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Happy Mothers Day
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We've sent out our March newsletter a bit early because I wanted a chance to wish you a very happy Mothers Day. We hope all Mums get thoroughly spoiled and appreciated for the amazing job you do! We also have some gorgeous treats on our Just 4 Mum page if you are looking for any last minute inspiration to "hint" at! And don't miss our Green's Cookies With Love competition either.  It's been a busy month for us especially now voting has started on our 2010 What's On 4 Awards. An amazing 2500 nominations were cast, thank you for taking the time to tell us about your favourite groups and people. Now it's all down to you to vote and decide your winners! I'm particularly thrilled to have just announced the franchise opportunities for our next website www.whatson4me.co.uk . Now the flexible, family-friendly business that I've enjoyed can be yours too and make a big difference to your life. Find out more here. We also welcomed Alison as our new Mummy blogger on littleones and I'm now blogging for schoolkids. And read on for lots of ideas, prizes and fun, it's a packed newsletter this month! | |
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4 the whole family |
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 Help us campaign for more employment choices for you
 Over on our other website, www.mumandworking.co.uk, we are launching awards in May to recognise companies and individuals that are proving that giving parents flexible and family-friendly employment options really WORKS. We have the support of Sarah Beeny and companies such as Hilton and RSM Tenon as well.
We know from our own personal experiences that when you have children a lot of companies do not do anything to help parents who want to return to their previous job. We want all companies to sit up and take note of our awards and review their own flexible working policies.
We are conducting a survey with Antonia Chitty about what changes you made to your working life after you had children and hope that you can spare 5 minutes to take this short survey.
As a thank you everyone one who take this survey will enter a draw to win a limited edition mini-micro scooter or 1 of 10 Zoobookoo cubes!
Take the survey here >>>> Thanks very much for your help | |
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Win your mortgage payments for a year with Andrex®
 Andrex, the nation's favourite toilet tissue, is running a fantastic new promotion exclusively in ASDA stores to "Win your mortgage payments for a year"!
The past year has been tough for everyone, with food prices, bills and unemployment levels on the rise (not to mention the horrendous weather we've had recently!) but none more so than for parents bringing up children. Andrex want to help alleviate some of the financial woes people are facing, and give families some extra money to allow them spend more quality time together. Andrex is giving people the chance to enter into a draw to win their mortgage (or rent) payments for an entire year - up to the value of £12,000.
The promotion is running on special packs of Andrex, for one week only in ASDA stores from the 15th of March. Simply sign up at www.andrexpuppypoints.co.uk/asda, enter the code on the inside of pack and you will qualify to one free entry to the competition. | |
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4 Little Ones |
| Better nursery food campaign hits Facebook
 The Soil Association and Organix, the baby and toddler food company, have launched a Facebook campaign to spread the word and engage mums and dads in supporting the Better Nursery Food Now Campaign, which calls on the Government to implement nutritional standards for nursery school food.
The Better Nursery Food Campaign aims to increase the pressure on Government by highlighting examples of nurseries where parents are dissatisfied with the nutritional standards of nursery food.
Whether it's a nursery serving junk food, or food with artificial additives and e-numbers, or poor food generally, we are asking parents and nursery workers to post their experiences on the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Better-Nursery-Food-Now/222751501250 and sign the petition to take to the government at http://www.nurseryfood.org
The experiences from mums and dads will enable the Better Nursery Food Now campaigns team to step up the pressure on Government to put in place nutritional standards that will cover all nurseries, guaranteeing better food in nurseries.
Georgie Porgie Pudding and Pie - exposing the truth about nursery food, was launched by Organix and the Soil Association in October 2008. The report found that:
- There are no clear nutritional standards for UK nurseries.
- Some nurseries spend as little as 25p per meal, per child.
- Colourings and additives, not allowed in manufactured foods for children, were regularly being permitted in nurseries.
- Foods banned or restricted in primary and secondary schools - like chips, sweets and chocolate - are still regularly served in nurseries.
- No Government Department was willing to take responsibility for the quality and monitoring of nursery food.
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Baby Show Round Up
A baby show is great day out for all the family with fun, information and ideas for new parents and parents-to-be plus not to be beaten baby facilities - no hunting for baby changing rooms! There are big nationals shows but we like the regional shows that showcase the best your local area and local businesses have to offer.
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Reclaim your career with www.mumandworking.co.uk
 If your children are now all at school you could be left with a big gap from 9 to 3pm. It's easy to fill of course as there is always something to do but some of us want to or need to find a way back into our career.
In someways school hours are harder to find a job as not many jobs fit around a school day and school holidays, not even teaching.
Your own business however can be the perfect solution as you have much more control over your own hours. Being your own boss and dusting off your previous skills and experience is a massive boost to your confidence. You will also learn a lot a long the way and have many new and exciting experiences. Technically every company started small so you never know what your own company could grow into.
 Having your own business might sound daunting but there are several options to have all the benefits with support and a low financial risk.
Direct selling sometimes known as party plan is your first option and generally the lowest cost. Direct selling is where a bigger company sells direct to customer via independent consultants. Tradionally this has been the realm of Avon but now the choice of products that you can sell is huge. We like to think of it as a way of turning your hobby into your business. We have a good range of direct selling companies looking for consultants on www.mumandworking.co.uk as well as some great tips to find the right one for you.
Franchising is another option whereby you operate the mother company's services in a defined area or territory. You'll be surprised how many businesses you see in every town that are actually franchises! Franchises usually cost a reasonable amount of money but this includes equipment and comprehensive training. Again www.mumandworking.co.uk has a good selection of family-friendly franchise opportunities.
With both these options you are buying the expertise, support, training and brand from the mother company. You are skipping the whole first few years of setting up a business where mistakes are made, lessons learned and products established.
But if you are set on your own business to see your big idea happen then we highly recommend your first stop is www.businesslink.gov.uk |
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Failure Proof Birthday Cake from our Party Guru
Every now and again we get the urge to forego store-bought Birthday Cake and have a go at making one ourselves. If you are looking for a delicious, fail-safe recipe, look no further. Tracey Benton shares the recipe from her book Birthday Party >>>> |
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4 Next month...
- Out and about with your family
- Days out destinations
- Advice on starting a new activity
- More party ideas from Tracey Benton
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