Autumn 2011 - Mandy Mazliah

In this issue
Contents
Editor’s letter
3 Ed’s letter
5 Welcome letter
6 Meet our new recruits
9 How much TV do you
watch?
10 The importance of story
telling
12 How will you mark your
child’s arrival?
14 Confessions of a stay
at home dad
16 The rise of the
threenager
18 Our guide to starting
school
20 Know your rights
22 What’s going on where
25 Breast feeding
26 Raising boys
40 Meet the teams
42 How to talk to your
child
Got an opinion about us?
What do you want from
your newsletter? Why not
email newsletter.editorial@
southlondonnct.org and let us
know what you like and don’t like
about the mag.
The invitations to my daughter’s first
birthday party are about to be posted.
Anoushka will have a naming ceremony
and a church blessing (see page 12)
early next year. It’s a compromise
between her Christian father and her
non-religious Jewish mother. But when
she turns one later this month, her
parents will be toasting her good health
with a simple but very large glass of fizz
surrounded by family and friends.
I have years of fancy dress parties,
bouncy castles and pass the parcel ahead of me. So
Anoushka’s first birthday party will be more of a celebration
of us as a family and us as parents. Alister and I will have
survived that nerve-wracking first year and quite frankly, I think
we’ll have earned ourselves a drink.
Anoushka is starting to say her first words (see page 42),
already demanding we read her stories (see page 10) and,
I’m embarrassed to admit, recognises the theme tune to
EastEnders (see page 9).
There’s a lot to being a mum I’m yet to learn but thanks in
part to talking to the other mums in my NCT group, one thing I
quickly realized is this – everyone has doubts. Whether you’re
about to be a parent or onto your second or third one thing
it’s perfectly normal to question the decisions we make. The
cliché’s are true. Raising children is hard work. And yes, it
really is the most important job we’ll ever have. I hope some of
the articles in this magazine can help. Enjoy.
The NCT is the UK’s leading charity on
pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.
www.nct.org.uk
Find out about your local branch at
www.nct.org.uk/in-your-area
Next issue
If you’d like to help out with our next
newsletter please get in touch. I’d love
to hear your ideas.
newsletter.editorial@southlondonnct.org
Please note that the views in this newsletter are
those of contributors and not necessarily of the
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newsletter does not constitute endorsement of
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use of NCT members, only in conjunction with
NCT activities and may not be used for commercial
purposes.
Printed by Captiv8, www.captiv8.co.uk
Newsletter Winter 3