Exercising with your baby can be a great way to get and stay in shape, and listening to music can be just the motivator you need to get out there every day.

New Metanium Everyday Barrier Ointment is giving away 3colourful Aquabeat MP3 players (RRP around £70) which can store 1000 of your favourite tracks. It floats on water and is waterproof so you can even use it while swimming. Waterproof earphones are included.

3 runners up will receive a specially designed purple Metanium changing bag (RRP £30) –ideal for all those on-the-go baby essentials.

Winners and runners up will also receive a tube of Metanium Everyday to try out.

NHS Choices recommends that the best way to prevent nappy rash is by “applying a barrier cream after each nappy change”. New Metanium Everyday Barrier  a unique Ointmenthas double action formula to help guard against nappy rash. It helps seal in the skin’s natural moisture keeping the skin soft, smooth and supple. Metanium Everyday contains no fragrance or lanolin, so is gentle enough to use at each nappy change.

“My son suffers nappy rash quite badly when he is teething (he is at the moment) and he hasn’t even had a small red patch, so I would say Metanium Everyday works a treat, and his skin feels very soft”.(Comment from a mum testing Metanium Everyday).

Protection for your baby and motivation for you – Every day!

Metanium Everyday RRP £2-99 for 40g and £5-49 for 80g is available from Boots, Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, leading pharmacies and at www.boots.com

Visit:www.metanium.co.ukto join the Metanium Baby & Toddler Club and for more information about the treatment and prevention of nappy rash.

To enter, just answer the question below:

This article titled “Blue Peter: has the BBC made the right decision to drop it from BBC1?” was written by Julia Raeside, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 16th May 2012 12.22 UTC

Children’s programmes are to be entirely expunged from the BBC1 and BBC2 schedules as soon as digital switchover is complete – to roars of knee-jerk disapproval from many. In particular, the news that Blue Peter will be shipped off to the CBBC channel has infuriated several generations of adults who have grown up with the show since its launch in 1958.

It was bad enough when they moved Blue Peter out of Television Centre to its new home in Salford and uprooted Percy Thrower’s lovely sunken garden – but now executives have decided the flagship brand is no longer suitable for broadcast on the channel that launched it. That’s bound to provoke an emotional reaction from an audience brought up on sticky-back plastic and erroneously incontinent elephants.

There’s no doubt Blue Peter is a national institution but is this nostalgia-driven fury all a bit pointless if you don’t actually watch the show any more? And does it matter which channel the children’s shows are on if, post-switchover, we all share the same free access to them?

CBeebies for the under-threes and the CBBC channel for school-age children both broadcast their fair share of original, good quality material – and there’s no obvious signs of a dip in standards for these digital-only shows. As digital television becomes the norm, we’ll presumably stop seeing the formerly niche channels as somehow second-rate and the broadcasting landscape will take on a new shape.

And arguably it’s sensible to put all children’s output in one place when viewing figures suggest most kids have been watching their favourite shows on the channels dedicated to them, with fewer and fewer tuning in to the ring-fenced children’s segments on BBC1 and 2.

Children’s programming remains in rude health at the BBC with original comedy and drama such as Russell T Davies’s forthcoming Wizards vs Aliens and the hugely successful Horrible Histories being produced this year. That level of investment is not set to drop once output switches purely to the digital channels, according to the corporation’s Delivering Quality First statement.

But will ghettoising children’s TV bring about the end of family viewing? Horrible Histories in particular became a cross-over hit with adults as well as children – but what person aged over 16 will specifically tune in to the CBBC channel if they don’t have offspring? Surely the viewing habits of parents and their kids will naturally become separated, somewhat destroying the Watch with Mother concept the BBC so used to pride itself on. It seems unlikely that a family would settle down to watch the CBBC channel in the hope of finding something they could all enjoy together.

And will younger viewers still make the progression into BBC1 or BBC2 viewers when they outgrow the CBBC offerings? My viewing habits were formed by staying with BBC1 after Blue Peter to catch the latest episode of Neighbours. Before you knew it I was sticking around for Wogan and EastEnders.

