Child Trust Fund axed

As part of the government's plan to claw back some of the nation's deficit, the ill thought out and little used Child Trust Fund was severely cut back today, with an aim to completely axing it by 2011.

The scheme, which we partook in for Emily, gave new born children £250 to be invested in a special account under their name (£500 for poorer families). Ostensibily, this was to help pay for college or other life changing events once they turned 18. However, most critics pointed out that as the scheme was in the child's name, it could equally be used to pay for a massive drunked party as it could be to pay for further education and that parents were better off opening accounts for their children they could monitor.

Under the terms announced today, the £250 is trimmed back to £50 for the next year (£100 for poorer families) and then cut altogether.

To explain the cuts, a government official explained to BBC:

"At present, the child trust fund is based on the claim that young people will build up an asset which they can use later in life.

"But since government payments into the scheme are essentially being funded by public borrowing, the government is also storing up debts which will have to be repaid by the same young people."

We took the £250 and left it at that, so Emily when she turns 18 will get £250 plus 18 years worth of interest. There was to be a top up payment of £250 at age seven, but this has been axed as well.

It'll be interesting to see if any replacement comes about when the good (economic) times kick in.

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• Child trust funds to be scrapped (guardian.co.uk)
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Terrible Twos in full terrible swing

As lovely as it is having Emily more receptive, she's getting a mood and attitude on her that's really quite shocking.

Having had a chat with Helen today, we ruminated over how headstrong and stubborn Emily's becoming and how she wants to do things her way or she flops a strop.

I guess it's up to Sue and I as parents to see past the new "personality" that's emerging and continue to steer her properly through life.

It can be quite hard when the simplest aspects of life - bath time, walking from the house to car, etc. - are met with floods of tears and the toddler equivalent of a "sit in".

This all comes as quite a full on shock considering how placid Emily was as a baby. She was happy, content and went with the flow.

To be honest, she's still all those things, but she's now realising there's a "her way" to doing things as well.

I really don't look forward to her teenage years. I have a feeling I'm in for a large amount of payback.

Bib-free breakfast oversight

Image via Wikipedia

I put Em in her chair as usual for breakfast this morning and got her cereal ready.

As she was munching down on Weetabix, I hopped in the shower.

As I got out, I heard her smacking her bowl with her spoon which she usually does when she's finished eating and can't escape the high chair.

When I came back to sort her out, I realised I had forgotten to put her bib on and did that classic palm to the forehead "d'oh" action.

I know she's growing up, but non-bibbing Emily, especially at breakfast time is really a schoolboy error.

Thankfully the bix has soaked up all the milk, so I just had to hose down mulchy cereal from her front. 

More words from Emmers

We were in a playground in Purley at lunch today and Em launched a couple of new words on us.

Climbing the ladder up to a slide I was counting the steps for her and to my amazement, after I said "one" I got a "two" and "three" in reply. The last step, "four", failed to emerge from her lips. I've been trying to get her to expand her number-cabulary for ages, adding to "six", "eight" and "ten". I'm quite pleased with this late development.

Another oddity occurred today when I got home. Em was hissing like a snake. Not really sure what it was in aid of, but it was damn funny listening to her mooch around the house hissing at everything.

Shopping with Em

Usually when I pick Emily up from Helen's after work, we have to head straight home. Any deviation to the supermarket is usually met with quite vocal hostility.

For whatever reason, tonight was different. Emily only grumbled a couple of times, and both were quite lame attempts. I've found it's easier to placate her if she rides up front with the food, rather than sit in the child seat.

When it came to checkout time, I thought I'd try and get her involved a bit. As she was standing in with the food anyway, I pointed to items in the cart and asked her to hand me the next item. Some things she gave me and some things she put on the conveyor belt and some things like a kilo of rice were a bit too heavy.

I was hoping this would keep her interest as well as let her not hate trips to the supermarket. As I was packing, I gave her the items that she could then put in the bag.

