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GOING GREEN

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Small changes made to our lifestyles make a big difference to climate change and going green. Sophie Clowes investigates how we can all become more Greta.

Kids are so wise these days. Going green and climate change has been a ‘thing’ for decades but it took a teenager to call it a crisis and get the world to listen. When 15-year-old Greta Thunberg staged a school strike over climate change, she taught the world many things, not least that the accumulation of small acts can make a big difference. “Everything needs to change. And it has to start today.”

 

(c) Instagram: Greta Thunberg

This was Greta’s closing line of her impassioned TED talk on climate change in 2018. And at the World Economic Forum in Davos last year, in her famous “our house is on fire” speech, she opined, ‘The main solution is so simple that even a small child can understand it. We have to stop the emissions of greenhouse gases.”

There is much to be done if we are to put planet before profit. While the outlook is depressing, our efforts to redress the balance don’t need to be. According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), we are under 10 years away from not being able to undo our mistakes. We must act now!

Where and how do we start going green? By taking our children’s lead and implementing small changes in everything from food to fashion, toiletries to transport. As Greta said, “The science is clear and all we children are doing is acting on that united science.”

Every company should use the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) as their basis for greater sustainability and equality. The 17 SDGs address global challenges relating to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. If everyone works together, we can begin to make a real and positive difference. Here are some ideas.

Going green

Going green: general

  • Choose to walk, run or cycle. Or use public transport. Or, if you must, car share
  • Reduce air travel
  • Use reusable bags, water bottles and coffee cups
  • Take plastic bags to supermarket recycling points – used responsibly, plastic bags can be recycled and reused many times over
  • Turn off unnecessary lights
  • Switch to energy-efficient light bulbs
  • Change to a green energy supplier
  • Collect rainwater for the garden
  • Use your local library
  • Set washing machines to the lowest temperature
  • Buy washing powder in boxes
  • Line dry laundry
  • Buy bamboo loo roll. Try Don’t Give A Crap
  • Buy your soap, shampoo and conditioner in bar form
  • Use a glass bottle for washing-up liquid bought in bulk
  • Prevent draughts
  • Grow your own herbs
  • Return take-away plastic containers or take your own dishes
  • Repurpose old cans and candles as vases, tealight holders or pen pots
  • Fill your house with plants to purify the air and increase happiness

Fashion

If threads are your thing, you are in luck: sustainability and going green is the height of fashion and it’s a trend that is here to stay. The obvious suggestion is to refrain from buying new but, if you must, there is choice, from Gabriella Hearst’s ‘honest luxury’, to the admirable efforts being made by the likes of H&M and & Other Stories.

We have to consider all the links in the chain, from eco materials to ethical factory practices, from compostable components to sustainable packaging and transport.

Miranda Dunn, whose eponymous label makes vegan fur coats and sustainable dresses, suggests you should wear any item at least 30 times. Stylist Kat Farmer, @doesmybumlook40, reckons you should be able to think of at least three occasions and three different outfits to go with it to justify a purchase. While author Daisy Buchanan, @thedaisybee, celebrates, “rented splendour, vintage treasures, charity shop rummaging and finding new ways to shop the old”.

Head to The Frugality site for stylist Alexandra Stedman’s words of wisdom. Or, Emma Watson, who has partnered with @thredUP to launch their new Fashion Footprint Calculator, which will tell you the carbon impact of your wardrobe. Check out eco-age.com, from the woman who threw down the challenge of turning the red carpet green, Livia Firth. If you are interested in renting clothes, try mywardrobehq, and for secondhand purchases head online to the likes of ebay or on foot to a charity shop.

Food

Eco eating means consuming more plant-based foods, eschewing all plastic packaging, eating locally and seasonally and preventing waste. There are lots of box schemes, such as OddBox or Abel & Cole, that support farmers and small producers, as well as food-sharing apps such as Olio, Karma and Farmdrop, which ensure no food goes to waste.

Other tips include:

  • Milk delivered in glass bottles by Milk&More
  • Taking your own receptacles and shopping in bulk stores
  • Repurposing water purifying charcoal tablets by keeping them in the fridge to stop it going mouldy
  • Ensuring your online grocery orders are delivered in paper bags. Try Ocado Zoom

Kids

We have finally woken up to the horror of tides of plastic washing through our homes. Happily, many sustainable children’s initiatives are welcome money-savers. Here’s what we have learnt:

  • Washable nappies are initially expensive, but many councils run schemes that help with the outlay
  • If you swap just one disposable for a washable every day, that’s 365 nappies not going to landfill in a year
  • The most eco solution is to potty-train your baby. Sit them over the loo or on a potty after every feed. If a child is out of nappies day and night by two, that’s thousands of nappies saved from landfill and a saving of, at least, £800 per child
  • Use bamboo plates and bowls
  • Trade toys and clothes with friends
  • Research suggests we should be talking to our children about periods from the age of eight. Period pants are an expensive initial outlay, but each pair lasts about two years and produces zero waste. Try Wuka or Flux.

Let’s fill our houses with more love, more laughter and less stuff by going green.  And quickly. “Adults keep saying we owe it to young people to give them hope. But I don’t want your hope. I want you to act as if you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if the house was on fire, because it is.” Thank you, Greta, for raising the alarm.

Why not read our Green issue here.

Main Image: Markus Spiske on Unsplash

 

FAMILY PROTESTING: BLACK LIVES MATTER

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Protests supporting the Black Lives Matter campaign have taken place worldwide and families have been getting involved too. We asked one parent to give an account of her experience of organising a family friendly protest.

 

Words: Carey Johnstone

NW London Children’s Protest

Sitting in our flat, in a terrace on the edge of Kilburn, with our baby and our three year old, we were trying to figure out what to do. Like many people, we’d been staring at our phones, watching the Black Lives Matter protests in America, watching events escalate and spill over into the rest of the world, and our own lives. We were trying to work out how we could get to the protests that were happening in the middle of the city.

Protests and marches are a type of activism that I truly believe in and we have taken our toddler to various big protests since she was a baby. But in lockdown it was different. We didn’t feel like we could get to the protests safely, and once we were there we weren’t sure we would be able to keep ourselves and our children at a safe distance – small children and babies can’t wear masks. It felt wrong to go; it felt wrong to stay at home. Our friends Taio and Phoebe were in the same boat, with two kids the same age (one of whom is our eldest daughter’s best friend).

A throwaway WhatsApp suggestion by Phoebe on Wednesday night, to go to our local park together with our placards and hold our own family protest, grew by Thursday morning into the idea of organising a protest for children, families and whoever else wanted to come. We decided on the coming Saturday – three days away – and agreed that as long as we could get four families to attend then it would be a success.

Spreading the news

Taio volunteered to speak at the start of the protest, and my partner made us a flyer which gave the event a sudden sense of legitimacy. By that evening we were ready to send it out to friends and to post it on social media. We didn’t set up a specific page for the event, and had no names or contact details on the flyer – so once we’d posted it, we had no idea who or how many people would attend. We sent it to our nursery WhatsApp group; a couple of Instagram accounts (including @Citykidsmagazine!) with large followings; and we got some attention (mainly positive) on local mums Facebook groups. On Friday my two biggest fears were these: What if no-one comes? What if everyone comes?

On Saturday morning the weather was fairly grim. My fear of the protest turning into Woodstock and social distancing being impossible was allayed. It looked far more likely that our protest would be a small gaggle of friends meeting and marching through a rainy, empty park. Phoebe and Taio came round to ours, and we all walked to the park together – as always with toddlers, running a little late.

But as we walked through the park gates, 5 minutes before the protest was planned to begin, we could already see a crowd gathering. Some familiar faces, but mostly people we’d never seen before. More and more people arrived. Small and large families, old and young people, a group of teachers from the school where I work, black, white, mixed heritage. By the time Taio stood on a rock and called everyone to attention, there were around 250 people gathered (at a distance) holding placards and signs, wrapped up in raincoats or with umbrellas.

Communicating a message

Taio read from James Baldwin, and spoke about the specific fears black parents have for their children. He listed the statistics of the inequalities black people suffer in the UK’s justice system. He spoke about his experience of being black and a father, and his own fears. And then we marched. As we marched, social distancing meant that we formed a ring around the whole park, marching and chanting together. (Our daughter Joni announced she didn’t like all this shouting, and was worried we’d wake people who were sleeping!). Some teenagers walking through the park to buy Lucozade stopped and joined us, as did some people doing exercise. After the march, we knelt together for a minute’s silence.

What did the protest do? How did it feel? It felt powerful. It felt joyful. It felt good.

Two things really stood out. One, that very few people in that park knew who had organised it, or who was speaking, and it didn’t really matter at all. People came because they felt the same, because they really wanted to do something and, even though we’re in the middle of this awful, scary pandemic, they wanted to be together.

And two, that despite our surprise at the number of people who came, we were only 250 people, in a park, in a corner of northwest London. The government and the media wouldn’t even know that we’d been there. But we all knew. All the people in that park – and their children – could see that others living around them, felt the same way, supported each other, and are fed up with the way that black people are treated. Black Lives Matter.

All images courtesy of Amanda Oba

JOE WICKS INTERVIEW PART 2: FATHERHOOD

Features, Features Home, Latest from CK, Parenting

In part two of our interview with Joe Wicks, he tells us about his inspiration and how he’s taken to parenting.

