The Importance Of Regular Health Checks for Children

 New motherhood is a wonderful (even though extremely exhausting) experience, but it can also be a stressful time, more so if you are a first-time mother. You don’t know what to expect (even though you have probably read several books through pregnancy), especially regarding your baby’s health and well-being. The slightest shift from normalcy can be hugely worrying:  Why is my baby’s poop a different colour? What is that rash on his back? Why is he asking for more milk? 

And while this is normal, it is also essential to make sure you are on top of things as far as your baby’s medical checks and vaccinations are concerned. And this applies to older children too. As they say, prevention is better than cure, so if you suspect something is not right or aren’t sure of a particular symptom your baby/child has, don’t think twice and have it checked.

Here are a few checks to keep in mind during your child’s growing-up years.

1. The Newborn Physical Examination

This is one of the first checks your baby will have; it is carried out a few hours

(or within the first 72 hours) after the baby is born. This check aims to spot any

problems early on, in which case treatment can be started at the earliest. 

The baby’s eyes, heart, hip joints and testicles (for boys) are examined to see

if everything is normal. 

Image credit: Pixabay

2. The Six-Eight Week Check

When your baby is between six to eight weeks old, there is another check to see if

everything is fine and whether your baby is developing well. Your baby will be measured

for weight and height again at this check, which will also give an idea if he or she

is feeding well. 

3. Eye Test

While serious eye problems in children are rare, it is vital to have regular eye tests for

them. Children might not realise there is a problem until it is too late or unless they suffer

from constant headaches. And with children today being exposed to screens far more

than before, it is essential to regularly check their eyesight. Contact us for all your eye

concerns or for a wide range of glasses.  

After birth, your child’s eyes might be tested again during the vision screening check

when they are around four or five years old, once they start school.

4. Hearing Test

Your baby’s hearing will also be checked around 4-5 weeks of age. There will not be a

need to check your child’s hearing in later years if all is well; however, if your child is not

speaking or interacting as other children their age, it might be worth doing another hearing

test to see if that is, in fact, the problem for their speech delay. 

5. Allergy test

It is not routine to have an allergy test for your child; however, if you feel your baby or

toddler is allergic to certain food groups (like dairy or nuts), or something external like

pollen, it is better to have an allergy test sooner than later. Some allergies might be mild,

but sometimes allergies can flare up and become serious, so it’s best to find out and be safe.

6. Dyslexia test

Again, dyslexia is something you should only test your child for IF you find your child

struggling with basic reading, writing, spelling and numbers. It is a very specific learning

disability, and if detected earlier on, it can help both the child and the parents deal with it

more effectively and help the child get the support he or she needs.

7. ADHD Tests

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is not always simple to diagnose as it ranges through

a broad spectrum. Some children are considered borderline ADHD but it often takes years to

come to a valid conclusion on the same. However, if you feel your child is on the spectrum or

shows signs of having ADHD, do see a specialist and ask for your child to be screened and

tested as again, early detection can help your child. 

Vaccinations

It is also crucial to keep abreast of the necessary vaccinations for your child, from their

routine vaccinations as babies through their toddler years and then teen years. The NHS

offers children of school-going age the flu vaccination every year via their school, so keep a

note of that and help protect your child against the flu during the winter months. 

The Meningitis B vaccine was previously not part of the routine immunisation programme, but has been made mandatory for babies born after 1 July 2015. For those children born before that, the vaccine is available privately.

**Collaborative Post**

Finding A New Car For Your Family - Buying Advice

 **Collaborative Post**

Finding A New Car For Your Family - Buying Advice

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When finding a new car for our family, it can take time to figure out what it is that you need. Do you require a sporty hatchback

for your suburban living, or are you more interested in a powerful 4x4?

Furthermore, how will you use it? Someone living in rural environments

may convince themselves that the 4x4 is the way to go, while only ever using it on

flat roads to perform the school run.

