# Share your updates :)



## OmarsMum

How is it going with your children? How is school? 

Omar is doing great! We received his school report last week, he is improving socially, he loves school and his teacher. 

He is finally sleeping in his own "bed", I moved his bed mattress to our room & I moved him 2 weeks back out of our bed. We have a full week with him sleeping over the night without waking up or ending up in my bed. I'm planning to move him to his room in March during the school holiday. 

When he comes back from school he is so active and doesn't seem tired loool, he started swimming classes at school last week and karate this week. He loves both classes.

He rarely shouts or gets angry which is a great thing, earlier he used to get angry for the silliest things. 

He started to dress and undress on his own, he doesn't need help to use the toilet anymore, he is finally getting more independent. 

He listens and doesn't argue a lot anymore :haha:

He is very well behaved in general and so sweet and affectionate :cloud9:

He always have new ideas and he asks to read about new things, he loves learning. 

I love this age!


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## EcoMama

My son is also 5 and I too think it is a fab age :)

My boy is so loving and affectionate, i get smothered in kisses everyday :)

He's loving his school, but doesn't like doing 'school' stuff at home like practise reading & writing. He is very in to fact books at home though and retains so much info it's crazy!.... Currently he's obsessed with the sea and countries.

He still sleeps in my bed with me, oh and our dd, so a bit cramped but we love it!

He is very active and can be a bit boisterous but very normal for his age. He also takes a while to come out of his shell, but once he is he's very sociable, but introverted just like his dad!

We are struggling with trying new foods atm, he's alao no good ar tidying up after himself (my fault) but he can get dressed/wash etc independently.

I also trust him 100% when we're out and about, he's very sensible :)


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## aimee-lou

Earl loves school too (although he's off sick today :( ) He got a stunningly good report in November and we have another report due after half term. He has been attending maths club after school and does a multi-&#937;`sports club one lunch time per week. We currently don't do anything extra-curricular as we are hoping we'll be moving house in 6ish months so I don't really want to sign up for anything then not be able to carry on. He's happy enough at home though. 

His interests - he has lots. He's good with computers/games and enjoys puzzles, dot to dots and mazes. He is good at ice skating, and likes riding his bike and scooter. We took his stabilisers off last summer and he's doing great. 

We have been having a few teenage strops recently but I think that's more to do with learned behaviour from school combined with a bit of frustration as hubby is working away in the week at the moment until we move so obviously there are times where we can all be out of sorts. Majority of the time though, he's a sweet, good natured and well behaved boy. He's eager to try new things - even food now which is an improvement. :thumbup: 

I'm very excited for him. His reading and maths are coming on a treat and his drawing skills are coming along from where they were - he takes after me, I'm not that great lol :blush:. He likes reference books, especially about animals or space. We are reading classic kids books at the moment - we've read Fantastic Mr Fox and now are reading The Sheep Pig at bedtime. 

He's very considerate to his brothers. They are a handful at times and considering that they all share a room and don't really get a lot of personal space/time due to the size of the house, they get on well lol. 

Anyway, I've whittered on enough.


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## OmarsMum

EcoMama- you are describing my son looool, he also hates school work, he doesn't like to read school books and I don't blame him, they are boring. He doesn't like to practice writing but he spends a lot if time writing his own stuff, he also loves factual books. 

We also struggle with food, he eats 5-6 cooked meals only so I cook those over and over, he will not try anything new, he doesn't eat any raw foods but he likes green smoothies so I add anything and everything to those. 

I love co-sleeping but Omar moves a lot while sleeping and our bed is high so I used to spend all night awake moving him back close to me, hubby doesn't sleep with us in the same room, and I'm tired from the lack of sleep, moving him to the mattress on the floor was the bed decision we took loool


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## OmarsMum

Aimee-lou- sounds like Earl is doing great! The only toys Omar will play with is his cars. He loves role play and he makes up his own games, he loves to "teach" his stuffed toys. 

He also like UNO and junior monopoly. 

Omar is also not so good in drawing but he is improving. He's doing well in reading and math and he's assessed separately in class as he's a bit advanced compared to other children in class. 