 

Image: @thebodycoach

Thirty minutes on the phone with Joe Wicks flies by. What you get is what you see. He is how you’d expect him to be: friendly, talkative, genuine and interested in what you want to ask. There is no edge. And he seems at his most content when he’s talking about his family, whether that be his parents, babies or wife, Rosie. And during lockdown, there’s no other place he’d rather have been holed up.

“Apart from not being able to go for dinner or to the cinema and see our family and friends it hasn’t changed much in the sense that we’re always at home together, you know I do my YouTube videos and my content, recipes and stuff here so we kind of always live in each other’s pockets, even from the start, before we had kids. We’re our happiest when we’re together, we want to be together, so it hasn’t been too difficult.  I’ve actually spent more time with them than ever while being busy. It’s been quite intense but in a positive way. I think we’ve had a nice time, I don’t think it’s been negative for us as a family.

Marley’s almost six months old now, but could you share the recent scare you had with him?
For the first couple of months he was so needy, he didn’t want to be left alone and we didn’t know if he had reflux or colic. But then it got to the point where  we realised he could never make eye contact with you. He would look to the right or to the left of you, never at you. It was this thing called delayed visual maturity and so he was always crying, you couldn’t put him down, he was blind as a bat basically. He was in a black room all on his own, he didn’t know where we were. One day, it was like the light went on and he could see and he’s become a different kid – it’s changed his personality.  He’s more relaxed, he’s got this wonderful energy and he just smiles and he just wants to be looked at and smiled at, he loves it so much. I fully accepted that he could have been blind, 100%, I said we’re going to love him the same, it’s not going to change our world, we’re going to look after him and be there for him and as it turned out he was fine and we didn’t need to deal with that. It was definitely scary and upsetting.

Indie’s a good big sister?
She loves him. She was really jealous of me being with him but now she’s cool. She understands he’s there and she knows he’s her little brother. I look round and she gives him his dummy and kisses him on the head and she wants to hold his hand. It’s an amazing thing to see, I love how nurturing she is. She’s very maternal and she looks after him like he’s her baby it’s so cute.

Indie’s often seen with you training, what activities does she enjoy?
Indie goes to The Little Gym and she did go to Gymboree but that’s now closed but she loves all those activities and I’d love to take her to ballet and horse riding. I’d like her to try everything, have a go at karate, at skateboarding to see what she loves really and try to encourage her to be creative and active and whatever she finds her love for I’ll obviously encourage.

Image from @thebodycoach

Are you a strict dad? Do you deal with tantrums well?
I try to be really patient with her, so we don’t shout and swear we try to be really calm around her. She’s challenging, she’s tough, we do have our moments. I think I’m a bit of a softie when it comes to it. She always wants fruit so she comes up to me and says “ a strawbee, as strawbee” and I can’t help but just give her one – I love seeing her little face light up and getting a kiss and a cuddle when I give her a strawberry. But I definitely need to stop as she knows I’m a bit of a softie, I’m a bit of a pushover. I just can’t say no, I just love her so much.

You’ve been through tough times and shown resilience when your business was getting off the ground. But you had the confidence and resilience to carry on. What’s the most important life skill you’d like to pass on to your kids?
I think being kind and positive are amazing traits to have. When you’re considerate of other people, whether at school or at work, whether you’re in hospital, how you treat the people who look after you and are around you, that’ll be the most important thing I can teach Indie: kindness to everyone, either that’s being polite and sharing with kids in nursery or wanting to just be friendly and welcome new kids to the class. I really hope that those are the things that she picks up from me and Rosie. I think me and Rosie are quite similar in that way, we’re not judgemental, we’re quite open to people and her personality is quite open.

And who has shaped that open nature of yours?
My mum definitely. She had quite a strict upbringing. She left school when she was young, got kicked out when she was 15, so how she raised me and my brothers to be who we are I really don’t know. My dad was in and out of rehab, he was a heavy drug addict and he wasn’t there, he wasn’t a role model. But my mum was. We always knew rules, we always understood what was right and wrong and we always respected her. She taught me how to look after my room, how to respect my clothes and my house and that means soemthing. When I look back now I realise that we had our difficult times during the teenage years, we obviously banged heads and stuff but she wanted the best for us and without doubt, she taught me to be loving and caring and she shaped the person I am, no doubt in my mind. But later on in my adult life, my dad is obviously a good role model and he’s there for me as well.

Image Maja Smend from Wean in 15

Do you worry about the world that your children will be growing up in?
More so than ever. Especially around the environment and the impact on the oceans and the forests. Seeing plastic in the ocean breaks my heart and the animals and the wildlife getting squeezed out of their natural habitat, it’s depressing if you think about it. It’s hard to accept what’s going on and to realise as a human race we’re moving too quick and we’re destroying too many things. And now with everything that’s going on with equality and racism I want to make sure that I am being diverse in my life with Indie so she experiences that and so she doesn’t have any prejudices when she grows up.

You recently got into meditation. Does it help with the stresses and strains of running a business and parenting?
I did Russell Brand’s podcast Under the Skin and he said just give it a go, I think it will really benefit you. I gave it a go every day for a couple of weeks and it really opened up my mind about leaving my phone and being present and having a little moment to breathe. I’d be lying if I said I do it every day but I do it maybe three or four times a week and on those days I do it, even if it’s ten minutes, it just centres me a bit, grounds me and gets me present cos I’m always on this conveyor belt of work, this hamster wheel that never stops turning. I really do enjoy it. I always said I’m too busy to do it, I’m mindful but I can’t be mindful, but you can. It’s like training. Some days you do a work out and it’s sh*t and other days you love it and feel really good and it’s the same thing with yoga and meditation, just good practice and bad practice.

Before we go, what would be your best advice for new parents?
You have to go to bed when your kids go to bed, not every night cos that’s not going to happen. You’ve got to put them in bed, have your dinner early and then get straight in there with them, go to bed and if you can get that extra few hours sleep. If you stay up til half ten or eleven, and you’re getting woken up you can’t catch up so you have got to sacrifice sometimes you need to get to bed a bit earlier and you’re going to  feel much better at the end of it.

You can find part one of our interview with Joe here.

Wean in 15 is available on Amazon and via all good bookshops. You can follow Joe on Instagram @thebodycoach and use his workouts on YouTube.

JOE WICKS ON HIS GREATEST WORK

Features, Features Home, Lifestyle, Parenting

Half a million pounds raised for the NHS, millions of followers on Instagram, nine best-selling books and now a PE teacher for the nation’s kids. In the first of two features, Joe Wicks speaks to City Kids about his motivation, his lockdown experience and his greatest work…

Image: @thebodycoach

Just three months ago, Joe Wicks was putting the finishing touches to his latest book, Wean in 15. But the Covid-19 pandemic set him on another path, with lockdown accelerating his phenomenal success thanks to PE with Joe. The Body Coach tells Victoria Evans about what he considers to be his greatest work.

“It looks like an overnight success, but I’ve built my brand, trust and loyalty over eight or nine years of YouTube, going to schools and doing UK schools tours. I really believe in what I’m doing, I’m really passionate. It takes a lot for a parent who’s never heard of you or seen your content to let you into their room and their house live on a stream.
I always dreamed, I knew this was going to happen, but I thought it was going to take me 10 years of hard work and it happened in the space of three months because of the lockdown and PE with Joe, that’s the truth. I know I would have worked so hard to make it happen anyway, but it just intensified it and magnified it.”

So, did you always want to work with kids?
I dreamed of being a PE teacher, that was my first ambition. My career went into personal training and when I realised I had a massive audience and a massive reach, I thought, “what means a lot to me?” I really think young people, mental health and fitness is very important so then I did a trial whether it was a Facebook live or YouTube live with schools, very small numbers and it grew from that. Then I went out on the road to real schools and got to know the teachers, parents and the kids and really understood how to engage children, how to make it fun and that evolved into PE with Joe. We’re now in our 12th week.

Alongside PE with Joe, you’ve launched your ninth book, Wean in 15. Was this an obvious business decision?
It wasn’t a forced thing, “oh now I want to capitalise and monetise this”, it was more like, I’ve got an opportunity and people really need this advice. I’m getting so many questions online about when to start, what to do, so I took all the information I learned and all the research from [nutritionist] Charlotte Stirling-Reed and put it into a book. I can’t believe how many people have got this book already. I’ve given out so much free content, I’ve given out all those free recipes, I’ve given so much advice on Wean in 15 that when you do the book, people support it.

Image Maja Smend from Wean in 15

That’s an interesting way to build your business as you do offer so much for free.
I always believe you’ve got to share free content. You have to give before you get given. I’ve always been like that, even now. My YouTube is an example. I’ve had DVDs in the past, I’ve had cookbooks, but I still love doing my YouTube videos because they’re free and they’re for everyone. I also have my Instagram with loads of recipes for free because I don’t want anyone to feel they can’t access it or they can’t get to it. I always say, my 90-day plan is a great plan, but you don’t need that, you can use my Instagram recipes, my Wean in 15 Instagram or my YouTube videos and you can still have a transformation; you can still go on a journey and that’s important to me because I don’t want anyone to feel left out of my business and my brand. I mean you need money to survive and have a company, but the majority of my content is free for everyone to access. That really is the stuff that motivates me. When I get a million people doing a workout with me that’s fantastic, that’s true motivation and that inspires me you know.

Your life is very public, and your business has been built on social media. How often do you reflect on the kids being involved in that?
I contradict myself sometimes about the way I feel about it. You either go all in or you don’t. We have conversations where we dip in and out of not wanting to be on there but then there are some things that we love to share – Indie’s on the front cover of my book. I suppose even if I didn’t have millions of followers, as a culture I think we all like to share our pictures and our children so it’s just the way of the world now. I just embrace technology. It’s allowed me to have a fantastic life so there are pros and cons to it.

