To iron or not to iron?

I recently discovered that I am something of an oddity.  An alien in the world of mums.  Unusual. Strange.  Some may say even weird.

Why?

Because I still iron clothes.

I'm not sure how this has happened.  I thought I'd become such a let loose - fancy free - maybe even slip shod mother, when I stopped ironing knickers, vests, tea towels, sheets and duvet covers; just one of the tips in my 5 quick ironing tips for busy woman post.  But apparently I am not as relaxed as I thought.  Relative to the mums commenting over on my How do I find the time? post, I am ironing when I need not.

In fact I haven't come across anybody else who irons their husbands shirts yet.  Now I realise this isn't particularly feminist of me; but really it was never about it being 'the womans' job, or otherwise; it was just that I quite enjoy ironing compared to other potential tasks (like mowing the lawn) that we split between us in our husband-wife partnership.  I like it because I can watch television whilst doing it.  So my husband and I have a split of chores and I ended up with this one.

What's interesting now the children are growing up is that the ironing pile always consists of 50% children's clothes (cotton dresses, T-shirts, school uniform shirts etc), 45% mu husbands work shirts and T-shirts and only 5% mine.  Since I don't walk around smelling really ripe (at least, if I did, I hope my friends would tell me quick!) then I'm not entirely sure how this happens!

This week's discovery, that I'm fairly alone in the ironing world, put me off doing it.  It almost made me resent doing it.  Then, today, there was an incident that put me off even further.
 
I managed to knock the board and spill my jug of water on the floor and on the plug extension.  The iron followed, and sat, in the puddle of water, on our wooden floor, steam hissing and bubbling from underneath!  I was slightly freaked; jumped back away from the puddle, screamed at my daughter to stay across the other side of the room, and carefully walked around the board to turn the plug off before catastrophe could hit.

I was shook up.  In a split second I thought I was going to get electrocuted.  And then I thought I was going to burn the house down.  Irrational I know, but I panicked in those seconds.  I put the iron and board away pretty quickly.

Maybe this is a cue to give up ironing entirely?  What do you think?  Is it 'normal' these days? Is everyone else really good at hanging up clothes quickly after drying outside? Or is it natural to just get dressed and let the creases drop out throughout the day?  Do they drop out? Really? I don't trust it... I really don't.... I need help!

Could the current lack of sun cause more cases of rickets in the UK?

Rickets: should we be worried?

What is rickets?
Despite this victorian disease being virtually wiped out due to improvements in diet and the fortification of milk and cereals, in recent years the numbers of children presenting with symptoms has increased across the UK.

This disease: a softening of the bones leading to deformaties, is usually seen in children suffering from malnutritian, famine and starvation.  Somewhat worryingly it is reappearing in the UK.

What causes rickets?
The main cause of Rickets is a deficiency in Vitamin D.  Calcium deficiency can also be a cause.  Once you realise that our main sources of Vitamin D are oily fish, eggs and natural sunlight, you immediately start to see why a deficiency may be occurring.

Children are spending a lot of time indoors and when they do go out in the sun we are slathering on the suncream at the first inclining of a sunny day.  Additionally, many children may be covering up for cultural and religious reasons.

The natural sunlight that is required to absorb enough Vitamin D isn't much;  10-15 minutes of sun exposure on hands and face a few times a week.  However it's the UVB rays that induce the vitamin D into our skin, which can't get through if we are covered in sunscreen at all times.  In the UK we use our winter stores of Vitamin D between November and April (when the UVB rays aren't strong enough); but need to get enough Vitamin D in the summer months.

Risk of rickets versus the risk of sun burn
And so here we reach the problem for mothers; how do you ensure your child is getting enough exposure to the sun to avoid a Vitamin D deficiency, whilst also ensuring they don't burn? 

Fair skin?
For children with fair skin, the NHS suggests allowing 10-15 minutes a day (no longer) of time in the sun without sunscreen.  The more skin that is exposed the more Vitamin D will be stored and the shorter the time of exposure required.   Obviously it is then important to apply sunscreen to avoid the risk of burning and many cancers.

In my case I know I can burn with just 10 minutes unprotected exposure at 1pm, but at 10.30am or 3pm I am usually safe to go without sunscreen for short periods.  Use the knowledge you have of your own skin as a starting point.

And of course, if you and your child do not burn within 15 minutes in the UK sun, this may not be the case when you jet off to the Mediterranean for your holidays.  The closer to the equator you get, the stronger the sun.  The children will probably spend most of their Mediterranean holiday outside and in swimsuits, so it's probably safer to avoid any unprotected time for those two weeks unless it's perhaps later in the evening, when the sun is still out but is less strong. 

