their choice and walk out hand-in-hand with their football idols at this summer’s tournament in France.

Big sporting events are great for getting together with family members you don't often see and perhaps getting together for a meal afterwards.

Hopefully the weather will hold so that we can just get out into the fresh air and kick a ball around.

And if you enter McDonald's fabulous competition, who knows, your child may actually be on the pitch!

For your chance to enter see: www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/Sport/Football/LetsPlay/EURO-2016.html.

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My Sunday Photo - 13/03/2016

It's nice to see that, despite his love of his iPad, sometimes, Ieuan is just as happy to build spaceships with his Lego.  

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Review: Time Tokens - A Great Way To Control Your Child's Screen Time

We recently had the opportunity to test Time Tokens - a brilliantly simple solution to weaning kids off a growing dependence on their tablets and screen time in general by putting the control in their hands.

Counter intuitive though it may sound, Time Tokens aims to give children the power to manage their own screen time in a way which avoids arguments, teaches them new skills and encourages them to actively seek out family time which is NOT screen based.

The brain-child of mum of 2 Amanda Bucknall, Time Tokens were born when she found it increasingly difficult to get her 7 year old son Harry to turn off the TV or get off the i-pad.

It was easier to persuade him to do his homework, go to bed or eat veggies!

Fed up with emotionally draining battles over screen-time, Amanda and Harry set about inventing a system that would work for both of them – Time Tokens was born.

It worked so simply and effectively, soon temper tantrums were a thing of the past and Harry was actually using less screen-time and was happier and calmer as a result. After trialing it with friends and family Amanda realised they had hit on something really special.

So how does it work?

Each child is given a Time Token wallet which contains a selection of tickets each worth a certain number of minutes.  The parents decide how many tickets they are allowed and the children hand them in to gain the appropriate number of minutes of screen time.

There is also a Golden Ticket which the children get as a reward for sticking to their side of the bargain and which they can exchange for a non screen-based family activity (an ING) of their choice.

The pack also contains a timer so they can check they are sticking to the number of minutes they have 'bought' and a contract which the child signs to say they promise to stick to their side of the bargain by not going over their allotted time.

They must also promise to switch off once their timer says their time is up and not complain!

Friday is Time Tokens day when they'll get their next allowance.

There is also a range of cute cartoon characters called the Frazzles, Sparky, Splodge, Whizz, Wiggle and Pickle, each of whom has a different interest and idea of how to spend that Golden Ticket, painting, singing, exploring, making things - absolutely nothing to do with typING!

Every Friday you receive a newsletter which features a Time Tokener of the week and artwork the kids have produced of the Frazzles, together with tips and advice to help parents maintain a calmer and less 'frazzled' household.

The minimum age is 5 years old and I would say the top age range is about 8-9.

So what did we think?

The Time Tokens themselves are a breeze to use and the kids grasped the concept immediately. What was interesting from our point of view as parents is that the exercise forced us to recognise our part in the kids' rather excessive amount of screen time.

I think we are all guilty of using screen time as a babysitter and general calming activity when, ironically, it is often anything but.

Time Tokens actually makes adults discuss appropriate limits on screen time and encourages you to focus more on non-screen-based activities.

Caitlin was happy to stop using her iPad when her allotted time was up as she enjoys reading more than her brother.  (She's 8, he's 6).  She'll happily take herself off to her room and read.

Ieuan, on the other hand, requires rather more coercion to give up his tablet but was very keen to take control of planning the family outing.

We are addressing our other bad habits too - for example taking iPads to restaurants to keep the kids quiet.  Now we are encouraging them to talk about their day and making plans as a family.

We had noticed the beginning of a definite spiral of moodiness linked to iPad usage - I hesitate to use the term addictive behaviour but it can be pretty close.

We make sure that the iPads stay downstairs and don't find their way up to bedrooms (or get hidden under duvets!).

Time Tokens may not work for older, more sophisticated kids but it is a great tool for at least beginning to tackle the problem of excessive screen time and to help set more realistic limits.

I loved the idea of the contract / promise the child signs up to and the Willy Wonka Golden Ticket reward.

If it does nothing other than get the adults to address the problem then it's worth the very reasonable price of a pack of tokens.