So what do you make of the decision to scrap children’s programming from BBC1 and BBC2. Are you fuming at this latest decision or do you think, in the modern TV landscape, it makes perfect sense?

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

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Aspiring young authors are being given the chance to see their work produced as part of a prestigious story-writing competition.

Aspiring young authors are being given the chance to see their work produced as part of a prestigious story-writing competition.

Back by popular demand, the Silentnight Book At Bedtime initiative is now in its sixth year and launches at 2pm, Thursday 17^th May 2012.

Designed to celebrate shared bed-time reading and imaginative writing, it is open to children aged between six and eleven across the UK. They’re being asked to submit an original story featuring the company’s much-loved Hippo and Duck characters and be in with a chance of bagging a highly original prize.

Ten finalists will see their work broadcast to the nation, narrated by award-winning author, Jeremy Strong and the public will be able to listen to the stories and vote for their favourite.  The bedtime story with the most votes will be made into a unique, illustrated printed book for them to keep, and made available as an exclusive, downloadable e-book too.

The winner and their family will also enjoy a stay at the Pyjama Suite at The Alton Towers Hotel and all ten finalists will also receive a Silentnight Healthy Growth bed.

As Jeremy Strong explains: “I know from previous years that this is a fantastic opportunity to showcase some of our amazing, young creative talents – and the entries are always of a very high standard.  Last year we received more than 1,400 stories so we’re hoping to see even more this time.

“As well as highlighting how much young people enjoy imaginative writing, the competition is a great chance to talk about the importance of bed-time reading and sharing that very special time with your children.  I can’t wait to start reading them all!”

Entries can be submitted at www.silentnight.co.uk/bookatbedtime or by post and must be received by 2pm, 5^th July 2012.  Voting for the ten selected finalists will begin on the 26^th July 2012 and will close midnight 24^th August 2012.

For full entry information please visit: www.silentnight.co.uk/bookatbedtime

Do your children play video games? Do you worry about unknown content when purchasing games for children? Watch out for the launch of a stronger, simpler age-rating system

This article titled “Government to end dual ratings system for games” was written by Keith Stuart, for guardian.co.uk on Thursday 10th May 2012 13.34 UTC

The video game age ratings system is to be simplified, after proposals put forward by the UK government on Thursday.

Currently all games are regulated under the Europe-wide PEGI scheme, which provides age ratings as well as guides on game content.

However, titles with mature content are also rated by the British Board of Film Classification, and are required to display a BBFC “15″ or “18″ certificate. Under the proposals going through parliament, PEGI will be solely responsible for all game classification.

Additionally, the “12+” PEGI rating will become legally enforceable for the first time, meaning that anyone who sells a designated 12+ title to younger children will face fines of up to £5,000 and a jail sentance.

The age-rating will be conducted in the UK by the Video Standards Council. The organisation will have the power to deny a rating to any title that contains “extreme content”, making it unavailable for sale in Britain.

The BBFC rarely made outright “bans” on video games. The violent driving title Carmageddon was initially denied an age rating in 1997, but publisher SCI made changes to the content and later appealed against the board’s decision.

In 2007, the BBFC refused to grant Rockstar’s Manhunt 2 a rating, but after an eight month court battle, an edited version was released.

“The new system will benefit both parents and industry by creating a stronger, simpler age-rating system,” said creative industries minister Ed Vaizey.

“It will give parents greater confidence that their children can only get suitable games while we are creating a simpler system for industry having their games age rated.”

Although PEGI has been in operation since 2003, it has always shared ratings responsibilities with the BBFC, which has been providing age certaification for games since the mid-eighties.

A single rating system was proposed as part of the exhaustive Digital Britain report, published by the government in 2009, but the process of organisation the switch has been slow.

“This news is very welcome and finally gives us the mandate to undertake the role of statutory video games regulator in the UK,” said VSC chairwoman Baroness Shephard.

