Bilingual Carnival April edition

Thanks to my email letting me down, I've sort of missed the bilingual carnival this month. Just for writing and submitting a contribution, luckily my preferred feed reader is still working (though it had 1000+ posts when I returned from holiday) so at least I can tell you all about this month's edition which is happening at Bilingual For Fun.

So while I read through all the fabulous contributions, watch the final election debate, and do some baby baseball tee knitting to keep my emotions level, I'll leave you with a not quite contribution to the bilingual carnival. It's not a proper post, it's not particularly exciting, but I really also want this blog to be a bit of a record of Cubling's life for posterity - and maybe, just maybe, someone finds this mildly interesting. And if not, nevermind.

And by the way, the next bilingual carnival in May will be hosted right here, so please let me have your posts on raising children bilingually to keep up the amazing range of information and experiences that this months carnival has brought together. Email me at blog at cartside.co.uk (email is working again) or cartside at gmail.com.

So here's my bilingual child at just 3 years, after almost a fortnight in Germany:

• We have clear signs of code switching.
• She can now say full sentences in German "Ich moechte kuscheln" (I'd like to cuddle), i.e. personal pronouns now occasionally come out in German (before it was "I want kuscheln")
• She still focusses on noun and verb to indicate which language she speaks in, so the sentence will be English with verbs and nouns generally in German. She does use many adjectives in German, but less so adverbs: "The Suppe ist too heiss!"  "The Suppe ist ein bisschen too heiss"
• Her pronunciation is incredibly clear in both languages.
• She can pronounce English "r" but not the German one.
• She can't pronounce "th"
• She makes up words and loves it
• She really struggles with longer sentences, such as polite questions, leaving out the "can you" at the start in both languages
• She defaults to English with new people but understood quickly who doesn't understand English and switches accordingly
• She loves questions. Why/Warum is added to every conversation and is driving me bonkers. What morgen doing? is the first question of the day. What you do today? Is the one that welcomes us home. She will listen to the answer, attentively even if daddy speaks of nomads, as if she knows exactly what he's talking about.
• She loves role play and telling us what to do in a role play.
• She still maintains some early toddler mispronunciations (t for k which she very consistently did when younger, now she can say both phonemes but will still say tock on the door, which I think is a mix of knock and klopfen)
• She translates into both languages: The volcano broke out (from German "ausbrechen") and You missed the Tasche? (you forgot the bag, derived from you're missing the bag)
• She doesn't seem to understand past tense questions, so when I ask about something she did, she has problems knowing what to say. That's in German, not sure if she has the same difficulty in English.
• She keeps talking about a friendly plastic spider that she meets at both nurseries, and other mysteries.
• She makes up the coolest names for her toys.
• Her mixing of languages makes me mix languages. Maybe I'll end up speaking Cublinglish.
• She can catch a ball (which clearly has nothing at all to do with being bilingual in case you were wondering)

It's the BMB election Carnival!

It's this time of the fortnight again - Best of British Mummy (and Daddy) Blogging Carnival. And to honour the impending elections and what they may have in store for all of us, I'd called for entries that have some connection to the elections. I'm rather hopeful that this carnival will give lots of food for thought and a real insight into what's important to blogging parents in or from the UK. I was rather excited seeing the entries come through and reading about all the different takes on the elections, and I can promise that this carnival brings together anything from a humorous take on politics to serious asks from the MPs-to-be. Maybe it can even give some politicians an idea of what kind of policies parents are asking for?

Unfortunately, in the middle of gathering posts, my email provider has let me down big time. If you emailed me your post between 22nd and 26th April, I may not have received your email. I've tried to let people know but if you have submitted a post and it's not here, please do leave a comment with the link and I'll update the carnival asap to include it. So, I hope you are ready for this slightly different carnival and that you enjoy reading the posts as much as I have!

To start off, 21st Century Mummy criticises the benefit system in Benefits and Little Britain.

Over at It's a Mummy's Life, Holly muses about the elections and whether we can trust politicians well versed in spin.

Heather's election Notes from Lapland raise the issue of who should or shouldn't be allowed to vote, a topic so close to my heart at present that her post inspired me to write my own take on the topic with an added personal manifesto in Can I Vote Please, I even Have a Manifesto!.

The Sardine Tin also ponders the topic of voting in Sign(s) of the Times and wonders whether what we vote should be kept between the ballot box and yourself or be out in the open.

In a bun dance has a manifesto for more interesting elections on offer, especially as she can't see much difference between the main contenders anyway so don't miss her fantasy manifesto!

