toys from your childhood and toys from theirs...

London Museum of Childhood - 3.5 stars

the London Museum of Childhood is an amazing place to visit for adults and children alike.

With free admission, it's an easy half day activity for children of all ages.

Located in Bethnal Green (see map below),

the Museum showcases toys from childhood past and present. This is a great place for toddlers in

London.

For the younger children it is enough to have a quick wander through before heading up to the play area where there are sandpits and building areas (not to mention enough running/crawling around space).

Toddlers short attention span is easily satisfied with the sheer range of toys, dolls, pictures and clothes to look at.

For the slightly older child, you'll find that they'll be fascinated with the 'old' dolls and toys that you used to play with. For the adults, you can reminisce at spinning tops, rubix cubes, plus be horrified at some of the clothing that children had to wear in the 1800s!

One of the most difficult things may be explaining to your toddler that the amazing dolls houses are not for playing with!

Facilities: are excellent - food-wise there is a Benugo Cafe (who do half size portions for children) plus an outdoor eating area and a Summer room where you can eat your picnic. For the very young, there is a baby

feeding room (with bottle warming), baby change and a buggy park.

Cost: Free. Another great free activity for toddlers and children in London.

Where is it:

Cambridge Heath Rd,

Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA

How to get there:

Bethnal Green tube (escalator access - no lift unfortunately)

Buses: D6, 106, 254, 309 and 388 stop outside the Museum and 8, 26, 55 and 48 stop nearby

Train: The Museum is less than 10 minutes walk from both Cambridge Heath and Bethnal Green overground stations

The London Museum of Childhood is one of those amazing London museums - it's free, it's fun and it's for all ages.

Need to get out of the house, but stay warm? Your toddler will love this!

Acton Park Play Centre feels like a bit of an undiscovered gem. Blogging about it, I almost feel disloyal to other parents who know about it.

It's situated at the south east corner of Acton Park, in a relatively new building.

Inside are lots of different toys, including plenty of role play toys - my daughter has spent a ridiculous amount of time playing with a wooden microwave (okay, so we don't have one at home - is she trying to tell me something?). There's a small climbing area, a small soft play area and a big table with glue, paper, pens, scissors... plenty of craft action at the ready.

There are also a couple of easels and pots of paint, with painting smocks at the ready for your child to create their latest masterpiece. See my daughter in the image above, about to create her work of art!

On cold, rainy (or yes even snowy) days, this is a nice warm environment with plenty to amuse your toddler (or baby), or even older child. It's always lovely and warm inside and you can buy a cheap cup of tea or coffee too!

For when the weather isn't quite so unbearable, it's great to spend time just outside of the Play Centre where there is a fantastic playground (to be featured on this blog shortly!!). Last summer the Play Centre put water troughs and cups outside so the children could indulge in some great messy play!

If you can brave the weather to get there, it's a wonderful relief from staying indoors!

Oh - and did I mention it was free?

Facilities:

Baby change
Tea, Coffee

Where is it?

East Acton Lane,
East Acton
London
W3 7LA
+44 (0)20 8743 6133

See it on a map, here:


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Tall, spotty and a sure bet for somewhere to eat with a toddler!

Originally, when I started this blog, I didn't want to endorse products or brands. But 'getting out with your toddler' often involves food... and let's face it, 'when toddlers go bad' tends to occur when you want them to sit and eat in a public environment.

My favourite place to eat at the moment is Giraffe.

Why? Well, it's really difficult to go past the balloon that they give to the children for starters. They also give crayons and paper to draw on as soon as you arrive. Quite often you'll also receive a cute plastic giraffe. All of these are winners in my books.

On the food front, they have a wide selection of different toddler friendly food. If it's one thing that drives me a bit crazy it's a child menu that simply offers chips three-ways - you know the one: beans and chips, fish and chips, nuggets and chips. Giraffe has a lot of healthy food, and healthy drinks - hey they do chips too - but it does offer more variety. It's well priced - with the mini-mains for under £4.50.

PLUS, the adult food is also great. Their club sandwich is to die for and their burgers are very delish too. It's not cheap, but I usually feel like I get my money's worth (especially if I don't order any alcohol).

The biggest plus for them must be - they actively encourage children to come to their restaurants. This ultimately means that the staff are great with kids. They expect spills and food on the floor, they know to bring the children's food out first and they are, generally, just nice to them. Not snarling or rolling their eyes at the sight of a pram. Or tutting when cutlery/plates/food is dropped.

In my experience they have been willing to bring fistfuls of straws, their cute little plastic giraffe toys and an abundance of serviettes. No questions asked.

Where are they?

They're in 26 locations in the UK, predominantly in London.

I've had great eating out experiences in Chiswick, Kensington, & Brunswick Centre Giraffes. My daughter has also eaten out at the Richmond Giraffe with her grandparents.