He loves his scooter but he's not ready to ride his bike without stabilisers yet. He loves football those days. 

He's obsessed with speed and car signs, we have speed limits and road signs on walls all around the house loool.


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## Abigailly

Niamh was 5 in November and this is definitely my favourite age so far.

She loves the social side of school but she hates homework. It has been a battle since day 2. 
She is so sociable. She has so many friends but thankfully her 2 best friends are the daughter's of the 2 women I've become friends with. 

She has a very busy week, she does Swimming on a Monday, Judo on a Wednesday, Rainbows on a Thursday and Rugby on a Saturday. She loves them all. Today she had her friend over after judo and they were teaching me how to throw someone over your shoulder if they come from the front...

She is so chatty, I love that I can sit in the car with her and have proper conversations. She chats about everything. She likes playing the 'What's your favourite..." game Where you ask questions like what's your favourite meal/colour/sport.

She's a rugby fanatic. She's had a calendar up on her wall for 3 weeks counting down the days until the 6 nations. We attend all Edinburgh home games and she's met the majority of the players. They greet her by name. She's met them because she was noticed by the coach one day when we were sitting near the box and she was up on her seat roaring at the Ref "No try, Ref!!! Clearly a forward pass. No try!!"... she was right and the coach asked her to go sit in the box with them. She loved it and for her birthday was sent a card off the players!

She is not a girly girl at all. She hasn't wore a dress in almost a year except for her Christmas party. But she loves a pamper day with me. I take her when I'm getting my nails done and they give her a mani/pedi. She also loves clothes, she can put some brilliant outfits together and definitely has a style.

Although very boisterous she's still quite sensitive. She can et quite upset if she feels she has been done wrong by and hates people seeing her cry. She's still not affectionate though. She doesn't do cuddles really and hates kisses. She will sit on my knee, which is her kind of a hug song as my arms don't surround her.

Her teachers are fairly sure she has ADHD but we'll deal with it if it ever becomes an issue.


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## Jchihuahua

What a lovely thread. So nice to catch up :)!

Daisy turned 5 in December. She enjoys school but was definitely happier at pre-school which worries me a bit. She seems to have become more introverted than she was when she was younger which also concerns me. She tells me very little about her day so I don't know much about what she does or who she plays with at school. She seems to have friends and her teacher says she does but again she keeps it all very much to herself. She used to be extremely sociable and a total chatterbox and I don't know why this has changed. She is now very shy with people she doesn't know and drives me mad when she clams up and refuses to speak as she never used to do that.

She is very able academically, especially with reading and maths. She is reading a book band that they usually read in Year 2 and can read pretty much anything. She could pick up The Times and read it but obviously the comprehension wouldn't be there! Her teacher wanted to send her to Year 1 for her literacy work but I didn't want that as socially she wouldn't enjoy it and she would feel uncomfortable. She is left handed and has an awkward pencil grip and her handwriting is a bit untidy. She doesn't enjoy writing as much as reading and I don't push her.

She has been going to a ballet class for a few years now but I think we're coming to the end of the line with that as she isn't as interested as she used to be. We are going to start swimming classes after Easter.

She had terrible terrible tantrums as a toddler and was incredibly challenging, to the point of me looking into behavioural disorders at one point! It is almost hard to imagine that was the same child to be honest!! Her behaviour is very good now. She is still extremely sensitive and can be emotional and she cries easily but she never tantrums or shouts or gets angry and she is never defiant, cheeky or rude. She is very loving and affectionate and must tell me she loves me about a million times a day! She is very patient and kind with her little brothers and very gentle and caring towards our pets.

She has never been a good eater or sleeper and this still continues! She wakes at least once every night and is always wide awake at 5am but stays in bed and reads books until we get up. She has a small appetite and her 1 year old brother eats more that her!

She is currently undergoing allergy testing at the hospital as she has an insect venom allergy amongst other allergies and will probably be prescribed an epi pen at her next appointment. Physically she is very tall for her age but very skinny so we can never get trousers to fit her! The ones that fit her long legs just fall down around the waist and the ones that fit her around the waist are way too short in the legs!