Muddling Along Mummy takes on the the candidates wives, and pays respect to the one who has decided not to be her husband's campaigning handbag in Perhaps the Greatest campaigning wife is the one who isn't?

Liz at Living with Kids also takes on the politician's wives theme in Behind every great man ... and how the focus on the wives distracts from the policies.

Diary of a (not so) Single Mum gets down to the knitty gritty of why she is a reluctant voter - disillusioned with the confrontational mindset of politicians that have you switch off before you listen to what they actually have to say. She also looks at the policies she agrees and doesn't agree with.

You can read about the issues that really matter to particularly a SAHM at TheMadHouse, including some obvious contradictions in the system. She also has a good few ideas of how things could be improved.

Find out what would happen if Yummy Mummy Flabby Tummy was running the country, and you may find a serious contender for the big 3.


Angels and Urchins reports the proposed new parent salary legislation and the political debate this is causing.

Iota from Not wrong, just different asks the question what kind of associations of the elections for children we are creating and how we may make politics interesting and exciting for children.

If you want to know what politicians need to do to win Kate's at Mum's the world vote, don't tally and head over to read her post on what's important to her particularly in the light of her children's future.

Emily over at Babyrambles shares what she likes about the election debates and how they could be even more exciting for her, and everyone really.

And if you can't wait for an election leaders' debate that is a bit more fun, why not head over to Bringing up Charlie, and you may even be the lucky winner of some fab DVDs.

Fraught Mummy of Brits (no longer) in Bosnia tackles the controversial issue and attitudes towards fully veiled women in the UK in Covered up, where she wonders how it is that more Muslim women cover up completely than in the Muslim country of Bosnia where she lived.

Frances from a parent's guide to the early years foundation stage explores the talk and realities of party policies in relation to the Early Years Foundation Stage in Education, the elections and the Early Years.

And moving on to primary school on a connected topic of pressurising our very young children, Victoria who blogs at It's a Small World After all asks quite rightly why children have to start school so very early in England in Education, Education, Education.

Believe it or not, Jack Straw is Nickie's NBF as she reveals on her blog Typecast, and she's got a photo to prove it! Which reminds me that I've yet to see any candidate canvassing in our area...

If there's one thing MrsW would change, it would be the introduction of Proportional Representation for the elections, have a look why on Clinically Fed Up (and you'll get a wonderful photo in the package too).

London City Mum ponders what politics in a parallel universe may look like. 


Clare Macnaughton wonders whether to vote Tory or not.

And lastly but definitely not leastly Single Parenthood. Tales from the Frontline has a look at Bigotgate and even dares to mention the I-word (that'll be immigration).

As a little addition for the not so politically minded amongst the BMB carnival readers, I've decided to include the entries I received which do not follow the suggested theme. With my email not working I couldn't really inform people and give them a chance to resubmit so I thought it would be better to just include the entries. Mummy has a Headache ponders how her children are copycats in From the Mouth of Babes. Mummy Musings muses about her Return to Work after her maternity leave. All Baby Advice tells us all about Czech Easter Traditions, while Red Ted Art demonstrates some Swedish Easter traditions and let's us get crafty making Swedish Hearts. Finally the Good Life Blog looks at the benefits of baby signing.

If you want to find out more about the Best of British Mummy Bloggers carnival, would like to find out about the schedule, contribute or even want to host it, you can find out all about it here. It was a great experience for me, I found great new blogs I hadn't come across before and the entries were simply inspiring to read.

Some moments from our trip

One of the striking differences between Germany and Scotland was that spring had sprung already. Cubling's excitement about this was rather huge.

Nothing beats the garden of older girls who very soon became her new friends - no question she can climb as high, even on tiptoes.

No trip to Germany is complete without a trip to Cologne Zoo...

...and a chocolate ice cream

Cubling loves to hug and so do I - and she loves to hug my bump

A long journey back home thanks to volcanic ash, but the sunset alone made up for it:

And finally, home sweet home (how amazing is that to be sailing underneath the Forth Road Bridge???):

Can I vote please? I even have a Manifesto!

Since I called for an election themed best of British Mummy (and daddy) Blogging carnival (entries can still be submitted by twitter @cartside, email cartside at googlemail.com and by leaving a comment to this post) it's about high time for my very own take on it.

