Visiting the Dentist- Tips for nervous children

Visiting the Dentist - Tips for nervous children

I have had a few problems with my teeth over the past couple of years which were caused by me being born slightly early and the enamel not hardening as much as it should and this has meant I have had to have very regular dentist appointments and some treatments on my baby teeth.

It used to make me really nervous when I had to go to the dentist but I don't mind it so much now- although recently I had to visit the dental hospital and have x-rays done as I will need one of my baby teeth extracted and I was really worried about that. It actually wasn't that bad except the x-ray which I really didn't like.

These are my tips for any children having to do the same and feeling a bit anxious about it.

1. Take someone with you- even if you are old enough to go in by yourself, if you are feeling nervous you will be happier if you have someone you know there and they can listen to what is being said if you start finding it hard to concentrate.

2. Tell the dentist or dental nurse you are a bit worried- all the ones I have seen have been really nice but if they know you are worried they will try and take your mind off it.

3. Ask questions- everything seems worse when you don't know what is happening

4. Find something to focus on in the room rather than looking at the dentist or staring at the light and getting worried. If all else fails, close your eyes, take a deep breath and imagine your favourite place.

5. If you have to have an x-ray it isn't very nice but if you open your mouth REALLY wide to get the film in and then sit really still it does genuinely only take seconds. It does feel like you might be sick but you won't and the dental nurses are used to people feeling a bit yucky about it all.

Good Luck!

Cooking for Kids - Caramelised Bananas

Cooking for Kids - Fried Bananas

Like lots of children I quite like cooking from time to time and love to make cakes and puddings.

I used to love this when I was a toddler and now I make it for my whole family- it's really easy and my little sister can get involved.

Ingredients (serves 4)

3 large bananas
1 Orange (or a splash of orange juice)
25g unsalted butter
Cinnamon
Ice cream to serve

Method

Heat the butter in a large frying pan.

Chop the bananas into small pieces and add to the pan

Cover with a good squeeze of orange juice

Sprinkle with cinnamon

Allow to bubble until the bananas are soft and squishy and the sauce is thickened

Serve over vanilla ice cream

Delicious!

My First Football Match- Liverpool V's Plymouth

My First Football Match- Liverpool V's Plymouth

I finally got to go to my first Liverpool game earlier this month. It was a birthday treat from my Godfather and I went with him, his son who is my friend but is a bit younger than me and my Dad.

I was so excited, I woke up really early and they picked us up at 8am. It's a really long way too Liverpool but we arrived in plenty of time and found our way to the seats- they were really good ones, with a great view of the pitch.

It was a really good match (although my Dad said it was frustrating!) and Liverpool had a lot of possession. It ended 0-0 and they had to have a rematch later in the month. I was a bit disappointed that no one got a red card but my friend was excited because one of the players got taken off on a stretcher (he wasn't hurt fortunately) but this was the most interesting part to him!

When the game was over we went and got a present for my sister and brother- Lottie now has her very own pink Liverpool scarf and Sam has a little bear which he takes to bed each night!

When we were leaving we were spotting footballer's cars- we think we saw Daniel Sturridge's and Nathaniel Clyne's because of the number plates!

We then had a really long drive home but that was ok because we had plenty of snacks for the journey! I really enjoyed the game and would definitely like to go again soon.

My Favourite Adventures from Last Year

My Favourite Adventures from Last Year

The last few months have been quite tricky as my Dad has been unwell and we have had to miss and cancel certain events, days out and even a trip to France so at times things have felt quite miserable. However, reading back over my blog from the last year I realised just how many fantastic things we actually got to do in the last year and hopefully will be able to do this year when he starts to get better again.

This is a quick round up of my top three adventures from the 2016- all of which I really hope to be able to do again this year if I am lucky enough to get the chance.

The Puy Du Fou

This is our absolute favourite family day out, and although we have been loads of times we never fail to have a fantastic time and are always looking forward to our next visit. Tucked away in the Vendee countryside in France you would never expect to find Vikings, Romans and wizards but that's exactly what you get and much much more. 

We were annual pass holders last year and went several times during the Easter and Summer holidays- we saw all the amazing shows, visited the historical villages, experienced the WW1 trench, played in the water jets and got lost in the maze.

I have blogged about this amazing place in much more detail before here and would recommend anyone who finds themselves in that part of France to pay a visit- ideally for more than a day if you can as there is so much to do or even better spend a night in one of their hotels and watch the amazing Cinescenie night show- this is what I would really love to do. We watched Cinescenie a couple of years ago and I would like to do that again but to stay in one of the hotels there too would be amazing! 

