Occasionally it might be necessary or useful for a nursery or school to ask for parent helpers - you may wish to go on a trip or need extra supervisors to visit a local landmark.  This is great for the parents to get involved, great for the children whose parents are being invited to come along... but it can be less than great for the childcare providers or teachers unless the guidelines are laid down in advance.  You don't want the parent just helping their own child and tending to their needs and theirs' alone to the detriment of other little ones.

1. Choose the parents carefully - if you can, invite those you know are level-headed and reliable.
2. Put parents in charge of a group that doesn't include their child.
3. Give parents clear guidelines of what you need from them and what is expected.
4. Introduce them to the children and say, loudly, so that the parent hears "Mrs XX will be looking after all of you today."  Just so its clear to the parents its not just their own child being taken care of.
5. Make sure timings are made clear so parents leave when you wish to return to normality.
6. Find out if any parents have any special skills that might be of interest to the children or help... e.g. gardening, sewing costumes etc.

Guidelines for Parent Helpers could include information such as:

• Emergency telephone numbers and all staff numbers in case of separation.
• How often and how to count and keep track of the children.
• Any special needs, equipment, diets or allergies of the children.
• Exact route, timetable and itinerary of trip.
• Reminder about taking the children to the toilet during the trip.
• Make sure they are not over familiar with the children.
• Be clear about importance of confidentiality and encourage discretion.

Parent helpers do not have to be CRB checked if they are working with children in groups and alongside other qualified practioners but they should be CRB checked if they are going to be alone at any time with the children.

A new service has been launched to help parents and child carers who suddenly find that they have lost track of one of their children.  Find My Child offers an iPhone app, voiced by Mariella Frostrup, with which you register information about your children.  A subscription of just £3 per month allows you to raise an alert in the event of one of you losing sight of one of your children.  Raising an alert sends a message out to other Find My Child users in the vicinity, sharing a picture so that they can help look for the missing child.  Should they find them, they can then call the parent directly and work together to reunite the child.

Find My Child respects everyone's privacy, only sharing information on a 'need to know' basis.  Usually your registered photo of a child will remain completely private, it will only be shared when you need to source help in finding your missing child.

The app is aimed at covering the period immediately after your child goes missing, to the point where the police can be involved in a search.  Should you have to escalate to a police search, this 'window' typically lasts up to three hours, but obviously you are more likely to find your child within the first 30 minutes.  Find My Child uses 'social helpworking' to bring everyone in the area together to help you in your moment of panic - a perfect use for a smartphone app!

Download Find My Child from the app store, or find out more at the Find My Child website.

The cost of after school activities and clubs is getting so very expensive. Should you choose ballet or rainbows? Beavers or football? French club or swimming? Half of parents are having to cancel their children's after school clubs because its just getting too expensive.

Some research carried out by MyVoucherCodes has discovered that over a third of parents say their children do not take part in after school activities and many of those have had to stop the clubs because its just too expensive.

1,192 parents were questioned by MyVoucherCodes to look at parents habits when it comes to children's clubs. A third said that their children did not take part in any after school activities. 24% said their children did activities on an occasional basis. Of those who did not attend clubs the reason given was, according to more than half, that the parents had to save money.

A high percentage, 27%, said their children did not want to do any after school clubs. And, of those who did attend activities on an occasional basis said the reason behind this occasional attendance was that the children were "too lazy"!

While many clubs are expensive and require special equipment or uniforms, many are not. Rainbows and Beavers (a weekly hour long meeting with games and activities) costs about £20 a term. Play groups and church children's play days range can costs as little as £1 a family for each session. Library play and stay sessions can be as little as 50p per child.

So, it is more a question of choosing activities that are appropriate and affordable rather than just saying no to all activities.

Over 17,000 children are separated from their mothers every year in this country because they are sent to prison, a fact that is causing children to experience harmful emotional, social and psychological problems.

The Howard League for Penal Reform suggests that many of the women jailed could have been punished by setting them to community tasks instead of custodial sentences which would have saved 11,000 children from separation. Many of the women in prison are awaiting trail or indeed are found not guilty, meaning that the separation is not necessarily essential. Separation is very damaging for children who are not even allowed access, as many visiting hours are scheduled during school hours and weekend parental/family days are being reduced because of budget and funding cuts.

Twelve women's prisons exist in Britain, and just over half have a mother and baby unit which equates to fewer than 70 places. It has been suggested that non violent crimes be dealt with on a local level with secure, local units being used to house women closer to their families rather than in far away prisons.

