#NetflixStreamTeam - July

Summer is upon us and Leo has just broken up for his very first Summer holidays. It is hard to believe that this tie next year my little man will be preparing to start reception at first school. With the 6 week break here we have been making plans to get out and about and make the most of this special time, with my Birthday coming up this Friday I decided it would be great to head along to the cinema and enjoy the new Planes feature! Of course having 6 weeks to keep little one's entertained can be a mammoth task, but there are plenty of options that we can take up in order to have fun and teach them while the homework is on hold!

This months Netflix theme is of course 'School is out for Summer!' and in honour of the Summer break they have put together some great content that will help us keep the kids entertained and learning while we try not to pull our hair out:

How to let your kids play and learn:

 Check out the list of titles to stream on Netflix which will keep the children inspired throughout the holiday. Titles for younger kids include Scholastic’s The Magic School Bus whilst Planet Earth, The Life of Mammals and The Secret Life of Birds are great options for the older children and even adults.

For the little ones:

For the older ones:

At this moment in time Leo is still loving the Thomas the Tank Engine selection that is running on Netflix. This has to be my number one trick on a Sunday morning if he does decide that he is going to wake up at the crack of dawn with the birds. Another aspect that we have been really enjoying is the opportunity to enjoy family films together cuddled up in bed on a weekend evening. We cheekily get in the popcorn and a few naughty treats, we then cuddle up under the duvet and enjoy a film together. 

For me this month I am still working my way through Gossip Girl. I am ever so slightly addicted and have just hit season 4. 

I hope everyone so far is enjoying the summer break and that the kids are all on their best behavior!

Disclaimer: I was sent everything I needed to get started watching Netflix for the next 12 months. I have not been paid to write this post. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest and my own.

How do you cover childcare for the Summer holidays?

Being a working parent, there are bases that I have to cover in order to be able to provide for my family. Of course going out to work means that Leo cannot come with me. It means that I have to have childcare to look after Leo when I cannot. I am really lucky on this front and have my Mum who cares for Leo while I am away at work. This is amazing as Leo is just as much at home at Granny's house as he is at his own. I guess as we lived there for 18 months, he does just accept their home... as our home.

In just over a year I will be facing a new dilemma. Leo will be starting school and I will have to cover the time that schools aren't open, Summer holidays for instance. Who knows what I will be doing work wise by then? I may still be doing my part time hours, but I could just as easily go back and work full time. I really don't know what my situation will be when the time comes, but there will certainly be days during the holidays that I need to find childcare. It's a topic that anyone with children has to think about at one point or another, but for parents who have to find family or friends to have the kids, or pay for out of school clubs for weeks at a time... It can prove difficult.

Cotton Traders have very recently conducted a survey to find out where and how children around the UK will be looked after during the upcoming six week break. 2,000 parents with children aged between 0 to 18 were asked a series of questions on this topic, and they provided some responses that you may find interesting...

In a day and age where both Mum and Dad are heading out to work, it makes sense for parent's to put some holiday aside and book some time off for the kid's summer break. After all those summer months are the best times to get out and about as a family. Interestingly though 28% of those booking holiday to look after the children said they would be booking separate weeks to their partner. I can see why this makes perfect sense, as it is something that both Luke and I have done in the past to cover childcare. Booking separate holiday periods allows one of us to always be at home with Leo, and it means that if Granny is away for 2 weeks we can each cover a week at a time.

In another area of the results, it highlighted the average age that parents are happy to leave their child un-supervised during the school holidays. This is a point that I think everyone has their own individual opinion on, and I think ultimately it depends on your child and whether they are ready for the extra responsibility. So what is the average age that parent's are happy to leave their children home alone? The average age that parent's are happy to leave their children at home un-supervised is 13 years old. Around the Year 9 mark at school. Do you agree with this age? Would you leave your child home alone at 13?

It can be so hard to find the right working/lifestyle balance , I have been trying to perfect it since I stumbled back to the office in 2012. I know that this is going to be a balance I continue to battle for many years to come.

What is your plan of action for childcare during the 6 week break?

Survey results provided by Cotton Traders

Summer Holiday's

I have spent the last couple of months saving hard, saving for a holiday to Cyprus for my little family of three.  It will come as no surprise to you all to hear that holidays do not come cheap, and if you add a 2 year old to the equation they become dearer still.

We have made a few sacrifices in order to be able to jet off on our holidays this year, those takeaway treats have been supplemented for home cooked meals and those rare trips to the cinema have stopped all together.

Instead of day trips to the farm park and the zoo we have been sourcing local family fun, trips to the park and enjoying the great outdoors has really helped us out; of course this beautiful weather couldn’t have come at a better time. The heat wave has meant that we can happily relax out in the garden with the paddling pool as Leo splashes in and out.

Where I would usually head out to the shops in search of a whole new summer wardrobe to pack into my awaiting suitcase, I have resisted the urge to spend and will be taking last year’s summer clothes instead. Of course where I can get away with last year’s clothing Leo cannot, not with the rate he grows! This year Leo was in need of an entire new summer wardrobe, so I have been hitting up Primark for bargain summer clothes that he can take away on his holidays.

You can only plan so far ahead, and when travelling abroad it is good to go in with your eyes wide open. I have been looking into the best credit cards that I could possibly use abroad in case of an emergency or a un-foreseen cost sneaks up on us. Luckily for me my credit report on the preview site is on side, and I will be travelling with the added peace of mind that I have that extra back up behind me should push come to shove.

You only need to look back to April 2010 when the volcano erupted in Southern Iceland, to see just how quickly circumstances can change. That one volcano and the prolonged ash cloud caused dramatic flight cancellations throughout the world. I was actually in Egypt at the time and my holiday was extended by a few days until we were picked up on a rescue flight. Luckily for Luke and I we were covered by our tour operator, those who had booked the hotel and their flights independently were not as lucky. They had to pay the hotel for the duration they were stuck there; they had to pay for their food and even their eventual flight back home again.

It just goes to show that you can never be prepared for every eventuality.

But you can try.

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