RIVERSIDE CARES BLOG

Recently a 19 year old who had applied to Magdalen College Oxford wrote after her attending her interview to decline an offer of a place. That in itself is not entirely unusual – mind you who goes through the trauma of an Oxford interview only to decline? What brings notoriety here is that shedid not…

I read with interest recently that Laura Dekker became the youngest person to have sailed solo around the world. An extraordinary feat for a 16 year old. 500 days of testing skill, endurance and solitude.  27,000 miles. Laura’s wish to take this ultimate test reached public attention when she was dissuaded three years earlier when…

Our headlines have been full recently with tales of racism, petulant behavior by what should be role models of the english game and court cases. But football really can be the beautiful game. Recently I came across a Unicef initiative which reminds us about the best the game can be. I wanted to share this…

For some children the idea of trying new foods is fine but for others its really quite traumatic. There’s nothing to fear if your child or charge develops an aversion to something unfamiliar, you just need to be calm and supportive and remember you have time on your side. Studies suggest that as well as…

Just tweeted a neat article about why we don’t look like our siblings- there’s a really neat explanation for why one child might be a freckly red head and another black haired with a different skin tone. I love it when things are explained in ways a layman can understand

Yesterday was holocaust memorial day. The United Nations held a special memorial service I was privileged to attend which particularly focused on the 1.5 million children who perished. The two hour ceremony was a mixture of speeches and music and included some stories of individual children. As our focus on this blog is children and…

It’s such a dilemma – you hated your last job and it didn’t end on a good note. Your employer probably won’t give you a glowing reference unfair as it may be as you did work hard. So what do you do on your CV – lie? leave the job out?  no your instinct is…

CV’s should make a noise about you! Make the Employer sit up in their seat and think I need to interview this person! But that’s not so easy – if you follow the normal format, which lets face it is the professional one, then it can end up looking like a zillion other applications. What…

We are  determined to be optimistic about 2012 and refuse to be dragged down by the relentless negative press about job prospects and the economy in general.  So lets hear what you are looking forward to or your pet hates when there are official events. Okay I’ll start us off! We LOVE The Jubilee with an…

According to a new study Men may be helping out at home in greater numbers, however its women who are so good at multitasking that are really running the show at home. Ladies spend 10 hours more per week than men, their tasks range from housework to food preparation and not forgetting childcare. 10 hours…

Imagine the situation – you go for a scan and see a lovely baby. You return for your second scan and heyho it’s twins. And then your third scan reveals triplets. That exactly what happened to  Camille Thompson the proud mother of 6 week old triplets. Can’t help but wonder if she hesitate before going for…

#OccupyWallSt – First day of daycare | www.youtube.com We are all gripped as events unfold in London and New York and all agree that something has to be done to address the questions raised by the protesters. HOWEVER – we’re a little disturbed by the video of daycare Occupy style. Charming as it seems on the surface…

Jill is really looking forward to the next training session. She will be covering a wide range of topics including CPR, fractures, choking and burns.  Attendees will go home at the end of the session and can proudly describe themselves as qualified paediatric first aiders.

Central St Martins trained Shirley Anderson created all our images. Shirley painted each individually after discussing the vision with the team. We love them and can offer you the option of having a mug with our much loved pram image on it. Shirley specializes in portraiture particularily images from photographs, capturing special family moments. She…

It’s that time of year when children across the land are speculating about their Halloween outfit and trick or treat favourites. Let your creativity embrace your pumpkin carving as much as it does your costume making. Shave off the top layer of orange to reveal a wonderful milky cream colour. The affect against the inner orange…