Afternoon naps are for Whimps

Our 2YO still needs a nap during the day or else he is very difficult in the late afternoon. He fights it most of the time and getting him to sleep during the day can be difficult. My elder two boys were the same. My wife gets him to hav a rest, reading, watching TV, and it helps. She draws the curtains and often he'll fall asleep on the sofa. Top tip here is to choose a film/prog that is not too stimulating; i.e. not power rangers! Something he/she has seen before helps too. Other methods I use (but my wife is not too keen on) is to go for a drive. Caution, however, we live in a very quiet culde sac so have no concerns about leaving him sleeping in the car. Or drive to a coffee shop with outside tables or parking near the window. Result: you can sit having a brew and reading the paper. Again, massive caution in hot weather. If there's nowhere safe to leave the car, I have often had to stay in it with him. Nother result, I get to read, listen to the radio or nap while the long haired hero goes shopping! If you have an ipod you could watch a movie... Maybe that's why I am not allowed one. Alternatively, I take him for a walk in the pram. I often have to force him in but once he's strapped down he gives up the fight and sleeps well. We have dog which tips the argument in my favour. At two YO, I think they need a kip during the day.

Like Father Like Son

Having your son or daughter participate in your own hobby or sport must be a wonderful feeling. I was anticipating teaching my three to ski when they’re older. My own ill health has prevented that but I still encourage them to take up some sport or other and go along to support. This needs caution, however, that you don’t push too hard. My father was a county rugby player and wanted me to follow on. I did my best and was rugby captain at school and university but once I left college and started playing with grown ups I did not even get a regular second team place. I tried many other things. I played the lead in a school production of Treasure Island and was asked by the local Am Dram group to join them. As a 15YO I lied about my age and ran a half marathon in 90 minutes. I took up rock climbing and was climbing E grades within a year. But unless it was rugby my dad did not seem interested so I persisted even though it was clearly not my forte. My two elder boys of 5 and 6 have been to rugby and football practice and showed no interest whatsoever. “Can’t see the point in it, daddy,” my eldest said. Eventually he started doing karate, which I know nothing about but he seems to enjoy and is progressing well. The middle boy who is nearly five goes swimming and it has finally started to work for him. "Daddy, I swam a width without a floaty belt!" he yelled at me last night when I got home from work. I was so pleased for him. Quite apart from being independent in the water, having his own successes may allow him to move out of his big brother's shadow. What I have learned from these personal and vicarious experiences is that the most important thing is that children are encouraged to do outside activity and pursue what interests them. And also that parents show interest in it.

Is Facebook an Addiction?

$104Bn was the estimated worth of Facebook when it floated on the NYSE. That’s a lot of friends. I am not on Facebook, I don’t see the point but my wife is obsessed with it. At all times, she seems to be fiddling away on her Blackberry debating the relative merits of whichever loser is currently being ridiculed on the X Factor. Even crying children have to compete with Facebook for attention and I am minded of Hogarth’s C18 engraving of gin soaked mothers letting their babies fall from the breast. An extreme analogy, perhaps, but one that makes the point, I hope. I appreciate that Facebook has opened up a whole new world to mums, especially when they have young children/babies. Instead of feeling isolated and withdrawn because they are in the house, they can still feel in touch with the outside world and feel connected. But I just don’t get the constant need to feel connected, especially if you’re just about to see, or have just seen, someone. Am I alone in thinking like this? Why do girls have this constant need to communicate with their friends, even when their kids are jumping up and down for attention? I suppose it's good for kids to know that Mum or Dad can be busy sometimes and that "I WANT A BISCUIT!" is not going to get an immediate response. They don't know that Mummy is distracted by a social networking site; she tells them she's working. It is frustrating though, having my every move recorded into the Blackberry; I feel like I have been electronically tagged.