Do you ever feel pressured, or is it stressful living your life so publicly?
I don’t feel like it’s pressure, I feel like this is my role, this is what I’m supposed to be doing with my time. I could hand over my Instagram to someone else and ask them to run it for me and answer all these questions, but I know that I need to connect with all the emotions that people are feeling. I need to know why I’m doing this, why I work so hard and who it’s affecting and how it’s helping people and so I don’t feel like burning out I feel like I’m just getting into my groove and that I’ve got more to offer. and that I can reach more people so it’s not a pressure.

What memories will you take from this period?
For me, PE with Joe is the thing I will remember forever. I’ve been there for people when they’ve needed it the most and it’s kept me sane and kept me happy as well. I think this is the greatest work, and it’s the most important thing I’ve ever done, and I don’t know whether I’ll do anything as meaningful as this again.

Image from @thebodycoach by Ollie & Nix Photography

You always talk so lovingly about Rosie, what’s your relationship like?
There’s no power struggle really with us, it’s quite balanced. She’s an amazing mum, she’s really good with the kids. I always look at her when the kids are screaming and I think, how are you so patient and calm and it makes me think if she can be like that then I can too so I’m learning from her every day.
100% she’s made me a better person, especially as a parent. I was shouted at and screamed at as a kid. In my head I’m screaming and shouting but I’ve learned to internalise it and be more patient. There are days that you do want to pull your hair out and scream at the kids but it doesn’t get you anywhere, it doesn’t help. So, learning to communicate better is something I’ve learned from her.

Your parents must be so proud of the person you’ve become.
A lot of my friends from my area ended up on drugs or in prison but we broke that mould. You’d have expected us to have been like that you know. I believe in three things and my motto is work hard, have fun and be nice. If you do those three things with relationships, with work, with everything you attack in life, if you have fun doing it and are kind to people and you put in the effort, you will be successful. That’s such a simple way of living life and it’s always what I think about. Am I being kind enough, am I working hard enough and am I having fun and living my best life and if I think I am then I normally am.

So back to Wean in 15, how will you approach weaning with Marley as you’ll be starting soon
We’re going to repeat the process which his basically a two-week veg led approach so for the first two weeks we focus on one new vegetable a day so whether it’s spinach or kale so really develop a palate for those savoury tastes. Then you can introduce sweeter things and start combining stuff. It’s all about consistency so lots of variety, try not to offer alternatives if they kick something back. I really want Marley to love food like we do. Me, Rosie and Indie all love food, we live for food, we’re obsessed with it so I hope that if we repeat the same process and have the same principles that he’ll be similar or the same as Indie, but who knows. We’ll see, it might change.

Food does seem to be a big part of Wicks family life. 
I love any food. I love chocolate but I like being in control of what I’m eating and feeling energised. Food can make you feel so happy and energised but you can also have a complete blow out all weekend and it can make you feel knackered and tired and bloated and so I allow myself treats and I know the effect it has on me but I still really do prefer eating healthy food that’s home-cooked.

Picnic or Lion Bar? 
Lion bars and the white one’s good as well.

What’s your favourite recipe from the book?
Broccoli and cheddar tots are really easy to make and super more-ish and there’s a chicken and and butternut squash stew at the back which is for older kids. They’re really good recipes for families. If you’ve got kids who are a bit older there are some great recipes in there, you don’t have to be weaning to enjoy it.

Recipe and demo for Broccoli and Cheddar Tots from @thebodycoach:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CANT4gQjqZi/

For more from our interview with Joe, stay tuned to the site and @citykidsmagazine when Joe talks more about family life, his inspiration and his hopes for the future.

Wean in 15 is available on Amazon and via all good bookshops. You can follow Joe on Instagram @thebodycoach and use his workouts on YouTube.

CELEBRATING PRIDE MONTH

Features Home, Latest from CK, Parenting

June is normally a month awash with rainbows celebrating Pride Month, a time to commemorate, learn and recognise the positivity of the LGBTQ community. It’s also a chance for LGBTQ families to share their experiences with the wider world.

Of course, Covid-19 has put a stop to large gatherings, but there are other ways to acknowledge the contribution of LGBTQ communities as well as educate those who are not up to speed. Here are some ideas and resources for family and child-friendly things to do.

LEARNING

 

Pop N Olly

A fantastic resource for families, carers and teachers, Pop N Olly provides videos, free downloads, educational resources and advice, all accessible by kids and their parents.

 

Downloadable Pride Crossword

Woo Jnr has created an LGBT Trailblazers curriculum as an educational resource which will help with completing crosswords, word searches and quizzes which are also available to download.

 

LGBT History Month Wallchart

This is another downloadable and fantastic visual to outline the history of the LGBT movement and its milestones and personalities to help everyone celebrating Pride Month.

 

BOOKS

Love Makes a Family
By Sophie Beer
0-5yrs

Kenny Lives with Erica and Martina
By Olly Pike
5yrs+

Shine
By Sarah Asuquo
5yrs+

Lumberjanes Series
By Noelle Stevenson
8yrs+

The Pants Project
By Cat Clarke
9-13yrs


George
by Alex Gino
10yrs+

The Secrets of Billie Bright
Max Kowalski and Susie Day
11years+

 

CHARITIES

The Trevor Project

Although based in the States, The Trevor Project has a fantastic range of resources and support for young people. It provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services and lots of materials for young people everywhere who are curious, confused and scared. It also is an incredibly useful place to use if you’re an educator, business owner or parent – in fact anyone!

 

Mermaids UK

Mermaids began as a group of concerned parents sharing experiences and trying to find ways to keep children safe and happy. It’s grown into one of the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ charities, empowering thousands of people with its secure online communities, local community groups, helpline services, web resources, events and residential weekends.

Stonewall

Stonewall is probably the most recognisable name on our list of charities working to provide a programme of services to organisations, including children’s education settings.

The Outside Project

While your kids may not be direct beneficiaries of this homelessness project, you may want to donate of help with the charity for your own self-development. The Outside Project of LGBTIQ+ colleagues, friends & activists work in the Homeless sector & have lived experience of homelessness & the unique, complex issues their community faces.

Mind Out

Despite Covid-19, Mind Out is still running mental health services and has useful information for those seeking help as well as those seeking education.

AKT

akt supports lgbtq+ young people aged 16-25 in the UK who are facing or experiencing homelessness or living in a hostile environment. It was originally formed in Manchester in 1989 by Cath Hall, an experienced foster carer, and founder member of Manchester Parents Group (MPG), who had become acutely aware of the rejection and ejection of young LGBT people from their family home and the homophobia they faced within school and society.

 

Cover image by Yoav Hornung

ANTI-RACIST BOOKS FOR KIDS

Book Reviews, Education, Features, Features Home, Parenting

Black squares and hashtags are all well and good. Promising to educate yourself, also. Actioning those promises is what’s needed, and knowledge is going to help you and your kids take action.

City Kids has put together a collection of books for children and their parents who are committed to making a positive change. Our anti-racist book list for kids features stories with black characters in central roles as well as highlighting leaders of colour and those who have stood up against prejudice through the years.

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength”. Maya Angelou

This small list of what’s available is just the beginning…

 

AN ABC OF EQUALITY
By Chana Ginelle Ewing
0-5yrs (Board book)

THE MEGA HAIR SWAP
By Rochelle Humes
3-5yrs

LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET
By Matt de la Peña
3-5yrs

THE NEW SMALL PERSON
By Lauren Child
3-6yrs

LOOK UP!
By Nathan Byron & Dapo Adeola
3-7yrs

LITTLE PEOPLE BIG DREAMS
Featuring Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Josephine Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, Harriet Tubman, Jesse Owens, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Evonne Goolagong
4-7yrs

ELLA QUEEN OF JAZZ
By Helen Hancocks
4-8 yrs

THEA LEMON AND HER SUPER SPORTY FAIRY GODMOTHER
By Mark Lemon
4yrs+

LEON AND BOB
By Simon James
5yrs+

ADA TWIST’S BIG PROJECT BOOK FOR STELLAR SCIENTISTS
By Andrea Beaty
5-7yrs

THE SILENCE SEEKER
By Ben Morley
5-7yrs

SOMEDAY IS NOW: CLARA LUPER AND THE 1958 OKLAHOMA CITY SIT-INS
By Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
6-9yrs

DEALING WITH RACISM
By Jane Lacey
6-8yrs

40 INSPIRING ICONS: PEOPLE OF PEACE: MEET 40 AMAZING ACTIVISTS
By Sandrine Mirza
7-10yrs

LITTLE GUIDES TO GREAT LIVES
Featuring Nelson Mandela and Maya Angelou
7-11yrs

YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK: MEET 52 BLACK HEROES FROM PAST AND PRESENT
By Jamia Wilson
7-10yrs

40 INSPIRING ICONS: BLACK MUSIC GREATS
By Olivier Cachin
7-10yrs

THE POWER BOOK: WHAT IS IT, WHO HAS IT, AND WHY?
By Claire Saunders, Georgia Amson-Bradshaw, Minna Salami, Mik Scarlet, and Hazel Songhurst
7-11yrs

LESSONS FROM HISTORY, ELEMENTARY EDITION: A CELEBRATION IN BLACKNESS
By Jawanza Kunjufu
7yrs+

