iblog Friday: Control your kids, people

iBlog Friday is our weekly roundup of the best of Aussie parenting bloggers. These writers will take us through all the highlights and lowlights of their parenting adventure this past week, including advice on how to parent tantrum-throwers, triplets and messy kids.

Gayle Huyton of Triplets in Paradise offers her best advice on caring for triplets in her post It’s all about the sign.

I was in a shopping centre last week and got talking to a complete stranger about having triplets. This is nothing unusual, I can’t remember the last time that I went shopping & didn’t talk to several strangers about the Triplets. What was different this time was the fact that I was asked for advice on coping with multiple babies.
This question shouldn’t really stump me as I have indeed been there and done that, however the best that I could come up with was advice regarding vehicles that can fit three baby seats side by side and the fact that having a routine in place is essential.

Read the rest of Gayle’s post here.

Tracey Fox of Still Just Us appeals for parents to take responsibility when out in public with their kids in her post Adult Supervision.

Yes, that’s a child crawling over a multi-million dollar sculpture at the Tate Museum in London while his parents stand idly by.

Cue outrage from art lovers and decent human beings who have respect for other people’s property, and conversely a bunch of people standing up for the parents and child saying things like “It doesn’t look like it’s worth that much money”, and “if you make art that looks like furniture, kids will climb on it”.

Read the rest of Tracey's post here.

Louisa Simmonds of My Midlife Mayhem tells the life story of her breasts, where they were, where they are now and how she feels about them in her post Farewell Firm Breasts.

I bid a sad farewell to firm breasts today. Officially.

I’ve been kidding myself for a while now, pretending that they still looked young and full with the help of a push up bra or a chicken fillet or six.

But they weren’t looking so pert after my jog today, when they drooped out of my sports bra in the shower. They looked knackered, worn out and ready for retirement as they hung there, limply, inert and balanced rather too cozily on top of my muffin top.

Read the rest of Louisa's post here.

Joanna Lamb of Joanna Writes Here realises she's been guilty of overstepping the mark when it comes to touching pregnant bellies in her post STOP TOUCHING ME! and other pregnancy complaints.

What is it about a pregnant belly that suddenly makes people forget about personal space altogether? It seems the moment the belly pops, the Mama-to-be becomes public property. You wouldn’t usually touch someone’s stomach under non-pregnant circumstances (oh, you’ve lost weight? Here, let me feel your abs!), yet the moment a woman pops out with a baby bump, there’s that irresistible urge to reach out and touch that fascinating piece of kit.

Read the rest of Joanna's post here.

Sophie Lyall of The Mother Load learns the value of her friendships between mothers in her post 'The Mummy Mafia' - Why It's Not All Bad.

For me, a big part of friendship at any age or stage is the stuff you have in common with each other.  In our teens, it was those who loved getting up to the same kinds of mischief as you who were considered your closest friends. In your early twenties, your closest friends were at the same parties, or in your workplace and were perhaps also like you, meeting their potential partner. If you talk to a large majority of women who have passed those stages and who are now parents, they will probably tell you that some of their best girlfriends are made up of those they met in mother's group, through kinder, or in their school community - their kids are the common bond and they act as one of the easiest conversation starters.  In my case, although I didn't actively enter the school community with a sign around my neck declaring my desperate need for friends (which I wasn't incidentally!), before I knew it, I was surrounded by some brilliant, like-minded mums who I really enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) spending time with - and you do spend a lot of time with them, especially in the early school years so like me, you might as well embrace it.

Read the rest of Sophie's post here.

This week’s winner will receive a set of Sun Sox. These amazing products will protect little feet from hot beach sand, sunburn, slips and scrapes.

The winner of this week’s iBlog Friday will be announced on Monday and published.

If you’d like to enter the competition please send your submission to info@themotherish.com by midday on Thursday.

Goodluck!