A while back I happened to notice that the closing credits to CBeebies at 7pm as the time comes to say goodnight have changed. Suddenly, Topsy and Tim, Sarah and Duck and Chuggington have popped up, and are going to bed (or in Chuggington’s case, the train equivalent) alongside Rastamouse, the Clangers and those talking vegetables…
Category: In the Night Garden
Romeo and Juliet in the Night Garden
It was a beautiful day in the Night Garden. It’s always a beautiful day. The sun shines brightly, the temperature remains at a perfectly balmy, but not swelteringly hot, twenty-five degrees. Makka Pakka’s stones are warm to the touch, but his cavern under the bridge remains refreshingly cool, as the mighty Ha-hoos keep watch over…
CBeebies Takes Over My Brain
I write this in a state of frenzied insomnia brought about by the theme tune to My Pet and Me whirling around incessantly in my head. It’s quite a catchy tune, that. So is The Time Has Come to Say Goodnight. And Goodbye Sun, Hello Moon. And come to think of it Andy’s Dinosaur Adventures…
TV Dinners: Weaning with the Pontipines
Not quite what I envisioned when I set out my Ultimate Weaning Strategy. I thought I had it all figured out. I had all the books, the recipes, all the baby led weaning tips. And almost a year on from Piglet’s “first tastes” (which were obviously the components of a full meal with all food…
The Wrongness of Most Nursery Rhymes
One of the things that has surprised me most since I became a parent is that nursery rhymes still exist. Not only exist, but they are EVERYWHERE. And kids actually LIKE THEM. When I myself was a wee nipper I had a book of nursery rhymes, which disturbingly included one about a child being whipped…
Positive Sleep Associations
This is my latest scintillating read. The wrinkled sheet underneath (yes that is on my bed) is basically a metaphor for Piglet’s current sleeping patterns. Well, who irons a sheet anyway? I mean, who even owns an iron? As I write, Piglet is sleeping soundly at my feet in his bouncy chair. To look at…
Essential Items for the “Nursery”
I just ate my dinner from start to finish with an angry Piglet sitting in his chair kicking his legs around and shouting at the TV, which I had turned him around to face to try and take his mind off the fact that Mummy was eating and not playing with him. I am a…
Piglet is ten weeks old, and I find myself asking the question, how much TV is too much?
Aha! I don’t want to speak too soon, but I think I may have found the secret of the elusive Bedtime Routine. It is none other than popular children’s television programme In the Night Garden. So far it has helped Piglet settle down to sleep no less than two days running. It is as yet…