“The VSC is fully prepared and ready to carry out the vital role of providing consumers with a single, straightforward games rating system whilst ensuring that child-safety remains our first priority.”

The parliamentary process for designating the Video Standards Council is expected to be completed in time for the system to come into effect in July.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

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A recent survey reported 46% of parents struggle with play ideas, alongside hundreds of children centres closing, the need to  support parents with play ideas and activities has never been higher. The Creation Station has launched their Ribbon Of Dreams Campaign, to provide events and ideas to nurture of the imaginations of our future generation.

The benefits for children being given the time and space to play creatively are well documented. This is supported by a recent survey of 2000 parents by Ribena. The survey found that play is vital for physical, emotional and social development in children. It was identified that play which is child-led, free, for its own sake and exploratory is the most beneficial for children and that almost half of parents (46%) want help and ideas on how to play with their children.

With the closure of over 250 children centre’s around the UK, parents and carer’s are receiving even less help with children’s play activities. The Creation Station, the UK’s leading children’s arts and crafts activity provider, has set up the ‘Ribbon of Dreams’ campaign to nurture childrens imaginations through a series of local and national events running across the UK during the months of May, June & July 2012. All profits from the events will be donated to The Children’s Trust who provide care, education, therapy and rehabilitation to children with multiple disabilities, complex health needs and acquired brain injury.

“We are delighted to be supporting parents, carers and organisations to inspire children’s imaginations, through  childrens art and crafts workshops across the country” states Sarah Cressall founder and managing Director of The Creation Station “We are providing events across the UK for families, nurseries, toddler groups,  pre-schools, brownies, cubs,  shopping centres, county shows  and at events celebrating  the Jubilee and the games to mention a few”

The Creation Station ‘Ribbon of Dreams’ is based on inspiring children to think of want they would love to be, do, create or invent. Children are encouraged to talk about their dream with their parent / carer / Creation Station leader  and then draw and collage the image onto an activity sheet. The images are taken home and can be scanned in and uploaded to become part of the national ‘Ribbon of Dreams’ gallery on www.thecreationstationstore.co.uk

The Creation Station is an ambassador of child led, exploratory creative play. With over 55 centres across the UK, parents / carers and organisations are supported with weekly Baby Discovery classes, Little Explorer classes and Family Fun classes. Other creative experiences include birthday party entertainment and event entertainment

You get involved in a variety of ways. Attend one of the many events running across the UK visit www.thecreationstation.co.uk to find nearest centre. Or visit the gallery on the online storewww.thecreationstatiostore.co.uk to download your Ribbon of Dreams activity sheet, then  draw your dream and upload it.

If you are involved in working with children aged 3 months to 11 years, or work within a family focused activity or events organisation and would like to find out more contact Ian Ballinger on 0844 854 9100 or email ian@thecreationstation.co.uk to discuss how The Creation Station can support the work you are doing.

Atopic eczema often starts early in life, it can develop from birth but usually at around 3-6 months of age, and in the toddler years. Having a baby or child with atopic eczema can cause great concern. Eczema can be a long-term problem. In most cases it tends to wax and wane, but sometimes it can be active for months or even years or may finally disappear – often for no apparent reason. The tendency to have atopic eczema is often inherited, which means it may run in families. Almost one-third of the population may have the ability to develop atopic eczema, so it is very common. Having atopic eczema can be linked with having asthma and hay fever. Some family members may have all these conditions, others may only have one, or brothers and sisters may not be affected at all.

Atopic eczema causes dry, reddened and itchy skin. It may also be weepy, cracked and scaly. There is often a pattern of the skin flaring up and then calming down for a time, but the skin tends to be dry and itchy, even in between flare-ups. Even before a baby is able to scratch, it will rub its face against the cot to try to relieve ‘the itch’. In babies, atopic eczema can occur in a few small patches or all over the body. In children, atopic eczema often affects the creases of body joints, such as the backs of knees or insides of elbows. Constant scratching will split the skin, causing it to weep, bleed and open up to infection.