Tough Mudder and Fruitshoot Mini Mudder

This was an awesome adventure for my friend and me- we had an amazing time and loved getting muddy. We are both really keen to do this again this year and collect another sweatband! You can read all about our adventure here

I think I will get my Dad into training and so he can do the Tough Mudder adult version! 

This is quite possibly the best way to raise money for charity ever!

SportFest at Wormsley, Buckinghamshire

We have been to SportFest for the last two years and it is an absolutely fantastic way to spend a weekend for the whole family. You get to play sports and learn new ones with actual sporting legends. We had a whole weekend of amazing activities, a family run, a huge rugby game and a performance by the awesome RPJ band for the best concert. The food was great and the camping was fun but my highlight was doing the conga across the cricket pitch led by Liverpool legend John Barnes! 

I would love to go back again, it was such an awesome weekend it would be very hard to beat. You can read all about our experience at SportFest here. We would all recommend this to any family (even my Mum who isn't very sporty loves it) - they even have a glamping option which looks awesome and very cosy and would mean you could get straight on with having fun.  

A Belated Happy New Year!

A Belated Happy New Year!

I haven't blogged for ages partly because I have been really busy with school in the run up to Christmas and partly because my Dad has been quite poorly so my Mum hasn't had much time to help me. 

I wanted to write again this weekend though and try and get back into updating more often because I really like looking back and remembering things I have enjoyed.

Despite my Dad being ill over the last few months we still enjoyed a nice Christmas, although it was a bit quieter than we would have liked but still fun and I would like to wish everyone who reads this a very Happy New Year.

I haven't really done any resolutions this year- more like things I would like to try and do, including blogging more often and learning a new sport.

I thought this would be a good chance to review my 16 aims for 2016 and see how we got on, so here goes...

1. Help teach Sam to walk and talk...
Sam now walks and talks and is very nearly a terrible 2! His favourite word is 'No' but he does say it with a cheeky smile!

2. Play with Lottie more at school.
Hmmm, sometimes. She does still drive me mad by chasing me though.

3. Learn a new sport.
I thought volleyball would be fun but didn't do that- I did start doing basketball on Tuesday mornings though which I have really enjoyed and have taken part in a tournament and a holiday camp. I was very happy to win best team player of the camp and got a medal and basketball to keep.

4. Learn a new skill.
I have been learning lots of DIY skills this last year and have really enjoyed this- I have built furniture by myself and fixed a cupboard door among other things.

5. Learn a language
Sort of- my french is a little better and I can now sign Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer in BSL- I am sure that will come in very useful!

6. Use my telescope.
We have been rubbish with this- we probably only got it out once or twice last year. I will try and use it a bit more this year.

7. Use my metal detector.
I have not used this at all last year, I will never find buried treasure at this rate!

8. Go Camping
We did manage this one- we went camping at Sportfest and had a great time, although our new tent wasn't very cosy and we were a bit cold!

9. Grow something.
We still didn't do brilliantly with our vegetables but did manage to get a couple of tomatoes, a few strawberries and a ton of rhubarb so we will definitely try again this year!

10. Get on my bike.
I did manage to get out on my bike a bit more until my Dad became ill- we went around our local lakes quite a few times which I hope to do more once he starts to get better.

11. Go on a plane.
Sadly this still remains on my wish list. Something to keep hoping for this year perhaps!

12. Read the rest of the Harry Potter books
I have done this and was quite sad when I finished. It's probably time to start again soon! I also enjoyed reading Fantastic Beasts and The Cursed Child but preferred the books to screenplay, although I would still love to see it at the theatre.

13. Watch all the Star Wars Films
Definitely did this! LOVE the new one- I went with 8 friends for my birthday and it was awesome!

14. Save my pocket money for something specific
I was very happy to do this and have now got some fab Star Wars LEGO and also the Base Ace set I got at BRICK 2016 which I had wanted for ages.

15. Do something for charity.
We did plenty of fundraising things with school and Dad and I also were volunteers at the local Race For Life- this was very hard work as one of the first ladies who came through broke her ankle and needed help. I would like to do something like this again though, it was a really good atmosphere and I enjoyed being involved and cheering everyone.

16. Try something new.
My sister and I went to a cookery class in the Summer which was completely new for both of us, it was great. It was held in an Italian restaurant and we learned how to make a lasagne- my parents were very impressed with it... it was even better than my Mums- did you know the secret ingredient is nutmeg?!

Not to bad overall then but still a few things to cross of my list! Let's hope 2017 brings lots of chances to do plenty of fun things for everyone.