Celebrating the new royal baby Archie!

Have you joined the celebration for the new royal baby Archie? At My Nametags we are very excited for the latest addition to the royal family, and we want to celebrate it with you. We have decided to offer anyone called ‘Archie’ a free set of name labels featuring a special prince design.

Want to receive yours? Just follow this link and fill in the redemption form.
The first fifty people who fill in this form will receive one set of 56 sticker nametags. The nametags will be sent by post on the 31st of May.

Get social and you could win labels!

We all know that becoming a parent for the first time is such a big step. At My Nametags, we think that sharing tips on looking after children is such a great idea. It can be challenging bringing up children and having the support and wisdom from other parents can be an amazing help.

We have asked parents to share their tips on anything from sleep to eating vegetables! Join us on Instagram and Facebook and you could be one of 10 people to win a free set of My Nametags labels!

To give you an idea of what the fuss is all about here are a few of our favourite posts.

“To get your kids out of bed in the morning, try baking something that smells delicious! No one can resist the smell of pancakes!” – Julia

“In order to convince my little girl to clean her teeth regularly, every evening we wash them all together…me, her and her favourite doll!” – Alice

“Water is ‘plain juice'” – Lornabastow

“I tell my kids the grated carrot in sauces is Red Leicester cheese, works for me 🙂 xx” – ollysophia51

“I always keep some plain paper and coloured pencils in the car to keep the kids busy during long trips. It’s a great way for them to spend time and be creative.” – serena87

We can’t wait to hear your tips!

Send us a message or leave a comment on our Instagram and Facebook  pages!

Get fit with the kids!

January signals the start of a new year and the time for new beginnings. Getting fitter is often one of the top new year’s resolutions for many, especially parents with young children. But how do you fit it into your busy schedule? Here are a few top tips on keeping fit and active with the kids.

Step on it! 

Sounds simple but it really works – aim to achieve 10,000 steps a day. Invest in a simple pedometer, a fitness tracker or most smartphones will count steps too. I once walked around the block before bed to hit my 10,000-step target!

Buggy Fitness 

Invest in a baby buggy that is easy to run with and you and your baby/toddler can both have fun. Little and often is the key here. Even a 15-minute run around the park once a day will get your heart rate up. There are some great youtube videos with all sorts of workouts you can do with a pram! Parents.com has some good tips on running safely with a baby buggy.

Get fit with the kids

Enjoy running around the park or playing football with your children and you will certainly burn some calories. Your step count will go up too, oh and…you might just have fun!

Baby goes too & creche

There are plenty of options to bring your baby along to a class. I tried baby yoga which was great fun and the bonus is you’ll both get to meet other parents and babies. Alternatively, find a gym with a creche. I found this especially helpful when I had young babies. It was great to have an hour or so to myself to swim or catch a class while my baby was being cared for.

Workout @ Home

I personally love work out DVDs. There’s no running to a class at a specific time as you can just stick on your DVD and work out when it suits you. The danger, however, is that you will never put it on! Top tip – plan to work out with a friend (perhaps nap time for both your babies or when the kids are at school) or if that doesn’t suit message each other to commit to doing at least 15 minutes of exercise when it suits you. My favourite is Davina McCall as she’s fun and realistic but there are so many it’s super easy to find one to suit you.

Give your child a head start in reading

Reading is one of the cornerstones of education and if you can encourage your child to read from an early age it will most certainly benefit them. Statistic shows that children who are read to by their parents will do better at school. Read our top five tips on how to help your child love reading and books.

Over the years I have spoken to many educational experts and the one thing that they all agree on is that it is so important to read regularly to your child. They will love to hear you reading and if you enjoy it they will too. Make a time that suits you best. Typically, bedtime is a good moment but some parents prefer afternoons snuggled on the sofa for pre-schoolers. Others say they read to their children while they are in the bath while audio tapes on car journeys are a good chance to listen to a story.

Children quite often love to hear the same story over and over again. I remember trying to get one of my children to agree to ‘read’ another book together however it never quite worked as he would always gravitate to the same one! Your child will feel more involved if they can choose their own book and don’t worry if it is the same one as repetition is good. I would often choose one book and let my child choose another book, that way we both got a bit of variety.

Keep your child interested in the story by talking about it as you go along. Ask them questions about the characters and what they think will happen next. Also, why they think something has happened. You will keep them involved and connected to the story.

Children love nothing more than if you’re able to add character to the story with funny voices and actions. I would always sing certain nursery rhymes when my children were younger and they loved to join in. If your child loves a certain fairy tale or character book then find out more about it. Look out for the author’s website, games or colouring sheets.

Don’t forget to show your child how important (and fun) it is to be able to read by reading things out loud when you are out and about. Read anything from shop names to adverts on buses and basic magazine or newspaper headlines.