Women's News UK

What makes you smile?

2012-01-30T20:42:00.000Z

Stacey Collins
I think most people would agree that January isn’t the cheeriest month of the year. The month hosts the most depressing day of the entire year, people are still trying to recover from the excess of food eaten and money spent at Christmas and news reports seem to fill us with nothing but doom and gloom about the tough economic problems that we can expect to face in the oncoming year.

In order to cheer you up, here are some things that PruHealth have found make you smile:

A quarter of people asked in PruHealth’s Feel Good Factor study said that they get a buzz from walking on a beautiful day.
Other answers included being nice to someone or smiling at them, getting a good night’s sleep, a loved one achieving something .
The top spot was given to spending time with family, with 56% of those asked offering it as the thing which most makes them feel good.

So what makes you smile? What would you place at the top of your feel good list?

Retail therapy cheers some

Perhaps spending money makes you smile. We’ve been told repeatedly that money can’t buy you love, but it certainly can buy you the things you love. PruHealth found that people enjoy rewarding themselves by spending money on meals, going on holidays. I’m not surprised to see that chocolate found its way into the sixth place onto the chart - with retail therapy not far behind, with 21% of people choosing it as their gloom-buster.

Health and wellbeing expert at PruHealth, Dr Katie Tyron, claims that their research shows that people are incentivised to get healthier when they reward themselves. Or maybe it’s just because people have no money left to buy lots of food after spending money on rewarding themselves.

The study also found that over half of Brits take a ‘glass half-full’ approach to life. I think I probably fall into the pessimistic other half.

Who remembers 'Stranger-Danger'?

2012-01-24T10:08:00.000Z

Stacey Collins
Well, there I was discussing the benefits of social media in opening up venues for writers to express themselves and practise their writing when along came a bunch of experts finding a new reason to express concern about the social media - the impact it has on love lives.

A man called Professor Andy Phippen of Plymouth University has surveyed 850 16-24 year olds and found that 80 per cent of those interviewed admitted they had used a smart phone or the web for sexual purposes.

One of the first things I remember being taught at primary school after the green cross code was ‘Stranger-Danger’ and the perils the cartoon characters faced in the 70’s video footage they showed to warn us off.

However, the footage shown in the early 90’s to my generation of troll collecting, culotte wearing, ‘the higher the socks the better’, children involved cars, sweets and men with big noses, much like the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Now emphasis is being placed on the dark side of the internet - where bullies and sexual predators lurk in the crevices, disguising themselves as ‘Freddie- the guy next door type’.

Some may be scornful of those who fall into the trap of being in contact with strangers on the internet but West Country sexual health adviser, Andrew Wilson of NHS Somerset, has explained that young men and women whose self-worth is low, may feel a false sense of belonging from undesirables who make them feel attractive by the attention they give them online.

You do hear about couples meeting on chat sites and marrying within a couple of months claiming that they’re met ‘the one’.

But for most people the reality is that the sense of fulfilment they desire is not met by these arrangements - and they end up feeling worse about themselves.

So, if you’re one of the 80%, perhaps you should remember the old stranger slogans and see if they still apply to your current situation.

More on this

Naughty or adventurous?

2012-01-22T11:49:00.000Z

By Baby Blogger Kate Richards
I'm starting to wonder whether some of Ben's more "challenging" behaviour could now be described as naughty, or whether it's still just adventurous curiosity.

He went through a stage of biting at about 14 months, and now, at 16 months he's just doing it occasionally. Except I do think he is developing a sense of mischievousness, because he definitely understands the word no, and I occasionally catch a cheeky grin on his face.

I'm sure a lot of his slightly dangerous (and annoying) habits, such as climbing onto the toilet cistern, trying to get into the fireplace, and general exploring, are just innocent inquisitiveness. But nowadays he's aware of what I'm trying to do - change his nappy, get him dressed, put him in the highchair - and purposely tries to escape.

And he remembers the things I've previously told him to stop doing. I'm not certain, but I suspect he's clever enough to notice when I'm not looking and take the opportunity to chew something off-limits, or play with the toilet brush.

He's generally fine with other toddlers, but today he did run up to one of his friends and push him over. I was very apologetic and quite surprised, but I don't think it was aggressive, more likely an extension of his active play with Daddy.