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## EcoMama

Jch.... I also don't get much info out of ds regarding school: what he did, who he played with etc! I think that's normal. Do you have mamy play dates after school? I was worried ds wasn't interacting with classmates but after christmas we invited his 1st classmate over and it was great!... It gave me an insight to how he is in school :)
My son is also a lefty, he is having extra help for this in school as he weites some letter the wrong way round, I'm a lefty too but I can't help him as he refuses to do any at home :/


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## RachA

Esther was 5 in October. 

She's settled into school well and her learning has exceeded our expectations. She's actually able to recognise the numbers 1-9 and she knows about 8 or so of her letters. She even knows a couple of words like is and it to read. The only letter she's able to write at present is an E but she does try to write others! 

We are fortunate because we have a book that comes home each day that tells us any info that we might need to know. It doesn't go into great depth so we don't know who she's played with but it gives us enough to ask her questions. 

She doesn't appear to have any set friends as yet. She's been invited to a couple of parties but not been invited to anyone's house to play. But then we haven't invited anyone to ours because we're still in the midst of an extension and do there isn't anywhere for them to play. 

She just has swimming lessons after school. I keep thinking about Rainbows for her but can't make up my mind. 

Can't think of anything else really at the moment.


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## Neko

Anyone want to hear me update about my teenager? :haha:


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## Kiwiberry

Riya is doing wonderful! 
I think she smiled at me for the first time today.


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## Natsku

Maria just turned four a few days ago. She's been having a lot of trouble lately with her behaviour - she is very defiant, gets into incredible rages and can be very violent with me although thankfully she's not violent with other children. She's seeing a child psychologist about this, and we have a family support worker starting in two weeks time to come round once a week and help.

She's also a bit behind socially so she's just started going full time to daycare to try and improve her social skills and a bit behind with her Finnish language skills (although that's to be expected with the bilingualism - she also makes a fair amount of grammatical errors in English too but I don't know what's normal for her age in that really)

Despite her anger problems she is really very loving, she cuddles and kisses a lot and is overjoyed at even the smallest thing (she went crazy happy yesterday when I told her I made some sausage soup for her :haha: ) and she's a budding comedian, always trying to make people laugh.

We've just started taking her ice skating and she has great balance and no fear - doesn't quite get the idea of actually gliding the skates along the ice but runs around like a lunatic. Also started skiing - going to see tomorrow how she can handle going downhill.

She loves sledging and sliding down hills on her bum, belly, back - whatever. Even sledgeboarding (standing up on the sledge) which she is a natural at - I'm thinking I ought to get her a snowboard next!

No academics yet so she doesn't know how to read or anything but her drawings are starting to look more like things now rather than scribbles and she is especially good at painting with watercolours.

She lives in her imagination a lot and loves acting out things with her teddies or even just her hands and comes up with very amusing stories like going ice skating, getting hurt and needing to go to the pharmacy to get a plaster but then she realises she has no money so she has to go to work to earn some money :rofl:

Not sure if I'm liking this age yet or not, I like that she can communicate much better but sometimes I'd like a break from the constant talking and asking questions!


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## hattiehippo

Tom turned 5 at Christmas. We had his second parents evening last night. So far his teachers have a pretty good measure of him - bossy and likes to be in charge!

He's doing pretty well at school overall. He is much more confident now and goes happily into assemblies and lunchtime. He also copes with doing lots of different things at school. Maths and numbers are his real strong point - he's achieved all the reception maths targets and is working on yr 1 targets now. Reading and writing are coming but more slowly - he can now sound out 4-5 letter words which I'm really pleased with considering he couldn't even put c-a-t together in September. He has lots of friends and generally plays and shares well but does like to be in charge!

At home Tom still has very difficult moments and he still gets angry very easily. The awful tantrums that he used to have are rare now but he still doesn't compromise or back down easily and we often have to diffuse situations as he has totally dug his heels in and won't budge. He can be rude and cheeky like most 5 yr olds but generally is a very kind, caring and lovely little boy :thumbup:


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## Lauraxamy

My LO is five in April and hasn't long started school :D. I love this age too - I feel like I have a mini best friend!