LITTLE LEADERS: EXCEPTIONAL MEN IN BLACK HISTORY
By Vashti Harrison
8-12yrs

LITTLE LEADERS: BOLD WOMEN IN BLACK HISTORY
By Vashti Harrison
8-12yrs

BLACKBERRY BLUE
By Jamila Gavin
9-11yrs

THE YOUNG MAGICIANS AND THE THIEVES’ ALMANAC
By Nick Mohammed
9-11yrs

WHO ARE REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS? WHAT MAKES PEOPLE LEAVE THEIR HOMES? AND OTHER BIG QUESTIONS
By Michael Rosen & Annemarie Young
9-17yrs

IGGIE’S HOUSE
By Judie Blume
9-12yrs

SPEAK UP!: SPEECHES BY YOUNG PEOPLE TO EMPOWER AND INSPIRE
By Adora Svitak
10yrs+

THIS BOOK IS ANTI-RACIST: 20 LESSONS ON HOW TO WAKE UP, TAKE ACTION, AND DO THE WORK
By Tiffany Jewell
11-15yrs

THE HYPNOTIST
By Laurence Anholt
12yrs+

WATCH US RISE
By Renee Watson & Ellen Hagan
12yrs+

NOUGHTS AND CROSSES
By Malorie Blackman
12yrs+

THE LIFE OF STEPHEN LAWRENCE
By Verna Allette Wilkins
13yrs+

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
By Harper Lee
13yrs+

THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR
By Nicola Yoon
14yrs+

THE HATE YOU GIVE
By Angie Thomas
14yrs+

DEAR MARTIN
By Nic Stone
14yrs+

BookTrust Recommendations

Our friends at BookTrust have shared a link to more books collated as part of their BookTrust Represents campaign created to promote children’s authors and illustrators of colour.

For teens

For Primary

Picture books

Book shops:

We Need Diverse Books

Blackwells.co.uk

Whsmith.co.uk

Amazon.co.uk

hive.co.uk

pagesofhackney.co.uk

 

THE CITY KIDS BONUS ISSUE HAS LANDED

Features Home, Parenting

With lockdown well underway, the City Kids bonus issue has landed. We’ve scrambled to produce a bonus mini-version of our quarterly print publication.

It’s been created with a view to supporting small businesses who have been dealt a blow by Covid-19. Inside you’ll find most of our regular features with a bit of a twist.

Brands get to showcase their collections while their stores are closed as well as promoting new initiatives they have worked on during this crisis. Our What’s On calendar is neatly entitled What’s Online featuring fun and educational things to do for all the family.

Expect features on food, interiors, fashion and those all-important tips on schooling at home.

 

 

By signing up to our newsletter, you’ll be the first to receive links to our future digital editions. And you’ll hear about our latest offers, collaborations and competitions before anyone else.

 

20 SCREEN-FREE BOREDOM BUSTERS DURING LOCKDOWN

Features Home, Parenting

Looking for some screen-free things to do to stave off cries of boredom during lockdown? Here are some ideas which need more or less input from parents depending on the age of your kids.

Teabag challenge
The aim of the game is to get the teabag in the cup. All that’s required is a drained teabag and a cup. Take in turns, take scores and take steps back from the cup to make it harder.

Make a Facemask
Great for adults as well as kids and easy to make. Squish half a banana with around 1 tbsp orange juice and 1 tbsp honey. Mix well. Apply to your face and leave for 15 minutes. It may be lumpy but that’s ok. Wash off and moisturise.

Sink or swim
Fill a washing bowl with water and find objects that sink or swim.

Make a magazine
But of course, we would recommend this! Start with a plan of what you’d include, what kind of magazine is it, who is its audience, research some pictures, draw sketches, think of headlines, copy out some recipes or useful tips. Check out magazine designs that you really like. Click on our Green issue below for some CK inspiration. No computer required, can all be done by hand and stapled together. Trust us. Our 12 year old self did just that!

 

 

Wash the car
This has got to be a winner. Supply soapy water, sponges and chamois, crack open a beer and sit in the sunshine. Older kids may require renumeration…

Lego Tower
Compete to see which family member can build the tallest tower or longest snake.

Guess the object
Put various objects in a bag and then each person takes a turn to be blindfolded and guess what’s inside.

Donuts on a string
If you’re lucky enough to have found ring donuts or clever enough to make them, tie onto some string and hang from more string across the room or garden. See how fast you can eat one. No hands and no licking the sugar off your lips!

 

 

Pin the tail on the donkey
Old ones are the best ones. Haven’t got a pin, use a sticker. Click the link for a print out, or to buy some time, get the kids to draw a donkey.

Bushtucker trial
A true test for the family’s fussiest eaters. Requires a blindfold and a selection of different foods, both nice and nasty(ish). Players guess what they’re tasting and the score master keeps note. The winner guesses the most correct. You could use ice cream, biscuits, pasta, olives, mustard etc.

Homemade snap cards
Use a ruler and pencil to divide an A4 piece of paper into 12 cards. Draw pictures on each one. Do this twice and then play snap or the memory game.

Shave a ballOon
Again, one for the older kids. Blow up a ballon, cover in shaving foam and try to shave it without popping it. Could also be seen as training for an important life skill!

 

 

Board games tournament
For committed families, dig out your favourite games and run a tournament, jotting down the winner each time. We can’t promise there won’t be arguments and tears from the most competitive members of the family!

Paper aeroplanes
Come on. You remember how to do this.

Make an obstacle course
Inside or out. Be careful!

Build a den
Again, inside or out and play with toys, eat lunch, snacks etc. Must have blankets, duvets and cushions.

 

Hangman
Requires two or more people and possibly some adult interaction so coffee break will have to wait.

Research an animal
Copy a picture of your favourite animal from a book and write a paragraph of fun facts. Older kids can put a little more effort into their research!

Hide and seek
No explanation needed!

Paint pebbles
Collect on a walk or find in the garden. Wash at home and then paint.

JO PRATT’S PEA AND PANEER SAMOSAS

Features, Features Home, Recipes

We’ve been lucky to work with Jo Pratt since the very early days of City Kids Magazine. Here we have an exclusive, yet to be published recipe, straight from the test kitchen.

 

BAKED PEA AND PANEER SAMOSAS

I’m a huge fan of making family friendly recipes from simple to source ingredients, often using ones that are already sitting in my fridge or cupboard. These crunchy baked filo pastry parcels are a perfect example. Strips of pastry are filled with a mildly spiced vegetable and cheese filling. I have used paneer, a classic Indian cheese, but cottage cheese, feta or even halloumi would work equally as well.

It’s not just the cheese you can be flexible with, as you can increase the spice by swapping the korma paste for a hotter spice such as tikka masala or rogan josh. Once cooked, the samosas can be served hot or cold, as a snack, starter, lunch with mango chutney and raita, or as an accompaniment to a curry feast.

Makes 16

sunflower or rapeseed oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tbsp korma paste
1 tsp tomato puree
200g paneer cheese, finely diced
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
175g frozen peas, defrosted
4 sheets filo pastry
sea salt
1-2 tsp nigella seeds and or sesame seeds

 

 

Method

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Add the onion, carrot, garlic and ginger, and sauté for about 10 minutes until the onion is beautifully soft.

Stir in the korma paste, tomato puree, paneer, coconut, peas, 1 tbsp water and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes stirring frequently until the filling has all cooked together nicely. Check for seasoning and add more salt if you feel it needs it.

Remove the pan from the heat and cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

Cut each piece of the filo pastry into 4 strips. Working on 4 strips at a time, brush each one lightly with oil. To prevent the remaining pastry from drying out, keep covered with a damp towel.

Spoon a heaped tablespoon of the filling onto the bottom corner of each lightly oiled pastry strip. Fold over diagonally to create a triangle over the filling. Continue to fold/roll the pastry around the filling, keeping the triangle shape, securing in the filling.

For more of Jo’s brilliant recipes, or to buy The Flexible Vegetarian  head to jo-pratt.com

 

FANCY STAYING IN A CASTLE?

Features Home, News

 

Hever Castle’s Bed and Breakfast scores 96% and maintains its 5* Gold status after Visit England assessment

 

Hever Castle’s luxury Bed and Breakfast has maintained its 5* Gold status and a Breakfast award.

The accommodation was assessed by Visit England and received a 96% quality score. To gain a 5* rating businesses have to score between 85% and 100% and are marked on bedrooms, bathrooms, cleanliness, hospitality and breakfast.

The Gold award is given to accommodation which offers the `best of the best’ including exceptional quality and going the extra mile for their customers and the Breakfast Awards recognises breakfasts which exceed guest expectations.

Visit England said that: “Hever Castle Bed & Breakfast presented extremely well on this year’s day assessment, comfortably retaining its Five Star Guest Accommodation rating.”

Hever Castle’s four bedroom holiday cottage, Medley Cottage also maintained its 5* Gold rating, scoring 92%.

House Manager Roland Smith said: “We are delighted that the hard work and high standards of cleanliness and customer service has been recognised by Visit England. It is testament to our dedicated members of staff that we have retained this accolade. We look forward to welcoming more guests to our luxury accommodation throughout 2019 and 2020.”

The bed and breakfast is housed in the ‘Tudor Village’ – an Edwardian extension to the Castle which consists of the ‘Astor Wing’ and recently refurbished ‘Anne Boleyn Wing’ – with 28 bedrooms in total.

The extension was added to the Castle by William Waldorf Astor to accommodate staff and guests was previously only available for weddings and corporate events.