However, there's a bit of a problem here. I'm not a UK citizen, though I have been resident here for the past 13 years. This means I have no right to vote at Westminster elections. I can still vote at all German elections, but I think it was after 5 years or so of living here, when the adventure was set to become somewhat more permanent, that I didn't feel it was right to vote at German elections. And at the same time I started to feel more strongly about wanting to vote here (I'm allowed to vote at local and Scottish elections). Personally I believe that it's a democratic duty and responsibility to vote - yet the politics I feel strongly about, the politics that affect me and my family, are in a country where I don't have the right to vote. So the question begs if I should change citizenship.

Even writing that sends shivers down my spine. Don't get me wrong, I love this country, enjoy living here and given the choice, in spite of some of my best friends still being in Germany, I would continue living here and probably will. But I'm still German. Changing citizenship just to be able to vote is wrong, yet what defines citizenship more than the right to vote? Heather over at Notes from Lapland has also blogged about this and the debate in the comments sections is more than interesting and I would encourage everyone to have a look.

Add to this the slight oddity that if you hail from a Commonwealth country and are resident in the UK you have the right to vote. Yet if you hail from a European Union country, an alliance that I would see as more relevant in our current day and age, and which accounts for the vast majority of immigration (and emigration) to the UK, you can't. Of course the reasons are historic, but history moves on and shouldn't this be reflected?

I don't suggest an easy answer. For the first few years I lived here, I didn't even want to be able to vote. My stay here didn't seem permanent, I was much more in touch with current affairs in Germany and voted at German elections. Now, for the upcoming elections, this has changed significantly. It happened over time, slowly, until now I feel left out and that something isn't quite right.

Yet I also know how many Germans feel about the right of their own immigrants to vote at their elections. The reluctance of letting people of Turkish decent vote, or stand as candidates, even though they do have German citizenship and are so integrated that they are more German than the Germans. But they will always be Turkish and foreign to a large part of the population. Any call to change the voting system to accommodate long term residency (which often is second or third generation residency) is met by the argument that this could mean that some people can vote in two countries, and that if they want to vote, they can always apply for citizenship. Like me really. And they don't, which I now, more than ever, understand.

So what would be my vote? Well, it's never easy and I'm also partial to proportional representation. There is no party that I fully support which is why I still haven't joined one. In Germany, I was green through and through, here, I choose and pick. My own manifesto would look something like this:

- Adopt the Scandinavian model of early years education. I.e. give parents a full year of paid leave (and that should be paid at a decent proportion of their salary). Then offer subsidised and high quality child care from 1 year, led by paedagogues. Make this system integrated and affordable. For low earners this would mean that the full cost of child care could be covered through subsidies (rather than the 80% maximum that we have now). Make child care cheaper for the second and third child so that women have a real choice if they want to work or not. Enable and encourage fathers to take a proportion of maternity leave.

- Invest in knowledge, technology and promotion of renewable energies and make them accessible to everyone, not just those who own their homes.

- Introduce a more progressive tax system to reduce the ridiculous inequalities in income

- Introduce a living wage that always pays so that there is a real incentive for people to work. At the same time I'm not opposed to a maximum wage (honest, I think it's obscene if people earn more than 100k even though I understand that living costs in London can be high, but maybe they'd be lower if nobody earned that much?)

- Improve tenants rights so that tenants have a better sense of ownership of their home. This would ease the pressure to buy. For example, tenants could be protected so they can't be thrown out of their flats/houses unless there is a significant reason, in return they could be responsible for improvements to the property

- Introduce an integrated public transport system in all cities which is always cheaper than the cost of petrol to undertake the same journey by car. Make cycling more attractive and safer.

- Change the tax and benefit system so that it's easier and people don't lose out on what's due to them.

- Prohibit energy companies to charge a premium that affects those with little disposable income more. Get rid of prepay metres or charging more for the first x units, and less for more.

- Rise to the challenge of reducing our dependency on fossil fuels (this is massive and will gnaw at the heart of our cosy capitalist life styles, yet I believe it's the biggest challenge of all and one we will have to face sooner or later - and if we face it sooner, it may not be so difficult later)

- Use alternatives to prison sentences if these alternatives are proven to be more effective

- Reduce military expenditure, especially on nuclear weapons.

- Introduce an immigration amnesty for anyone who has been resident here for over 5 years and who on the whole abides by the law. Make the asylum system fairer so that anyone with a genuine claim is given refugee status. Particularly change the legislation so that persecution which is specific to women is recognised equal to persecution which is typical for men.

- End the detention for immigration purposes of children. It's wrong to imprison children. It's even more wrong if they haven't committed any crime.