She absolutely LOVES school, she's very enthusiastic about it and about learning. Every night she brings home a new book and we _have_ to read it - she insists! Also can't believe how much her writing/recognising words etc has come on now. We're hopefully putting her in for some school clubs soon but I'm just letting her settle in for a bit first. We have her first parents evening in March so I'm looking forward to that.
She also has a little best friend who she never stops talking about which is lovely - they're like little old women together :lol:
We've been looking at joining some dance lessons and swimming lessons which start after Easter time so she's very excited about that!

Behaviour wise, she can be a diva and throw some good strops but I mostly just ignore her because I find she gets over it quicker.

I'm so proud of her lately. It's lovely seeing her grow and become her own little person now.


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## dani_tinks

Aww, i'm loving all these updates. Especially as I remember many of you from the Trimester boards.

Jacob turns 5 on Sunday. He's very excited and believes he is very grown up now!
He's loving school, although he does find it very tiring. He's getting better at eating school dinner, and he's made some firm friendships already. I gather he's a bit of a daydreamer though, but he's recently gone up a stage in reading and he's getting there with his writing.

He's recently started to swim independently. We've been with Waterbabies since he was about 9 months old. Been through lots of water wobbles and tantrums, but all of a sudden it's just clicked. His favourite place to be is in the water/underwater :).

Behaviour wise, he's a smarty pants and quite bossy, but also very affectionate and sensitive. He has a fantastic vocabulary and is wiser than his years. He is possibly the most stubborn person I know though!


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## EcoMama

Natsku are you in finland?.... I love how they don't start school until later and there's more emphasis on being outdoors and socialising and sport in the early years. My ds would definately benefit :)


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## pandacub

EcoMama said:


> Natsku are you in finland?.... I love how they don't start school until later and there's more emphasis on being outdoors and socialising and sport in the early years. My ds would definately benefit :)

I am very jealous of the system they have over there!


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## Natsku

Yeah I am. It is great, the system here, Maria spends hours outside every day at daycare playing freely, and no worries about having to learn to read or write yet (although quite a lot learn to read before starting school by just naturally picking it up - my OH's little sister is 6 and started preschool this year and she could already read to a certain degree before starting and she definitely does not get taught by her parents)

I live just round the corner from a school - every hour the kids are outside playing for 15 mins, its lovely to see.


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## alibaba24

My daughter Rosalie just turned 5 a few weeks ago and has just been given a place in a language unit nursery class 4 months before she finishes in her mainstream nursery lol. she has a significant language delay/disorder and her receptive language is not good although shes doing so much better than i ever expected asking and answering questions. chatting etc. she has been independantly toileted trained for a long time but we still have issues with buttons :haha: need to work on it before starting school. She already knows more than whats required for p1 academically but needs some work on her writing skills. and I think she is going to still struggle socially until she is more confident with her language, she is a very social little girl just that language barrier gets in the way. thankfully she has outgrown most of her sensory issues too not even sure wht caused them yet she's being assesed and has a review in march

she is a very sweet and cuddly girl we still have the occasional strop but shes starting to realise how silly she is being sometimes she will start crying and moaning and i just look at her certain way and she bursts out laughing :haha: 

phew! x


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## CaptainMummy

Paige was 4 last month. She is a fantastic big sister to her two little sisters. She is very affectionate towards them, but not overly so. 
She is really enjoying nursery, and has totally come out of her shell since she started in March. We were at a childs birthday party today and it was lovely to see her smiling and playig with so many children. When she started nursery, she wouldnt have done that.
She is able to recognise and write numbers up to 10, and is learning to recognise more and more letters all of the time. She is amazing at art, and her nursery teachers cannot believe some of the stuff she draws.
She enjoys playing with her barbies, and little figures,and is forever making them speak to each other (in an american accent, of course!)
Her attitude stinks, sometimeS. She answers back, doesnt listen, has an excuse for everything... Typical 4 year old stuff ;) 

She is obsessed with dresses, and i dont remember the last time she didnt wear a dress or skirt. She insists on wearing a pinafore to nursery and even on gym hall day,she wears a skirt as well as her leggings!


