Times have changed... or have they?

It's funny isn't it? So very often I hear of people saying about how when they were young things were different.

 I see memes flying around the internet, you know the sort, ''we went out till the street lights came on, drank out of sprinklers, climbed trees and lived to tell the tale...''

I have always wondered why people think things are so very different now, in fact I have blogged about it in the past (you can read that post here)

Playing outside climbing trees, having simple childhood fun is still very much present in the children of today.

There is however,  no denying that there has been changes to society, but is it our perception that has made these changes come about, or is the world really a different more scary place for children to grow up?

My eldest is now 13, a fully fledged teenager. I want him to grow up experiencing the things I did, and experiences all the things I didn't.

I want him to learn through his own mistakes, and also see the world and make his own impressions on it.

I don't want to be the helicopter parent buzzing around him making it almost impossible for him to grow and develop and spread his own wings.

I hope he will look back on his childhood years with memories of the fun times spent doing things very much like I myself did, outdoors playing vividly imaginative games.

This wish for him, and all my children, to have independence, responsibility and opportunities to learn, grow and develop is why when I saw a sign in our local newsagents reading 'paperboy/ girl wanted' I thought of Jake.

A paper round.

An age old tradition is it not?

A sure fire right of passage, that step up of the ladder of maturity.

A huge privilege, something to be proud of and impress your mates with when you bring home that first wage packet and you can buy the snacks with money you have earnt.

Not to mention the benefits of the regular exercise.

So why then are our paper boys in decline? Why did that notice stay hung on that door for nearly a week without a que of boys and girls eager to prove their maturity and get their hands on the pay?

Are our streets really that much more hazardous now than 30 years ago? Or is it more due to the youth of today? Do they simply  not want the responsibility of a paper round, is the promise of pay no longer a source of  encouragement with so much available from the bank of mum and dad? After all a paper round is not the best paid job in the world is it?

Is the thought of early starts in cold days just not seen as such an exciting opportunity when the heated homes and internet beckons at every spare second?

Perhaps its not at all about our fears as parents, but more our childrens perceptions that are changing and I'm not quite sure that's for the better.

After a few days of seeing the ad staring out of the shop window I decided I'd mention it to Jake, not knowing what rules were in place about age restrictions or such like, I just wanted to gage his reaction.

He eagerly jumped up and said he would happy do the paper round, so off we went to enquire. The rules being you have to be 13, responsible, reliable,  punctual and polite.

He got given the job, and the pride in his face as he ran back home to tell his dad and his friends made me once again wonder why others had not also jumped at this chance.

I feel a huge sense of pride in him, the way he took up the chance, spoke politely and confidently as he inquired, the way he has taken on the role ensuring he is steadfast with this new responsibility he now has.

The reality of the work involved has now sunk in, it isn't easy work the papers are heavy and the morning weather is chilly, but the first pay packet seemed to make it all worth while so all is good and I will do everything I can to encourage him to continue this round for as long as possible. (even if for the past week it has meant that I have also had to shuffle my already manic morning routine so that I can accompany him to master his round)

I hope that he continues to relish the responsibility and independence he has and that it in some way helps him form values which will  help him through the next stages of his life.

 

Blogging

It's nearly May, nearly Summer again, the days weeks and months are wizzing past faster than I ever thought they would, I am sat here now Noah sleeping on my knee and I once again have flicked through my facebook timeline and then landed on my own blog, but today I am tapping away at the keyboard determined to actualy hit publish.

When Noah was born I set up this new blog and had hopped it would rekindle my love of blogging, at the end of a day whats better to blog about but the firsts of a baby? But things haven't really worked out that way, 5 months have passed and  I have not actually managed to blog very much at all, its not that I don't want too more that I am not sure what to actually blog about which seems kind of crazy when there is more happening right now than perhaps at any other times that I have blogged.

I want a personal diary, to remember the little things, to look back on for myself and for the children to look back on, a online photo album with inputted memories, a baby book perhaps or more of a family memoir, but I am also concious of over sharing, ever more so now my eldest are older and have their own stories to tell. What is there story and what is mine?

Becoming a new mum again with a brand new baby but also having the been there done that knowledge of previous children is a strange sort of place to be.

I guess theres only one thing for me to do however, and that is actually to get over the 'what shall I blog' thoughts and just get the words down one way or another, at the end of the day even if my ramblings seem mundane now, they will be the memories I long for in years to come.

Another month passed. 4 and a half month update!

So its April already, another month has shot by, more weeks have clocked up and the pace of things has not slowed down at all.

So whats been happening?

It was Easter which we never go over board with - a few tasty chocolate treats no piles of Easter eggs here.

Instead we focus on enjoying the time together with the older three off school.

We have spent time in the garden, which is a tiny tiny space but we are trying to make it as functional as possible and I will do a post on our garden projects as soon as I get around to it. and of course been out and about as the weather warms up!

Noah is now approaching 20 weeks old. He is becoming more of a character each day, he wants to be involved and the center of things, although still growing he does seem to have slowed down a little, he has instead focused on finding new tricks to entertain us, he giggles and chuckles away loudly when his big brother tickles his toes or his big sister blows raspeberries on his tummy, he can roll over confidentally and grasps at everything in his reach!

He is a real time hugger and demands a lot more attention than in the first couple of months, sleeping much less in the day and instead wanting to play. (Doesn't like me at my computer - he has a love for my mouse and its optical light and grabs at it when ever I'm using the computer)


Breastfeeding is still going great, although there is no real sleep routine, he feeds on demand although much less through the day now, he co sleeps in with me at night  about 50% of the time, and the other 50% he sleeps in his carry cot at the foot of my bed. I really am not worried tho as I know this time only last for a blink and even when I'm tired the sleepy snuggles are still some of my favorite times of the day.

We brought a highchair (one of the only items we have brought new!) Although we are not actively weaning just yet.

He is however really interested in our food now, and grabs at our food and watches us intently when we're eating.

Noah rolls over on the floor so gets frustrated on his playmat after a while, rolling over and getting annoyed he tries to sit himself up on his bouncer chair and almost topples out of it,

So recently brought a play nest from a secondhand facebook selling site, I love these they really are fantastic and Mikey loved his all them years ago. It is a good safe place where he can practice sitting and can grab and reach his toys a bit easier.

Clothing still pretty much is babygrows, (with the odd dungaree outfit creeping in) he fits comfortable in 6-9 months and some 9-12 months! He is still in size 4 nappies and we finally got round to weighing him at a drop in session, he was 18lb 5oz at 17 weeks.

Keep up to date with the baby days on my Baby Days Tab