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January 30, 2012

Does Kids TV promote bad behaviour?

Filed under: General Chit-Chat,News — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Ann-Maree @ 9:00 am

Hitting the news headlines at the minute is Peppa pig and chums, not for the right reasons. Many parents believe that their children are imitating the bad behaviour of Peppa and his mischievous brother George.  The debate here is whether Kids TV influences our behaviour (or at least is one influence on behaviour). One argument is that it is not TV, parents control TV viewing and also bring the children up with morals and values (that the majority of the kids programmes try to push the kids the right way too), Sesame Street for example, helps kids to learn new words and moral values. However the argument is that kids programmes have changed, and moved on from Sesame Street to the likes of Peppa Pig, who does get up to a fair bit of trouble.

  However, I personally don’t believe this is true, in my day I watched a programme Called ZZAPP which featured a character designed to be mischievous!, Sooty and sweep were constantly hitting each other over the head, and Bodger and Badger were constantly throwing mash potato at each other! Nothing new there it would seem. On all the kids TV shows the naughty characters always get their comeuppance, so if anything I believe that they are providing examples of what will happen if you behave badly.

January 23, 2012

Chosing a Nursery- now with extra help

Filed under: General Chit-Chat — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Ann-Maree @ 9:00 am

With so much choice and availability these days, picking a nursery is becoming increasingly difficult. Depending on budget and personal preference there are many different styles of day-care to choose from. Nannies and child-minders are live in helpers, there in your home for when you need them, often reasonably expensive, but with the expectations and requirements these days it’s not surprising that they come with a hefty price-tag.

  Many families are expecting their Nannies to help their kids with exams, teach them foreign languages, teach them sports such as skiing and even be able to go on family yacht holiday!

  But when it comes to nurseries there’s a lot to consider. Until recently it used to be that nurseries were un-rated in systems such as OFSTED in schools, you just had to visit and check the nursery out for yourself. However recently they have introduced a new OFSTED rating system for nurseries, graded on child interaction, the development of word and speech recognition and improvement of maths skills. So now there’s a handy rating system to allow you to choose the best nursery in your area. Some could argue that this is a bit over the top for a nursery school to go through as it’s just a step up to schooling, others argue that you can now see for yourself the best schools in your area for what your child needs.

  So if you’re stuck and need a handy system to pick the nursery suitable for your child the new Ofsted reports can be accessed online and if already at nursery you can check the progress reports online too! Hopefully that will help you make the tough decision!

Make sure that you label up all your little ones clothes, shoes and bags before you send them off to nurserey so they dont loose anything. Labels4Kids do a range of sew on, stick on and iron on labels.

January 20, 2012

Has the wild cat of Woodchester struck again?

Filed under: General Chit-Chat — Tags: , , — Ann-Maree @ 11:52 am

There’d domething strange happening in the Cotswolds at the minute. A few weeks ago a completely stripped carcus of a small deer was found in a woodchester field, creating a media frenzy similar to that surrounding the illusive “beast of Bodmin moore”. The forenzics examining the carcus said it could have been a large animal, but couldn’t be sure what kind. Imaginative wolf like creatures and giant cats were being thrown about, until the secondf carcus occurred.
A woman out walking her dog found the leftovers of the other carcus, vital organs missing, a few bite and scratch marks visible around the head area of the deer. The forenzics believe this is evidence of a large cat attack. The markings were similar to that of the first find and the scientists believe that this attack was done by the same animal.
So maybe this is the beast of bodmin moore, making its return a few miles up the road, or another big cat roaming around. Either way, do we have wild cats on the loose around the woods of South England? And if so how are they managing to hide from everyone? …. The plot thickens.

Labels4Kids.com

January 12, 2012

We never got that in my day!

Filed under: General Chit-Chat — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Ann-Maree @ 5:09 pm

We never got that in my day!

Christmas lists of the past have gone. No longer do we find, Bikes, Slides, Scalextrics, Barbies, they have all been replaced by smaller, more expensive versions. No longer is it a bike, but a bike game for their brand new DS, X-Box or iPad.

Stores reported a loss in sales figures this Christmas with the only area not being as badly hit being online retail. An assumption one could make from this is, because the items being requested from Santa are a lot smaller, online shopping is often easier, without the expense of running a store, the online outlets can also offer a bigger deal, with the current financial crisis that is a big attraction to shoppers. But once the gifts are bought how long a life cycle do they have?

