LittleLegends.biz

Emma Mahony, writes at the Times Alpha Mummy blog about how the Southbank has gone kidtastic. So, if you are in London this summer, that is the place to hang out with the kids.

Over at the Family Relationships blog you can find out the five essential summer safety tips that every parent should know.

Finally, manicmama (aka me!) found a t-shirt with the wartime slogan “Keep calm and carry on” that could also be a popular mantra for parents.

Source: longdistgramma@flickr

To my surprise, this blog has turned out to be extremely popular So, I have decided it is time to share a bit of that love around by creating a new category called UK Parent Bloggers. Posts in this category will have links to the most useful, interesting and entertaining posts by bloggers in the UK on anything to do with parenthood.

If you want to let me know about your blog, then just join the UK Parent Bloggers Group

The article that I posted before is now online here. Have a look if you want to see a hideous photo of me (and two of my gorgeous boys)

This is a new idea. Each month I will focus on a different town, city or borough in the UK. I will research the childfriendly venues in the chosen place and add them to Little Legends.

I will not be able to add everything, so please feel free to join in:
* if you recognise a place you know then perhaps you could share your experience by adding a comment; or
* you could add one of your favourite places; or
* you could let me know your favourite places and I will add them for you.

I will start with Edinburgh because two of my favourite blog authors (Little Mummy and Mother at Large) are locals.

If you are looking for Days Out in Edinburgh, why not start with:

* Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
* Royal Botanic Garden
* Royal Museum of Scotland

The following article about Little Legends appeared in the Wandsworth Borough news today:

A Wandsworth mother sick of struggling to find child-friendly locatins has set up a networking website for parents faced with a similar predicament.

Mum of three, Vicky Wood, 33, moved house two years ago and was frustrated by the difficulty of locating the best places in the borough for parents with kids in tow.

With the help of her brother, technical whizz Piers Young, she took the matter into her own hands and set up an online network for parents.

The site, called Littlelegends.biz contains profiles of more than 35,000 child-friendly services, restaurants, parks, shops, hotels , clubs and major attractions all over the UK.

Parents can now search by postcode to find the most childfriendly places in their area.

Mrs Wood, a lawyer with a six week old baby, a four year old and a five year old, said:

“We’ve had some really positive feedback.

“The social networking thing is fairly new but I think people find it really useful to be able to search for places by postcode, whether it’s a cafe you can take buggies into or a hairdresser that cuts children’s hair”.

The fast growing membership base of parents are encouraged to add their own places, comments and ratings.

surreycomet.co.uk

According to a new poll by Reader’s Digest, the top ten best places to bring up kids are:

1. East Dunbartonshire
2. East Renfrewshire
3. Forest of Dean, Glos
4. Vale of Glamorgan
5. Hambleton, North Yorkshire
6. Fareham, Hampshire
7. West Lothian
8. South Gloucestershire
9. Ribble Valley, Lancashire
10. Uttlesford, Essex

and the ten worst places are:

399. Oxford, Oxfordshire
400. Lewisham, London
401. North Lincolnshire
402. Rother, East Sussex
403. Kingston upon Hull
404. Haringey, London
405. Hastings, East Sussex
406. North East Lincolnshire
407. Waltham Forest, London
408. Reading, Berkshire

I have to say I am a bit surprised about Oxford being a bad place for kids because I spent a very happy childhood there. Things must have changed drastically.