Dear Tigerchild member,

Happy 2002 – we hope it’s got off to a good start. Since you last heard from us we have introduced a number of new features which we hope you will use and enjoy.

‘THIS WEEK IN HEALTH’

We are delighted to introduce a new facet of our health information. Our paediatrician Dr. Catherine Gant now writes a weekly summary of the latest and most relevant news in child health and medicine. Topics covered so far include the flu and gastric bug that have been such a miserable feature of life in the past few weeks, chronic fatigue syndrome, dyslexia, nut allergy, and Sony Playstation vibration warnings. Have a look at Dr. Gant’s current round-up – updated each Tuesday - or browse through the archive.

Please note that with the two recent measles outbreaks in England and ongoing concern over the safety of the MMR jab, Dr. Gant has updated our measles and MMR sections.

DEAR DIARY

This Monday saw the launch of a new weekly diary on parenting children aged 6 to 11. ‘Life in the Slow Lane’ is written by Clare Kent, a mother of three living in Wiltshire. Have a look at Clare’s preview on nit diplomacy - posted on 31 January in honour of National Bug Busting Day - and Clare’s first entry, Bug Alert – this time the dreaded gastric variety:

‘Here I was greeted by a scene not normally witnessed anywhere except the toilets on a cross channel ferry in a force ten gale.’

So not for the squeamish then.

Stay tuned for more from ‘Planet Parent’, Juliet Jones’s weekly diary on parenting the under-fives, and ‘An ADHD Diary’, where Jan Assheton writes twice a month about living and working with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Juliet reflects on her Other Mothers group this week (‘I didn’t expect to be competing in the parenting version of The Weakest Link’), and Jan will be covering the issues around medication in her next instalment.

HALF TERM HEAVEN…

With winter break nearly here, we have pulled together ideas for entertaining children indoors and out. Whether it’s beachcombing, bird watching, kite flying, museum going or a mean game of table tennis on the kitchen table, our half term action plan should have something to take your fancy. Most of the activities work for the pre-school contingent as well. If you know of other cheap and cheerful ways of keeping the kids happy in down time why not send them to us at ‘I’m Bored’?

…And Other Features

If you’re thinking of hitting the slopes before the snow melts, have a look at ‘Skiing with the Family’, a Ski Club of Great Britain factsheet. This informative guide covers when to go, where to go, buying and hiring equipment, ski schools and crèches and the ages at which children are accepted for each, and tour operators. Their new video ‘No More Tears’ aims to get the whole family skiing and/or snowboarding together happily and explains how kids actually learn.

Another recent feature was ‘Becoming a Dad’, an article and book list contributed to Tigerchild by Nick Harris. Nick is involved with the Southwark, Lambeth and Lewisham NCT newsletter and would like to see more fathers get involved with the organisation. If you would like to comment on Nick’s piece or would like to contribute one of your own please get in touch with us at feedback.

Stay tuned for a Valentine’s special – things to do, make and eat with the kids.

NEW TO OUR SHOP

The gusty weather we’ve been having will give any self-respecting kite-flyer a run (literally) for their money – it’s a great time to check out the fantastic range on offer from the Kite Shop, a specialist store catering for everyone from beginners to the truly deft. Fill the winter air with kites of every description, balloons, gliders, frisbees, rockets and windsocks – and remember, even two year-olds can enjoy flying kites.

Coming soon: The Magic Shop!

Browse our full list of shops for goods and gear to see you through to spring.

OUR SITE IS YOUR SITE

In keeping with ‘Planet Parent’s ‘Quote of the Week’, we invite you to send in the things children have said that most amused or bemused you in a given week – we’ll post them in a new section beginning next Monday…

We are still keen to feature your children’s latest masterpieces in our Tigerchild Picture Gallery. Please scan in drawings, paintings, photographs – any medium you can scan really – save it as a JPEG or a GIF, send it to gallery and we will display them on the site.

MESSAGE BOARD CHANGES

We have made a few small changes to our message boards and we hope you will find them more user-friendly. They may be a little slow to load but please don't lose faith.

You can now see the date and time of the most recent messages posted on the boards.

Starting soon, if you have posted a message on our message boards and someone responds to it you will be notified immediately by e-mail. You can opt not to be notified by unticking the relevant box on the page of the message.

SPECIAL OFFERS

In honour of National Bug Busting Day on 31 January we linked to our paediatrician’s advice on head lice, information on Bug Busting – a low-tech method for eradicating head lice using shampoo, conditioner and a specially designed comb which really works well - and Nitty Gritty, a natural way to detect and remove head lice using a pleasant-smelling, intensive blend of aromatherapy oils. Nitty Gritty helps to keep hair free from head lice without the use of chemicals or organophosphates and is suitable for nut allergy sufferers.

Tigerchild visitors can take advantage of a special offer from Nitty Gritty – buy either the Aromatherapy Head Lice Kit or Repellent Spray and get £1 off, or buy both and get £2.50 off. To be eligible for the discount you will need to visit the Nitty Gritty site from Tigerchild.

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY

Read more about Tigerchild – a collection of our recent press cuttings, including a review in the February 2002 issue of Family Circle.

AND FINALLY…

As ever, we value your feedback. If you have suggestions or comments for us please send them to feedback.

If you would like to take your name off of our mailing list please send a blank e-mail to nomail.

All the best,

The team at Tigerchild.