With kids getting interested in technology at a younger age, the shelf life of their presents are getting smaller, mainly due to the manufactures constantly pumping out newer smaller, thinner and faster versions of the previous models. So how can we give a new lease of life to our kids toys? Suggestions in the office seem to vary from a rotation system (put the new toys in the attic, and swap them for the other toys, (do this every month), to having a time allowance for your child with each of their new toys and using the toys as an incentive to get them to finish their homework.

The issue seems to stem from a discussion being raised a lot in the media circles at the minute. Are manufacturers and their PR teams targeting children with too much force through their marketing campaign. An interesting study has been reviewed by Lee Thomas http://www.thebruns.ca/articles/50793 (here) in which the argument is that the companies know how to target, and almost brainwash the impressionable minds of the children to a compulsive need for the specific product. And even if the child misses the brand targeting adverts (by some miracle) the peer pressure from friends in the playground can often leave parents with an ear-ache at home (if he’s got it why cant I have it?!)

On a final note, once they have all the presents, new clothes, bags e.t.c make sure they don’t get lost at school, label up your bags with Labels4Kids Bag Tags or Personalised Lego Bricks  . And Don’t forget are huge selection of Iron, Sew or Stick-On labels available for your clothes and shoes!

September 17, 2011

Great night at Specsavers Everywoman in Retail Awards 2011

Filed under: General Chit-Chat,News — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Ann-Maree @ 2:28 pm
Specsavers Everywoman in Retail Awards UK

The Winners of each category of the Awards

I would like to thank Specsavers, Everywoman, The Savoy Hotel, ASDA, Blue Bell BMW, Ebay, Hallet Retail, Paypal, Pentland Group and Women in Retail for sponsoring the Awards held Wednesday night at the Savoy. The newly refurbished hotel was fantastic with planning down to the minute! Very impressive.

I met a wonderful group of women and will stay in touch with many of them in future. Congratulations to Harriet Kelsall of Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design for winning Woman of the Year. We got on fabulously and were so pleased that 2 of the 3 in our category won an award on the night, me as Entrepreneur of the Year and Harriet at Woman of the Year. Well done!  Those of you who forgot or ran out of your business cards don’t forget to keep in touch!  I chatted for a long while to Sarah Miller, Head of M&S South West Region, and Octavia Morley, Managing Director of Crewe Clothing and would love to keep in touch ladies. 

Congratulations to all the finalists and of course to the winners shown above from Left to right pictured are:

  • Lisa Miao, Commercial Director of Chilled Foods Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC – Leader of the Year over £200 million turnover
  • Kerry McDowall, Area Business Manager, Scotland East, Hallett Retail – The concessions people – Star of the Future under £200 million
  • Ann-Maree Morrison, Founder and Managing Director, Labels4Kids Ltd – Entrepreneur of the Year 2011
  • Harriet Kelsall, Managing Director, Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design – Woman of the Year 2011
  • Catherine Owens, Founder and Managing Director, Amber & Jade – Leader of the year under £200 million turnover
  • Debbie Morris, Senior Channel Management, Vodafone (UK) Ltd – Online retailer of the year 2011
  • Alison Ford, Buying Manager, Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc – Star of the Future over £200 million turnover

Coverage of the event now on Asda Press Centre and Financial Mail Women’s Forum wesbsites also.

Remember to buy your labels from www.labels4kids.com this year.

Ann-Maree Morrison wins Entrepreneur of the Year 2011

Filed under: General Chit-Chat,News — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Ann-Maree @ 2:04 pm

 PRESS RELEASE

The Specsavers everywoman in Retail Awards

The Entrepreneur of the year category winner announced

 The cream of the retail industry gathered at The Savoy on Wednesday 14th September 2011 to recognise and celebrate the achievements of retail’s highest flyers.  Senior figures from fashion, grocery, digital and the major multiples joined Dame Mary Perkins, and everywoman founders, Karen Gill MBE and Maxine Benson MBE for a glittering reception and dinner.

Maxine Benson MBE, Co-Founder and Director of everywoman, commented “With 80% of household buying decisions made by women it is staggering that the top of the industry is still male dominated despite a strong pipeline of women in management roles.  By bringing these winners to the forefront of their industry, we hope to send a message that retail must nurture and support its female talent.” 

Dame Mary Perkins, Founder of Specsavers, added “There are some excellent opportunities for women in the retail industry.  Although there are not as many women in senior positions as there should be, there are many good prospects.  At Specsavers, many of our stores are owned by female opticians who recognise the importance of excellent customer service and high retail standards.” 

