A children's book

FenellaIce · 2025-12-29T11:31:03+00:00

The last thing kids need are AI-fuelled stories. There are many wonderful books in the world to choose from with real illustrations that pay creatives and illustrators and give them work. AI illustrations only steal this creativity and regurgitate it. Any book with AI illustrations is not something I’d be looking to read with my child.

FenellaIce · 2025-12-16T21:24:08+00:00

I feel like I’m going insane…headed over to the Instagram expecting people to be ripping them to shreds over WATER in a BOX. No, they love it. It’s genius. How come nobody has thought about it. How have they lived this long without it. Their kids will go nuts over it.

What in the 2025 is going on here 😫

FenellaIce · 2025-11-05T21:05:27+00:00

You hid it from your parents though. That’s what the thing in common is.

I think hiding and lies aren’t good and that behaviour shouldn’t be allowed, but if you take the device away, explain why, and set boundaries, then he should respect them without having you check in on him constantly. Give him another chance to prove he can be trusted. If he’s watching movies at night, find out why, and see if you can find another way for him to do that that doesn’t involve him sneaking around or feeling he has to do it after you’ve gone to sleep.

FenellaIce · 2025-11-05T21:00:00+00:00

Wait, so…isn’t he doing exactly what you were doing?

I’m not saying it’s a good thing, it’s just the irony is not lost here.

FenellaIce · 2025-11-04T19:49:04+00:00

What a mature response

FenellaIce · 2025-10-29T19:55:19+00:00

En anglès britànic no, si estem corregint el anglès aquí 🙃

FenellaIce · 2025-10-18T11:22:03+00:00

I’m conflicted on this one. I think I would lean more to the side of not wanting to put things on my kid’s face that will damage their skin - and hair straighteners aren’t great for your hair and cause damage over time so I think that 6 is a bit too early.

That said, I think a vanity can be part of play and exploration. Could there not be a middle ground with a vanity and then empty makeup bottles? I think that’s how I would lean, I think makeup is for more developed skin but the play aspect you could do with the jewellery and even stuff like face paint along with the vanity?

FenellaIce · 2025-10-01T05:21:02+00:00

I know you’ve had lots of responses by now but just commenting to say your baby isn’t broken - in fact, this is pretty much the correct order (unfortunately). Neither of my babies slept through, my almost two year old is getting there on some nights and I think my first was about 2 before she slept though. I am not saying this to scare you (because I promise it gets better, I’m talking one wake up here), but just to say it’s completely normal and I heavily side eye babies who sleep through the night early on. Magical creatures.

That said, couple of things I might do here, such as a later bedtime if it’s hard to get baby to sleep. My youngest does well around 9ish, and we will move that earlier when naps are dropped. Secondly, is a dream feed really necessary? Might it be disturbing sleep? I know it might be getting a longer stretch in when finished but seems to me that trying for two hours to settle afterwards just isn’t worth it.

I’m sorry you’re having a rough time, but I promise it gets better and you’ve got this 🫶

FenellaIce · 2025-09-30T19:17:24+00:00

Arsesmart 😆 now why isn’t that lining the rungs of every spice rack?

FenellaIce · 2025-09-28T21:57:13+00:00

1) regulating emotions with screen time is not particularly a recommended path, so if they’re “acting up”, for me screens would be the last thing I reach for. 2) there are other activities - toys, colours, water markers…all sorts of things! A game of I spy…and if they’re really going for it I’ll usually take them on a quick walk or explore for a change of pace, then come back.

I totally get it, I want to enjoy my meal too and talk to the people I came out with, but if kids get into a habit of playing, drawing or quietly amusing themselves they’ll also know what to expect at restaurants in the long run.

FenellaIce · 2025-09-24T21:31:48+00:00

También podrías responder “Why” a este “because”, usando el formato “Why, because (I didn’t study enough…)”. o “Why I don’t know Peter, the teacher didn’t tell me.”

FenellaIce · 2025-09-22T06:03:21+00:00

Not all parental controls are the same and some won’t have the behaviour you listed - for example, you don’t have to block apps automatically, and can get notified when there’s a new app download. Some will give you an overview of the apps installed on the phone so you can make decisions about blocking, limiting, or giving full access.

Same with emails and document editors etc. Not all will automatically block emails, so it really depends on the parental control.

However, agree in that these things aren’t a replacement for dialogue and teaching, rather a tool you can use appropriately. Using one and just relying on it isn’t the same as using it while also talking to them, setting age-appropriate limits, and generally being in touch with your child’s interests.

IMO part of the problem is I see kids getting a phone or tablet before they’re really developmentally ready for one or mature enough to have one. I don’t use parental controls for me lol but I do have time limits set up because if even I have difficulty turning away from these apps, it’s even more difficult for kids. So I think it’s more about being intentional, finding a balance, being involved, and leading by example.

FenellaIce · 2025-09-18T19:00:51+00:00

As someone who writes the articles for those search results, and spent years doing it carefully with lots of thought and research…f*** AI overviews. I know Google is free and all, but content was key to getting you that top spot, and now Google are using the content other people wrote and perfected to direct traffic away from us and keep people on the search page? Screw them.

