LivingwithKids

If you've watched the videos of little Archie from mydaddycooks you'll have seen that the way his dad keeps him safe is in a Little Helper FunPod®. The multi-award winning FunPod® provides a safe environment to get your toddlers up to the kitchen worktop on their own safely constructed platform to help, interact, learn and play.

Heralded as socially responsible, the FunPod® encourages children to learn all about the whole food experience and can encourage parent and child bonding with quality time spent while preparing lunch or dinner. With five awards to its name in just over 12 months, the FunPod® is available in five different colours. The FunPod® is available from retailers including Childalert's Baby Catalogue. Read our review of the FunPod® here.

But if you'd like the chance to WIN one, plus a FunPack worth £7.99 including an apron, child’s wooden whisk, spoon, rolling pin and mixing fork, just enter our fab competition!

How to enter: click here, watch the video on the home page and then send us your answer to the following question from your KidStart registered email address to competitions@kidstart.co.uk by the closing date Tuesday 9 February.

Please note: entries from non KidStart members will be disqualified. If you'd like to register with KidStart, click here - registration is free. Usual KidStart competition rules apply.

Question: What colour top is the little girl with pigtails in the video wearing?

I quite like Kirsty Young but my goodness she's talking a lot of tosh in today's Telegraph. She claims that mothers see children as an 'extension of their success', attempting to turn them into 'baby Einsteins', and that those who 'give up work' to 'do children' have to justify their decision. 'We've become much more child-centric as a society, it's a kind of badge of honour to say your life revolves around your children,' she says.

I'm not sure who Kirsty has been mixing with - the kind of parents who buy their children 'seven pairs of shoes', apparently - but most of the mothers I know who gave up work to raise their kids did so because they felt it was a) better for their children to be at home, at least until they went to school and b) it wasn't financially viable, once they'd fathomed in the cost of childcare, for them to return to work.

And ALL the mums I know - including the SAHMs and the WAHMs - have their own identities, separate from their roles as mothers. Yes of course they're devoted to their kids (isn't that kind of what being a mother is all about?!) but they also enjoy doing their own thing, too.

To add insult to injury, Kirsty claims that 'most women don't have careers. They have jobs that they have to do to pay the electricity bill or buy school shoes.' But I don't believe the two are mutually exclusive, actually.

*What do you think - is Kirsty right?

You may have seen that the shortlist is in for the Bounty Celebrity Mum of the Year award 2009. (Previous winners include Kerry Katona.)

I'm not sure why some of the names are on there - Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Mel B are obviously devoted mums, ditto Myleene Klass. But does that make them special? And I'm a bit surprised Victoria Beckham isn't on there.

I also struggle with the inclusion of Katie Price on the shortlist. Yes of course she's a loving mum, but I'm not sure she's always put her children's interests first in the past year.

Samantha Cameron is on there, and obviously she has had a lot to cope with this year. On balance, I think she's probably the most deserving winner.

But my personal vote, for someone who isn't on this list, would go to the late Jade Goody. She did everything she could to make sure her children were well provided for before she died, and that makes her a heroine in my book.

I'd love to know what you think.

I do get so fed up with all this knocking of working mums. Now a new survey has revealed that they have the unhealthiest children because their kids are more likely to be driven to school watch a lot of TV and are fed junk food

But as with all things, it depends on the mum, doesn't it? I can think of quite a few non-working mums whose children have too many sugary snacks and not enough exercise. And I can think of plenty of working mums who always ensure their children have a healthy balanced diet and get plenty of fresh air.

In fact, I think that what happens when you're a working mum is that you often go out of your way to ensure your child is eating healthily and getting enough exercise - because it helps compensate for the tremendous guilt you feel at leaving them to go to work in the first place.

So enough, please, of these ridiculous surveys which simply add to the guilt. Working mums have enough on their plate, without being made to feel as though they're not doing the best for their children as well.

I was very lucky with my childcare when I first went back to work because my sister offered to help out. (She subsequently became a registered childminder so she could look after children she wasn't related to as well.)

And of course it's right that childminders should be registered if they're looking after children whose mothers aren't friends or related to them.

But close friends have shared childcare, either by minding each other's kids for a few hours after school, or in the holidays, for years. Many families would struggle to survive without these more 'casual' arrangements, particularly in the current climate. They should be allowed to continue, regardless of whether there's a financial arrangement in place.

So it seems totally daft to me that two policewomen who are close friends have been told they must be registered childminders to look after each's other's children.

Let me know what you think.

There's no getting away from it, taking care of a baby's needs can be expensive. So I was very interested to hear about the new Direct Gov website Payments for Parents, which tells you all about the money you can claim when you're expecting, or if you have a new baby, how to start your Child Trust Fund, and so on.

For example, did you know that you can claim a £190 Health in Pregnancy grant when you reach your 25th week of pregnancy, regardless of your income? Me either. Have a look at the site and make sure you're getting everything you should - and do let me know how you get on.

BCC (Before Credit Crunch) I rarely used to do more than glance at the Tax Credits notifications that landed on our doormat once a year. As long as our circumstances hadn't changed, that was that, and those terrible TV adverts with the annoying theme tune and the incredibly patronising voiceover made me want to switch off completely.

But the recession has made us much more vigilant - about bills, official looking letters, and watching where the money goes in general. So last week I decided to read our notification carefully, and was shocked to discover that they had us down as claiming £20,000 in benefits! Well, news to me, and the bank.

I rang the helpline immediately. 'Terribly sorry, madam,' the advisor told me cheerfully. 'Human error.' No kidding.

My advice is if you have a Tax Credits notification to check it thoroughly. If there aren't any changes you don't need to do anything - but if there are, you have until Friday to let them know.

Lily, one of my most experienced mum friends, once told me that when you're a working mum, even if you can't be at the school gate every day, the most important thing is to make sure you're there for the big events. 'Christmas plays, Sports Days, anything like that,' she said. 'Because those are the important ones, the ones they'll remember.'

It's good advice and something I've tried to follow - but of course it's often easier said than done, as my friend Fi has found out. This friday is Sports Day at her daughter's primary school. 'Mummy can't come to my sports day because she has to work,' her little girl told me at the weekend, as her mum visibly winced. 'I feel so guilty, but what can I do?' Fi confided in me later. 'There's an important meeting at work and I can't expect everyone to reschedule because of me.'

Her partner also has a crucial meeting he can't get out of, her mother has recently broken her back and needs constant care from her dad, and with no other relatives in close proximity, this means their five-year-old will be entering the bean bag and skipping challenges without any family members present.

'Why can't they have sports days at weekends?' I asked my sister, who works in a school. 'Because they take so much organisation, and it would be unfair to make the teachers give up their time off,' she pointed out.

True. And I'm sure my friend's daughter won't be the only one without a mum or dad or grandparent or uncle or aunt to support her. I'm not sure what the solution is. But guilt is a constant factor of being a working mum. It's really time things changed.