- Promote flexible working hours, part time work for both women and men so that anyone can have an acceptable work - life balance; including at the point of advertising a post (job share should be offered by default)

- Fill the loopholes of tax credits, e.g. where one parent works and the other parent is a student or offer a right to subsidised childcare which depends on family income and work/education status only.

I'm sure I've forgotten rather a lot, but I'll leave it at this because it's more than enough to get started. If you have anything to add, why not blog about it or leave a comment? I'd love to hear about more ideas.

Not be böse mummy! You be happy!

Nothing beats the wisdom of a 3 year old. Like her telling Opa to "drive carefully, mummy's got a baby in her tummy!"

Picture this, Cubling and me stuck in a flat which does not ever see children. There is breakable stuff, no toys to speak off, too many light and other switches, not much to keep a busy toddler, well busy. And her Opa, bless him, doesn't really interact. It's not his thing, there's not much interaction with me, nevermind a three year old who speaks an odd mixture that he hardly understands (partly due to mild hearing loss that doesn't yet call for a hearing aid).

So all day, Cubling hears an endless litany of "no! Don't touch. Leave the cushions on the sofa. Don't run around with scissors in your hand. Drink your juice at the table so the glass won't drop and smash on the tiled floor. No, you can't have more chocolate or Gummibärchen. Leave the rabbit on Opa's bed, he doesn't want it in the living room. Stop jumping on the floor, the neighbours will go mental." This endless litany, as the day progresses and I get increasingly fed up with repeating the same thing over and over again, becomes louder, more forceful, at times even angry. Add to this her endless repeat of questions (Was ist das? Warum?# Where's U.? Where's Opa? Read a story! I press this button. I möchte Mr Maker. I möchte kuscheln. I hungry) and my patience is waning. Thank god for Mr Maker, who is on every weekday in a dubbed version and keeps her happy for 20 precious minutes (like now).

She understands and uses the concept of "later" and "in a wee minute" but ask her to wait even for a little while, and the answer is "come, come, mummy, come. Now!" All the while I constantly attempt to tidy up after her to keep the peace. And she's generally faster creating more mess (to be fair, mess in the eyes of an adult, she's really just trying to find stuff to keep her entertained).

So this morning, she found a box of pegs. She took it, brought it outside to the washing line and started clipping them onto the two items of washing on the line. Seeing with my father's eyes, I told her not to and to put it back. "Not so loud mummy", she said, "don't be böse."*  With her index finger up to make sure I listened, she added "You be happy!" Then her disarming smile. "Give me a kiss" I said, and she came over for the loveliest of kisses and a big hug. And I let her continue the fun which really wasn't doing much harm.

Of course it didn't take long until Opa made sure the box went back to where it lives, not without me asking "warum?"#

*böse translates as something like annoyed, angry.
#warum? = why. Was ist das = what's that?

Life without aeroplanes

I really appreciated the comments after my outburst (you didn't get the real thing, just the edited blog version...). Apologies for not responding individually, but the internet connection is still very iffy and takes hours for any activity. I'm still rebooking flights in the hope that the European airspace will be reopened, but to be honest, I don't think that will happen any time soon. So to be safe, we're booked on the next available ferry, which is on Wednesday, getting us home for Thursday. At least a ferry means we can sleep rather than having a non-stop journey on an overcrowded train. It's still a journey I'm not looking forward too, imposing a 600 km round trip to the ferry port on my dad, and a worrysome 20 hour ferry journey with a toddler who does have a habbit of running off (fast and suddenly). It's also costing a lot of money which is rather enfuriating after already paying for a very expensive flight to get here.

At the same time I keep booking onto the scheduled flights home in the hope that the airspace may magically open up again. I don't have much hope of that but it would get me home with much less hassle and above all much earlier. Not without less worry though, I'm still not sure if I worry more about losing Cubling on the ferry or crashing due to volcanic ash aeroplane malfunction.

Cubling on the other hand, keeps telling me "Don't worry Mummy". If only I could stop worrying.

Here's the positives:
- Spring has arrived in Germany, with 20 Celsius, sunshine, ice cream and all that.
- Cubling's German is really coming on
- Having more time to spend with my dad (although I have a feeling he's had enough of spending time with us)
- Knowing that I will be home on Thursday at the very latest.
- Having some time to read a book and knit baby stuff (though why did I bring a pattern with page two missing?????)