Mini-tantrums have also occurred, although he's still susceptible to distraction before things get too bad. It's only happened once in public so far, but proved expensive, as I had to buy him a can of coke (which he didn't drink of course) just to get him in the pushchair!

I'm trying my best to stay calm. Usually I stop trying to do whatever it is, and try again after a minute or two. How on earth parents cope with more than one child, I have no idea!

To write or not to write

2012-01-19T09:34:00.000Z

Stacey Collins
As you get older do you ever find that the phrase 'Well, back in my day'has somehow managed to find its way into your vernacular? Back in my day whenthe buses were 60p, back in my day when people used to put up with My LittlePony, even the boys, and back in my day when we had none of this internetmalarkey and used to entertain ourselves with a hula hoop.

Nowadays it seems that our society is very much dependent and centredupon the internet and the zeitgeist of our era, social networking (we even hada film about it). Social networking has come under fire from the 'back in myday' critics who fret that the advancement of technology is to blame for anation of underachievers, encouraging narcissism, the transition of text speak frommobile phones to everyday discourse, and our general 'age of illiteracy'. I canunderstand the fear that the lexis used on social networking sites couldencourage poor grammar, but I haven't heard of many instanceswhere pupils have wrote 'Sheksper wz a propa ledge. Hiz legacy is 2GTBT. BF4Lyf'.

Although it could be bad news if you understand what that jargon means.

Lord Bragg, who recently put together a BBC Radio 4 series called TheWritten World, has stated that he thinks social networking sites such asFacebook and Twitter have proved to be beneficial in making writing accessibleto the masses. Web 2.0 has given people of all ages access to a plethora of forums,blogs and other forms of output which require you to write away to your heartis content. If my university experience was anything to go by, I'm sure a pollamongst students would confirm that social networking has put the pleasure backinto writing, pleasure that had previously been stripped away by arduous and tediousessay writing.

If you're interested in tracing the history of the written wordfrom cuneiform writing of 5,000 years ago to the invention of newsprint, Bragg's radio series may be of interest to you.

Professor of writing and rhetoric at Stanford University, Andrea Lunsford, organised a project where she collected 14,672 student writingexamples. From her research she was able to say that technology isn't killingour ability to write, but is in fact reviving it and pushing it to places thatit has never been before. Her results found that we are writing more than anygeneration before and a massive 38 per cent of writing is taking place outsideof the classroom.

We are facing a paradigm shift.

The internet offers venues for our constant stream of thoughts andfeelings, something which was previously half-heartedly filled by the keepingof a diary and let's be honest, the lack of audience could sometimes lead us tofill it in just several times a month. I'm more committed to Facebook than Iever have been to my diary. Budding writers or not, the users of social networks today have to assess and review their audience and then adapt their style,tone and technique in order to cater for them or to deliver their message.

Isthis not a useful skill to possess when facing an interviewer or a debate inthe office or classroom?

Maybe I should start saying 'today' rather than 'back in my day' moreoften. 'Today' our generation of writing is more about persuading, organisingand debating and if you're not a fan, maybe you should dig out that diary youalways struggled to keep.

Shock, horror! - 'la difference' survives?

2012-01-13T10:31:00.000Z

Stacey Collins
A newreport suggesting that men and women have major personality differences may notcome as a big surprise to those of you who live with spouses. This isprobably something that the majority of us realised after life experiences suchas.... primary and secondary school, TV series including Friends and popular titlessuch as Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.

However, publishers of the study, PLoS ONE, have revealed that the existence of such differences, and their extent, havebeen a subject of much debate for some time.

Theauthors of a new report, led by Marco Del Giudice of the University of Turinin Italy, created a new method for measuring and then analysing personalitydifferences. They claimed that their system of focusing on more than one traitat a time, rather than just the one, and correcting measurement errors issomething that has not been done previously.

The personality tests carried out on more than 10,000 men and women looked at arange of different traits including sensitivity and perfectionism and found largedifferences between the sexes, differences that previously had beenconsistently underestimated, they claim. Studiessuch as these seem unnecessary when I could have just provided them with mydiary from secondary school - a catalogue full of evidence that revealed amultitude of differences between the behaviour and personality tendencies ofmales and females.

What are your opinions? Have you noticed discernible differences between the personalities of men and women or do you think we are more alike than we like to admit?