Facilities:

All have baby change.

Some restaurants will ask you to fold your pram (dependent on how busy it is), and are happy to help.

who needs the beach when you've got Brentford?

Swimming at Brentford Fountain Leisure Centre - 3.5 stars

A pool is a pool is a pool? Not to me and my daughter. She had not been exposed to swimming until only a month ago, and on her first experience of a 'hotel pool' was pretty unsure. Let's face it - being taken into somewhere that you can't touch the ground is pretty daunting... and she's a girl who loves a bit of messy play with the water.

When it's awful weather it's always handy to have some indoor toddler activities on hand that you can rely on.

Step up Brentford Leisure Centre! Not only does it not cost a fortune to simply get in (£1.80 off peak on a weekday), but it has a wonderful sloped ramp entrance into the pool that made it incredibly less daunting to enter the pool itself.

There's also a mini paddling pool which is a nice place to sit and have a splash. For the older children there is a twisty 40m slide, plus there's also a 'fitness' pool if you're there on your own (or with another adult!).

Why just 3.5 stars then? It's a little bit tired, and could do with a bit of a facelift... the outside of the building is a wonder of concrete! It cannot be described as luxury, but for £1.80 to swim and parking for 40p I'm not complaining!

Facilities:

The changing rooms have a playpen where your toddler can wait whilst you get changed, or take advantage of the family room with change tables, which makes things a whole lot easier with a little one. Take a 20p piece for the lockers.

There's a little cafe which overlooks the pool, selling tea, coffee and basic snacks.

Where is it, how do I get there, and when is it open:

658 Chiswick High Road
Brentford
TW8 0HJ

As mentioned, there is parking for just 40p (maximum of 3 hours). Some buses run along Chiswick Road. Check out the Transport for London site for more details.

Opening hours:

Mon, Tues and Thurs: 9am to 10pm
Weds and Fri: 9am to midday (excluding pools and health suite)
Midday to 10pm

Sat and Sun: 9am to 6pm

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Looking for more indoor activities?

• Natural History Museum
  
• Science Museum
  
• Get to the library - and get free books
  
• Music House for Children

roar like a dinosaur? yes please!

Natural History Museum, South Kensington, 4 stars

There's nothing like animals to grab a child's attention, and the Natural History Museum has hundreds of them... stuffed, motorised, boned - you name it, they've got it (just none of them are live!).

Make your way through the many corridors lined with animals from all ages - the Dodo is a great treat, but the best of all, it must be said is the dinosaurs. With huge skeletons of an Iguanadon, a Triceratops, and lookalike baby dino's coming

out of eggs, there is so much to keep your toddler (and children of higher ages) entertained.

The best part must be the motorised T-Rex. You walk down the ramp hearing the T-Rex roaring and screeching! At this point, I found it best to warn

our toddlers about what was to come, and how much fun it would be to roar at a dinosaur.

Turn the corner and there he is, tail flicking, head turning, and a huge jaw with big teeth opening and closing whilst he roars away.

Prior to going to the museum, I thought I'd be writing about this saying 'It's all great, but skip the T-Rex as he's too scary'. But most of the toddlers actually thought he

was great! (My daughter shouted out "HELLO DINOSAUR" at the top of her voice).

With so much to see and a great interactive 'play with stuff' area, this museum can do with many visits.

Practicalities -

Pram Access: Excellent. Ramps and Lifts throughout the museum. Coat room that doesn't cost for any children's items. Costs for adult coats and bags.

Cost: it's FREE

Cafes: there are a few dotted throughout the museum. They do have a funny policy of not being able to mix and match - eg at the picnic area you wont be able to have your own sandwich supplemented with the restaurant soup'. The food is pretty pricey but remember that the museum is free, so it is somewhat justified. I also MUST mention how great the restaurant staff were with kids. My daughter was having a particularly clingy moment and the guy serving the food carried my tray around, took it to a spare till, and then carried it to a table.

Babychange: a couple. Nice and big with adult toilets.

The details: Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD

How to get there: South Kensington tube has a lift (from piccadilly line only) and a few stairs. Plenty of buses run nearby.

On a map:


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roo-joey.minti.com

newsflash... toddlers love science!

The Science Museum - 4 stars

It's free, it's fun, it's BIG and it's got something different each time you visit.

For those still traumatised by school trips or learning, or simply think that their child is too young for museums... time to push those thoughts away and head for the Science Museum in South Kensington.

For your baby or toddler, get yourselves to the basement for 'The Garden' and the 3rd floor for 'the launchpad'.

The Garden is specifically aimed at the under 5's. There's areas with different textured items to play with, lots of funny sounds, places to climb in, a mini water rapid (with raincoats provided - okay they just put their hands in, but we all know this means that the whole body can still get wet), and an area with big soft blocks, mini hard hats and wheelbarrows (a firm favourite with Lily).