The itchiness of eczema can be unbearable, leading to sleep loss, frustration, stress and depression – this can affect whole families, not just the person with eczema. Even before a baby is able to scratch, it will rub its face against the cot to try to relieve ‘the itch’. Although there is no immediate cure for atopic eczema at present, there are ways to maintain it and keep it under control. Atopic eczema can, however, flare up spontaneously for no apparent reason. Spontaneous flare-ups are often the result of triggers. Triggers are not the same for everyone, but there are a number of common ones:

• Soap
• Overheating
• Skin infection (bacterial and viral)
• House-dust mites and their droppings
• Animal dander (fur, hair, saliva)
• Pollens
• Moulds
• Sometimes diet
Learning what triggers your baby’s or child’s atopic eczema can help you maintain their condition successfully, but there will be times when the trigger factors are maybe not obvious and the eczema may flare for no particular reason.

Successful eczema treatment begins with an understanding of what eczema is, followed by information about management and treatment; and the complications associated with eczema, such as infection and triggers. The basics of treatment for childhood atopic eczema are emollients and topical steroids. Follow your health care professional’s advice on what treatment is appropriate to use, when and how to use it and how much to use. If in doubt, ask your doctor, nurse or pharmacist to go through your treatments with you.

Keeping skin well moisturised is the most important thing you can do to make your baby or child’s skin more comfortable. Emollients prevent dry skin and help to keep skin moist and supple. They should replace all soaps and be used for washing and moisturising the skin on a daily basis. They soften the skin, reducing inflammation and irritation. If you have eczema it is advisable to use emollients (medical moisturisers) instead of ordinary moisturisers, soaps and bath products, all of which can irritate and dry out the skin. The most important thing is choosing emollients that your baby or child’s skin and fits in with your lifestyle, for example a light cream for during the day and a greasier one for evenings. It is the frequency of reapplication that is essential to prevent skin drying, so generally they need to be used liberally and several times a day.

Apply moisturisers in gentle downward sweeps following the direction of the hairs on the skin. Never rub in the emollient, as this is likely to set up ‘the itch’. You need to use a soap substitute for washing your child and you may need to put medicinal bath oil or an emollient in the bath. Most emollients are available on prescription and can also be bought over the counter at the chemist, ask your pharmacist for advice. Try any new product on a small patch of skin unaffected by eczema and check that your child does not react to it before using it all over their body.

Topical steroids are prescribed to treat eczema flares. There are four strengths of steroids, which come in cream, ointment and lotion forms. The doctor who prescribes the topical steroid will take into account the age of the child, where the steroid is being applied. and the severity of the child’s severity. Hydrocortisone is usually all that is needed for babies and children with mild eczema. Children who have moderate to severe eczema may need a stronger steroid or may have steroid strength increased, if Hydrocortisone does not clear the eczema. The doctor may also prefer to ‘hit’ the eczema with a moderate or potent steroid first, and then once the eczema is under control move down to a weaker strength. Steroids are usually applied to the eczema once or twice a day; your doctor, nurse or pharmacist will advise you on application. Remember to leave a 20 minute gap in between applying emollients and steroids. It is much kinder to control a severe flare-up quickly, using an appropriate topical steroid recommended by the doctor, than to allow it to drag on indefinitely because you are afraid to use a topical steroid, and therefore cause considerable distress to your child.

Some people worry about the side effects of topical steroids, such as thinning of the skin. Side effects can occur, but are usually due to incorrect use and are often reversible. Applied appropriately with advice about how to apply from your doctor, nurse, topical steroids are a safe and effective treatment for eczema.

If your child or babies eczema is not getting better, they may have a skin infection, especially if their skin is weepy and itchy. There are a number of other treatments available to treating more severe eczema. You should always return to your health care professional to discuss worries and concerns; they will in turn advise you further on your baby or child’s eczema management

The National Eczema Society

The National Eczema Society aims, to provide people with independent and practical advice about treating and managing
eczema; and raise awareness of the needs of those with eczema. The National Eczema Society provides a wealth of information, which can be found at www.eczema.org

An eczema helpline operates 08.00-20.00hrs on 0800 089 1122 and is the first point of contact for anyone affected by eczema. It provides support and guidance on eczema management and treatment.

