maternity & infant

Following the success of recent events, Dundrum Town Centre are running more of their popular Parenting Workshops which centre around an informal coffee morning on Level 3 at Frango’s.

October’s events are as follows:

Liza Crotty from Claphandies will present fun and creative ideas for infants, toddlers and pre-school children, including learning through interactive play and floortime (Thurs Oct 2nd). Baby massage returns with Yasmina Lenehan from Harmonia Therapies who will impart her knowledge and demonstrates a combination of Swedish and Indian strokes as well as reflexology movements that can help improve sleep patterns and enhance development your child’s development (Thurs Oct 9th). Finally, Christine Barnes of Jo Jingles will offer a music class to entertain and educate your children using music, movement, singing and nursery rhymes (Thurs Oct 30th).

All events are FREE. For further information visit www.dundrum.ie

(Pictured above: Baby and toddler nutrition expert Annabel Karmel MBE, with two young helpers, welcoming the return of Parenting Workshops at Dundrum Town Centre from September 2008)

From ghouls and ghosts to long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the night…

Try Hayfield Manor, Cork’s first 5-star hotel which happily welcomes children! This Halloween, Hayfield Manor have a special package for families, where the art of storytelling comes alive with Old Irish Ghost Stories in front of a roaring fire!

Little guests are always welcome and we love that there’s a special kiddie afternoon tea with miniature treats, a dedicated dinner menu with kids’ favourites, board games available from reception and an extensive DVD collection of children’s classics. Best of all, pint-sized robes and slippers can be found in your room - with hot milk and cookies served before bedtime!

Mums and dad haven’t been forgotten and can make the most of The Beautique Spa, a swimming pool, gym and access to a personal trainer, as well as fine dining at Orchid’s Restaurant or more relaxed fare at Perrotts Garden Bistro.

A 2-night luxury break in a Manor room with full Irish breakfast and a 5-course gourmet dinner on one evening is €245 per person sharing - and you’ll receive €50 off treatments at The Beautique Spa per booking! Children’s accommodation (under 12s) is free with this package, if sharing with parents.

For more information, check out www.hayfieldmanor.ie or call (021) 484 5900

Some of the cutest Halloween costumes around have just crossed my desk - all courtesy of Tesco!

Whether your little one wants to be a pumpkin fairy (pictured above) or something more sinister and scary, Tesco has a great selection of costumes and accessories. We LOVE this pumpkin fairy costume (€10.50 in sizes 6 months-3 years) which is perfect for even the tiniest trick-or-treaters!

Get to Tesco now as this year’s costumes are sure to fly out of stores!

Celebrate the start of Autumn with some of Clinique’s favourite skin care and makeup products, all presented in a gorgeous vanity bag complete with handy storage pockets.

Your gift contains everything you need to achieve a fresh faced glow from Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion to a multi-compact with mirror and brush containing an Eyeshadow Duo and Blushing Blush, perfect for on the go touch-ups.

Your other Bonus Treats include:

• Rinse-Off Eye Makeup Solvent
• 7 Day Scrub Cream Rinse-Off Formula
• Up-Lighting Liquid Illuminator in Natural
• High Impact Mascara in Black
• Full Potential Lips Plump and Shine in Sugar Plump

Yours FREE with the purchase of any two or more Clinique products from Thursday 25 September to Sunday 12 October 2008 exclusively at Brown Thomas and BT2 The Blanchardstown Centre.

Don’t forget, tomorrow is Pink Ribbon Day. Volunteers all around the country will be selling ribbons, pins, shopping trolley key rings and new mobile phone charms in aid of Action Breast Cancer so anything you can spare will be greatly appreciated.

Also available to support this very worthwhile cause, are a range of products from retailers such as Boots, Brown Thomas, Peter Mark and lots more. An earlier post details some of our favourites, and the current issue of maternity & infant has plenty of choice.

For more information on Action Breast Cancer, visit www.cancer.ie

Have you discovered Imaginosity yet?

Located in the Beacon South Quarter in Sandyford, Imaginosity is Ireland’s first interactive children’s museum where under-10s can make the most of the ‘hands-on’ philosophy that encourages them to get involved.

Well worth a visit, and perfect for a rainy day - check out the workshops and classes that happen throughout the day (free with admission). Tickets cost €8.50 for children and adults, €6.50 for toddlers and €2 for infants (under 6 months are free) for a 2-hour visit.

