After reading this story this week I have been thinking whether there is any right punishment?

The story is of a 15 year old being racially motivated to harm another human being – pushing a teenager holding a 7 month old baby into a bus lane. At first I looked at the story of a teenager pushing a child intentionally into a bus lane. Reading the piece again I notice that it was in fact an indirect attack with events happening before.

I think of me as a 14 year old girl and the pushing of each other into the main road while waiting for a bus home from school (obviously in my case this scuffles were between groups of friends and were not racially motivated).

At the moment we are teaching our ideas of right and wrong to our child without even knowing it or even enforcing it. To think of my daughter at 15 hurting a 7 month old baby or any other aged human being is incomprehensible to me. My beliefs though are introducing a a more holsitic approach to punishment, using descriptive methods to explain why certain actions should not be used. As a child of more physical punishment I am keen to encourage our daughters growth with explanation, example and description. However I understand that every child is different and other parents have other methods that work for them and thier child.

Some may be angry at the sentence of a year of empathy and anger management classes and the £50 fine -  custodial sentences are not an option for the under 16′s. I agree that the punishment seems minimal but thinking through it depends on the knowledge and depth of teaching the individual receives to re-educate them so that there is no chance of re offending again.

On the other hand I am left wondering how events led to this and what we can do as individuals….what are we teaching our children about the world to encourage such actions?

It makes me angry to think that there are still racist and violent people out there – those that have children and by no effort pass on their thoughts, morals and encourage actions without a thought of a consequence.

What are we teaching in our homes, within our friend and family circles and in our schools for the next generation to understand each other, other cultures, other areas of life that we should embrace and appreciate not disregard because they are not what we have previously experienced.  Just because our parents, grand parents and great grandparents were unaware this does not mean we should carry on the same.

I am lucky to live in a city that is so culturally diverse it’s excites me every day that Fizz will have a choice of so much to develop herself, her personality and her own beliefs.

Do you think this was the right punishment? How do you feel about this case? Is there ever a right punishment?

It's a *sign*, I think...

It’s happening. Spring is on its way. DH has informed me that the daffodils are now sprouting. We planted them together as a family on the patch of grass outside the front of the house, so I’ve taken it as a ‘sign’ of good things happening.

The boys are both having a growth spurt too. They’re moving into the next set of clothes – and I feel proud that they are growing in size, strength and independence, but also a touch of sadness that they aren’t babies any more and we’re not the sole focus of their attention….

DH is changing too. He’s thoroughly enjoying the shed project that we’ve got going on at the moment and is really getting in his stride with the stay at home dad thing.

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And me, well, I think I’m having a growth spurt too. When one of my clients told me they didn’t think they needed me in January, I wasn’t surprised, because they too, are growing  and changing. It was the first client that I’d stopped working with, so I didn’t know what to do other than wish them all the best going forwards! Luckily, I’ve now got five new lovely clients either on board or coming on board, so everything is growing in the right direction.

My goals for 2011 were take start working with six new clients, get 12 linked in recommendations, and to grow the New Baby Guides and Young Families  Bump, Baby and Toddler Shows as and when opportunities came along. It’s February and I’ve achieved 83.3% of the first one and the others are progressing nicely too, but not in a way that I can put figures on…

So what’s happening with you? Was January the month you expected it to be? Mine was so much better than I could have ever hoped for – new relationships, new clients, new opportunities and lots of repeat business for the New Baby Guides.

I have to confess, that I’m finding it all rather strange, to be back in the sleepless nights phase again, it reminds me of when I first started out to be honest and was working like mad to get going. Then there was steady growth, primarily with the New Baby Guides, so I could outsource that and it’s working nicely. But with the Marketing and PR, I’m not sure what to do – there’s only a finite capacity I have, and what do I do when I reach it? Outsource and then give approval before it goes to clients? And who is marketing us, Weston Communications? I’ve not got time to at the moment, so that’s another thing to think about.

I’m sorry, I’m whittering. It’s 1.20am. I can’t sleep, there’s so much to do, that I’m loving working on. It’s hard to sleep when you’re having a growth spurt eh?

*image courtesy of Moving Right Along – don’t think it’s a good idea to go outside and take photos at 1am :)

I think that this is just for the USA, judging by the $ signs in the info, but apparently, now BabiesRUs and ToysRUs are doing a credit card. There’s just 10% off the first order, as the incentive. I am all for marketing and branding anything and everything but this just, well, it is too much. Even for me. I don’t see how it enhances their brands – it makes them things that you have when you can’t really afford them upfront, surely?

For those who are already parents, we learn all to quickly that our tiddlers don’t even use their toys for very long, so your best buys are usually found at NCT Nearly New Sales / Preschool sales / Car boots. It’s certainly not intended for people who are above Nearly New Sales, as they wouldn’t be seen dead with something that looks like this in their purse, would they?

Fancy this in your purse?*

What do you think of this? It is too much, to have a credit card to encourage you to spend on your baby when you don’t have the money for it? Is it just me, being anti credit cards? What do you think of this?

*Image of credit card courtesy of http://www.creditcardchaser.com/babies-r-us-credit-card/

Quick post to share some research I was doing tonight. These are the top words, relating to babies, that people have searched on in the last 90 days on google..

This next list is the words, relating to babies, that have had most growth in terms of searching in the last 90 days, on google…

If I were you, as well as capitalising on the first list, I’d be formatting my www site so it included a link to the evian babies, made sure my blog commented on big babies – is it possible to have them naturally(?), on your experiences of weaning and reflux and maybe even a comment on kiddicare – are they the tesco or lidl of the baby world? And I’d be providing links to all sorts of places of support on all these topics. Why? Because they are the upcoming trends and what’s on the minds of your customers and there’s nothing better than them finding that they are thinking about the same things as you are…..

Nite….