Dark skin?
Dark skin requires slightly longer to absorb the Vitamin D.  Those of African Caribbean and South Asian descent are at greateer risk of Vitamin D deficiency.  Start with small amounts of unprotected time in the sun at cooler times of the day, and build up gradually to approximately 10-15 minutes.  Again, the more skin that is exposed, the more Vitamin D will be absorbed.

Improving a child's diet
The following foods are rich in Vitamin D:

• Oily fish
• Breakfast cereals (check the label)
• Eggs
• Margarine
• Liver

The risk to adults
It's worth pointing out that although Rickets is a childhood disease; Vitamin D deficiency in adults causes osteomalacia, which causes bone pain and tenderness, so it's just as important for us adults to get some sun exposure each day.

Vitamin D during Pregnancy
The NHS also recommends that pregnant and breastfeeding woman take a Vitamin D supplement to ensure their and their babies needs are met. Pregant women and children who qualify can obtain free supplements through the Healthy Start scheme.  Supplements should not exceed 25 micrograms a day. (40IU = 1mg)

Care in the sun
You can't make too much Vitamin D from excessive sun exposure, but you can very quickly burn, so be careful, don't forget to apply that sun screen and if in doubt, cover up.

A video giving advice on how to apply sunscreen is here:




Sources and further information:
Rickets: Wikipedia
NHS Choices: Rickets
NHS Choices: Preventing Rickets
Rickets cases reported in Cardiff by health workers.  July 2011
Sunscreen causes Rickets: New wave of cases in England. Feb 2011
More cases of Rickets turn up in UK, lack of sunshine exposure to blame. Aug 2011

Parking on the Pavement - A hazard for pedestrians, and not so yummy!

This week my hubby and I strolled out for a walk and came across a lady stood still on the pavement, her guide dog not moving beside her.  A car had driven across the pavement to get onto a drive, but because the drive already had a car on it, the car had simply stopped across the pavement.  Clearly the guide dog wasn't sure what action to take.  The only way past was to take the owner onto the road, around the bumper of the car, and back up onto the pavement.

Being pretty considerate as a family, we, of course, stopped and asked if she needed help.  My hubby offered his arm and led the lady around the car.

Just over a year ago I had a little rant on this blog about cars parking halfway on pavements.  Drivers were parking half on pavements in a suburban area of Nottingham where the roads were perfectly wide enough for cars to park both sides of the road and not infringe the pavements. But of course they did; because a large proportion of drivers park their cars where is convenient for them and in a position they feel most protects their vehicle.

This means that "avoiding potentially being clipped by other cars on the road" trumps "blocking the pavement to such an extent that a pushchair (buggy) or wheelchair can't get past without stepping onto the road to get around the other side of the vehicle."

My feeling about this issue was exasperated when we came across this poor lady this week.

I was struck again by the blinkered nature of the human species.  Because, if I'm honest, I'd never considered the impact that this particular parking method would have on the blind.  Just like I'd not considered the impact on those with pushchairs until I myself had one.

What is amazing, is that this kind of parking, halfway on the pavement, is only technically illegal in London.  The  Pedestrian Liberation piece on this subject is particularly useful for guidance on the relevant rules and regulations.

In this particular case though, the car appears to fall foul of the Disability Discrimination Act, in that disabled people should not be discriminated against in accessing everyday goods and services.  Like the pavement!?

I wish I had thought to take a picture.  But I was so amazed, I didn't even think of it.

It turned out that the car was parked on the drive NEXT DOOR to the house that this lady lived in.  Her neighbours, knowing her disability, hadn't considered the impact the obstructive parking would have.

Her neighbours!

I'm now speechless.

*   *   *

If you like this, you might also like:

Why do cars  park on the pavement?

Child safety - over protective or too relaxed?

Child Safety...... Over protective or too relaxed?

I am such a risk adverse worrywart.  I worry about everything.  Will the girls be too hot? Or too cold?  Should they take their gloves to school, even though it's been 20 degrees Celsius this week? (It'll never last)  If they stay up late they won't get enough sleep and will be grumpy, but if I try and put them to bed too early we all get tense when they won't settle.  Nap in the day, or not?  Snacks of fruit, or chocolate, or both?  Shake n vac on the carpet, or not - just in case I miss a bit and they decide to try and eat it?

You get the picture.

And as a result, you can perhaps imagine how I reacted this winter when, during Christmas visits to family and friends, we entered two separate houses, on two separate occasions, in which the gas fire was on, but no fire guard was in sight.  Now I love a fire with 'proper' flames; but when the children are running around the lounge playing with balloons, I find that I have to go and deliberately and yet as inconspicuously as possible, park myself right in front of the fire to protect them from the risk of falling on it.