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## sahithya

It's really nice haring to everybody about their kids. I think usually, those who are in play schools will be more active.


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## Kiwiberry

My baby is smiling all the time now!! It is so amazing :cloud9:

She had her eye exam for ROP done yesterday and the right eye is completely clear, her left eye just has a little bit more to go and it will be clear as well!


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## eddjanuary10

I haven't been on here in ages, but it's so nice to find some time to be back and read up on how everyone's kids are doing I have often wondered. 

We were living in Australia for a while and just moved back to the U.K last month, we had planned a permanent stay in Oz but that plan is on hold for a little while longer (long story!) Ihsan would of started school this month had we still been in Oz, but now he will start in August this year. He is doing really well, still full of beans and as raring to go as ever! I'd say his favourite things right now are karate, swimming, writing letters to friends/family and reading recipe books lol. Next week he will be starting an outdoor kindergarten 2 full days per week, he LOVES the outdoors. He is a great big bro and always says he loves his family he's very sweet. Food wise he will eat anything except anything which has melted cheese in it and his appetite is huge he is forever hungry but also constantly burning energy. Sometimes his listening skills leave a lot to be desired lol, but he's otherwise a really great little guy and a whole lot of fun. 

:)


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## Cattia

I've just discovered this thread and it's so lovely to see so many old faces on here! 

Abigail turned 5 in December. She is enjoying school socially but not loving the learning aspect of it! She is picking up reading now but doesn't enjoy reading at home and says she doesn't like learning. She does however seem to get on well with the other children and she has a best friend at school. Her teacher says her concentration isn't great and she daydreams a lot which is an issue at home too - we have to nag to get her to do anything! 

She has a great imagination and loves playing pretend games all the time. She is very articulate and has a great vocabulary. She is quite creative and really loves drawing and singing. She's also still really into dressing up! 

Eating is not great, she isn't that adventurous with food but better than she used to be, and she's always been a good sleeper. Since starting school she seems so much more grown up, just in terms of the way she speaks and we get more attitude and answering back now! All in all though she is still a sweet natured girl. She can be moody and a drama queen, but her teachers also commented on the fact that she is very sensitive and caring to other children, which we really see in her at home too. 

It's so good to see how all your LOs are doing now and how grown up they all are! We are expecting baby number three in a few weeks so I think that is going to be a big adjustment for Abigail and George. We will see how they get on!


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## BabyJayne

Aw wow - just found this thread after a bit of an absence from BnB. I'm back as I am growing a new brother or sister for Madeline, but it's been fab to see some of the names here from when I was here the first time!

Madeline is 4, turning 5 in June. She is in full time school and all of a sudden seems so very grown up. She is doing fantastically well in school. Her reading is ridiculous, and she is already at Stage 7, going onto Stage 8, which I think is aimed at 7 year olds. She's doing great in other areas too, and has made lots of friends.

We do have problems with attitude, as in the way she will respond to us at times. We have the occasional tantrum, and lots of cheekiness which we try and deal with quite strictly. It doesn't seem to have much effect in that it stops her being cheeky or shouting the next time, but she definitely knows that her actions have consequences...it's just that sometimes she's willing to accept those consequences which can be frustrating.

Her eating is okay. She will try most things and has a pretty varied diet - but we do have table time battles still. She's sleeps great though (we've been lucky, she always has), bed by 7.30 and straight to sleep and up 6.30-7.30 so no complaints there. If she's awake before 7 she will play in her room.

She does swimming and a singing and dancing class, which she loves. But she's not really girly. She doesn't dress up, or play with dolls. She loves teddies, but uses these mostly as her school pupils! She loves role play, writing, colouring and has become more and more interested in our tablet, but we limit any time on that. She's excited for the new arrival, and I can't wait to see her with the baby.

All in all she is great fun - and aside from a little less cheek and attitude at times, she's amazing :) She's not overly affectionate, but I do get kisses and cuddles if I ask for them (or pretend to be a puppy...).


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