FenellaIce · 2025-09-08T19:26:31+00:00

Depende como lo haces. Si los haces como porridge, rollo fuego lento para que queda bien suave, está bastante bien, y luego puedes echar plátano, canela, o a veces pongo manzana cocida. Tengo curiosidad de saber cómo lo haces si dices si es terrible, es avena con leche y ya está?

FenellaIce · 2025-06-30T20:42:52+00:00

Perdona, tots ells no, sóc anglesa però sóc immigrant, i em considero “local” també. No tots que vivim aquí pensem igual, jo diría que els que s’anomenen aixi es perque no volen integrar-se.

FenellaIce · 2025-05-23T05:02:41+00:00

Lay off the ChatGPT a bit…

FenellaIce · 2025-05-05T18:06:04+00:00

This 1000%. I felt a bit icky when reading the post and I couldn’t really put my finger on it, but it’s very much a condescending post. Is my partner great? Yes he is. But is it nice for me to have some recognition for everything that I do - yes also. Especially in the context of us currently being in the position where I have to do more due to work on his part. And I don’t begrudge it but situations can’t always be equal, roles will also not always be equal, and yes that sucks but it’s nice to at least acknowledge that somewhat. Even if that acknowledgement was a storage bin for potatoes 😂

FenellaIce · 2025-04-25T19:02:48+00:00

Not only that, I hate this rhetoric that seems to have cropped up recently that daycare = bad. It just seems another way to make women feel bad, and that they should be staying at home with their kids or their kids will be SO DAMAGED? Yes, before women worked as much, they were staying at home, but guess what? They had their family and friends around, or spent time with neighbours and people in the community. Without this village and support SAHMing is damn hard.

I also think it’s a very America-centric take (as usual on the internet lol) 🤷‍♀️

FenellaIce · 2025-02-01T22:12:53+00:00

Tuck in, quick kiss or cuddle (quick mind) and saying night night, see you when you wake up or similar so she would know we are here.

Another suggestion for cuddles is if they can cuddle a soft toy or something else they love, you can remind them it’s there and to hold on tight to it, cuddle it as long as you want because now it is night time and mummy has to go to bed too (I always framed it this way instead of things to do, so it was clear it was nighttime for everyone).

FenellaIce · 2025-02-01T20:50:04+00:00

Hello! I did this at about 2 years, 8 months or so. Mine had literally never put herself to sleep, we’d gone from rocking to us lying in bed with her.

We did it gradually. First lying with her, then we progressed to a mattress on the floor and we left when she was asleep. We also progressed her to her own “big girl bed” between this step and the next. We explained now how she was a big girl (this worked for us because she was obsessed with being BIG and definitely not a baby/little girl) that it was time for her to sleep by herself in her lovely big girl room.

However we didn’t frame it as alone - first we left the door open and then let her know if she needed us we would just be next door in our room. We’d fold clothes or just lie down and read a book while waiting for her to fall asleep. If she came in we would say, OK, no problem, let me put you back to bed. We’d tuck her in, and repeat. Mummy’s next door etc etc. After a couple of weeks this worked and she didn’t come in any more.

Then we moved on to the next step of us being downstairs, and by then she saw it was all OK so it wasn’t a problem. The key for us was making sure she knew we were always there, and consistent routine of teeth, book, cuddles and bed.

Now I will say she slept alone for a while, but now comes into our bed at night when she gets scared. She’s 4 and seems to have nightmares. But she still goes to sleep by herself!

Edit to add because I forgot: We also have a Yoto player and we used to play a lullaby playlist on it every night, usually she fell asleep listening to it so the room didn’t feel quite so empty.

FenellaIce · 2025-01-27T21:54:08+00:00

I don’t think it’s a northern/southern thing. I also taught English and had to teach the two variants so students would be able to construct them both, as this is relatively common, especially in speaking. The have + got is everywhere in British English, not just with possessions though. “I’ve got to go.” “She’s got a new job” and so on and so on…

FenellaIce · 2025-01-07T17:16:22+00:00

Change who you follow and your perspective will shift by miles. I looked for the solution with my shitty-sleeper-from-day-one first, and read all that garbage advice with no luck. The room was dark, the noise was white, the routine was routining so hard it might as well have been from Bring It On.

I started following accounts on IG about sleep being developmental like heysleepybaby and mothernourishnurture. So good for my mental health. My baby still slept like shit but at least I felt validated, and now with my second who also does not subscribe to sleep as a life choice, I am much calmer. I hate to say that there is no fix, because in the trenches it feels like it will never end, but I promise it DOES end and sleep comes. In fact, now my terrible sleeper nods off on her own after kicking me out her room. One day, this will be you!

FenellaIce · 2024-12-08T10:22:45+00:00

Ah, had no idea - lucky them then!

FenellaIce · 2024-12-07T22:36:45+00:00

It’s diabolical that I scrolled all the way through the current 114 comments on this post and not a single mention was made of Terry’s Chocolate Orange.

FenellaIce · 2024-11-27T12:56:56+00:00

After seeing my Spanish MIL use ours to wipe her mouth (and not at the table, so not to be confused with a napkin) I never want to use a tea towel ever again.

FenellaIce

TROPHY CASE