And if it gets children reading (Charlie & The Chocolate Factory for example), instead of playing Hay Day or watching endless Kinder Egg videos on YouTube, that's a great step forward.

Time Tokens are available at a special launch discount of £10.95 from www.TimeTokens.com

I think they're well worth a try.

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Review: Bioglan Vitamins - The Range For SmartKids

As any busy parent knows, getting your kids to eat a balanced and healthy diet can be a bit of a challenge.

Not only is there the daily challenge of coming up with an exciting menu, you may find you also have to deal with picky eaters and the vegetable averse child (step forward Ieuan!).

Then there's the problem of food intolerances and allergies which means ensuring your kids get their daily quota of vitamins is often anything but easy.

And all this is at a time when their bodies are rapidly growing and changing and being put under pressure from an often large variety of sports and extra curricular activities.

I have always taken a good multi-vitamin to stave off as many bugs as possible and also a pro-biotic for gut health.

I think it is only relatively recently that Western medicine has understood how important gut health is to the functioning of our bodies and, in particular, our immune system.

Caitlin and Ieuan regularly have chewy multi-vitamins so I was interested to discover that the company that makes the pro-biotic I take, Bioglan, has created a brand new range, SmartKids to meet the key needs of a developing child.

There are four products in the range which are priced from £9.99 and the products are specially designed for fussy eaters, since they contain nutritious fruit, vegetables and super food ingredients, and are enhanced with essential vitamins and minerals.

We were sent two of the four products in the range to try.

Bioglan SmartKids Brain Formula, available in a citrus flavour, is especially designed to help support healthy brain function, giving kids the best support possible.

   

This supplement contains Omega-3 fish oil which is especially high in DHA, the fatty acid best known for its role in brain health.

The formula also contains several B vitamins which contribute to a normal nervous system and Iron which plays a vital role in oxygen transportation to the brain and the rest of the body, as well as contributing to the normal cognitive development of children.

This supplement comes in a chewy 'burstlet' - a liquid containing capsule which releases the contents when bitten.

Whilst the outer capsule was pleasant enough, it is quite chewy and although the liquid inside has a lemony taste, there is the unmistakable flavour of fish oil.

Caitlin was happy to take these but Ieuan was not so convinced.  I think these are probably better for a slightly older child who has a fuller appreciation of the benefits of taking the supplement.

We also tried Bioglan SmartKids Happy Tummies which are strawberry flavour yoghurt balls, each containing 1 billion good bacteria - Lactobacillius acidophilus and Bifodobacterium lactis - two well known and researched strains often found in yoghurt.

Both kids really enjoyed the flavour of these and they are an ideal supplement to help ward off tummy bugs - which are doing the rounds here yet again.

The other products in the range are the Bioglan SmartKids Fussy Eaters Multivitamin, especially designed for fussy eaters. Obviously it is better to get your vitamins straight from your food but this supplement contains a wide spectrum of essential vitamins and minerals, together with a high ORAC blend of fruit and vegetables. These are chewable tablets which come in blackcurrant and strawberry flavours.

Lastly there is Bioglan SmartKids Superfood Shake, a chocolate shake packed with hidden fruit and vegetables which Bioglan suggest would be ideal for an after school snack or before dashing off to swimming, ballet or Tae Kwon-Do!

The shake does not contain added sugar, artificial sweeteners or flavours and is easily added to milk, smoothies, cereal or yoghurt. 

Bioglan originated in Australia over 25 years ago and all its products are formulated by qualified naturopaths and are based on only the strongest clinical trials and long-term evidence.

The SmartKids range is available from Holland & Barrett.

Now that the NoroVirus is doing the rounds again, and winter coughs and colds are in full swing, I like to think of these as an extra insurance policy for the family's health. 

Because you can guarantee that anything the kids come down with will be passed swiftly on to the parents!

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Spring Bags 2016 I'm Loving

There are sooo many fabulous bags out there to choose from and what better way to freshen up your wardrobe without too much of a splurge (although sometimes your heart leads you astray).

These are my current favourites.

Bow Handle Cross Body Bag, Floozie By Frost French At Debenhams

I love the colour of this bag from Floozie. It features a bow handle on the top, a fold over popper fastening design and a detachable shoulder strap.