Ben's first words

2012-01-06T10:15:00.000Z

By Baby Blogger Kate Richards
Deciding when Ben spoke his first word is not as simple as I'd anticipated. Since he turned one year, three months ago, he's been saying "uh-oh" at appropriate moments. But whether this counts as a word is debatable.
Then a couple of months ago he started saying "ba ba" (bye bye) at the same time as waving. However, he'd do this at random times throughout the day, unrelated to anyone actually leaving. Now he does it about 30 seconds after the person has gone, and it's progressed to a proper "bye bye".

Things have been hotting up in the past week - he's regularly said "oh dear" either at times of minor disaster, or just when the mood takes him. I think this probably says a lot about my most-repeated phrase. Speaking of moods taking him, he will occasionally bring me the dvd of his favourite cartoon (Uki, from the Cbeebies programme Show Me Show Me), and will sing the first two notes of the theme tune, to make sure I get the point. He also sings it when he sees pictures of the Uki characters on his bedroom wall.

Excitingly, Ben has also finally started using a couple of sign language gestures: eat, and home. Glad the months of lessons haven't all been in vain. He will try to copy both new signs and words if I do them, but doesn't tend to remember them for the future.

He understands a lot more than he says, though. Definitely "no", although it doesn't always have the desired effect, and his name, and the words "again", "up", "down", "milk", and possibly more but it's hard to tell for certain.

Soon Ben will be 18 months and the experts promise he'll be learning words at a rate of ten or more a day. "So watch your language," I've been warned!

Time to deal with New Year irresolution

2012-01-03T17:20:00.000Z

Stacey Collins
I’m going to play a guessing game with you. I bet that I can guess your New Year’s resolutions for the year 2012, and also for the last twenty years of your life. Resolution number one was to start eating healthier, resolution number two was to start doing more exercise, resolution three was to do all you can to try and find your true love and resolution four was to move out of your parent’s house. Do I win a prize?

Does anyone actually stick to their resolutions though? Last year, I was determined to see that I kept my resolution of going to the gym throughout the year but managed a mere two and a half months, which I have to admit has been the longest I’ve ever stuck to a resolution.

Why do we struggle so much? The idea of a New Year being a new start is often the main problematic factor as people expect to feel brand new, shiny, optimistic and ready to combat anything that may be thrown in their path when the 1st of January arrives. However, New Year’s Day is often filled with hangovers, regret from the night before and an overwhelming feeling of depression at the high expectations you’ve now got to attempt to achieve.

Rather than adhere to this meaningless ritual of setting ourselves up for failure, should we not instead focus on realistic and practical targets such as sticking to just one chocolate bar a day - rather than resolution number one of never eating a drop of chocolate ever again?

Perhaps I’m being too sceptical; I agree there is nothing wrong with setting out to motivate and improve yourself. Even a prominent figure such as Rupert Murdoch has taken to his newly set-up Twitter account to reveal his resolutions of maintaining humility, curiosity and dieting. However, a resolution to steer clear of phones might have been more appropriate. Then came the recent news that a verified account claiming to be Murdoch’s wife, Wendi Deng, was in fact a fake.
Maybe Twitter should also think about making a resolution which states ‘We must research diligently before awarding sparkly, blue ticks’.

Happy New Years Eve

2011-12-31T11:41:00.000Z

Stacey Collins
Weeks of planning, buying and hard work for just 24 little hours and then just as quickly as it arrived, Christmas is yet again over for another year. Before any recovery from Christmas day could be made, the boxing day sales were thrown upon us and people found themselves relenting to the constant nagging of DFS and their ‘Hurry to our three day only sales’ - that actually occur every three days throughout the year.
And now, just as people are beginning to get round to having a sit down on their new DFS sofa and relaxing this holiday, they are rudely ushered onto the next celebration, the welcoming of 2012.

This year, however, it would seem that some people are refusing to budge from their sofas. In fact, it has been estimated that a record 36 million people will be staying in on New Year’s Eve, finishing off the Stollen cake and mulled wine and watching Big Ben on the television. The decline in people hitting the bars or clubs in order to celebrate the New Year could be due to money worries. As taxi prices are tripled and entry fees upped by clubs and bars, an average night out on the 31st December is thought to cost around £48. The thought of staying in is suddenly sounding more tempting.