In 2012 underfloor heating, flat screen TVs and wifi were added as part of a refurbishment to open the accommodation up to the general public. The doors opened in March 2012.

All bedrooms are en-suite and individually styled, with some offering four poster beds, roll top baths or walk in showers.

Guests to the luxury bed and breakfast, which recently received the TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence for the fourth year running, have exclusive access to some of the 125 acre award winning gardens when they are closed to the general public.

For bookings head to hevercastle.co.uk

Photos: Hever Castle & Gardens

 

WHO ARE…BLOOM AND BLOSSOM

Features Home, Parenting

We interview the founders of Bloom and Blossom about creating a dream business, working with family and building a brand

 


Three words to describe yourselves.

Julia: Committed, honest and a giggle.

Christina: Determined, loyal and fun.

What’s it like working with a relative?

Julia: It really is great, and we know we are lucky. At first our family thought it could be too close to home, but we really are each other’s biggest supporters. We give each other the sanity check we know is essential in business. We support each other emotionally and physically. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and, as we build Bloom and Blossom, we are enjoying seeing ourselves develop as business women and as parents, this ensures our brand is continues to grow authentically.

What’s the most challenging thing you’ve faced while being in business? 

Christina: Business is challenging, that is the truth, but we have learnt to embrace that. Managing manufacturing, NPD, retailers and customers makes it the rollercoaster ride that it is but we are happy with that and know it will continue. We take time to look back and evaluate decisions, the right ones and the wrong ones, to ensure we learn along the way. We are brave, we take leaps, and we aren’t scared to try new things, and with that we also take on the challenges of business, but that is half the fun, it is a little bit bonkers, but we wouldn’t change a thing.

Who does what in the business?

Julia: We are lucky to have built an incredible team of talented, dedicated and passionate people. For many years it was just us two, so we have literally done every job within the running of our business from financial accounts to product development to social media and packing up orders. We are not afraid or too grand to turn our hand to any task, and this is the attitude we look for in all our employees.

Now we have a strong team means we can focus our time on fulfilling our sustainability promise, developing new products, discovering new innovations, understanding our customers’ needs and building an authentic business focused on helping families thrive.

How did the initial collaboration with Roald Dahl come about?

Christina: All our product development comes from a place of authenticity, flowing from the products we need and want as parents. We developed incredible pregnancy products when we were pregnant and incredible baby products when our children were babies. So, it was almost a given we would bring out products for older children as ours grew up. As parents we know the importance of routine in promoting quality sleep and reading plays an integral part in that. Reading should be part of every child’s day and particularly their switch off process at bedtime. Who better than to partner with the world’s number one author Roald Dahl. Two British brands in partnership promoting the importance of sleep.

How do you decide on fragrances for the different lines you have?

Christina: Our fragrances sit at the heart of our formulations and play a powerful role in the efficacy of our products. Fragrance is key in evoking mood and wellbeing – we start with how we want our customers to feel when they use our products then blend in the ingredients to achieve this.

What has it been like to support Beauty Banks?

Julia: Having seen Jo Jones and Sali Hughes set up Beauty Banks and having watched the incredible impact it has had to people living on the poverty line – it was a no brainer. Being clean is a human right and whatever we can do to help get toiletries in to the hands of families, we will do. Our ‘one for one’ initiative was kicked off alongside the launch of our hand washes, and this is just the beginning.

Last book you read?

Julia: Sara Cox’s Till the Cows Come Home: A Lancashire Childhood. I am from Lancashire, I adore Sara Cox’s writing, her humour and outlook on life.

Christina:I AM, I AM, I AMby Maggie O’Farrell. A brilliant biography of one of my all-time favourite authors and her many brushes with life and death.

What’s your top tip for date night in London?

A top tip for date nights in London is to try something new. We are so lucky to live and work on the doorstep of one of the best cities in the world and there is always something wonderful and new to explore. Some favourites include Palomar (amazing middle Eastern food) and Kyseri (Turkish) but also enjoying the London parks, grabbing a picnic, taking in the views and enjoying walks around the city, when the weather permits.

Where’s your favourite place to go in London with the children?

Julia: The Southbank. Walking along there with the children is incredible, taking in the views, the atmosphere and the entertainers.

Christina: Kew Gardens. It’s got everything. The new children’s playground is insane. Just make sure you book in advance!

Tell us one thing that people don’t know about you.

Christina: I bought my first house on a property TV show.

Julia: I have a Blue Peter badge.

What would you take to a desert island?

Julia: Suncream and Spotify.

Christina: Complete library of Sex And The City and a lifetime supply of mango sorbet.

Signature dish?

Christina: Cooking is not my forte, but I do a mean Indian takeaway…

Julia: I love cooking, particularly cooking for friends and family. A favourite of mine is crab linguine – super simple, but so tasty. And then throw in some Ottolenghi inspired salads…I could go on and on, don’t get me started on puddings!

Your proudest moment?

Christina: my daughter recently won a coveted award at school for kindness. I really couldn’t ask for more. Very proud mother!

What’s next on the list of things to do?

Christina: is world domination too much? We have big, exciting plans ahead. Watch this space…!

 

Bloomandblossom.com

beautybanks.org.uk

 

EXPERT SUN SAFETY TIPS

Features Home

So we are officially having a heatwave with record breaking temperatures expected over the next few days. But whether you are enjoying sunny days here or abroad on holiday, it’s extremely important to stay safe in the sun as when the mercury rises so does the risk of skin damage from its rays.

We all know the dangers of sun burn and the importance of sunscreen, but choosing the best one to suit your child’s sensitive skin can be a bit confusing. What exactly are all these chemicals and which ones are the most effective? And once you’ve chosen your cream or spray how much of it do you need to use and how often?

We asked Dr Jennifer Crawley the expert dermatologist for Childs Farm, one of the UK’s leading baby and child toiletries brand, to give us the lowdown on how to keep kids (and adults) safe in the sun.

What are the most common mistakes when applying sun cream 

“It’s important to use sun cream not just during the summer months, but all year round to avoid long term sun damage and the risk of developing skin cancer. Getting sunburn just once every two years can triple the risk of melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer. That’s why it’s so important to be applying sun cream all year round, not just when it’s hot as UVA and UVB rays can still be damaging on cooler days. We all need a re-education when it comes to sun protection and we need to get out of the mindset that suncream is just for holidays abroad or during heatwaves at home.”

How much to apply and and how often?

“One of the main problems we find is that parents don’t apply an adequate amount of suncream on their children. We recommend at least two teaspoons for the head and neck area and two tablespoons for the body. But you can’t apply too much, so use it liberally.”

Top tips for staying safe in the sun

  • On hot days and when you’re abroad keep little ones in the shade between 11am and 3pm when the sun is at its hottest

  • Cover any exposed skin with suncream even on cloudy days

  • Use a high factor SPF 30+ sun cream, with broad spectrum protection against UVA and UVB rays.

  • Reapply suncream numerous times throughout the day, especially after swimming

  • Pay particular attention to often forgotten areas such as the shoulders, back of the neck and behind the ears when applying sun cream

  • Where possible, cover up childrens’ skin with a hat, loose fitting clothing and sunglasses

  • Always keep babies under the age of six months out of direct sunlight

  • For those who have particularly sensitive or eczema-prone skin, make sure you are using a product that has been clinically tested as suitable for this skin type / use a product that is dermatologist and paediatrician approved

Here are some great sunscreens for your little ones

Childs Farm 

Childs Farm new formulation 50+spf sun cream for very high protection, is water resistant and protects young and sensitive skin from UVA and UVB rays, whilst keeping skin moisturised and hydrated. So you can relax while your children enjoy the sun safely.

Suitable for babies and upwards. Dermatologist and paediatrician approved as suitable for sensitive skin and safe for people who may be prone to eczema, it’s unfragranced 125ml is registered with The Vegan Society. One of their best products is the roll on sun cream which makes it easy for kids to apply it themselves.

The ideal thing to pop in their bag if they are off to a tennis or cricket camp this summer and might need a top up when you aren’t there to help.

La Roche-Posay

If you ever sit next to a French family on the beach you are pretty much guaranteed to see them slathering La Roche-Posay all over the kids. This brand has cult status in France and is increasingly popular with us Brits too – you can even buy it in Boots.

For kids we love La Roch-Posay Anthelios Dermo-Kids Multi-Positional Spray SPF 50, which doesn’t leave little ones looking like they’ve been dipped in white paint or leave those annoying yellow stains on pale clothing. It’s super easy to rub in, is absorbed almost instantly and is water resistant. We still pop another layer on after a pool or sea session, but it certainly doesn’t wash off easily.

The Factor 50 face mist is great too and particularly useful when you just want to do a quick top up. Simply spray over their faces (eyes closed obviously) and there is no need to rub in. Perfect for when you are in a rush to get back in the pool – which kids always seem to be!

 

 

 

Green People

Commonly used in lots of sunscreens, Oxybenzone and Octinoxate are the UV filters that protect our skin, but research shows they have the opposite effect on the environment.

Once you’ve slathered on your sun lotion, just a 20 minute dip will result in 25% of the ingredients being released into the sea and even tiny amounts of these chemicals can have a detrimental effect on marine life, damaging the DNA of coral and causing dramatic hormonal changes and deformities in fish.