Over a third of women in prison have children under five and half have children under 16.

Shocking facts to face... even more shocking and sad for the children effected.

Sometimes, you just want to break free - do something different, try something new, break the rules!  It's the same if you're a child.  So often we insist that the children follow a routine, do things in a certain order, and follow various rules.  However, just occasionally, its fun and exciting to do things in a different way.   Here are just a few ideas to suggest to the children to shake things up a bit.  You could ask their ideas and see what they come up with.  Make sure they understand though, that this is a special, unusual kind of day and not the norm...just in case they get any ideas!

• Have a picnic breakfast: pack breakfast and go to the park or countryside and have a lovely picnic.
• Paint the leaves: take a paintbrush and some poster paints and get the children to paint some leaves on low branches in the garden.  It's great fun!
• Spread a rug in the living room for a picnic lunch if it's raining.  Wrap the food as if you were going on a real picnic!
• Get the children to choose dinner.  Show them what you have in your fridge and get their suggestions for what to make with it.  You may need to pop out to get more ingredients.
• Blend a breakfast cereal.  Take handfuls of different cereals you have in the cupboard and make a new special brand.
• Have frothy hot chocolate (warmed very slightly in the microwave) rather than milk, just for a change.
• Make a robot out of cardboard boxes and cartons... any recyclable rubbish you find at home.  Be as creative or zany as you like and decorate the robot in a crazy way then invite him for tea!  Set a place at the table and serve up dinner!
• Get paintbrushes and paint the outside of the house with water.
• Eat something you have never eaten before. Go to the supermarket together and choose your menu.

Going for walks is an ideal way to spend time with the family - it's free, it's healthy, it's outdoors, it's fun and educational and it's something you can all share together no matter your age or ability.  You can do it with other families, on your own or with other family members.  It can be a long, all day affair or just an hour trek. It can be in all sorts of different terrain: woodland, seashore, farm land or country paths.  Most of all, it's something to enjoy!

• Getting the children out of the door: older children may have opinions on going for walks so do make sure you describe the walk as an adventure; an excursion or something exciting rather than just a walk.
• Think of activities to do while on your adventure: collect things (feathers, pebbles, leaves) or spot things (acorns, birds, animal tracks).
• Play "follow the arrow": take 3 sticks and arrange them in an arrow.  Send the children ahead and get them to make the arrow shape that will guide you all home.
• Follow My Leader: get the children to decide on the route.  Ask them which paths to take or which way to turn.
• Make a map: draw a map of the route as you go, marking on special land marks.
• Snacks: take snacks to keep energy high and moral positive!  Offer snacks when they find things or spot something fun.
• Play camouflage: send the children ahead and get them to hide.  When you are near get them to jump out and surprise you!
• Do other things along the way: if you see logs, try and climb them, if you spot a brook try and cross it and any good climbing trees must be conquered!  Help the little ones to climb up - they will love it!
• Be prepared for weather changes: take waterproofs as you don't want to be caught in a shower!
• Take the right equipment: make sure everyone has wellies or walking shoes to avoid hearing moaning children (and adults!) if their feet get wet.
• Listen to the children: if they get tired, try not to force them to go on... it may put them off for ever!

None of us like too much change in our lives, but when changes are afoot in a children's life it can really affect them in a big way. It is really important to try and handle any changes in a sensitive and thoughtful way, to manage it proactively and to deal with it as if you were a child, not like an adult. Here are some thoughts about helping children cope with changes in their life.

• Chat to them about the change. Choose a time when they are calm and happy and speak easily and in a supportive manner.
• Talk about what your child enjoys at school and in clubs and then talk about what they don't like. This will help them feel confident enough to chat and may unearth some interesting facts you didn't know about.
• Talk about friends and people your children play with.
• Talk to their carers in private and discuss the issues.
• Try to keep to a routine and keep things the same.
• Give plenty of reassurance.

If a child is not coping with change you may spot some of the following:

• They become clingy and fearful to leave you
• They may become panicky and breathless
• They may complain of illness and headaches
• They may become less inclined to talk and communicate
• They may loose interest in activities
• They may become bad tempered and angry

We're only just past the summer solstice, marking the middle of the year, but there's no better time to starting your Christmas shopping than right now!  Retailers in the high street and online are suffering poor sales - we don't have money to spend and we're not buying.  Shops are currently launching into their summer sales, many starting earlier than usual.  Now is the perfect time to bag yourself some bargains rather than waiting for Christmas.

