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Over at Simple Living, Miranda, Sharon and other participants have set themselves a very honourable task: to cut their personal carbon emissions by 90% of that of the average American: the approximate amount people in the rich world need to reduce by in order to avoid the worst effects of global warming.

Anyone can join in this task by linking to the Simple Living blog or commenting on their posts. Their blog features loads of great energy saving tips which not only help save the environment but will also drastically cut down on household and utility bills too! What a great idea!

The goal is to cut down to 90% of the average American's emissions over the course of a year (or your country's average emissions if you don't live in the US). What with our family's reduction on amenities and such lately, I do believe that we're already below the UK average, though I'll certainly be reading through Simple Living's advice to see what else we can do to reduce even more. It would certainly be a difficult feat for us to reduce by 90%, but as the video shows, there are a great many ways we can help protect the environment simply by making different choices about the way we live our lives.

Technorati Tags: environment green utility+bills carbon+footprint emissions saving+money simple+living

• Instead of "don't touch that", try "leave it alone"
• Rather than "don't go into the busy road", I'd say "stay on the pavement".

I made a mental note each time as to whether or not it worked. I didn't expect it to, kids being kids and all, but you know what? It worked more often then not. Which is a big difference, considering my "suggestions" previously had caused such endless frustration at the lack of accomplishment!

So perhaps kids are more susceptible to the power of suggestion than we adults feel we are. Any more childcare tips Derren?

Technorati Tags: derren+brown kids behaviour children psychology mind+control parenting

Little Angel seems much better now after her visit to the doctor yesterday. It seems I was mistaken in thinking that she would blame me for her suffering. No, she blamed the doctor, and now appears to hate him with a vengeance! She didn't scream but watched intently (while I had to look away) sobbing "I no likey medsinn, no likey doctor! No more medsinn!" A lollipop later and she was merely limping and sobbing quietly, demanding to be cuddled while we walked back to the car.

My little man was upset with me though. He'd overheard that little Angel was going for her injection and was cross that I'd put her through such an ordeal! He even let her play on his Nintendo (his most prized possession) to "help make her feel better".

It makes me feel so happy that my children love each other so much! Of course, things were back to normal within an hour, when they began to tease and argue again...

Hubby dearest appears to have "man flu". That is, he has what we women would call a common cold. For men, it seems a simple cold is blown out of all proportion and requires many cuddles, Lemsips on the hour, back rubs, sumptuous suppers and much TLC. Poor love, he'd be off work for a week, but unfortunately his partner's away on holiday in the Mediterranean sun and he has to run the shop single-handedly for a while. But I still love him to pieces! Last night, he told me that a husband can truly understand how much he loves and appreciates his wife when he is ill. I could have hugged him for hours!

Technorati Tags: children immunisation flu common+cold family health husbands

This morning, the BBC news brought an important issue to light: are we too protective of our children?

When I was the same age as my son, I was allowed to roam freely, so long as I was back home to check in with Mum at the times she said. My friends and I used to make dens in the woods, walk to the next village to buy sweets from our favorite shop; go to the best park which was almost a mile away. So long as my parents knew where I was and what time I would be home, they were happy to let me play. And to think I used to complain that they were being overprotective...

But I wouldn't dream of letting my son go that far alone. He's almost eleven, and the furthest I let him walk alone is to his friend's house, just a little way down the street. Even if his school was closer to home than it is (currently 4 miles away, but that's another story!), I doubt I would let him travel to school without an adult accompanying him. In fact, only 9% of primary school children are allowed to walk to school alone these days, compared to 80% in 1970.

I can only reason that parents like myself and hubby dearest are much more conscious of the dangers their children face these days. It seems almost daily that we hear of children who are hurt in car accidents, abused or even abducted, as in the case of Madelaine McCann. A few years ago, I heard about a young girl who suffered a violent sexual assault just a few metres away from her parents in a local park. My children have not played there since.

Yet, there are many reasons we should feel reassured about the safety of our children: our children's schools are now safer than ever; there are wardens assigned to our city parks, and many organisations dedicated to the support and well being of our younger generations. Yesterday I had a rather reassuring conversation with a regular patron of my husband's shop: the gentleman worked for the paedophile unit of our local police division:

"It must be an awful job to be in," I remarked. I imagined all the terrible things he must be exposed to in his work.

"Far from it," he explained. "It's the most rewarding job I could ever have. Making sure this type of person is off the streets and away from our children gives me a great sense of satisfaction. Even helping just one child makes a difference."

Indeed it does. Despite all the worries I have about our modern society, I am so happy to know there are people like him in the world, and relieved to know things are being done to keep our young ones safe.

Gone are the days when we could let our children play happily in the streets and know they were safe. My son starts secondary school this September, and I imagine he'll want to travel to school alone. In so many ways, I wish I could wrap him in cotton wool forever...

More information:

• The BBC news feature
• Young "not allowed to play"
• The Children's Society
• Play England

Technorati Tags: children | safety | overprotective | parents | parenting | concerns | playing+out

My little man's not quite so little anymore... In July he'll be eleven. Almost a teenager! As much as I love to watch his development, I often wish children would stay children forever. Like yesterday, for instance.

Here's the gist of the conversation we had:

"Tidy your room up please; it's bedtime soon."

"I'll do it in a bit."

"No, tidy it now. It's bedtime soon!"

"No, I'll do it later. You can't control me..."

Meanwhile, he was in the process of tidying up his awful boy-mess. But for the first time, he had me stumped! I sense the approach of difficult teenage-hood approaching. Does that mean "you can't control me" will become a regular saying?

Oh dear. And I'd hoped that the threat of being grounded/losing pocket money/confiscating the computer would suffice until he was much, much older. Don't misunderstand me: he's a great kid, and I'm quite proud of how well-behaved he is compared to other kids I know.

My old neighbour's son, for instance. He's a couple of years older than my son, and it seems his mum has simply lost control. He doesn't go to school, because he simply walks out; he swears at everyone; he smokes... When the lack of parental respect breaks down, what methods of discipline can you employ, except to bind and gag them? (only joking, of course!)

At the end of the day, he'll always be my "little man". I only hope I will always be the "Mum" he respects.

Technorati Tags: discipline kids children son respect parenting teenagers control