to all our new members

I hope that you will find this an informative , friendly place to be
I certainly couldn't have managed without during those lovely teenage years
my son will be 20 in a few weeks and I think that like Harry Enfield transformed into Kevin on this 13th birthday when my son hits 20 he will transform immediately into a lovely young man and I will never have any problems with him again
oh well I can dream can't I
actually since starting this forum when he was 15 I have watched him grow and mature and he is now a son to be very proud of
my daughter is now 17 and needs a bit more work lol but on the whole they're both good kids most of the time !!

I couldn't have found out about this place at a better time. Obviously being only 20 years old I don't have my own children, but my sister has just hit thirteen and she is a nightmare! She thinks she's an adult and can do what she wants and can talk to people how she wants

I swear my son hit his teens when he was 9 !!
my lovely 17 year old daughter can be lovely but she can be a pain in the A***
omg louise I've just thought I could be your Mum how old does that make me feel lol

It's not that bad! Well as long as you don't want to be mum to my painful sister! lol

Welcome Louise, my eldest boy is 20 and the other 17. They have both been trying at times and without here I would have gone potty..... let me rephrase that, more potty

Feel free to ask anything the odds are one of us on here has gone through it at some stage.

Hee hee, Nice to meet you Gizzy

do I answer that part lol

Hi louise , welcome to the mad house lol
I have 2 boys 11 and 6 and when they reach their teens am hoping these girls are going to be there to sort me out
tell us abit more about your self?

Hello! Thanks for the welcome

(As Keepsmiling already knows) I am addicted to talking lol, especially on forums.

I bought my own house back in May, and I have just started a new job in a nursery, so you will often hear me complain about how many hours I work lol.

I also work in a craft shop on a weekend to feed my crafting habit

Erm not much more to say, except from I have this huge PAIN of a sister

hello there
Thought I'd introduce myself (although Louise & Keepsmiling know me from the craft forum). I've got one daughter, who is 14 & is a really lovely girl, but still has her moments & there are days when I feel like I'm a cr*p mum & am getting it so wrong! I don't have much of a network of friends close by, so it'll be good to have some other mums to talk to.

Hi there Louise, Janet and Autumn ... it's truly awesome to have three new members join for a fresh new year!

I'm an Aussie and live in a gorgeous little timber town in the south-west corner of Western Australia. I'm a fulltime stay-at-home mum by choice and thankfully have the full support of my Business Banker hubby. He's just gorgeous despite my occasional dummy spit

I have two little men ... Conor is 10 years old (last Oct) and Carson will be 7 years old this coming Wednesday (Jan 7). He's very excited and has decided he's NOT going to cancel his birthday just yet!

Louise ... it doesn't matter that you're only 20 ... I'm 46 and fast heading towards 47 and yet sometimes feel as though I'm still the same silly me that I was back when I was 20. Bravo on already buying your first home ... there's not many 20 year olds who can say that now is there! With your knowledge of how the young ones tick ... you'll be an invaluable source of information for those times we're sitting here ripping our hair out and not knowing which way to go with our kids! Lovely to have you with us!

Autumn ... I have an Aussie friend who has been living in the UK the past 12 years now and she's always telling me she's a crap mum at times too. I'm sure you'll find that you're no more a crap mum than the rest of us in here and the more we worry about being good mums ... the better we become! Mums who worry are the mums who care!

Insomniac, all my children I care for are little darlings........when they are napping.

That doesn't mean I get a rest though, 'cos then I have to put away toys and hoover up.

BTW - Does anybody know how to get an 18month old to tidy up after themselves, when I ask and show them how, their eyes turn green, then they get this wicked smile and start throwing toys everywhere!!!! EEK!

Hi Louise, I'm Karen, I used to work in childcare for about 10 yrs and am now an assessor in childcare Nvq's so still have lots to do with little ones when visiting playgroups, nurseries etc, I also have a 20 yr old son and have been glad of the support in here over the past few yrs, he's great now though.

Hope to enjoy chatting with you on here, you have done very well to own your own house at the young age of 20!!! Well Done.

Hello Kazzi!

I can just see all those dear little faces laughing and carrying on with their toy throwing exercises Louise! I'm not so sure I'd have the patience to handle more than the two kids I already have ... although I did look after a friend's 17 month old twins a couple of weeks back AND her 4 year old too! It was a lovely DAY ... but longer than that ... I don't think they'd have survived me!

You're in the right spot for information about child care and how to entertain and train them ... most of the girls in here have worked in the industry and those who have ... have their own kids! So ask away!

With the toys ... I've always managed to get my boys to pick up by making a game of it. "Let's see how fast we can go ... " and I'll run around like a mad thing, tossing toys into boxes etc. Now they're older it's easier ... "I'm getting my vacuum cleaner out soon ... so if you don't want me to suck up your stuff ... you'd better RUN ..." That's usually followed by squeals "don't do it yet Mum ... pleaseeeeeeeeeeee!" Kids eh!

Heh heh my mum used to do that one! Threaten my toys with a bin bag 'til I tidied up!
When I got older I thought she was bluffing so I ignored her.......she wasn't.....
sob........my poor, poor Barbies