I'm under no illusions that the next trip to Sainsburys will not be as smooth or that Emily will be so helpful. It was nice while it lasted.

Thoughts on Emily's general safety

With Emily getting older and more inquisitive, it's only natural she wants to do things she shouldn't and poke her fingers and head into places they shouldn't go.

I've been doing some research on the web for child safety stuff and came across a pretty decent blog that deals with the safety of children. It was my initial search on safety gates that lead me there and to their main site, but they have a load of info about all manner of child safety.

Sue and I are concerned with making sure drawers stay closed when needed, and that Emily is generally safe from herself (at this age). I managed to find some helpful tips for kitchen life, which we have been able to put into practice.

Ill child and work

Last night Emily wasn't herself and we put it down to being overtired.

This morning she woke up hotter than the sun and incredibly listless. I wasn't all that sure what was wrong with her until she vomited down herself.

This proposed quite a quandry - how do I handle to situation? I can't take her to the child minders as no one wants to look after Barfy. I also can't go to work due to point one. Do I have to use this as a sick day for work? As a holiday? Is there a statutory child illness pot of days I can dip into?

I'd love to get some feedback on this.

As much as Sue and I are quite independent, it's times like this that really hammer home the importance of a support network. I'm not saying fob a child off on nana and grandad at the first sign of trouble, but close friends etc. who could share the "burden" if you will.

As it is, I'm trying to work from home and sod's law being what it is, Emily's listlessness has turned itself around and she's now wide-eyed, awake and running around the house, albeit with a temperature and very pink cheeks.

My biggest concern today however remains, I am currently out of coffee.

In the night garden live

Image by kenjonbro via Flickr

I received a notification from Twitter yesterday that Night Garden Live was following. Usually, these accounts are not what they seem. 

However, I was delightfully surprised to find that not only was it a legit account, it was also an account for the live on stage version of In The Night Garden. Having not known there was such a thing, the notification from Twitter served a number of purposes. 

I really have no idea what the stage show will involve, but I do hope I get to meet Sir Derek when we go.

According to the website for the stage show, there's two different shows each lasting an hour and takes place in a purpose built dome. Tickets (at least for Liverpool which is the only city with tickets on sale so far) range from £15 to £20, so it won't break the bank.

I know Emily would go absolutely mental so going is on our "must do" list. 

Waybuloo schedule shock for Emily

Image via Wikipedia

It's no secret how Emily feels about Cbeebies' "In The Night Garden". It's her favourite show by a country mile.

Part of dinner making time for me now is to let her watch Iggle and Upsy but also the lead in show "Waybuloos". The show is odd as hell with obviously overdubbed children acting (badly) against blue screen, but Em likes it and it has it's own odd charm.

When we got home tonight, I was able to coax her in the house and away from a neighbouring straying cat by offering her some Waybuloo time. Alas it wasn't meant to be. When we turned the telly on there was some animated zoo show instead.

Thankfully we have Sky + so I can just find the next time it's on and tape it. Pain in the ass though, and I'm sure a lot of parents who use the Cbeebies schedule as their own sort of comfort blanket will also feel just a touch violated.

Holidays and funny t-shirts

As we're currently on holiday in Spain we do, buy and eat in ways we don't usually do when we're at home. One thing I came across at a market here was a t-shirt based on the film "The Hangover". Anyone who's seen this film will know all about the bearded dufus who walks around with a baby strapped on his stomach.

I didn't pick this up as I had insufficient Euros at the time, but a quick search on the internet and I found a place called Nerdy Shirts that sells the hangover t-shirts!

Having found this shirt, I thought it a good place to hunt for other funny t-shirts, something quirky and nerdy for Emily to wear as well. We usually dress her up at X-mas for the photo on our home-made Christmas card and I found a wonderful Santa t-shirt that (if it's in her size) will be perfect for our x-mas card 2010!