Please call the helpline for a copy of the National Eczema Society Childhood Atopic Eczema booklet.

This article titled “Girlhood explained online” was written by Eva Wiseman, for The Observer on Saturday 21st April 2012 23.04 UTC

What must it be like growing up female now? What must it feel like to be 14 today, growing up in a world where, rather than being limited to reading Judy Blume novels and More magazine’s “position of the fortnight”, slyly devoured in the WH Smith by the 260 bus stop, things like Rookie exist? Rookiemag.com is a site edited by Tavi Gevinson, the 15-year-old blogger who Lady Gaga called “the future of journalism”, and, as per, she was right.

They publish three times a day (after school, at dinnertime and before bed), things like “A guide to navigating the end of a friendship”, “Literally the best thing ever: Glitter”, and, my favourite, “How to look like you weren’t just crying in less than five minutes”. This speaks to me at 31 – I can only imagine its impact had I read this in my teens. At the recent TedxTeen event, Gevinson talked why she launched the site last year. “One thing that can be very alienating,” she said of current “empowering” female role models, “is that girls then think that to be feminists they have to live up to being perfectly consistent in their beliefs, never being insecure, never having doubts, having all the answers… And this is not true. And actually recognising all the contradictions I was feeling became easier once I realised that feminism was not a rulebook but a discussion, a conversation, a process.”

I am not nostalgic for those years when it felt like the braces on your teeth were an aching physical metaphor for life. A time when you couldn’t talk about feeling awkward and oily and different, because that would’ve meant admitting that, before then, you were faking normality, and fakery was the worst crime of all. Those normal girls who weren’t like us, who were in perfect control, their bodies contained. Who could talk to adults, and boys, and who didn’t pull their jumpers over their knuckles or hide behind their fringes. The girls in magazines, gambolling white-teethed along a beach. Gambolling wasn’t for us. We would definitely trip over our feet and someone would definitely laugh.

The world worries for teenage girls today. All the porny influences, the sexting, the surgery – all the saturated pink. But counteracting these pressures to conform are the voices like those on Rookie, ones that are non-prescriptive, enthusiastic, embarrassing, funny. Ones that, by unpicking the awkwardness of female adolescence and providing a place to talk about it, have helped feminism become almost fashionable. Today you don’t have to go searching for “your people” at libraries and record shops. They’re all there in your Wi-Fi, screaming about hair dye. The internet is the indie-club toilet of the universe. This is where young women can talk really noisily about who they fancy, compare tights’ deniers and learn that they don’t have to dress like strippers unless they really, really want to. That there are other people just like them who are also feeling angry and weird and like everything’s awful, and that, even alone in front of a computer, they can feel part of something. This is the other side of the internet’s menace, that bit that parents and the papers see. These are the ribbony networks of girldom that tie the web together – they are well-lit roads through the intimidating, dark bits.

Mine was the last generation to grow up without the internet at home – I wonder what we would be like if we’d had the whole web to play with. Instead of wandering through our teenage years with only Just 17 to teach us how to be, would we have stormed into adulthood with our eyes open, leading with our personalities? And what does it mean that for us our adolescence is still so present, that Rookie resonates so strongly, that a schoolgirl is one of the sanest, most articulate voices in the media today? Rather than having grown up, she makes me feel like I’ve just got really good at being 16.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

You’ve probably all heard of the term ‘Parent Bloggers’, but have you ever taken the time to look closer into the circle of parents writing daily in the blogosphere? You will find some amazing posts covering all kinds of parenting and family related topics. A wide and varied selection of blogs –  personal, funny, touching, professional, reviews, crafty, recipes… whatever your taste, there will definitely be a blog that you will come to love following.

Here Flying Start takes a look at a few recent Easter recipe and craft posts featured on a selection of parenting blogs.