House parties and dinner parties are another popular option for New Year’s Eve. Come Dine With Me fever seems to have struck. The programme is thought to have cultivated interest amongst many in having more dinner parties (just without the £1,000 prize at the end of the night). However, Post Office Home Insurance carried out a poll and found that the cost of food and drink for house and dinner parties is expected to reach £100 and that 25 per cent of people stated that spilled drinks, breakages and stains are factors that may also put them off holding house or dinner parties.

Even the police are urging people to stay inside for New Year’s Eve. Many people are expected to turn up at the London Eye to welcome in the New Year with fireworks and a great atmosphere but as viewing areas like Southbank and Trafalgar Square expected to fill up as early as 8pm, the police are encouraging people to consider staying inside and watching the events on the television.

Whether you decide to stay in or go out tonight, I wish you all a Happy New Year and remember, don’t bother with the New Year’s resolutions; you know you won’t keep them.

Read more on: Two New Year resolutions for the price of one?

Merry Christmas to Womens News UK readers

2011-12-24T17:19:00.004Z

Stacey Collins
Merry Christmas Eve; I trust that the biscuits and whisky are out, you’re several stone heavier from the lead-up festivities and that you’ve already unwrapped and then re-wrapped the presents under the tree as you surrendered to your curiosity. If not, then bah humbug.

If you’re already feeling guilty about gaining the extra pounds, and I’m not talking about that cheque from your Aunt Deidre, new research has shown that a Christmas Day walk helps fight the festive over-indulgence.

Scientists funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) claim that the festive family stroll reduces the fat levels in our blood by changing the structure of the blood fats- or lipids- for a day or two, allowing the body to get rid of them more easily.

If the guilt is already present, then perhaps you could shed some by going for that 30 minute walk. However, there is another way to relieve you of some of the stresses that you may already be feeling and it comes in the form of a new reflexology app by Anna Walsh.

Reflexology can help you to distress after the stressfulness of rushing around cooking turkeys and forcing your children to eat their stuffing. The tutorial videos on the app will keep you relaxed for hours on end whilst your husband enjoys learning the best techniques to massaging your feet.

Whichever way you decide to spend Christmas this year, in the words of Nat King Cole, ‘Although it’s been said many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you’.

More about the British Heart Foundation study

Christmas is coming

2011-12-22T15:19:00.002Z

The best Christmas ever!

By Baby Blogger Kate Richards

Well the run-up to Christmas has certainly been different this year with a toddler! I've met several Santas already (often female), sang a lot more carols, and re-decorated the tree on a nightly basis. The baubles are often to be found stashed away under the rocking horse (of course, where else?), but strangely, the presents haven't been interfered with at all.

Ben has been to three Christmas parties so far, wearing a gorgeous but highly flammable looking red robe with pointy elf-style hood. He's developed a quite grown-up taste for mince pies, and a suitably child-like love of flashing Christmas lights.
I quite liked Christmas before becoming a parent - which is fortunate considering this festive overload. I still have a fear of glitter taking over the house, but I should get away with my Scrooge-like ban for another year at least.

People keep asking me what we're buying for Ben, but actually we thought it would be best to see what he's given first. At the soft play centre where we practically live, he's obsessed with the toy kitchen and mini trolleys, so those could be a good use of his Christmas money. He already owns a metal basket (his other obsession) which a very kind Boots shop assistant gave him to keep. That was lucky, as he wasn't going to let go in a hurry. One of his favourite pastimes is to climb inside the basket and watch Waybuloo on Cbeebies.

We've just about cracked Ben's sleeping "issues" and he's currently going from 8pm to 8am, unbelievable! However, I'm getting nervous in advance of staying the night at the in-laws on Christmas Eve - what if it breaks his routine??

Still it will be worth it for the delicious seasonal feast my mother-in-law provides, and as they say, Christmas comes but once a year!

Cheers to the Winter Solstice

2011-12-21T13:01:00.006Z

Stacey Collins
The day has finally arrived. No, I’m not dishing out the turkey or unwrapping the presents three days early but instead celebrating Winter Solstice. My celebrations may only stretch to treating myself to chocolate in bed as a replacement for my usual Special K Strawberry and Chocolate cereal (see previous articles about my chocoholic tendencies) but at least it is being acknowledged.