A car isn’t a car. It’s a long-term financial investment, a morning experience during the commute, and a means in which you can feel peace of mind, knowing that your family are safe while travelling within it. This means that any new car must conform to all of your standards, otherwise you’re likely to feel unhappy or even tired behind the wheel.

But how can you find a new car for your family, and what buying advice could we give to bring you towards a better result each time? Let us explore those answers, together:

Finding The Best Offers

It’s important to consider your budget to start with, because ‘the perfect car’ will always be tied to how much you pay for it. It’s worth checking out these Audi Q2 motability offers to see just how affordable even the best vehicles are provided you use financing options or other concessions for purchase. This can help you understand just how wide your options may be, which in turn helps you approach a higher standard looking for the best deal. A good place to start, then.

Understanding Your Current (And Future) Needs

What needs do you have for your family car? Do you often use it to travel long distances for familial holidays? Do you perform the school run? Do you live in a mountainous or rural area, one with plenty of pot-holes? How comfortable are you behind the wheel of a new vehicle type? Is it likely that you’ll be asked to drive your neighbour’s kids to school when the new year rolls around, and vice versa?  Predicting your future needs from your current situation and what requirements could develop will help you be more precise in your vehicle search. That’s a good place to start.

Safety Is Essential

Safety is, of course, essential. It’s very important to ensure that your car will protect your family, but more than that, that you feel safe and comfortable while driving it. This is why many parents prefer to opt for larger people carriers, or those with great handling, as this helps them maintain more of a presence on the road. Safety can also mean ensuring that it has room for your booster seats, or that when you pack to go on holiday, you can do so safely without jam-packing your suitcases on top of your children’s laps.

With this advice, we hope you can more easily find the perfect car for your family. This, in turn, will help you transport them more safely, and with more confidence.

Redesigning my blog with Font Bundles

When I first set up the blog back in May 2014, I went for a very simple blog header, which had cartoon monkeys on, and a very simple and plain layout, especially as I did not think I would actually keep it up, but I did and here I am six years later and I still have the blog going.

When the blog was first set up it was hosted on blogspot.com under the name mummy to my little cheeky monkey. This name came from James who at the time was twenty-one months old and we used to call him our little cheeky monkey. I then took the leap in January 2017 to take the blog self-hosted onto the www.victoriahockley.co.uk domain name. And now finally nearly two and a half years on from going self-hosted I am dropping the cheeky monkey from the name, but I am keeping it as the email address as it would be far to much stress to change it on everything and email out contacts to change it.

Over the last six years I have had many simple designs using the simple fonts you get already programmed onto the computer. But finally, after six years I am ready to take the leap and download some fonts to make my logo and header stand out.

Since the header is used on both the blog and also on Facebook I wanted something that will pop out and have a wow factor, but also since the blog does not make that much money I do all the graphic work myself as I simply cannot afford to out source the work. Especially in the current situation, all spare money I have is going on the boys who have decided it was the perfect time to outgrow all their clothes and some of their shoes.

I searched on GoogIe to see if I could find an alternative to Dafont, I then decided to have a look at a fantastic website called Font Bundles, who have loads of brilliant free font available to download!

The first font that I looked at was called Bring Heart, I really liked this one as it was kind of like a script font, but eventually I did rule this one out as I thought it would be hard for people to read who are partially sighted.

The second font I looked at was called Monkey Mayhem. This one was quite bold and stood out. This font looked like it was going to be a possibility for my new header on the blog and, also on Facebook, especially as it gives a nod to the original name of the blog – mummy to my little cheeky monkey.

The final font that I looked at was called Playful Jake. This was quite cartoon like, I decided to go against this one as I wanted something that stands out and is easier to read.

Now that I have chosen the font, I had to start thinking about what pictures I was going to use. The last picture I used was one of me and the boys taken before we went out to see a theatre show, but this time I thought I  was going to use pictures of the boys on their own, but eventually I went for these two pictures of the boys together that I took on a recent walk around our local area.