Judith McKenna, Chief Operating Officer for Asda, said, “Successful retail businesses need to harness the talents of a diverse range of people if they want to meet the demands of their customers. We’re delighted to support the Specsavers everywoman in Retail Awards as part of our overall diversity programme which included recognition & development of talented women across the sector.”   

Entrepreneur of the Year Winner – Sponsored by Asda Stores Ltd

Ann-Maree Morrison

Director

Labels4Kids Limited

Originally training as a Chartered Accountant, Ann-Maree Morrison worked for a variety of companies including Disney and Kodak before changing direction and launching her own company in 2005. Like many great business ideas, this one was born from personal need when Ann-Maree, the mother of 3 young boys, grew tired of her boys coming home from school with other children’s clothes.  Labels4Kids produces vinyl waterproof labels, iron on, stick on and sew on labels for children’s school clothing and general items. The judges were impressed with how Ann Maree has created a dedicated following of supporters from across the globe through an active social-media strategy and online forum for parents and families on her award winning website www.labels4kids.com

The Specsavers everywoman in Retail Awards launched in 2008 in response to a growing urgency to redress the gender imbalance in an industry which employs over 2.8 million* people (11% of the total UK workforce).  Although 60%* of employees in retail are women, there are less than 5%* of female CEOs and only 8%* of purchasing decisions are made by women.  The awards were created to highlight the variety of opportunity within the retail industry and to showcase inspirational role models, drawing attention to those women who have succeeded through hard work and determination and those who have steered their organisations through challenging economic times.

*2010 Skillsmart Retail Analysis

About everywoman

Everywoman is an organisation that challenges and change the mind sets of women in business to increase the number and raise the status of women in the economic community. Founded in September 1999 by Karen Gill and Maxine Benson, it is the UK’s largest female business community with over 40,000 members and growing. Through its programme of events, projects such as Modern Muse, training and awards, everywoman offers members support, skills and recognition. Members are supported to clarify their goals; ensure they have the right mind sets to realise them; gain skills to generate long-term success and are recognised for their achievements. Its ambition is to become the world’s largest and most influential female business network, inspiring generations of businesswomen and championing their cause, talents and prospects on a global scale. Karen and Maxine were both awarded the MBE in January 2009 for services to women’s enterprise. For more information visit: www.everywoman.com

 About Specsavers

Specsavers Opticians was founded in the spare bedroom of the Guernsey home of optometrists Doug and Dame Mary Perkins in 1984 and is now the largest privately owned opticians in the world. Specsavers has more than 1500 stores in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. All are owned and run by optician joint venture or franchise partners.

 About Asda

Founded in the 1960s, ASDA today is one of Britain’s leading retailers. It has over 175,000 dedicated ASDA colleagues serving customers from over 400 stores, including 25 ASDA Living stores, 23 depots and eight recycling centres across the UK (Great Britain and Northern Ireland). It has its main home office in Leeds, Yorkshire and its George clothing division based in Lutterworth Leicestershire. ASDA serves over 18 million shoppers a week in store and its growing home shopping business serves over 97 per cent of UK homes.

The judging panel comprised:
Sue Brownson OBE         Group Managing Director, Blue Bell BMW Group

Esther Crew                   HR Director – Group Logistics & Supply Chain Division, WM Morrison Supermarkets Plc

Jo Delbridge                  Director of Public Relations, Specsavers Optical Group

Gaynor Gillespie            People & Corporate Development Director, Capital & Regional

Wendy Hallett                Founder and Managing Director, Hallett Retail – The Concessions People

Judith McKenna             Chief Operating Officer, Asda

Karen Richards              Founder, Women in Retail

Carrie Rubin                  Director, Pentland Group plc

Anne Seaman                CEO, Skillsmart Retail

Sue Shipley                    Partner & Head of Retail Practice, Odgers Berndtson

July 31, 2011

Wrong shoes can wreck kids feet

Filed under: General Chit-Chat — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Ann-Maree @ 11:14 pm

Time to buy new school shoes soon. When you are buying shoes this year remember that your kids are still growing and so are their bones.  Feet that are damaged will cause pain and many problems with their posture and feet in later life.  Think about that next time you buy flat ballet shoes or lowrise canvas shoes as school shoes for everyday wear.  It isn’t all about not wearing high heels. Flat shoes that have no support or padding can be just as bad as kids feet don’t stop developing until they are 18 years old!

