Thursday 5 January 2012

Im now a published author - not just a tv star!!

I saw a posting months ago from Joanne Mallon who was writing a book about Coping with Toddlers and she was looking for parents to help her out with this, her criteria was

I'm looking for practical tips to go under the heading "What worked for me" on any of these toddler-related issues: sleep; tantrums; food/fussy eating etc; play (what kind of games your toddlers enjoyed, or what games you've played with your grandchildren); - just pick the one (or more)  that's most relevant to you.

Well from reading people blogs and having brought up five children of my own, and now onto the next generation, been a registered child-minder for 14 yrs, and been paid to work in crèches and playgroups for years then I do have a little bit of knowledge about what makes a toddler tick.


By the same token I am no expert but Joanne was looking for "What worked for me" from parents up and down the country to put a book together to try and help out other parents going through the terrible 2's and the traumatic 3's . I think half the problem is thinking other people kids are perfect and it is only yours that play up, refuse to eat, wont sleep all night etc etc etc. Believe me with what I went through with child 2 and 4 then I have probably seen/experienced. struggled my way through every trauma and uoset you can manage and many more besides.

So I contributed on food/fussy eaters, well with the food allergies/intolerances we have, plus a daughter that could not eat solid food till she was nearly 4 yrs old then  its been one that I felt I have some practical experience to draw on that I can pass on to others.

I found myself doing things with my kids that I never thought I would do, allowing them to do this, or wear that or whatever not just for a peaceful life but importantly to allow the children to grow into well balanced, well rounded people who could think for themselves, with good negotiation and compromise skills, whilst appreciating other peoples needs and feelings - only they can tell you if I have been successful but to me they seem to be sensible, caring well balanced adults so I must have done something right.

My contribution to the book called

Toddlers: An Instruction Manual: A Guide to Surviving the Years One to Four (Written by Parents, for Parents)

this book is available from Amazon as a paper back for £9.99, or as an e-book download for £4.59
was sent in under the heading - Fussy eaters/What worked for me

Toddlers can be notoriously difficult to feed and there is nothing worse than having spent time and effort in the kitchen for them not to want to eat what you have made. Remember this is not personal, it is the way they are feeling at that moment in time.

Dont make food, or the table, a battle ground area.If you know your child likes the food you have placed in front of them and they decide not to eat it, let them go hungry,don't get annoyed or angry with them, just take the food away with little or no comment. Do not offer them any thing else, or try tempting them or bribing them, just move on and forget about it.

Introduce 1 new food at a time, and serve it with current favourites, they are more likely to try 1 new food in amongst others they recognise than introducing a whole plateful of new colours and textures at one time. This can often be done by feeing them the new food from your plate rather than putting it on their own plate.

I fed child No1 with chicken soup and a slice of wholemeal bread for breakfast for approx 3 weeks at one stage, she asked for it and she ate it, who says breakfast must be cereals?

Child No3 was notorious for not wanting to eat a meal at what I considered meal times, so he was served finger foods, a selection of which was placed in a plastic box on the table at meals times, and he ate when he was hungry. The rule was he had to sit at the table and eat, no wandering around with food was allowed.  If there were any of meal 1 remaining then it was thrown away when meal 2 was placed in a fresh box. He did not get treats or sweets if there was food in the box when we went out.

Not sure word for word how it reads in the book a I have not got hold of a copy yet, but will do later in the  month when the next lot of pay goes into the bank. 


Amazon have the write up - Product Description

Why do toddlers behave the way they do? And are they doing it deliberately to wind their parents up? If only toddlers came with an instruction manual - well, now they do. This book brings together tried and tested practical, down-to-earth tips from parents who've survived the toddler years and want to help you do the same. If you've ever wondered how to get your child to sleep through the night, listen when you say no and stop reacting with horror at the sight of something green on their plate, this book can help. 'Toddlers: an instruction manual' celebrates the qualities we love about toddlers, and suggests ways to navigate their less appealing aspects. We cannot stop your toddler from tormenting you, but we can help you get through with your sanity (just about) intact.
Written with warmth and understanding, 'Toddlers: an instruction manual' is a practical guide to parenting your child when the challenges may seem to outnumber the good bits and you most need a helping hand. Part of the royalties are donated to Home-Start, one of the UK's leading family support charities.

From the Publisher

OUTSTANDING FEATURES:
* written with warmth, understanding and love - no preaching or judgemental comments;
* includes invaluable advice from many parents on what they wish someone told them about the toddler years;
* includes practical guidance from experts, empowering the parent to make their own choices more confidently;
* up-to-date information on toddlers using technology, including advice on iPads and the under 5's;
* tried and tested tips for tackling common toddler issues including tantrums, fussy eating, potty training and sleep problems;
* easily accessible information broken down into bite sized chunks;
* part of the royalties are donated to Home Start, one of the UK's leading family support charities

.Why not pop over and buy the book, use it yourself, pass it onto your son/daughter to help with the grandchildren and support a good cause at the same time.

 So there you have it, I may not be the next JK Rowling, but I am now (to an extent) a published author as well as a TV star. You can read about my tv stardom here This bloggings great fun, giving me opportunities I would never have had.

One of my fellow bloggers Kate over at lifeloveandlivingwithboys is also a proud author in this book, why not go and see her fab sense of humour blog as well.

6 comments:

  1. Published writer! That is amazing and well done you. What a fab achievement. I would love to be able to do something like that one day. x

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  2. Great tips on eating. We have good and bad days but try not to make it an issue. It will be lovely seeing our contributions in print :)

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  3. @multiplemummy you never now your day may come, right place at the right time as they say, you are certainly getting the experience required
    @scattymumofboys. thank you, yes I had good and bad days on many issues but I picked my fights on what I thought worth while to their whole upbringing, and as you say food not an issue.

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  4. Congratulations on being a published author! I know what you mean about the food battles. At the moment our little guy eats everything and is known in the house as the human hoover. But our older son has autism and due to his condition, is very picky about his food. It is easier to make a list of what he eats rather than a list of what he refuses to eat. In our case making him go hungry and hope he would eat later won't work. He just would be hungry. Full stop.

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  5. Charlotte Clavier13 January 2012 at 12:12

    My goodness Elaine a published author too. Is there no end to your talents? Well done luv. I'm really happy for you. The new post was very interesting even though I don't have kids. Always enjoy your posts Elaine. Can't wait for the next one xx

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