DaisyWilson's Blog

I was listening to the radio the other day when one of those segments came on where an expert fields questions from parents and tells them How To Cope. I like these segments; if it’s a parenting problem I don’t have then I feel sympathetic smugness, and if they have one of my problems then I can garner a bit of advice. This time, crime and punishment of the toddler variety was discussed...

There’s nothing quite like a rain drenched May bank holiday weekend to test parental patience to its frayed end. My beloved offspring, confined within four walls for hours on end, decided to occupy themselves by honing their bickering and squabbling skills. This weekend I’ve been exposed to a myriad of arguments over who sits where on the sofa. Apparently, prime real estate is the right hand...

I started back to full time work last week after months of stressing, organising, researching and panicking about finding childcare. It started with me worrying that I’d be forced to get a loan out of the credit union before I’d even done a day of work, just to cover all the deposits and up-front fees required by crèches in my neighbourhood. On visiting a crèche with dark rooms and the...

Religion in schools is a big topic in the news at the moment, as The Humanist Society runs ads condemning schools that discriminate against children who lack a baptismal certificate. As a non-religious person, the thought that my children could be turned away from the local school because they aren’t the correct religion is scary. Schools seem just as religious as when I attended many years ago...

The two-year-old has discovered the furious joy of The Terrible Twos. An offer of assistance with putting on shoes will be met with a full blown, foot-kicking, floor-lying, fist-thumping melt down. Putting on pyjamas? Similar reaction. Getting into the car seat? That requires 10 minutes of reasoning, followed by a few threats about future withdrawal of travel rights and an almighty effort to hold...

St Patrick’s Day tradition demands that we plant potatoes, wear green and go to a parade. Every year, when the parade is finally over, I vow never again. But the call of the parade is like a siren song and every year the vow is forgotten. Of all the parades down the years a few are stand outs. The parade where my eldest was obliged by her school to participate, where we adults delighted in...

When I was a kid, I barely heard the word ‘obesity’. Back then, epidemics were for things like the flu. There was only one chubby kid in my school, and they had terrible asthma. Everything has changed since then. We’ve gone all sedentary and we’re surrounded by cheap calorie-rich foods. We’re having an obesity epidemic, and we’re warned that we might be the first generation to outlive...

My eldest is what educational professionals might term ‘a reluctant reader’. She can read a book no bother; she just won’t bother. This in turn bothers me. Open a paper on a day ending in 'y' and there will be some new piece of research showing the benefits of being read to as a young child and then continuing to read from that point. We are told that reading regularly for pleasure...

Monday morning. Mid-January. Potty training begins. Again. But this time I’m prepared. Dozens of tiny underpants and dry leggings wait in the wings, Caillou’s Potty Time has been a regular feature of story time in the last week, and I’ve stockpiled patience. According to a brief Google search, potty training can be done in five days (or less) so I’m motivated. The young one is not...

I’ve gotten to the age where my New Year’s resolutions are the same every year. Each January, I dust off last year’s list, which was recycled from the previous year, and make a fifth or sixth attempt at the usual suspects: quitting bad habits, starting good habits and cutting down on moderately poor habits. Yes, it’s a bit dull but I’m not prepared to take drastic measures like resolve...