Vivienne Westwood Bunny Shopper £170 - Vivienne Westwood Bags

How cute is this bunny shopper from Vivienne Westwood Bags?  As you'd expect from Westwood, there is plenty of quirkiness which ensures that any of her bags automatically become investment pieces you want to keep and revisit year upon year.

River Island Structured Tote Bag - £45

This is a striking mustard yellow suede structured tote bag from River Island. With white top handle and white side tassel details, I think it's great value at £45.

Antonello Woven Tote - £295

This is a really unusual bag with a bit of a 70's vibe about it. Antonello took inspiration from hand weaving techniques from Sardinia for this bag which has a beautiful tribal pattern adorning the front.  This bag would look fab matched with a white outfit to make the colour pop.

Marc Jacobs Embellished Backpack - £712.18

This statement backpack combines casual graffiti-print cotton canvas with nickel hardware and has backpack straps, looped top-carry handle, zip-around closure and front zip pocket.

Simply Be Tweed Shoulder Bag - £20

This bag with pastel colours and a gold chain is an absolute bargain from Simply Be.

Micro Sidney Fringe Bag From Whistles - £85

The bucket shaped bag has a drawstring closure with fringes and a metal chain.  Very bohemian!

So there you have it.  Which one is your favourite?

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I'm A Useless Feminist

On a day when we celebrate women and their achievements, I find myself silently berating myself for my less than glowing feminist credentials.

By that I mean that whilst I know with every fiber of my being that women are equal to men and that no woman should come second because of her gender, I still struggle with the concept.

I grew up in the 70's and 80's at a time when there was a definite sea change towards a kind of social and economic freedom our mothers never knew.

But the backdrop to this was still a world in which to truly succeed it seemed as if conformity was the quickest and easiest route.

And many of us who wanted to strike out and defend a woman's right to be everything she wanted to be with no limits, found our mothers had a completely different idea.

Two examples often heard from women during my upbringing - women were worse drivers than men and that unemployment levels would be immediately reduced if women would only stay home and look after their children, thus freeing up jobs for men.

In the Legal Profession in which I found myself quite accidentally, women were still less likely to be made partners.

I hope that this is no longer the case but I seriously doubt it.  

My friends and I used to joke (although it really isn't funny) that women would make manager and assistant manager positions but directorships and partnerships would usually go to the men.

And less talented men at that.

So I learned that conformity was the thing.  Keep your head down, don't make waves, don't disagree. I was a single girl and I needed to keep my job.

This is not the image of the ballsy, go-getting feminist who wouldn't be talked down to in meetings and would never accept the task of making the tea.

I would watch from the sidelines as the male employees would get invited to sporting hospitality events, dinner with the partners, an afternoon of golf.

Men seem to have an easier way of relating to one another.  They argue, swear and cuss at each other and then move on.

With women, it is often an endless war of attrition where sweetness and concern cloaks a fierce and ruthless ambition.

It seemed that women could not compete 'openly' with one another but had to resort to a set of tactics which would make Machiavelli look like a novice.

Apart from one, I can't think of any female boss I enjoyed working for.  

They were, by and large, power-dressing, mint crunching, bobbed hair types who, when they were not 'delegating'  (the responsibility, mind you, never any authority) nebulous projects, were just as likely to be found doing their weekly grocery shop online.

Do I sound bitter?  Damn right I am.

This was not how it was supposed to be.

I read frequently of sisters who support one another. Female managers and co-workers who build each other up, look out for each other and celebrate each others' triumphs.

As I get older I wonder if this is some sort of feminist myth and whether, for example, in the hot-housed enclaves of the partitioned office environment so popular in Wales this ever actually happens.

I really hope, for the sake of young women today, that it does.

I find myself wondering what to tell my own daughter when she enters the world of work.  If the current economic climate does not improve, getting and keeping a job may well be more important than challenging any barriers.

Does that make me a hypocrite or a realist?

I'm afraid it probably makes me a useless feminist.

In the end, it's all about the easiest route to self-preservation, the quickest way to secure the pay rise, the least threatening way to fit in.

Looks are still currency.  This seems to be the main belief of our selfie generation, encouraged by the Kardashian clan in their endless pursuit of reverence.

There are thousands of young women working hard to gain qualifications and skills in fields such as medicine and science.

Yet, Kim Kardashian takes her clothes off, posts it on the internet and makes millions.