Easter Bakes

On www.plus2point4.co.uk Aly and the kids have been busy making Easter bakes. Not one, two but recipes for you to make with your kids, Easter biscuits and Simnel biscuits.

Aly’s daughter is already eager to make some more biscuits and we aren’t suprised as they sound so scrummy, containing ingredients including mixed apple pie spice, cinnamon, currants, marzipan and sugar coated chocolate eggs just to name a few to tickle your taste buds!

Click on the image to go direct to the recipe!

Angry Birds Easter Egg Craft

Over at Red Ted Art, Maggie demonstrates Easter Egg blowing and decorating with a twist…. an Angry Birds twist!
With instructions on how to blow eggs and decorate your angry birds using acrylic paints and basic craft items, your children can proudly show off their decorated eggs.
Click on the Angry Bird image to go direct to step by step instructions on making your very own Angry Bird characters.
Here are some more Easter craft ideas we are sure you will love:
Kinder Egg Suprise craft - Easy Spotty Eggs - Chocolate Easter Nest - Easter Chick Cards - Easter Bonnets - Cotton Wool Lambs - Egg Candles - Easter Egg Decorating

Quick and Easy Easter Egg Cupcakes

Over at www.mummyalarm.co.uk , they absolutely love cupcakes and seeing that Easter is just around the corner,  have decided to share their quick and easy Easter Egg Cupcake recipe with you.

The cupcakes look lovely on an Easter-themed table and are really easy to make.

Click on the image to go direct to the recipe!

Cress Egg Heads

The Flying Start team love this fantastic idea over at www.kidsonestopshop.co.uk .

This is a great activity to do with children. Not only do they get involved with being all crafty, they get to grow something too!

Cress grows in a matter of days and you don’t even need soil!
With just some empty egg shells, basic craft materials and some cress seeds, you and your children can make a whole egg head family!

Click on the image to go direct to the simple step by step instructions!

Bubble Painting Easter Chicks

Over at thinlyspread.co.uk they have been having lots of fun blowing yellow bubbles to create fantastic Easter Chicks.
This is so simple and so satisfying. It can get very messy so it is usually very popular with children and the author of Thinly Spread says “I have even had success with those who are not keen on getting their hands dirty! ”
Flying Start thinks this is a brilliant crafty idea to keep little ones (and even bigger ones!) entertained this Easter.

Click the image to find how to make Bubble painted Easter chicks, plus a sneak preview of the finished product!

Vegetarian Easter Pie

theveggieexperience.blogspot.co.uk features a great Vegetarian main course dish which can be eaten with roast potatoes, vegetables and all the trimmings over the Easter weekend. Clare, editor at The Veggie Experience says “I quite like having vegetarian pies when the meat-eaters are tucking into their roast as they are quite substantial, fill you up and you don’t feel like you haven’t had a proper meal – which is what I feel like if I have just been served the potatoes and veg without the meat.” Clare’s inspiration came from a Harvest Pie recipe which uses lots of root vegetables, she adjusted the vegetables to suit the season. Click on the image to go direct to the recipe!

Crafty Kid’s Chocolate Easter Chicks

‘Absolutely Fabulous’ is what Flying Start thinks about these yummy scrummy funky chocolatey Easter chicks!
A Mummy Too shows you how to make a family of funky chicks using Cadbury creme eggs, orange chocolate buttons, white chocolate buttons and milk chocolate buttons.
The only problem is… they look too cute to eat!

Click the pic for instructions on how to make your own family of funky Easter chicks!

Daffodil Biscuits

The recent sunshine inspired the-gingerbread-house.co.uk to make these lovely daffodil biscuits. If you want an Easter recipe but without the hassle, then this idea is just for you.  Using a gingerbread biscuit kit from a supermarket, The Gingerbread House improvised using an alternative cutter to create daffodil shaped spring biscuits for Easter. The best part…. you can make 12 biscuits out of one mix!

Click on the image to go direct to the recipe!