I know myself that in general high heels are not comfortable. I love flat shoes but I have found that if I wear the cheaper brands of flat ballet pumps my feet are killing me if I walk no more than 20 minutes into town.  I tend to go to Clarks for my shoes for the kids and for me. I love the padded flat shoes they do that feel like walking on air!  I cannot go to just any other store and buy cheaper flat pumps or my feet, and I, pay the price in pain and blisters.

Wearing flat shoes without any support or padding like ballet pumps can cause your arches to collapse and this can caue your feet to roll inwards.  There was a great article in the Scottish Sunday Express by Rachel Carlyle on 31st July 2011. Rachel interviewed Emma Supple of www.supplefeet.com who is a leading Podiatrist. She confirmed that ballet flats are amongst the worse kind of shoes for young kids and teenagers. The foot apparently has 3 arches which work together to keep your feet and you healthy. These are not supported by ballet pumps. They have no cushioning in the sole or the arches, all of the inner one, outer one and lateral one. Yes, we have 3 arches in the foot.

That covers girls but boys are just as bad with low-rise canvas trainers with no arch support or cushioning.  Apart from feet problems these shoes can cause problems with the way they walk, like Charlie Chaplin style and with their walk and their posture in later life.  Both ballet shoes and canvas shoes are loose fitting and the child needs to adjust their walk to keep them on their feet. Also they allow water in easier which can make their feet wet and soggy, also not good all day long.

I have always known this myself but when I was a kid there was not the option of ballet pumps or low-rise canvas shoes for school. Everyone had to wear regulation school shoes at my school. They had to be lace up and had to have a cushioned heel.  now I see tonnes of young girls buying the cheap and fashionable £10-15 ballet shoes, and boys wearning the canvas shoes.

Remember that both Clarks and Startright sell even ballet pumps that have more cushioning and a strap across the top to hold them on if you cannot avoid the tantrums and have to buy them. Shoes with the strap across the arch will always fit better than those without.  I would of course recommend the best name labels are the thicker vinyl, high quality vinyl shoe labels from labels4kids for naming your shoes.

Next time you buy be wary of false economies buying cheap shoes. Spend more and buy for their future health.  And when you have invested in good shoes, remember to buy your vinyl shoe labels to put in the heel so that noone else takes their school shoes home by mistake and they can find their shoes easily with their clear vinyl shoe labels inside them including name and image too.

We also sell right foot labels here at labels4kids for younger kids learning to match their left shoe with their right. A great idea for vinyl shoe labels that not only give their own name and image but also allow them to match the right shoe on the right foot.

Beware of crazy bike riding during summer

Filed under: General Chit-Chat — Tags: , , , , , , , — Ann-Maree @ 10:35 pm

The usual trip to the post office to send out orders to our customers ended in a cut, bleeding and bruised leg and a sore wrist the other day. Could have been much worse if I hadn’t regained my balance, or if I had been elderly or with a walking aid.  All as a result of just kids bike riding recklessly during summer…

I think it’s great that it’s summer holidays and it’s wonderful to see the kids out on their bikes and enjoying some freedom and sun.  Kids really need to be careful though of other folk walking about and cars on the roads too.  I have lost count of the number of crazy cyclists I have seen the past month.  All kids.  I have seen:

  • Kids without helmets zig zagging down the middle of a main road with oncoming landrover coming the other direction straight at them.
  • Kids crossing the street on their bike without stopping to look either direction and cars slamming on their breaks.
  • Kids that knocked me over, and others, flying on the footpath past shop entrances without stopping or looking, and again, no helmets on.
  • Kids doing wheelies down the middle of the road.
  • Kids trying to pass cars on the road on their bikes.
  • Kids riding bikes on footpaths rather than roads and going far too fast.

There is something to be said for cycle safety lessons.  A friend of mine does some lessons in Stirling area which is a great idea. He covers how to maintain your bike, how to change a tyre, safety on the road and signalling.  We put our 3 for a quick couple of hours and it makes all the difference.  There are bound to be other sites you can find online around the UK doing something similar.   His site is http://www.stirlingcycletraining.com/ The local bike club also teaches road awareness and safety and in our area that’s http://www.stirlingbikeclub.org.uk/ with a photo of my friend’s daughter on the front page just now.  She’s an amazing 11 year old who is winning tonnes of competitions.

