Newbie Tuesday Round-up: Dads and a guilty pleasure...

I know that many of you are writing about back to school at the moment, and for many, it’s first time to school. I’ve loved seeing all the posts, and sent virtual hugs to those who are feeling abandoned by their children. It’s an emotional time, but never more so than when they come home with an achievement. Just take a look at the photo in Ruby and Lottie‘s post about Star Pupil and you’ll see what I mean 🙂

Now then, let’s talk about the Dads…

I was alerted to the existence of an Actually Daddy this month by a well-meaning colleague. Furious, (actuallydaddydotcom is MINE!) I pelted over to see, and came back with a new piece of education – apparently the residents of Hove don’t just live in Hove; no, they live in Hove, Actually. Add this aversion to being mistaken for a Brightonite to a new Dad, and you get Hove, Actually Daddy. Phew! And luckily he’s a witty writer too, with a baby who will eat anything – and I mean anything!

It seems my husband may indeed need to get in on the act and use the aforementioned url if he hopes to gain any attention from me this month, as I am rather glued to the Dad blogs at the moment. It takes a lot to make me lol these days (I’m more of a wry grin kind of girl) but Hapless Dad had me chortling with his kids guide to getting fit. Completely on the nail, and I’m so trying the rigid stance tip the next time anyone tries to get me out of bed.

Then there is Raising Edgar, and go easy on him – he’s just about to embark on his share of the paternity leave, and terrified that the absence of boobs will be a major hindrance. I didn’t like to tell him that he’s just made a fatal error by confessing to being middle class, he’s got enough on his plate – be nice!

Dads the Way I Like it has beaten me to it and covered the entire topic of my first book in a blog post. I should be cross, but actually he’s saved me a job and listed several of the things you’re told you need when you have a baby, but could probably do without. Although he rather likes bathing his baby in a bucket (I know, Tummy Tub lovers of the world can line up and take a pop at me for not seeing the point) I’m totally with him on the basic concept. If fact, viewers of Pramface will know that as long as you have clingfilm and tissues, you can even do without nappies!

Right, moving on to a serious point, Emma Lee-Potter voices one of my biggest worries in her post about our obsession with smartphones and online interaction. I am guilty of ignoring my family in favour of my latest twitter mention occasionally, and once my husband starts browsing an Instagram feed he could be virtually awol for hours. I read once that internet addiction will cause a huge surge in mental health problems in the future and I can completely see why. What do you think – are we letting our kids down?

As a parent, what’s the thing you need most in the world? Apart from sleep, obviously. Understanding and support. So why are so many parents keen to undermine others? Hurrah for Gin has found that second time round, the boasting isn’t about how good your baby is, but how bad! I’m guessing it’s actually a question of needing to have the worst/best in order to boost your own sense of achievement, but really I wish we could all just get a grip and be more supportive. Like “oooh isn’t she potty trained yet?” What’s that all about? I was so glad to find More than a Momma sticking to her guns and doing it her way – that’s the experience of previous children for you – the ‘do whatever works’ philosophy.

If you are thinking of potty training, Super Busy Mum has some ingenious tips for potty-training boys. I must admit to not having given much thought to the differences between boys and girls when it comes to the potty, but actually, I now wish I’d had this post around when the Bug was toilet training.

Now here’s a story I’ve been following for a couple of weeks. Laura from Tired Mummy of Two started a kind of blogger chain letter of a story, writing the first excerpt, then passing the baton to someone else to continue. Newish blogger All You Need is Love and Cake took Part 10 of Let us Tell you a Story, and left us with a proper cliffhanger. You’ll need half an hour and a chocolate biscuit to catch up on the full story, and I cannot wait to find out how it ends. Mostly because the penultimate chapter is to be written by me…

Finally, if you’ve been following the Great British Bake Off, or better still taking part in the Great Bloggers Bake Off, you’ll have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen. I have watched with interest as the people who claim not to be bakers, or to have no oven, have attempted to create alternative versions of the weekly challenges. Then I discovered this Microwave Cake in a Cup from Mummy Makes Cakes. Now you have no excuse whatsoever. And there is no reason I can’t have cake any time I like, without the need to justify baking an enormous gateau! Genius.

And I leave you with my guilty pleasure: I kind of feel like I shouldn’t be reading Bad Mummy Diary. I know I shouldn’t catch myself sniggering, and I most certainly should not be nodding in agreement. But I do rather like the picture she paints of Tarquin’s Mum – read it and see if you can identify who she is when next you do the school drop-off 🙂

About Helen Wills

Helen Wills is a mum of 2 children in primary school and blogs at Actually Mummy on parenting issues, school, travel, and life according to the kids. Since starting her blog in 2011, Helen has won 2 national awards, and puts a lot of her success down to the amazing online community of bloggers at BritMums. As her children grow older, her writing is increasingly influenced by their opinions, and her blog reflects this drive to get the most out of family life. Helen works from home in copywriting and social media. She is on Twitter @actuallymummy.