Easter Cupcakes

Over at Mums The Word, Jayne has been busy making Easter Cupcakes, which we have to say look totally scrumptious!

With simple ingredients, a simple method and an amazing outcome, we are sure you will agree that these cupcakes already have your taste buds tingling!

Jayne has shared the recipe here with us.  You can visit Mums The Word by clicking on the cupcake image.

Ingredients

Cakes

• 100g butter or margarine
• 100g caster sugar
• 100g self-raising flour, sifted
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Icing

• 140g/5oz butter, softened
• 280g/10oz icing sugar
• 1-2 tbsp milk
• few drops green food colouring

Decoration

• White ready roll icing
• Yellow food colouring
• Clean paintbrush
• Mini eggs

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Cupcake cases
• Whisk
• Teaspoons
• Piping bag
• ‘Grass’ nozzle (Wiltons number 233)

Method (found here: http://www.cupcakerecipe.co.uk/cupcake-recipe/method/14/ and here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/basicbuttericing_73263)

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (Electric oven | Electric fan oven 160°C | Gas Mark 4) and place 12 paper cases into a muffin tin.
• Using an electric whisk, food processor or wooden spoon, beat the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating each one in well before adding the next. Add the vanilla essence if using.
• Carefully fold in the flour (and baking powder if using).
• Alternatively, you can mix the ingredients together using a food processor. Use the pulse button to mix together in between adding the ingredients in the order above.
• Bake in the oven for 10 – 20 minutes. After 10 minutes, check to see if the cupcakes are ready by inserting a cocktail stick into one of the cupcakes. If it comes out dry then the cupcakes are done. If not, then back in the oven for a few minutes more. Don’t overcook the cupcakes otherwise they will dry out. Lift the cupcakes out of the muffin tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.
• Once the cakes have cooled, make the icing by beating the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
• Add the remaining icing sugar and one tablespoon of the milk and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Beat in the milk, if necessary, to loosen the mixture.
• Stir in the food colouring until well combined.

To Decorate

• Half fill the icing bag with the green icing and ice each cupcake all over. To make a grass effect, hold the nozzle a few millimetres away from the cake, squeeze the bag until a little comes out and then pull the bag directly upwards.
• Roll out your white icing and use daisy shapes cutters of various sizes to put on each cake. You can paint a little blob of yellow food colouring to the middle of each daisy.
• Place a couple of mini eggs on top too, for a really Eastery feel!

It’s school holiday time again!
So have you thought about what you are going to do with the kids this Easter break?
Here’s some tips and ideas….

This article titled “Easter attractions: tips to beat the rush and save money” was written by Lisa Bachelor, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 4th April 2012 14.33 UTC

Legoland and the London Dungeons … places that seem like paradise for children, but hell on earth for parents having to travel to them during the Easter break. Nevertheless, there will be many brave souls doing just that, so are there ways to avoid the lengthy queues (and tantrums) to help you get in and on the best rides? And what is the best way to avoid being stuck in traffic on the motorway before you even reach the gates?

We asked Thorpe Park, Legoland, Alton Towers, the Eden Project, the London Dungeon and the AA for some tips.

Book online in advance

The main piece of advice from all the attractions that could save you money, as well as time. Discounts for booking more than seven days ahead range from 10% (Legoland) to 25% (Thorpe Park and Alton Towers). Most places also let you print off the tickets in advance and avoid having to queue when you get there. Thorpe Park gives those who choose this option early ride time to get into the park an hour before the general public at 9am.

Know your ticket options

Lots of attractions sell fast-track/premier tickets to get you in and on to rides more quickly.

Thorpe Park Fastrack tickets start from £3 for a single ride (on top of the entrance price), or you can buy Fastrack packages from £7.50. Be warned, though, some readers who have bought priority tickets to attractions in the past have told us they didn’t get in any quicker.