But the good news is there are marine-friendly alternatives. Green People chooses to use Titanium dioxide, which acts as a reflective barrier predominantly to UVB radiation, and Isoamyl P-methoxycinnamate, which is derived from Cinnamic acid found in the leaves of the cinnamon tree, providing natural protection against UVB radiation. For protection against UVA radiation, they use Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate. Although synthetically produced, this ingredient has an excellent safety profile, biodegrades readily and has no adverse effects on the environment. This blend of filters guarantees broad-range protection against both UVA and UVB radiation, whilst being environmentally safe. For kids opt for the Organic Children Sun Lotion SPF 30.

Definitely something worth considering when choosing your sunscreen.

Bioderma

Bioderma’s Photoderm range offers maximum protection for children’s delicate skin. According to the brand the exclusive combination of UVA/UVB dermatological filters and the Cellular Bioprotection™ patent provides children optimal protection against the harmful effects of UV rays as well as internal biological protection.

We like the Factor 50 mouse which is super easy to apply and it smells really good too.

Ultrasun

This range is a great option if your kids are playing sport or jumping in an out of water as it’s extremely sweat and water resistant. We’ve heard it said that you can apply in just once a day but personally we would reapply regularly just to be on the safe side.

Ultrasun Extreme SPF 50+ is fast-absorbing, non-greasy, non-sticky with UVA and UVB (SPF50+) protection, plus vitamin E and pro vitamin B5. It’s ideal for extreme sun conditions and extremely sensitive skin, especially children’s’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAME JESSICA ENNIS HILL LAUNCHES FITNESS APP

Features, Features Home, Parenting

With her new fitness app, JENNIS, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill aims to share the expert advice and support she was so grateful for during her pregnancies

 

When did you start thinking about creating the app?

The original idea came when I was pregnant with Reggie. I found it overwhelming trying to find the right information about fitness in pregnancy and post-natally. Luckily, I had an incredible physio to help me navigate this and I am so grateful for that, so I wanted to find a way to share the information with women everywhere.

What can it do?

There are three options within the app: workouts for pregnancy, post pregnancy (Jennis Pregnancy) or people who have busy lives and want a quick effective workout (Jennis Fitness). The workouts are all very easy to follow and are tailored to different levels of fitness.  The pregnancy workouts allow the woman to choose what activity they do based on how they are feeling and are tailored to suit each trimester of their pregnancy.

What kind of advice and support does the app have?

As well as the work outs, we have created something called ‘Your Pregnancy Questions Answered’. There are videos of me with physio Ali Rose chatting about some of the big things I discovered when pregnant and answering some common pregnancy exercise questions too.

On our website we will also host lots of informative pregnancy content, alongside our own content we have partnered with experts in their field – there will be lots of advice and support for mums to be – and Dads too!

How did you feel when you were pregnant?

I loved being pregnant but like every other woman I had no idea what to expect.  Our bodies go through so much change and I was super lucky to have an amazing team around me to explain what was happening and why. That was incredibly reassuring and that is why I have created Jennis, to share these insights and training programmes.

Did you feel any pressure to get your body back, particularly as you’re Jessica Ennis, World and Olympic Champion?

After the birth of my first child I was still a competing athlete and I really wanted to get back – I was always asking Ali if I could start doing some ab work, she was very careful and taught me ways to check if my abs were knitting back ok. I am so glad I listened to her advice and that of my coach as I came back all the stronger for it.  A gradual strengthening of your core muscles and building back strength sensibly is definitely advisable.

How do you fit fitness into your daily routine with the children?

I just try and grab 20-minute windows when I can, either when the kids are at school or after they have gone to bed. If they are around, I will still try but sometimes they might get cut short if the kids want to ‘get involved’ but even 5 minutes is better than nothing.

We’re told that through the app we’ll see the real Jessica Ennis-Hill. What’s she like?

Ha! I’d like to think… energetic, cheerful and honest. I am very down to earth and love a bit of a laugh.

Did you find becoming a parent tough?

I don’t think any parent is prepared for sleep deprivation! Having a baby is the most joyful thing you could ever imagine – but the lack of sleep is really tough. I am absolutely loving being a mum – it is a new challenge every day but the joy my two bring to our lives is immeasurable.

What advice would you give to new parents?

To accept help from family and friends and that there will be days when you have a newborn that you get nothing done and that is absolutely fine!

How well do Reggie (4) and Olivia get on (1)?

Brilliantly, I am so lucky!

What’s your favourite thing to do as a family?

I think holidays are the best time as we are all together 24/7 – otherwise a lovely walk with our dog Myla on a weekend.

Jennis app £9.99 a month www.jennisfitness.com

TOP 5 LONDON PLAYGROUNDS

Features Home, News, Parenting


We all spend a lot of time in playgrounds with the kiddies so we have narrowed down our Top 5 in London

 

TUMBLING BAY PLAYGROUND
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
This huge playground built on the landscape of the Olympic Park encourages your children to experiment in a natural environment.  With tree houses, rock pools, sandpits and rope bridges your child will not only be entertained they will be inspired to.
queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk


CHILDREN’S GARDEN
Kew Gardens
The new interactive Children’s Garden suitable for ages 2 to 12 years old is now open. There is an earth, air, water and sun garden with lots of fun things such as a bamboo tunnel, a worm-hole tube slide, trampolines, a stream and splash pool and much more.
kew.org

 

PADDINGTON RECREATION GROUND
Paddington
An excellent large playground that caters for both the big and little kids..  With an adventure castle, a mini street, a percussion garden, a shipwreck climbing frame, a train station and a zip wire you will struggle to get them to leave this one.
westminster.gov.uk

 


RAF MUSEUM
Hendon
An outdoor playground with mini models of iconic aircraft such as the famous Spitfire and powerful Sea-King helicopter, there is even a mini version of the historic Grahame-White building.  With slides, nets, poles and ladders this play area is a wonderful place to fuel the little ones imaginations
rafmuseum.org.uk

 


BATTERSEA PARK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND
Battersea
There’s heaps of fun to be had in this playground where kids can ride a tractor, hop in a car, ride a life size helicopter, get creative drawing their own animals on the chalk boards or be a fireman in the fire engine. The playground invites them to test their skills as they build, swing, balance and ride while the parents can have a sit down on the picnic tables surrounding it.
batterseaparkzoo.co.uk

 

For more things to do head to our What’s On page.

MAISON DU MONDE’S NEW JUNIOR COLLECTION

Features, Features Home

Maison Du Monde’s New Junior Collection

Whether it’s cushions, glasses or a new sofa, Maison Du Monde has long been the go-to store for stylish interiors fans. So it’s no surprise that their latest kids’ collection is absolutely gorgeous.

In 2016 the French brand added a children’s range, but the latest offering is the most extensive they have designed to date.

Now for the first time you’ll find styles that cater for babies through to teens with the 2019 junior ‘universe’ collection. This includes everything from furniture and lighting, bedlinen and curtains to cushions and amazing accessories that complete the look of each room perfectly.

For the nursery we love the clever modular cot and changing table combo that is both practical and chic. The lovely neutral and pastel colours are perfect for a little one’s room.

 

Moving on to older children you’ll find brighter colours and innovative designs. Themes include ‘Marine’, ‘Galaxy’ and ‘Dreams’. Little girls will love the ‘mermaid’ room set and for boys there’s ‘dinos’.

They have teens sussed too with super cool monochrome mixed with metal and pale wood to give a sophisticated New York loft look.

But our favourite part of the collection is the outdoor range. Now you can create the most fantastic kid’s space in your garden with mini deckchairs, tepees  and tables in bright, fun colours. There is also plastic tableware for the grooviest pic nic ever.

And the final great thing about Maison Du Monde? It doesn’t’ cost the earth. Their products are all well-made and functional, but not ridiculously expensive, making it even easier to introduce your youngsters to amazing interior design in their own rooms.

maisonsdumonde.com

 

 

COOL THINGS FOR KIDS – CUTE

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Our weekly guide rounding up some of  the best cool things for your little ones.

The Cutest Clips

How amazing are these hair clips from Mille Deux? This gorgeous Danish brand was born in 2014 when the founder decided she wanted to create beautiful hair accessories for her little girl.

They make everything from classic grosgrain bows in every colour under the sun to novelty clips – think ballerinas, pencils and even lobsters for summer. We love the Liberty print ones too. Boys aren’t left out either – they get satin and velvet bow ties. In fact, Mille Deux make such pretty things that we want them for ourselves. Hair clips are bang on trend after all!

 

 

 

Pyjamarama with the Book Trust

Every child should have a bedtime story. Reading with children at any time of day is so important for their development, but there is something particularly special about that last story of the day before they fall asleep and hopefully dream about all the adventures they’ve just listened to.

That’s why we love the work that the Book Trust do. They are the UK’s largest children’s reading charity and each year reach 3.4 million children across the UK with books, resources and support.

Friday 7th June is their annual ‘Pyjamarama’, when children of all ages go to school or nursery in their PJs and donate a £1 to the Trust. Kids are encouraged to makes extra time for reading that day too. It’s great fun for a great cause.

You can download a fundraising pack from their website booktrust.org.uk or approach your school and ask if they fancy joining in.

The day is being supported by the likes of  Cyberjammies who will donate £1 for every pair of their lovely PJs sold online. The offer runs from 13th May to 17th June so if you are looking for some really nice new sleepwear for you kiddies then take a look and you’ll also be supporting a great charity.

 

 

 

Polo Fun Time

A day at the polo is always super. The sport and the atmosphere are both great. So why not take your little ones along too?  London’s top kids’ entertainers Sharky and George are back for their 10th year at Chesterton’s Polo in the Park at the Hurlingham Club in Putney ensuring your kids have a ton of fun.