To celebrate their first birthday, Imaginosity are running a series of special events this weekend!

Saturday Sept 27th
The Banyon Puppet Theatre present The Elves and the Shoemaker at the Kids Stage with shows at 6.30pm and 7.30pm (each show is 45 mins). Suitable for 5-11 year olds. Tickets are €8 for children and €11 for adults.

Sunday Sept 28th
The Fanzini Brothers offer a FREE performance and circus workshop in the Plaza outside Imaginosity. Workshop 1 (5-7 yrs) takes place at 11.30am and Workshop 2 (8-10yrs) will follow at 2.30pm. FREE Fanzini Brothers circus performance ‘Deathwish’ will take place at 1pm and 3.30pm. Each workshop and performance lasts 45 mins.

Also visiting on Sunday 28th is Scottish storyteller Susie Minto who will hold session on the Kids Stage throughout the day - 10.30am, 12.30pm, 2pm, 4.30pm and 5.30pm (Free with admission).

To book your tickets, visit www.imaginosity.ie or call (01) 217 6130

Did you see Nightmare Nannies on TV3 last night? It was terrifying!

The hour-long show looked at families that had taken in au pairs and nannies who then went on to steal from them, have an affair with the husband, leave the children unattended or worse. The most horrendous has to be the live-in nanny who used to sneak out at night while the family slept to go and work as a prostitute - who then also used her employer’s bed while the family were away on holidays! A close second was the au pair who decided to take on a cleaning job as well and would take the child in her care with her - and make her help with the cleaning!!

I would be interested to know if these type of occurences are also happening here in Ireland? Just email editorial@maternityandinfant.ie and let me know your story.

Make sure to visit Debenhams - from today when you buy any item from the Womenswear range you’ll receive a free Star by Julien Macdonald shopper!

Offer subject to availability.

What a horrible day! Not only is it lashing rain, it seems to bounce up off the pavements and get blown sideways so there’s no hope at all of staying even the tiniest bit dry! Hopefully you’re faring better than we are here in wet and windy Dublin 2, but if not, here are some cheap and cheerful ways to keep harmony in the house this weekend!

1. Let the kids play dress up! Grab a bunch of old clothes (the more wacky and wonderful, the better!), some sturdy costume jewellery, hats and bags and let them loose! Little girls will feel very grown-up dressing like mum, and little boys can create great charater costumes.
2. Hold your own puppet show! You can make your own with some socks, a few buttons for eyes, wool for shaggy hair or whiskers, cotton wool - so many things lying around the house will come in handy for this and just let your imagination run wild!
3. Cook up a storm! Regular readers will know that Annabel Karmel recipes are brilliant for kids and teaches them lots about patience, measuring, time, and lots more. Check out Annabel’s site for some inspiration!
4. Get crafty! Arts and crafts will keep your child entertained for hours! With some paper, glue, child-friendly scissors, glitter, crayons, stickers and scraps of material (anything to be honest!), you can be very MacGyver-esque and create just about anything!
5. Create a collage! Use up all your old magazines, or even some family photos, and let the kids cut out pictures and words to make a masterpiece. Even little toddlers can get involved and can cut out particular colours and make a rainbow. It’s a great way to make the most of your old magazines (not maternity & infant, of course…!) before they hit the recycling pile.

Hope this helps your weekend plans!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and readers of the latest issue of maternity & infant will see that we have profiled lots of lovely ‘pink’ goodies. The aim of these products is to raise all-important funds for breast cancer research and support nationwide and we’re all going pink to help!

For great gift ideas, try Estee Lauder’s lipstick and lipgloss sets from Brown Thomas or the Peter Mark gift card and pink GHD. If you’re treating yourself, opt for Avon’s Superfull mascara or Skin So Soft body wash (which includes a diagram and information on self-examaminations on the back), No7 lip gloss and face powder from Boots, or the BOOB Design nursing top available from Onceborn.

And, if you’re looking at splurging, check out The Handbag Exchange - they have everything from Gucci to Chanel and Fendi to Orla Kiely, as well as a whole host of high street brands. Better still, five percent of each sale goes to Action Breast Cancer!

For further information, check out Action Breast Cancer and the Irish Cancer Society.