Consider staying in the hotel at the attraction

You might pay more than for other hotels in the area, but this could be a small price for getting your offspring on the rides early. Antony Garley from Hertfordshire has booked into the hotel at Chessington World of Adventures this year having lost hours queueing last year. “We booked into a hotel outside the theme park last year but ended up queueing for ages just to get into the park. This year we decided to stay on site so we can start early and hopefully avoid any other queues for the rides themselves. We’ve also booked fast-track tickets.”

Legoland has a new resort hotel with guests allowed access the rides at 9.30am, half an hour before the park opens.

Know the peak visiting times – and avoid like the plague

The busiest time of day at the Eden Project is between 10:30am and 1pm, according to a spokeswoman. Thorpe Park and Alton Towers suggest the best time to get on the rides is the last hour of opening or lunchtime when most people are eating. London Dungeons, notorious for its queues, advises arriving before 10.30am or after 6pm to get a cheaper entry price and a shorter wait time.

Plan your visit and target your rides

All the big attractions with multiple rides reckon you can make huge time savings by planning your visit in advance using the park maps, rather than winging it when you arrive, and suggest you visit the most popular rides/ experiences off-peak.

At Eden Project, for example, this is the Rainforest Biome, which gets busy from around 11am until 2pm. “We would suggest that people either arrive early and make a beeline for it, or wait until after 2:30pm when it will be less busy,” a spokeswoman says.

Thorpe Park’s main attraction is The Swarm, Europe’s tallest winged rollercoaster, which opened in March, while Legoland’s must-sees are Atlantis and the Star Wars mini land experience. At Alton Towers its newest attraction, Nemesis Sub-Terra, is proving extremely popular, while other other sought-after rides include Nemesis, Oblivion, Rita, Air and TH13TEEN.

Attraction specific tips

Alton Towers has a Parent Q Share pass. This allows one adult to stand in the queue for a ride (lucky them) while freeing the other to wander around with smaller children. Once one adult has ridden, they swap parent care duties, hand over the pass and the other can ride without having to queue. You can get the pass from guest services.

Alton Towers also has Single rider queues. if you don’t mind splitting up from your group use the single rider queues which are available on many of the more popular thrill rides

Legoland has Q-Bots, handheld devices that allow you to reserve a place in a virtual queue for your favourite rides without having to actually stand in line. Prices for a Q-Bot range from £15 up to £70 a person.

Which roads are likely to be most congested over Easter?

According to TrafficMaster these include the M25 western sector between junctions 12 (M3) and 21 (M1), especially around 14/15 (Heathrow Airport and M4); and the M25 eastern sector between junctions 27 (M11) and 2 (A2), especially around the Dartford crossing.

The M1 between junctions 6A (M25) and 13 (Milton Keynes) is expected to be busy, especially through the section of major roadworks between junctions 10 (Luton) and 13 (Milton Keynes).

In the south-west, the A30 between Exeter and Cornwall and the A38 between Exeter and Bodmin are always congested during holiday periods, and in south Wales the M4 between Severn Crossing, Newport and Cardiff is expected to be busy.

In Yorkshire and the north-east traffic is expected to be busy on the A1/A1M between the M1 at Aberford and A66 at Scotch Corner, and on the A64 between Leeds, York and Scarborough.

York is also the venue of the 2012 Royal Maundy service – there will be restrictions and road closures within the city, especially around York Minster, throughout the day on Maundy Thursday.

What can people do to avoid traffic jams?

The AA said it is expecting this Easter to be quieter on the roads, largely because most schools broke up last Friday. It expects getaway traffic to peak on Maundy Thursday.

However, it says the key getaway routes and other “pinch points” in the network will still be busy at peak times. To avoid traffic, either travel earlier or later and check the traffic and weather reports before departing.

While on the move local radio is a good source of updates, but it’s also a good idea to use the TA or TP traffic function fitted as standard on many car radios. This is when the radio automatically switches to traffic bulletins (a useful but often overlooked feature).

Also take a road atlas and satnav if you have one, to help you take a detour around any major incidents.

As a general rule of thumb, the AA advises switching off your engine if you’re likely to be stationary for more than three minutes. Typically, an engine uses fuel costing 2p-3p per minute of idling.

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