It's a nice fairly enclosed area, with brilliant staff on-hand to monitor/help the children.

The launchpad is aimed at older children, but this is really an area for all ages (parents - this is great for us too!). There are big bubble blowers, pumps that push balls through tubes, the 'big machine' that is too hard to describe - try and imagine a mix of pulleys, buckets, levers, slides, plus a hell of a lot of confetti! It's mesmerising! There's so much more too - lots of the littlies love the magnet block - it's just a few big magnets with teaspoons. What more could you need?

The surprising thing about the museum is its practicalities. They make it easy for you. Ramps, lifts, pram parks & babychange. Music to one's ears.

And... it's in a big building with lots of open space. If it's a wet weather day, this is a great location just to let your toddler have a run around the long hallways, and play peekaboo in the exhibition areas that erm... well that no-one tends to go into.

One last tip - avoid the weekend rush and go during the week if possible or early on a weekend. Otherwise... let's just say that the 'big machine' gets the kids pretty excited.. and we know how loud a room of excited kids can be!!

Practicalities -

Pram Access: Excellent. Ramps and Lifts throughout the museum. Secure pram park on ground floor (costs). Non secure on all floors.

Cost: it's FREE

Cafes: there are a few dotted throughout the museum. The ground floor one is the best (and has high chairs). The prices ARE a bit steep (the no-cost entry justifies this to me though), but 'picnic' areas are also throughout the museum if you want to BYO.

Babychange: yes. on all floors

Where: Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London, SW7 2DD.


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How to get there: South Kensington tube has a lift (from piccadilly line only) and a few stairs. Plenty of buses run nearby.

Enjoy!

things they don't tell you... FREE books for your child

Bookstart 4 stars (would be 5 stars if they told more people about it!)

Okay, this isn't really something 'to do' as such, but it is such a great initiative and no-one seems to tell anyone about it!

The Bookstart programme gives a FREE pack of books to EVERY baby. It's as simple as that. And when your child is 18 months old, they get another FREE pack. AND, when they are 3 years old, they get another FREE pack.

Why isn't there more education and knowledge about this? I knew about it through a friend who had a baby, who found out through their friend. It drives me crazy that not more people know about it. When my daughter was having her 9 month check up (which seems to be an Ealing thing, not an 'everywhere' thing?) I was given a pack, but, not everyone at the same clinic was even informed of Bookstart. It seemed to depend on which health visitor saw your baby. Aargh!

Enough ranting and raving, and soapbox building... more about Bookstart.

It's coordinated by the charity Booktrust and receives government funding and heavy donations from children's booksellers and publishers.

In the first pack we received two books which my daughter LOVED. I can highly recommend 'Happy Dog, Sad Dog' by Sam Lloyd. We also received a Rhymetime Song sheet which we still sing from. There are also lists of great books to buy.

The 18 month old pack contained more books (a shame we'd already bought Dear Zoo - another must have for ALL children) and some colouring in pencils and more literature for parents.

How do you get it? Ask at your local library (you don't have to join, you may however have to bring in your child's red book), or ask your local health visitor.

A wonderful programme which should be commended... now spread the word!

songs and silliness - without snobbery

Bush Babies - 5 stars

If you're looking for a music group for your child you can't go past the Music House for Children at Shepherds Bush.

Their 'Bush Babies - Music and Movement' class is a winner. Nursery rhymes, lots of different instruments, singing, clapping and hey - they don't even mind if your child chews on the maracas... now that's my kind of music class!

I've been taking my daughter since she was 7 months old - we used to go on a Friday morning and were in the little room at the back of the Music House for Children's shop.

But go on any other day and you're in actual Bush Hall itself. It's an old dance hall built at the beginning of the 20th Century and after a turn as a soup kitchen and bingo hall, it's now a concert venue (when you're not in parent mode, try and see an acoustic performance there - it's small and intimate... but this isn't a blog about my previous life as a habitual gig-goer.).

Bush Hall has retained its ornate ceilings and grand chandeliers, which makes me smile when you look at the constrast of what's happening on the floor which is covered in a soft mat, with kids frantically running around, jumping up and down or doing an instrument clap.

Emma, who runs the class (and a co-founder of the company I believe), makes it what it is with her tireless patience (child banging on her piano or trying to strum her guitar? dealt with perfectly) and great variety of songs makes this one not to miss.

Where: 306 - 310 Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush.


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Transport: no tubes provide step free access but loads of buses go to Shepherds Bush. If you're coming from afar, get off at Hammersmith Piccadilly or District Line which has lift access and catch a bus up Shepherds Bush Road.

Pram access & parking: Excellent

Baby change: above the Music House for children shop

Cost: £6 - £8 per session. Some sessions must be pre-booked. See website for details.