Taking place on each of the three days, their “Little Hooves Club” will feature every child’s favourite activities such as a bouncy castle, fantastic face painting, a soft play zone, a giant inflatable assault course, a brilliant arts and craft area for children to get more creative and the return of ‘the pink panther slide’.

On Finals Day (Sunday 9 June) is where family is firmly put first with a kiddie pitch invasion in the morning before the action kicks off. It’s set to be a grand finale of fun for children of all ages with activities including a space hopper steeplechase and a tug of war.

 

Summer Style For Less

We like to keep you posted on any fab bargains we come across. Right now Polarn O Pyret are running a great summer discount event with 25% off all their summer clothes until Sunday 19th May. Think T-shirts, shorts, dresses and swimwear in lovely summery colours and cool prints. Plus sun hats and sandals.

The Swedish brand’s huge range goes from 0 to 12 and is great for both girls and boys. If you need a new raincoat or want to be super organised and pick up some cosy kit for autumn, then there is 30% of selected outerwear too. Our kids wear Polarn O Pyret’s clothes, so we can personally recommend them. Great quality as well as being super stylish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BEST LONDON PARKS FOR PICNICS

Features, Features Home, Latest from CK, Lifestyle, Parenting

Sunny weather, restrictions loosening? Must be time for a picnic with friends. Here’s our guide to the best London parks for picnics

 

 

 

Primrose Hill
One of our favourite London views is from the top of Primrose Hill, a whopping 63 metres above sea level. A special spot to watch the sun go down.

Victoria Park
Over 86 hectares, this is one of London’s larges parks, as well as one of its oldest. Sadly the splash park isn’t open until May but you should be able to find a little piece of green for your rug.

London Fields
Close to Broadway Market, if you can’t be bothered to pack the picnic, you can buy supplies here. The Olympic-sized lido is sadly not open yet, but it won’t be long!

Holland Park
There’s plenty to do here if you need to keep the kids entertained with football, golf and netball posts. Plus the Kyoto garden may just be a hint of how Japan is looking during blossom season.

Richmond Park
Ignoring the roads that criss-cross this huge expanse of land, you really could be miles from the city here. Don’t talk to the deer though, they can do serious harm.

Wandsworth Park
A nice spot by the river, with a couple of pubs close by if the mood takes. Plus Putt in the Park which is fun for all ages and abilities.

Brockwell Park
When restrictions finally lift, you need to head here early for a swim at Brockwell Lido and then a wonderful picnic in the park. Explorers will discover the 19th-century clock tower, a walled garden and some formal planting.

Thames Barrier Park
Who knew there was an accompanying park to this feat of engineering. It’s a whole day out too, including fountains, flower gardens, manicured lawns and a café.

St James’s Park
Take a trip to one of London’s most royal of parks. Surrounded by royal residences and Horse Guards Parade, there’s also a fountain, lake and pelicans to amuse.

Kew Gardens
Always a popular choice when the sun shines, it’s still possible to find a quiet spot for a sarnie.

 

 

Images courtesy:
Primrose Hill: Royal Parks
Holland Park: travellingdaveuk
Brockwell Park Lido: Brockwell Park Lido

FEMALE FUTURE: WORK THAT WORKS FOR ALL

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City Kids speaks to Christine Armstrong, author of The Mother of All Jobs, to get her take on whether the workplace is changing for the better.

The theme for International Women’s Day this year is #BalanceForBetter, celebrating the work of women, while calling for a more gender-balanced world. The gender pay gap is now a common talking point as stories reveal how men and women have been treated differently over the years.

Only recently, Google’s former UK head revealed she once had to hire a male executive on double her salary. The right to ask for flexible working, which is, incidentally, relevant to men and women, came into force almost two decades ago, but only a small proportion of the UK workforce actually takes the plunge. And still, women are made redundant while on maternity leave, or they return to work to find to find their role isn’t the same as it was.

How did we get to this stage, where many women feel overwhelmed while striving to have it all?

We took the 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. male breadwinner model – think The Tiger Who Came to Tea – that assumed Mummy was at home to care for Sophie and zoo visitors, and do the shopping, washing and cleaning.  And then we added lots of things. We added costs, as house prices quadrupled in twenty years, to all the adults, who normally work to pay the bills.  We also added ‘always on’ as a lot of people are connected to work from when they wake until when they sleep. Then we added more out-of-home time as we moved a bit further away from our families and lengthened our commutes. We left in the fact that women are still more responsible for childcare, generally, and the house, than men. The structures that care for our kids was left unchanged. Nursery care is extortionate, and schools still finish mid-afternoon, with kids getting three months of holiday a year.

Piss, I’ve just depressed myself.

What’s your message to the Sheryl Sandberg’s [Facebook COO & founder of Leanin.org] of the world?

It is great to be positive and encouraging, and to support other women. It is well-intentioned and designed to ensure more women get to the top so we can change things. But the unintended consequence is that families all over the world are feeling like failures. They tried leaning in, getting the best childcare they could afford and being better organised, but they still can’t make it work. I worry that, if we only hear from women at the very top of their professions, in terms of seniority and income, we miss out on hearing from millions of other families who can’t afford professional support (nannies, cleaners, housekeepers), can’t take control their own time and are finding it unbelievably tough going.

I want to say to those women and their partners: it’s not you and your family that can’t do this. The system wasn’t designed to work this way and if we keep saying everything is peachy, then we’ll never get around to changing it.

What is the biggest barrier to improving the work environment for women and parents?

There isn’t one barrier: you have to look at childcare hours, availability and costs, the lack of flexible options in most work, the mismatch between work and school days and our cultural expectations around what demonstrates ‘commitment’ at work.  Too often that is judged on the total number of hours worked. And in a world which is always on, you’ll burn out if you work every hour of the day and try to care for a family. If I had to focus on just one area, I would look at the total number of hours people work. Not their contractual hours – which often look perfectly reasonable on paper – but the actual numbers of hours they are connected to work – and figure out how to manage that.

What advice would you have for someone wanting to talk to their boss about flexible working?

I cite Karen Mattison of Timewise here: describe the benefits that you bring before the hours that you work. For example, I will deliver X and Y and Z on time and on budget. I will be in the office for three days a week and work from home, being fully contactable, on Monday and Friday.

What more can be done to bridge the gender pay gap?

We need to change the way we work for both men and women so that everyone can work in a focused and highly productive way, but also turn off and do other things when they are not working. Too often we celebrate people who are seen to work many, many hours, even if many of those hours are not productive and their tired, stressful reactions to things may not deliver the best answers.

One thing I want to see more work on is how we use technology. Too often people say they cannot switch off their electronic devices because they may ‘block’ progress on a sale or a project. We need to use technology better so that things can move forward within a team without everyone always having to be engaged all the damned time.

Friends just moved to work in Denmark and are astonished to find everyone starts at 8 a.m. and leaves work at 3 or 4 p.m. to collect kids and have dinner with them. Yet the OECD says that Nordic countries are 10-20% better off in terms of GDP becausethey enable more mums to work. We see letting people leave work early as an indulgence when the irony is that we could work fewer hours and actually do better as a country, and within our own businesses and households.

Why aren’t men judged in the same way as women?

Many people are struggling to come to terms with the fact that the male breadwinner model many of us grew up with – when, if mums did work, they tended to work in lower paid/more local roles – doesn’t really work anymore if you want to live in the kind of place your parents could live in on one income. We don’t have the social support to enable parents to both work and care for their kids: for example, early years care is extortionate in this country and pushes many women out of work, then making them ineligible for the 30 free hours during term time when they could get it.

Our current leaders in business and politics have tended to live and thrive in the old model and don’t fully appreciate the pressures of the way we work now. Even women I interview in their 50s and 60s who have had good careers say that they had the advantage of being able to leave the office at 5 p.m. and then not be interrupted at home. They report how much more difficult it got after email, computer/laptops at home and BlackBerries came in.

I always say though that, having interviewed a lot of men, they are not the winners in this either. Many younger men know the way their dads worked won’t work for them and want to be more involved at home but find their work places unsupportive of them. Older men often resent having to be ‘the breadwinner’. If both genders are to work, both must also be able to care.

Do you think you’ve found the balance of work and parenting?

This stuff is like dieting. One day you eat cod and salad and feel like you’re on it and the next you accidentally wolf down a cheeseburger and chips, followed by a box of Lindt truffles. The truth is that we have three young kids and run two businesses… When my parents took our kids before Christmas for a week it was mind-blowing. We couldn’t believe how much time and energy we had.

Every day, our children rightly demand our time and attention, and giving it to them is always a compromise between their needs and everything else we want and need to do. That said, I feel very lucky to spend so much time around home and the girls’ school. I do drop-offs and pick-ups most days, I am fully embedded in the week’s schedule of clubs, playdates and homework – and that is very different to when I held a full-time corporate role. Aside a student babysitter who helps cover pick-ups and swimming classes once or twice a week, my husband and I share the childcare between us.

Do you think anything significant will change for women in the work place in the next 10 years?

If – big if – we keep talking loudly about the challenges of the current system (for men and women) and the research that shows we can be more productive in less time, then I am optimistic we can move to fewer working hours, but more productive ways of working. If we spout the same old rubbish about just working harder and women ‘choosing to have babies’ as part of their ‘lifestyle’, nothing will change.