The negatives:
- Not having a proper computer to feed my habit or at least catch up on some work
- Being in a toy free flat and having to constantly tell Cubling off that Opa's stuff isn't for playing and that he likes it tidy
- Cubling missing her dad (and me too)
- My hayfever (which always comes on much earlier in Germany)
- Feeling that I'm letting down work yet again and the pressure I'll put on myself to make up for it when I get back

It does bring home how much we depend on airtravel and take it for granted. Imagine a life without it. There may not be much imagining to do, I wouldn't be suprised if this will last for a good while yet. Our next flight (and last for a long while) is booked for May, will it happen?

Groundhog day: Stranded again

The volcanos are after me again. Only earlier this year we were stranded in Lanzarote, the volcanic island, due to snow in the UK. Now it's volcanic ash from an Icelandic volcano that has closed down every single airport in Germany. Our flight home has been cancelled and I have no idea when we will be able to travel.

It seems that my ingenious idea for alternative travel, to take the ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle or Rosyth, has been had before and the route is as booked up as the Eurostar (not that I would consider a 12 hour train journey with my rather impatient girl while also 20 weeks pregnant).

I'm hard pushed to see the positives because once again I feel the work pressure on me, the rather large list of urgent to do's waiting for me, my annual leave yet again sifting through my hands like sand. The embarrassment of having to tell my boss that once again my flight has been cancelled and really I'm not making this up. Above all the fear not to manage a very exciting time at work due to lack of time, in my already inflexible work input imposed by childcare hours available and antenatal appointments to be attended. I can't even fricking check my work email or calendar due to this impossible computer I'm on.

And then there's that 20 week scan appointment on Monday morning. It took 3 pregnancies for it to be introduced in Glasgow and now I'll miss it, and judging by the letter that came with it, if you miss your appointment, there's no guarantee it can be rescheduled. And yes, I'm in mad mummy mode, I want to see my baby, ferociously.

Cubling on the other hand loves watching the images of the volcano. Not sure how she'll react if I have to tell her tomorrow that the ferry is fully booked and can't take us, as she was rather looking forward to going on a ship (as long as it wouldn't take her to that scary man made of rock that she saw about a year ago, when we took a small ferry to the island of Cumbrae - oh my does she have a memory!). Tonight on the phone to daddy she told him how she would see him tomorrow, how she was coming home to see him, because she loved him. So much excitement, and I so wish for her that we can still get onto that ferry.

If that fails I'll be stranded for a good few days more. I know there's worse things (like having your house close to the volcano), I know it can all be sorted, the world won't go under and that I'm in good company with even heads of states and even royalty affected as much as I am.  I know I'm making a big fuss and others have much more pressing engagements they now can't attend to. Still, I've had my share and feel rather reluctant about any kind of travel in the future (and of course we do have another trip planned which I now almost wish we hadn't booked, with my luck this year it's not a good omen...).

So here's me, control freak, once again having her steering wheel taken out of her hands. I no like it, as Cubling would say. Can I throw a tantrum please?

BMB carnival - theme and call for entries

I have the great pleasure to be hosting the next Best of British Mummy and Daddy Blogger Carnival on 27th April. I'm currently on the dodgiest internet connection imaginable and navigating to pages is close to impossible, so no blogging until I'm back in the UK, but do feel free to send me contributions to blog at cartside dot co dot uk (replacing the usual parts of the address with @ and .). The guidelines are that I'm to pick the 25 best entries - but to be  honest, I don't think that I want to make such judgement as it would be biassed towards what I find an interesting read. So I decided that I would set a theme for this carnival, especially as there hasn't been one recently - and I really hope it inspires rather than puts you off.

I'd like to hear your calls to our politicians, candidates and current MPs, from your own perspective - shaped by being a parent. It can be a manifesto, it can be a right moan, an idea for change that politicians could take on, it can focus on a particular theme (such as childcare, tax credits, child benefit, being a single parent etc), it can be your children's views, it can be specific or a collection of random thoughts, anything at all really. I personally would love to see this as an opportunity so close to the general elections to bring together the voices of parents without a specific party line, just steeped in experience and the knowledge of what current policies and practice mean to you.

Oh, it can be funny or serious, I really don't want anyone to be put off by a semi political theme - feel very free to take your own stance on it.

I can't wait to get your contributions, please try to have them in for 26th April noon :)

We can all make childcare an election topic

The elections have been called, and already I can no longer bear to listen to the radio on my long drive to work. You're looking at an individual highly interested in politics, who has a well grounded belief in the democratic process, the importance of elections. Yet the pre-election time, as for many I suspect, is driving me insane.