Am I too risk adverse?  Maybe I am, in many respects.  But I work on the basis that, if I can avoid my children experiencing great pain, then I will.  And I seem to remember being a child in the 70s, playing in my Grandad's living room, and placing my Chocolate Mousse on the small ledge around the fire (outside the very large fire guard) and waiting for it too melt into lovely gooey yumminess.

So what's the deal?  Are fire guards too old fashioned these days?  Do trends really out way safety?  Or am I just a crazy women going through a midlife?  Hmmm?

Why do Cars park on the Pavement?

Why?  Oh why?  Oh why?

Why would you park half on the road and half on the pavement?  Why would you do this, in a residential area, in a manner which effectively blocks the pavement?

Do you not realise that anyone with a buggy (pushchair, if you prefer), cannot get past the car?  Do you not realise that the mother and her buggy now have to venture into the road?  Unnecessarily.  Just to get past your inappropriately parked car.

When you park like that, do you not realise that you are putting the lives of babies and young children, along with their carers, at risk?

When you do it, thinking that cars are perhaps less likely to clip your wing mirror, do you not think that buggies with projecting parasols might accidentally scratch your car when trying to pass?

Is it really worth it?  Do you really think other cars on the road seriously can't get past you if you don't park that way?

Really?


I think I'll start a campaign against this...... who's with me?

How to manage "Bath time"... finally

I've had trouble signing in over the last couple of days. Sorry about that.

I promised to talk about "bath time" didn't I. Well, here it goes.

Bath time is actually my favourite part of the day. It didn't used to be. In fact when I first had my second, I was really worried about it. I just couldn't work out the logistics in my head. At the time we had a two year old toddler who went up for bath at 6pm, and was asleep between 7 and half past. How was I going to fit in another baby's bath time and still have them in bed by 7pm?

It turned out that the answer changed as the ages of the girls changed. Early on, when the younger was still breastfeeding in the her first three months, we'd bathe her in the baby bath on the floor in the bathroom either after the elder had got in the big bath (and was happily playing), or with the elder helping us clean the younger's toes before she then got in the big bath herself. Then I'd be sat on the toilet seat breastfeeding the younger, whilst the elder was playing. Luckily the elder, at 2 and a half, was old enough to be able to dress herself with minimum help. I'd dry her with one hand (younger in the other) and we'd go into the elder's bedroom for stories. Stories would be read (the younger still feeding). Finally I'd leave the elder to look at her books for 5 minutes whilst I took the younger into her room next door, gave her a final cuddle and popped her in her cot.

The younger very quickly learnt to go to sleep unaided. To the extent that today, at 20 months, she won't fall asleep on my knee. Something I occassionally miss! If in her room, she will point to the cot and start whining if she thinks you're taking too long getting her in bed. She has always had to fall asleep on her own.

Don't get me wrong. I didn't leave a screaming baby on her own. Just a whinging one for a short time! But having another child teaches you that they both need and deserve your attention. And if you are on your own, then they have to take turns. If the younger wasn't settling well, I'd read the elder a story, then pop in and see the younger, then pop back to the elder and so on; leaving the younger to mither (it's definitely different from crying) for a few minutes at a time. Often those few minutes were all it took, and off to sleep she went. Because this happened from day one, I didn't get to the controlled crying stage that we had to go through with the elder.

Bath time now, is of course, completely different. They both go in together. And I spend the whole time telling them to "sit down", "don't drink the water", "share the toys" .... You get the idea. Action songs are a good distraction if you still have enough wits about you to remember to launch into song.

But in all cases, the key thing to remember at bath time is this; before they get in the bath, make sure that everything, and I mean everything, you will need is within arms reach of your position at the side of that bath. Towels, nappies, wipes, baby lotion, pyjamas, clean pants for toddlers, slippers, shampoo, sponges, changing mat.... If you need it, have it there. Because once they are in, you can't walk away from that bath for even a second. At the very least, they'll be drinking the water when you return, and the worst... well, you know. So please, please, please, don't take your eyes off them, and don't move more than arms length away. (I've had a couple of major saves of the younger, when she's tried to stand up in the bath, one foot off the bathmat, slipped, and I've caught her before she hit her head. And when she was small, and just sitting up, she lost her seated balance on more than one occasion in all the excitement, and simply fell backwards. Again, my arm was there. I may be paranoid. But I don't risk it at bath time.

One final thing. If you have tiled floors in your bathroom, don't let the toddlers run around in there. Mine have slipped on the wet floor. Only last week I saved the younger's head from hitting the tiles, with my slippered foot and hand. Now they go from bath, to knee, to slippers, to carpeted bedrooms.

I said it was my favourite part of the day. It is. From teatime onwards my girls know our routine. And because that part of the day is always the same, they are calmer. As I am. We all know what to expect.

Above all, have fun. (oh, and get one of the those suction pad net bags for all the toys. Genius)