The first picture was taken of the boys from the back as they walked back towards our house. I chose to use one of the boys from the back as it is actually my current favourite picture of the boys together. The second one is from the same walk, they are building some new houses near us on a patch of grass that used to have some blocks of flats on and round the edge there is some grass with some lovely trees which the boys were running around and erm hugging them so I have no idea how I managed to get them to stand still for a couple of pictures.

So above you can see the final design that I went for, for my new blog header. This is the first time you will see it along side it now being uploaded to the top of the page. I always tend to go for designs with a lot of white in them and stick to a plain background in either white or pale blue. I do this as it is less fussy and so much easier for people to read, especially those who have sight difficulties.

**This is a Collaborative Post**

What The Kids Will Love For Summer

The summer time is a big deal for kids of all ages - it’s when school’s out, the

sun is out, and there’s a beach or park to race down to and have some fun

with friends and family. It’s a time of year they look forward to the most, apart

from Christmas, and they always have a lot of energy for it! 

Which is why it might be useful to know now what the kids are going to want

for summer this year. They’ve been cooped up inside for a little while now,

which means they might just have ten times more energy than before, and

you’ll need to give them outlets to get all of that out. 

Without further ado, here are some suggestions on what to buy your kids for

summer this year. Make sure they’ve got the tools to have fun, and they’ll be

looking back on this time for years to come!

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Beach Toys (even just for the garden!)

Beach toys are the pinnacle of summer fun. If you have a beach ball on hand,

you can have a good game of volleyball on the beach, or float around with it in

the water. If you’ve got a bucket and spade, you can make all kinds of creative

projects out of the sand or pebbles on offer. But even if you’re not at the beach,

or don’t have the chance to get down to one, you can still make good use of beach

toys in the back garden. 

Alongside that bucket and spade, get your hands on a small sand pit that the kids

can mess about in for an afternoon. That beach ball can still be used for back yard

games, and even for something as simple as not letting the ball touch the ground.

This can be a lot of fun and laughter for the whole family! 

Something to Dress Up In

Kids love to play dress up, and it’s nice to slip on a costume and pretend to be a pirate

or a prince for the day! And when the summer time comes along, there’s a good chance

your kids are going to be wearing special costumes more often than they’ll wear normal

clothing. So, why not try to encourage their imaginations, and buy them more and more

fun things to wear? 

And you don’t even have to invest in costumes either; just buy them some clothes that’ll

help keep the dirt and muck off while they take a dip in the ocean or get covered in mud

from the football field. Boys tracksuits are always a populargo to for this, not to mention

how grown up your child might feel when they've got one on!

A Bit of Camping Equipment

Camping is something we like to do in the warmer periods of the year, and it’s especially

good to do as a family. Taking the kids off to a campsite to pitch a tent, teaching them

how to make a fire out of nothing but twigs, and having to sleep under the stars with the

sound of the world around them. All in all, it can be a very magical experience. 

And even if you can’t get out to a campsite, you can always set up a tent in the garden.

The kids will love the novelty of not having to sleep in their beds for the night, and

getting cozy under a sleeping bag and some blankets. They’ll love being able to tell ghost

stories with lanterns in hand, and it’ll certainly be a lot cooler on those hot summer

nights too! 

Maybe Even Their First Bike?

And of course, if your kids don’t already have a bike, now could be the perfect time to

buy them their first bike and teach them how to ride it. They’ll love being able to go on

bike rides through the woods or along the park, and it’ll be a lot faster to go round a

friend’s house when they’re able to do so again! A bike can be a hefty investment,

but it’s worth it. 

The kids love the summer time, even when they’re the kind of person to hide away

in their bedroom. Because the sun brings out the best in us; it makes us happy, and

helps us to feel a bit healthier, and the summer is a period filled with nostalgia! So,

make sure you’ve got some great activities set out for it this year. 

**Collaborative Post**

'3 Tips For A Smoother Home Move

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Moving house can be one of the most stressful experiences that you go through in life.