USEFUL RESOURCES:

www.cipd.co.uk
www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
www.pregnantthenscrewed.com
www.acas.org.uk
www.equalityadvisoryservice.com
www.doingitforthekids.net

 

New screen time advice for parents

Features, Features Home, News, Parenting

The government’s Chief Medical Officer has published new screen time advice for parents and carers

 

We’ve all known for long time that social media is not good for children. But for the first time ever the government’s Chief Medical Officer has published new social media and screen time advice for parents, carers children and young people.

These include leaving phones outside the bedroom when it’s bedtime, screen-free mealtimes and having family conversations about social media.

“Time spent online can be of great benefit to children and young people, providing opportunities for learning and skills development, as well as allowing young people to find support and information. But we need to take a precautionary approach and our advice will support children to reap these benefits and protect them from harm.” Professor Dame Sally Davies Chief Medical Officer for England.

86% of 7 to 11s are online

According to a recent study by Internet Matters 43% of those aged between 10 and 13 now use social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat and 86% of children aged 7 to 11 use some kind of online communication, often without their parents having any knowledge of them doing so.

And a recent survey by the BBC’s Newsround found that more than three-quarters of younger children at primary-leaving age were using at least one social media network. A terrifying statistic when you realise just how much children can be exposed to the minute they log on.  70 million photos are shared on Instagram every day, many of which will be entirely unsuitable for little eyes. Offensive and inappropriate material is only one click away.

Professor Dame Sally Davies’ view is that companies too have a responsibility to keep children safe online.

“Technology is an unavoidable aspect of modern life and technology companies have a duty of care. They must make more effort to keep their users safe from harm, particularly children and young people.”

So what is the advice?
  • Sleep matters. Getting enough, good quality sleep is very important. Leave phones outside the bedroom when it is bedtime.
  • Talking helps: Talk with your children about using devices and what they are watching. A change in behaviour can be a sign they are distressed – make sure they know they can always speak to you or another responsible adult if they feel uncomfortable with screen or social media use.
  • Safety when out and about. Advise children to put their screens away while crossing the road or doing an activity that needs their full attention!
  • Sharing sensibly. Parents and children should talk about sharing photos and information online and how photos and words are sometimes manipulated. Parents should never assume that their children are happy for their photos to be shared. For everyone – when in doubt, don’t upload!
  • Keep moving! Everyone should take a break after a couple of hours sitting or lying down using a screen #sitlessmovemore
  • Education matters. Make sure you and your children are aware of, and abide by their school’s policy on mobile phones/personal devices.
  • Use helpful phone features. Some devices and platforms have special features – try using these features to keep track of how much time you (and with their permission, your children) spend looking at a screen or on social media.
  • Family time together. Screen-free meal times are a good idea – you can enjoy face-to-face conversation, with adults giving their full attention to children.

The guidelines are not prescriptive. Just as every child is an individual, and every family is different, every family’s approach to technology must be equally unique. Instead, the Chief Medical Officer is encouraging every family to have a conversation about screen time and social media, and has developed a series of pointers for parents and carers based on research evidence on child and adolescent development.

Conversation pointers:

Supported by the CMO and produced by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health these are ideas to help them make decisions about their screen use:

  • Is our family’s screen time under control?
  • Does screen use interfere with what our family want to do?
  • Does screen use interfere with sleep?
  • Are we able to control snacking during screen time?
Ongoing support
  • Charities such as the NSPCC are urging parents to make online awareness as high a priority as road safety. They have some fantastic resources for parents and schools.
  • The UK Council for Internet Safety has developed a framework to equip children and young people for digital life and guidance for parents on minimising their child’s risk of online harms.
  • The UK Safer Internet Centre has developed a platform where people can report harmful content online if they are not satisfied with the result of their report to social media providers. For illegal content, reports should be made to the police and online to the Internet Watch Foundation
  • The UK Safer Internet Centre have partnered with Childnet International to create specific guidance on Keeping under 5s safe online.
  • Children’s Mental Health Week helps to tackle childhood anxiety and depression which can be brought on by social media, cyber bullying and other online behaviours.

Images courtesy: NSPCC and Department of Health and Social Care

 

GUIDE TO SUMMER HOLIDAY CLUBS & CAMPS IN LONDON

Features, Features Home, Parenting

If you thought you had it all worked out, but realise you’ve dropped a ball, here’s our guide to Summer holiday camps and clubs. Take note of some of the discounts we have available too!

THE LITTLE GYM

Themed activity camps that not only teach gymnastics but also work on confidence, self-esteem and creativity. Pirates, princesses, magic wizardry and superheroes for children aged 3-12yrs in Chiswick, Westfield, Wandsworth, Hampton Hill.
Quote CKTLG19 to get a 15% discount on camps at Chiswick

thelittlegym.eu/uk

 

RICHER EDUCATION

London’s leading STEM learning provider. Richer Education camps are not just about education, but also fun! All levels of knowledge are welcome and activities are led by specialists in their field.
4-14 yrs in appropriate age groups running at Imperial College London and at Baden Powell House in South Kensington.

richereducation.co.uk

 

FIRETECH

Innovative and creative tech camps covering Junior Python, all girls coding, video game design, Python and Java coding, Creative Digital Design, Unity 3D and more.
9-17yrs Imperial College, City of London School & South Hampstead.

£25 off with promo code CITYKIDS

firetechcamp.com

 

WILL TO WIN

Tennis for a week is a great way to improve. Lots of drills, games and match play with an emphasis on fun! Rackets can be borrowed.
4yrs+ Chiswick, Ealing, Regents Park, Hyde Park.

willtowin.co.uk

 

ARTS ED SUMMER SCHOOL

Acting and musical theatre summer school which teaches audition techniques, gives West End training and offers the chance to make your own movie. All from the best in the business.
7-16 yrs+ Chiswick

artsed.co.uk

 

WATERMANS SUMMER WORKSHOPS

These festival-themed summer workshops include music, making and having fun and include some FREE drop-ins. Highlights are a family gig with the Brass Funkeys, Cut-a-Shine’s family barn dance and animation workshops with an Aardman aficionado.
4-16yrs Running from Tuesday 30 July to Thursday 15 August in Brentford.

watermans.org.uk

 

FLIPOUT

Trampolining camps which include freejumping sessions, drama, art and back to school booster classes. Even a free t-shirt.
6-14yrs Brent Cross

flipout.co.uk

 

LITTLE HOUSE OF SCIENCE

Curious minds encouraged to explore, experiment and play at Imperial College.
4-11yrs Imperial College, Chelsea, St Johns Wood, Notting Hill & Kensington

littlehouseofscience.com

 

FIT FOR SPORT

Activity camps which have been running for 25 years to give children the opportunity to try a variety of sports and activities.
4-12 yrs all over London.

fitforsport.co.uk

 

CAMP ENGLAND

Multi-sports camp aiming to develop sporting talent as well as ‘Life Skills Through Sport’ such as resilience, teamwork, empowerment and responsibility.
5-13 yrs Richmond, Teddington, Hampton, Esher, Kingston

campengland.co.uk

 

SUMMER OF SLIME

Every parent’s favourite pastime…But Slime Planet are at the rescue offering one hour workshops every day during the holidays. Poppin’ Candy and Glow Slime are highlights.
3 yrs+ (under 5s need supervision) Arch 494 Rathgar Rd, London, Sw9 7EP

slimeplanet.co.uk

 

CAMP BEAUMONT

Multi-activity camp hosted at schools with some of the best facilities in town.
3-16 yrs at UCS and King’s College School. Runs until 23rd August.

www.campbeaumont.co.uk/our-camps

 

SCHOOL FOR CREATIVE THINKERS

Inspired by architecture, the summer programme is called Nature’s Architects and focusses on learning from nature’s builders such as birds and bees.Can be booked as a single session, weekly or whole course.
 4-11 yrs (under 6 to be accompanied by an adult. Runs until 15 August.

www.schoolforcreativethinkers.com

 

CYPHER CODERS

Coding and tech inspired camps which touch on themes such as music, robotics, nature, oceanography and art. Pick up points across West London to their bases in Notting Hill and St John’s Wood. 5yrs+

cyphercoders.com

 

ET PATATI PATATA

Learn French from native speakers in this 30 hour a week immersion school. Gold Award holiday camp.
4-16 yrs in three age groups Hammersmith

etpatatipatata.com

 

MY LITTLE BOARDERS

Two disciplines, Skate park Skateboarding (in the morning) and Street Skateboarding (in the afternoon) running and running catering for beginners, intermediate and advanced skaters.
6-14 yrs Royal Oak & Camden

mylittleboarders.co.uk

 

KITE STUDIOS

All day workshops on Wednesdays including Plants inspired by Kew Gardens and Mixed Media with Ferdinand the Bull. Askew Road.

kitestudios.org

 

SHOOTING STARZ

Choose from multi-sports, football, netball or mini skills and book half, full or extended days or weeks at camp.
3-13 yrs Club Des Sports Acton.

shootingstarz.co.uk

 

ROCKS LANE

Multi-sports, netball and football on offer with lunchbox included.
3-12 yrs Chiswick, Barnes, Bishops Park

rockslane.co.uk

 

BRENTFORD FC COMMUNITY SPORTS TRUST

“Confidence, Fair Play, Leadership, Respect, Sportsmanship, Teamwork” Soccer schools which teach technique in a fun and safe environment.
5-12 yrs Isleworth

brentfordfccst.com

TNT HAMPTON POOL

On Tuesdays and Thursdays take the kids for two hours of inflatable fun with bouncy castle, giant aqua run, walking on water and of course, swimming. Snack included.
5-14 yrs Hampton

hamptonpool.co.uk