Take this newspaper style leaflet that our work-local Labour candidate produced. Real stories of real people. More real stories of real people on the radio, saying something of all politicians being the same and how they won't vote because of that. Then the so accused politicians either mouthing what they think is the voice of the people or telling us how impossible their relevant opponent is.

Boooring. In fact, annoying.

To make things worse, I'm sure immigration will be made an election topic and a whole load of rubbish will be thrown at us uninformed or informed non-voters yet again. Bleurgh.

And then, oh blessed be this day, I read something that made sense. Shame it didn't come from a politician or candidate, but hey, no worries, candidates can actually sign up to it! Imagine, no work for them, just read, be convinced and make it part of your policy calls. Easy.

The Daycare Trust have published an election manifesto of kinds, a childcare charter. It's short enough, plain English, and manages to put into easily understandable words what I've been trying to get straight in my head for a long time indeed. A must read. Go and have a look, honestly. It makes so much sense and there's not a comma I don't agree with. It has clear asks, and makes a strong case why childcare is such an important issue, one that could help reduce child poverty and social inequalities significantly, at a relatively low cost which would pay itself back at least 7 fold in years to come.

It's good of this charter to exist, but its existence won't change the world. So the Daycare Trust is asking you (yes, you!) to contact your local candidates and ask them to sign up to the charter and make it an election topic. I'd much rather have childcare as an election topic than immigration. It would do my ageing heart an awful lot of good. The Daycare Trust is also very nice to us potential/future/willing campaigners by giving us all the tools needed to contact our candidates - a model letter, model questions, an opportunity to join the force and all that.

I'm on board. Are you?

PS in other news: tonight (Thursday 8th April) the second series of How the Other Half Live will be shown on Channel 4 at 9pm. I'm sure the episode will have me in two minds again but there's no doubt that it manages to bring issues around inequalities in the UK to your living room in a very digestible and entertaining format.

What parents really really want: flexible childcare

There are so many facets to flexible and integrated childcare that I find it almost impossible to find a starting point. How about this one then: For the past four months, I've been working with a group of young parents (aged 18-25) as part of our Inspring Change programme. The idea behind this programme is to work with groups of young people or parents/carers to dream, plan and do: Find a solution for something they identify that holds them back, plan for this solution and implement it. Something that may inspire others to do something similar. Something that maybe even those in power find a good idea and take it on.

So with this particular group it became clear quite early on that we were heading into the direction of flexible childcare. None of the parents are currently in work, some are attempting college courses. All struggle with childcare arrangements. It's a catch 22 situation: If you're out of work, you need a job first to afford childcare, once you have the job, you don't have childcare due to waiting lists and you'll lose your job offer while you're trying to source childcare. Childcare is paid in advance, salary in arrears. Tax credits kick in months later by which time you're at best in debt (wost bankrupt). Childcare may not be available nearby and you need a car (which you can't afford) or you are asked for a deposit for a place that you don't have. Your work may have irregular hours or a shift pattern, none of which is covered by the 8am-6pm childcare provision that you may, just may be able to access.

Sometimes, you just want a break. To go shopping without the toddler hassle. To go to an appointment. To go for a job interview. To take up a get back into work programme that you want to do but that doesn't offer childcare though being aimed at single parents (you what?????? Can someone please tell me who thought this up? Target a training programme at single parents and don't provide childcare? Are they supposed to lock their kids up in the flat or what?). To sleep because your baby never sleeps. You don't actually want full days every day, or one day every week, or whatever the format of provision that the childcare providers currently favour.

So, the young parents have come up with an excellent idea: A drop in creche. A creche on demand. One where you can book a few days ahead, drop off your child(ren) and get on with something important that you have to do. No strings attached. No signing away of your or your child's soul. Just a service that is available to make life a bit easier.

Of course there is funding to think of, and regulations. Yet, there's no harm in trying something out so with the budget the group has they will be running a pilot. From 27/4/10 - 1/5/10 a drop in creche will be running for afternoon sessions. The creche is free but has to be booked in advance. There are some ground rules, but more can-do's than can't-do's. Any user of the creche will be asked for feedback so the group can figure out demand and what works.

Maybe they'll carry it further to establish a social enterprise. Maybe this will be too big to do. What they will do undoubtably is raise awareness of the importance of having a flexible childcare provision locally, one that works with the children and parents alike.

And wouldn't it be nice if there actually was funding to run such a service? A service where parents with little family support would be able to book some hours while they attend an interview, an appointment, go shopping, or get some respite? Actually, why not?