And there's the central problem.

I can't bring myself to agree that this is the definition of empowerment, but in the face of her vast wealth, I really struggle to call it anything else.

As I said.  Hypocrite or realist?

Certainly a useless feminist.

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Review: Kiss The Cartridge Goodbye! - The Epson ET-2500 Ecotank Printer

For many years, it could be argued that investing in a printer was a luxury.  Times have changed of course and now many home offices boast a printer of varying levels of sophistication.

The Husband has a home office where he works when not travelling the globe and his work requires the production of complex, technological documentation for clients and for sales presentation materials such as hand-outs and printed slides.

The Epson ET-2500 Ecotank Printer

My printing needs are simpler - the odd e-book (I still love to read hard copy!), maps, e-tickets, order confirmation slips and invoices.

Our existing printer, a small Samsung black and white laser printer, has worked well, if temperamentally for over 5 years.

You can bet that it will have a paper jam when you really need to print out something urgently - an e-ticket or map, for example - or that it will announce it needs a cartridge change on a Sunday at 4 pm.

According to Epson, we're not alone - with 56% of us having had 'printer panic'.  I don't know about you but I have quite enough to worry about as it is!

We were recently given the opportunity to review the Epson ET-2500, one of Epson's new EcoTank printers which can save you up to 70% of your printing costs due to its integrated high capacity ink tanks.

The Epson ET-2500 is a 3-in-1 inkjet printer with print, copy and scan features.  It's the first time we have had a photocopying facility at home, having previously had to trudge over to our local library with a pocket full of 5p pieces and a prayer that the machine was actually working.

Finally, a photocopier at home!

This printer also comes supplied with 2 years of ink having four colour 70ml Epson genuine ink bottles in the box, which make it easy, clean and quick to fill the ink tanks.

The printer comes with four bottles of ink to add to the tank

Best of all you can say goodbye to ink cartridges.

The ink supplied is sufficient to print up to 4,000 pages in black and 6,500 pages in colour at just a fraction of a penny per page.

Because the ink tanks are high volume and refillable, the ink should last you far longer than the traditional ink cartridges.

The printer also has mobile printing.  It is equipped with Wi-Fi, so that you can use the Epson Connect features.

These allow you to print quickly and easily over Wi-Fi from a smartphone using the free Epson iPrint app, print remotely or email the ET-2500 a print job from anywhere.

The ET-2500 uses Epson's own Micro Piezo technology for excellent-quality print-outs.

Mono prints are delivered at a rate of 9.2 pages per minute while it can issue 4.5 colour pages per minute.

The Epson ET-2500 retails at £229.99.

So we gave the Epson ET-2500 a thorough road test over the period of one week to see how it compared with our old printer.

What we loved

• Compact
• Easy to maintain
• Pulls in paper without a hitch  (unlike our old printer)
• Good quality printing in both mono and colour
• 3 year extended warranty
• Lots of ink compared to other printers and cartridge designs - will last a long time 
• Refill costs currently look well priced making this a cost effective printer 
• Connects over Wifi - no need to use cables
• Reasonable speed for an ink-jet
• Multi-function printer - In built scanner and copier facility

What we loved less

• Slower than a laser
• Does not automatically wake up once the printer has gone into sleep mode (Wifi) 
• Needs manual intervention to print duplex 
• Slow print time for detailed graphics
• Long set-up time - 20 mins to charge the ink.
• Needs Epson driver

This is a great multi-functional printer which would suit a home office where bulk printing is an occasional, rather than a constant event.  If you need to print out a set of hand-outs and produce a high-spec technical document, it is ideal.  Having the photocopying and scanning functions included is an added bonus.

I think that if you are constantly churning out multi-page documents then you may be better off considering a laser printer - and possibly asking your boss for an office!

There is an Epson Easy Photo Print tool which allows you to correct and position your photos, plus add frames but I was unable to print out a photo of suitable quality using normal copying paper (not surprisingly).  Ultra glossy paper is recommended so this function was not fully tested.

The price of the Epson ET-2500 is very reasonable, in our view (£229.99), especially when you factor in the savings you'll make from not having to buy and replace ink cartridges.

It's a great, economical and environmentally friendly home office printer, best suited for daily correspondence, small scale bulk printing and family printing.

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