Particularly good value at the moment are children's audio and video offerings.  Family DVD's and CD's are cheaper at the moment than they will be at Christmas.  Amazon and Play are selling many Disney DVD's for between £5 and £8 at the moment.  Come Christmas time, they will probably run the same Buy One Get One that they have for the past couple of years, but suddenly all their titles will be retailing at a much higher price - you'll feel like you're getting a bargain but in truth you'll probably end up paying more than you will for the same titles right now.

Many toy retailers are also offering discounted goods at the moment.  Grab yourself some bargains, pick up stocking fillers and stock pile gifts for friends' birthday parties now!  Every parent takes advantage of discounted toys to give at parties, shop efficiently and you can save yourself a small fortune!

It's so expensive to have professional photos taken of your baby, and with today's camera technology you can really create professional-looking and lovely photos with regular cameras.

Here are a few tips!

Keep it simple: try not to attempt catalogue style photos with a fussy background or certain tilt of the head required. Keep the shots easy and simple for you all.

Background: keep an eye on what's behind your baby and check there's no washing on the line, or dustbins in the background or a traffic sign coming out of their head! A leafy hedge, a grassy bank, a blank wall are all simple and effective backgrounds that will look good.

Lighting: light the picture naturally if possible so take pictures outside or in bright rooms. Flash is fine but can distort the colours in the picture or result in red eye or closed eyes!

Sunshine: it's lovely to take shots in the sun, but beware of sun shining in the children's eyes and causing them to squint or shut their eyes. Don't tell them to try and smile and look into the sun... it just won't happen!

Get up close: try to have the photo full of your baby so that about 3/4 of the photo will feature the baby and the rest is background or other things. You can always crop the image after if you don't want to hold the camers in your baby's face.

Practice: get to know what all the buttons on the camera actually do. You may find they enhace the shot with a bit of practice. Take plenty of shots too, don't spend ages lining up a shot and then just take one. You can delete any you don't like.

Tilting: try out some different angles and tilt the cemera, turn it portrait or landscape and play around with what you can do to get the right image.

Eyes right: don't always insist your child looks at the camera.  Looking down, or into the sky or eleswhere can make gorgeous shots.

Make it fun!: encourage your children to laugh and enjoy their photo session by making it a game and fun!

Take pictures often: by taking pictures often the children will be familiar with the idea of a camera being used and will not find it intimidating or embarassing.

Good luck!

According to research published by the Department of Education, nine out of ten parents think their children are being forced to grow up too quickly! The researchers asked 1,000 parents various questions and found that over half thought the programmes and tv adverts shown before 9pm were unacceptable.

They also found that 60% of parents thought that some products advertised to children were inappropriate for their age.  Many parents felt they had to buy certain items for their children so to avoid them being "left out" but these products were not considered essential or appropriate, so peer pressure was an issue.

Areas of concern include:

• Clothes to be age appropriate and not small versions of adult fashion
• Sexualised content in music videos and early evening TV
• Pressure to buy non-essential items for their children so they don’t feel left out.

Findings from the survey show that:

• 40% of parents said they had seen things in public places (shop windows, advertising) that they felt were inappropriate for children because of sexual content
• 41 % said they had seen programmes or adverts on TV before 9pm that they felt were unsuitable or inappropriate for children due to their sexual content.
• Of those parents who had felt the need to complain about these issues but hadn’t, over 60% said that they had not done so either because they didn’t think anything would be done or they didn’t know who to complain to.
• Around half of parents felt that celebrity culture, adult style clothes and music videos are encouraging children to act older than they are.

According to a new study, rivalry between brothers and sisters can be a good thing when they are toddlers and it can have a positive effect on their development. Cambridge University carried out the study over a five year time span and found that of the 140 children studied, their cognitive and social development was enhanced if they were a sibling.

The research looked at the younger of 2 siblings in various environments: alone, with the family, with friends and at school.  Their language, memory, planning skills and inhibitory control were studied and found that the younger sibling had a better social understanding thanks to the teasing of older brothers and sisters.  80% of children have siblings.

Pretend play was very interesting to the study authors, as it found that the younger siblings who entered into pretend play, games that often lasted in different sessions over a few days, were able to articulate, discuss their thoughts and feelings much better than those who didn't.