Check out the bike clubs in your area and in particular cycle training.  I can’t think of a better way to spend some time in the summer and perhaps save a life.

And for those of you walking on the footpaths, exiting shops, or driving for that matter…beware of the cyclists as some of them out there just now are untrained and dangerous.

For labels for your bikes and bike helmets remember our vinyl labels. Our vinyl labels are great for bikes so you can add a phone number or name and claim your bike. They are hard to remove so someone wanting to remove them to steal a bike will have an effort to get the vinyl label off and that should deter them.

July 18, 2011

The New Teacher

Filed under: General Chit-Chat — Tags: , , , , , , — Ann-Maree @ 10:34 pm

Here is a poem that was printed in the Scottish Daily Express on Sunday 17th July.  It’s very funny. Many thanks and acknowledgement to the writer Mr Jim Douglas, Glenfraig, Perthshire for writing this poem in the poetry section.

I’m not knocking the Scots language. I live there!  I think  it’s quite nice but I do wonder with poems like this to learn, no wonder kids struggle to learn English for their exams.  I think many a teacher and parent will get a laugh at this one below with school coming back not so far away. Remember also to order your name labels early for the next year as we are crazy busy here meeting tonnes of orders already so the later the harder it is to get them to you on time.  Best Regards,

Ann-Maree

************************************************************

Is a dove a doo Dad

Is a doo a dove

Is a cow a coo Dad

A sparrow jist a spyug

And is a wall a waw Dad

Is a dog a dug

She’s gonny warm me ear Dad

Instead o’ skelp ma lug.

 

Ma teacher’s awfy posh Dad

She changes aw orr names

Wee Shuggie now is Hugh Dad

And Jimmy’s ayeways James

Ah’m scunnered wi’ it aw Dad

The way she shoogles words

Ah must be glaickit no’ tae ken

That feathered friends are burds.

 

Ye lernt me aw wrong Dad

Ye cawd a ball a baw

Your wife is now my Mother

You said it wis ma Maw

Ah’m no share hoo tae spell Dad

Ah’ll niver pass ma test

Whit is this ah’m wearin’ Dad

A simmet or a vest?

 

Ah gave ma nose a dicht Dad

When it began tae dreep

She gave me sich a fricht Dad

Ah near fell aff ma seat

Haven’t you a handkerchief

She roared as if in pain

No, ah jist yase ma sleeve, Miss

And wiped ma nose again.

 

Ah cawd a mouse a moose Dad

Ah shid hiv held ma tongue

That’s manure aon yir bits Dad

Nae longer is it dung

It’s turnips and potatoes

No tatties noo and neeps

She said I’d ripped my trousers

When ah’d only torn ma breeks.

 

There’s twoch words fir awthin’ Dad

They’re jumbled in ma heed

Hoo kin I be well bred Dad

When ah keep sayin’ breed

Now is a crow a craw Dad

Is a bull a bul

A’ll try tae to get it richt Dad

I will, I will, ah wull.

July 1, 2011

Airline launches new kids pack in bid to keep Kids entertained this summer

Filed under: General Chit-Chat — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Ann-Maree @ 2:39 pm

The summer is much anticipated by kids and parents alike, for very different reasons. For the kids its an exciting time off school to be filled with fun trips out and holidays, for parents its a struggle to keep everyone happy and occupied, one airline however has helped to ease the stress by introducing an activity pack on all flights over 1 hours long.  Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi-based national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has launched new kids’ packs, custom-designed to keep children content and entertained when flying with the airline. Lee Shave, Vice President Guest Experience for Etihad Airways, said: “Travelling to new and exciting destinations is a special way for families to spend quality time together, but understandably, young children can get impatient with the journey time.”

A very good idea, especially for long haul flights. Something to think about for long car journeys too. It would seem the key to beating the bordem this summer is preparation. A good website for activities to do in your area this summer is http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/ A web page to download activities and games to keep the kids busy. Also for the work at home parent  http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/94-ways-to-keep-kids-busy-for-the-work-at-home-parent/ 94 ways to keep the kids busy this summer. You cant miss all the summer sports clubs around the UK offered over the summer, there’s nothing better than keeping the kids active during their time off school. Remember to label up your sports equiptment this summer with Labels4Kids range of washer and dishwasher proof vinyl labels for sports equiptment, Personalised gym bags and cool packs for your lunchboxes.

Happy entertaining!

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