The disruption involved is immense. From boxing up everything that you own, putting it

on a van and unpacking it somewhere completely new. Couple this with the need to find

a new home, and, if you own your property, trying to sell your old house. There is a lot of

work involved in moving. 

With the number of things that can go wrong when you move, it is understandable that

moving house comes with a lot of stress. There are, however, ways that you can reduce

the levels of stress associated with your move. Through forward-thinking and planning,

you may be able to enjoy a less stressful move and be able to think positively about

the experiences that you will have soon in your new home. 

Here are several ways of managing your move in order to minimize your stress levels.

Get Quotes

Firstly, as soon as you know where you are moving to, and when, you can start to look

for removals companies to help you with the move. Phone round and get quotations. 

The earlier you can do this, the better, as you will need to book well in advance to

ensure you can get the help that you need. 

Similarly, you may need to look into quotes for personal storage. This will be particularly

useful if you are not able to move directly into your new home after leaving your last property. This could be useful if, for example, you need to carry out renovations works on the new property.

Making Lists

One of the best ways to plan ahead is by making lists for everything. Work out everyone that

you will need to provide your new address to. Make a list of all of the businesses that you

have accounts relating to your home. For example, your broadband provider, the council,

your energy supplier, and the water board. This will make it much easier to ensure

everyone gets the message that you have moved and you are better able

to manage your finances.

Start Packing Early 

The earlier you can start boxing up all of your possessions, the less stressed you will be as it gets closer to your moving out date.

Make sure you are logical and methodical when it comes to packing. Think about what you are not going to need for the time being, and start off by packing that first.

Label all of your boxes. Think about where things will be going to in your new home and make sure you write this on the box. This will save you a lot of time and headaches when it comes to unpacking at the other end.

Think about how your boxes may travel. Make sure that they are well packed, that they are not overloaded, and you use plenty of bubble wrap and tape to ensure everything is kept in its place. Remember to mark delicate items as being fragile.

**Collaborative Post**

It's Time to Plan Your Summer Vacation!

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The new year has begun and brought lots of new opportunities with it. But,

unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the weather will be improving any time soon. Perhaps

this is why January is such a popular time for booking holidays! With the rain still pouring

and the wind biting, what better time is there to plan a warm trip for the summer?

So, what do you need to think about to make your summer holiday something to really

look forward to?

Budget

Managing family money can be challenging but, when you know what your priorities are

and you have a fixed budget, it gets a lot easier. Remember that while holidays are all about fun, getting the most for your money is still important. This might mean compromising on some things to get more elsewhere. It might mean expanding your horizons to consider completely different holiday ideas.

Some companies like StudyLink Tours are great for groups of students planning a trip because they make the most of group bookings and create custom holidays. You can take a leaf out of their book by looking at the best way to organize. You might find that booking activities and tours in advance could be a lot cheaper.

Even if you don’t have the money to go on holiday right now, starting to save up is a

really good idea. Think about where you want to go and work backwards from

your planned holiday dates so you know how much you need to save each month

to achieve your dream holiday. 

Dream Big

At this point in the year, you still have plenty of time so dream big. What do you really want

to experience this year? For some families, sun, sea and sand are essential; for others,

a city break with plenty of activities and tours would be ideal. Understanding what you

want first will help you narrow down your destinations.

Now you have a better idea of what you are looking for, it’s a good idea to keep your search

nice and broad. Have a look at holiday destinations that are off the beaten track and

don’t lock yourself into a standard package deal too early on. Unusual family holidays

are the ones that stay with you over the years so don’t assume that you have to do

the same as everyone else!  

Looking at travel costs can often impact your choices. You might find that a destination

you hadn't thought of before is a lot cheaper to get to than your usual haunts. Equally,

you might consider different modes of transport. Taking trains is becoming increasingly

popular and also offers an opportunity to stay in other destinations along the way.

Interrailing is often considered a student holiday but families can get just as

much out of the experience!

With so many options for travel, there’s no need to let the weather get you down.

Start planning your summer holiday now and make sure you have something

fun to look forward to.

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