They also found that sibling bickering was a "useful" tool and that its the start of a skill to resolve disagreements in later life although they did say that sustained sibling rivalry into school years could be detrimental. Relationships change over time, that is natural, but the way that siblings are natural allies is a beneficial thing.

A six year old boy took the time and effort last year to write to the Queen complaining about the lack of play facilities at the park in her Sandringham Estate.  He eventually received a letter from the Queen's Senoir  Correspondance Officer thanking him for taking the time to write and for his suggestions.

He suggested better play equipment for young visitors be installed, perhaps goalposts, a slide and a roundabout for children.  He received a reply from the Queen's office  thanking him for his comments and saying she had passed the suggestions to Sandringham's land agent for consideration.

The little boy, Charlie, was pleased with his letter and that it may result in some better park equipment.  He and his parents had forgotten they had sent the letter, as the reply came some seven weeks later, but when they saw the envelope with the royal stamp on it, they knew exactly what it was.

Well done to the Mum who encouraged her son to write a letter and well done, Charlie...it's easy to complain about things, but it takes more effort to sit down and do something about it!

Taking good photos of children can seem impossible, but with the advent of the digital camera it should be easier than ever.  Gone are the days when you take a few snaps, send the films away and six months later see your photos and realise you'd cut off heads and not had the sun behind you!

Here are a few tips to ensure you have a good selection to choose from.

1. Take plenty!  Don't spend ages lining up a photo and take hours setting it all up while the children get bored and run away.  Just keep snapping... you never know what you'll get!
2. Don't shout at the children if they wriggle and move.  Digital cameras should get the shot in focus and try to keep the children happy!
3. Make sure there's good light - the one thing that will improve your photos is immeasurably is that there is enough light in the shot.
4. Be spontaneous.  Try to take casual shots when the children are unaware.  Get them looking at flowers, strolling along a path, singing to themselves or just sitting under a tree.
5. Try and take the pictures without the children knowing.  Position the camera where they can't see it or use a timer or wire to take shots without them knowing.  These will be more natural photos.
6. Be realistic.  Don't expect too much or photos that are too perfect.  If they are off centre, that's fine and can make it all look even more natural.
7. Be flexible.  If you were looking for a solo photo of your pre-schooler and your toddler wanders in, don't worry!  You may end up with a great double act photo!

It has been reported that since the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks were introduced, more than 1,500 people have been wrongly given criminal records - the Government checks are designed to protect vulnerable people, but countless errors have been logged.

Questions have always been asked about whether the CRB system was really effective. Parents were being banned from car sharing with friends, and attending school plays and sports days if they weren’t checked, people were losing their jobs if they refused to be investigated and clubs were being forced to close because the cost of registering all their helpers was too much to afford.  CRB checks also did little to prevent child abuse scandals such as that which took place at the Little Ted's Nursery in Plymouth.

The CRB, a Home Office agency, was set up in March 2002 to check for criminal convictions, cautions and reprimands with regards people working with children or vulnerable adults. It processes some 3.9 million CRB certificates each year.

However, a new bill has been announced which will mean changes to this scheme and some of the nine million people who work or volunteer with children will no longer need to have a criminal records check under the new proposed Protection of Freedoms Bill.

Part of the bill also dictates that thousands of innocent people will have their DNA records removed from the national DNA database. There will also be regulations of CCTV cameras and regulations regarding Councils being able to examine people’s rubbish bins in order to investigate claims.

The changes aim to hand back some civil liberties taken away by the previous Labour government and operate a more “common sense” approach.

Child experts are increasingly concerned that technology is replacing physical activities in the lives of young children - children spend more time tapping away on computer keyboards, playing with pretend mobile phones and watching television than they do playing outdoors or doing craft and other traditional learning activities.  Parents are becoming more lazy, preferring to sit children in front of a TV or a computer rather than interacting with them and undertaking physical games and activities.

Interacting with others is a vital component for children to develop properly.  Traditional activities such as craft, drawing and doing puzzles, with an adult nearby, encourages fine motor skills and physical development, and language skills are learned by conversing with grown-ups.  This is all bypassed by children sat passively in front of a TV or left to their own devices being entertained by computer games or pretend technology devices.

Even though parents today have less time to spend with their children than for previous generations, it seems that we are all too happy to spend that little time we do have separated from them while the children are expected to entertain themselves.

Spend a moment to reflect on your own lifestyle, and ask yourself whether you are dedicating enough time to your children?