Winter Solstice is also known as the Winter Equinox which is sure to impress your friends at a dinner party when casually dropped into the conversation. The Winter Solstice is the reversal of our lengthened nights and shortened days due to the moment when the Earth’s axial tilt means that the North Pole is at its furthest away from the sun at 23.5 degrees. Consequently, this means that by Christmas Day, the sun in the UK won’t set until 3.56 pm. That’s a whole two more minutes of direct sunlight which is set to accelerate until Summer Solstice in June when it is reversed again.

Ok, so maybe it’s not cause worthy of a party or gift-giving here in the United Kingdom, but Alaska has plenty of reason to pop their party poppers and parade around in their party hats as they face their last longest night for another year. For those in the UK moaning about their rapidly fading summer tans or the awaking for work and arriving home in the dark should consider what 18 hours and 33 minutes of darkness in one day would feel like for Alaska’s residents (and also how quickly their summer tans would have disappeared).

As Christmas preparations and celebrations engulf our every waking moment at this time of the year, it is easy to see why Winter Solstice (or Summer Solstice for countries such as Australia and New Zealand) is forgotten. However, many residents of Alaska ensure that they devote some time to enthusiastically celebrate Winter Solstice by putting aside their present wrapping, tree decorating and mulled wine drinking for the day, instead replacing it with bonfires, skating parties, moonlit walks and art shows.

Perhaps Britain should follow suit and hold festivities in honour of Winter Solstice. Although we don’t face the prospect of gaining back more than six hours of sunlight in a day, we do gain lighter mornings and therefore easier get-ups and also lighter nights which leads us ever closer to evening BBQ’s, the art of catching every last ray of sunshine by inching our way up our back gardens as the shadows are cast, and most importantly, Pimms O’clock. Here’s to gaining back our British summer; cheers Winter Solstice.

Have you done your Christmas shopping yet?

2011-12-15T20:12:00.008Z

Women's News UK

What makes you smile?

Who remembers 'Stranger-Danger'?

Naughty or adventurous?

To write or not to write

Shock, horror! - 'la difference' survives?

Ben's first words

Time to deal with New Year irresolution

Happy New Years Eve

Merry Christmas to Womens News UK readers

Christmas is coming

Cheers to the Winter Solstice

Have you done your Christmas shopping yet?

Have you bought the latest XRC6 Humongous Hairy Huminator yet?

Brits gets 'nul points' for their top ranking on Europe's obese list

My separation anxiety

Good news about teen vaccine

Birth choice questions

Cats aren't 'feline' fancy dress

Is love that hard to find?

Birmingham's beautiful bodies?

So what's wrong with home births?

Will Chinese lanterns go out with a bang?

Time to get a jab?

Should we get choice of caesarean?

In a fizz about teen soda

Women choose best birth-days?

Feeding the toddler

Happy World Food Day

An excuse to eat chocolate

Shopping for nearly new

Real good reality star

One year on - highs and lows

Women have the X-factor

Those Mulberry-clad pooches

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Glowing cats could shed light on HIV

Blame the parents?

Ben feeds himself

Don't want Maggie's diet no more?

Is your intuition saying no to the new tuition fees?

Ben's baby words

What killed Amy Winehouse?

A laundry mountain

Facebook, getting professionals in trouble since 2004.

The Apprentice final... minus the apprentice

'Don't tell me the Py is the limit'

The demise of Helen Milligan?

Ben learns baby sign language

And the 'BBIW' Award goes to....

Pardon the English

Thinking about round two

The future of sleep

Breast is best this week!

Jim's leadership skills certainly not premium

Finding gold among the garbage

Why women skip smear tests

The big baby review

How eating like a baby could help you lose weight

Anything but beautiful

Chicken pox - sorting fact and fiction

And The Personality is...

Parents taking twins gamble less

Can Melody bring harmony?

The aftermath

Wedding wonderment

'Get Ready for Summer'

New Diet Coke design, but will the price make you bottle out of buying it?

Our obsession with the young

Awaiting the stair-gate!

No privacy in pregnancy?

Bananas get baby bubbling

Finding 'Facebook' on Facebook

Comic Relief 2011

Mother and baby diet booster in Yorks

Many candles of achievement for the International Women’s Day 100th year birthday cake

Women's Day reaches century

Smoking takes toll on women

Getting baby - and mum - into a sleeping routine

Fashion, foliage and furry animals