Wow there is so much going on in and around Cheltenham, we are lucky to be living in such a previledged town. We have endless concerts, festivals, events and of course the infamous horse racing when Dublin decends upon Cheltenham every March, well that’s what it feels like!  Maybe I do get value from paying my local rates and council tax after all As I am not going to Glastonbury festival this w/e, I’ve only just discovered that U2 is the main act. I’m gutted about this as I have loved that band for many years.
I will have to amuse myself elsewhere. I’ve discovered there is a Arts and Craft fair, luckily it didn’t clash with the food and wine festival last w/e which was pretty special, well more so than the weather. Next week there’s a music festival on, last week was also a Ukalayle festival, probably spelt wrong, I didn’t even know what one was until a few weeks ago, let alone how to play one. They seem popular here though.
I was never musical as a child despite growing up in a home with a piano. My mother used to play though I don’t recall it ,she ended up donating it to our primary school she hated clutter.  So that was the end of my musical career, apart from playing the recorder at school.
Does your child enjoy music, how much do you encourage it? I understand that private music lessons are quite expensive for the average family, I mean if you had three musical kids and they all liked different instruments you could end up with no peace in the house and a large bank loan! Don’t get me wrong I love music, well most music as long as it’s not repeated over and over again on those horrible plastic musical toys, which some kids seem to love. What would you do given the choice, give your child a toy they liked and drove you mad or something you liked yourself, in the hope they would show the same appreciation as you at a later date?
There really is so much choice these days for kids classes, for the under fives there issuch variety music, french, art, swimming, Tumbletots etc. I often wonder when parents fit in a trip to the park? Young children should be running, jumpimg and expending energy as often as possible rather than being sat in a buggy being wheeled from class to class or strapped in the back seat of a 4 by 4. How lucky are we these days, are children getting brighter or are we becoming more and more fascinated with children’s potential and feel the need to expand it at every opportunity, whilst convincing the children it ‘s all about their happiness and fulfilment.
If your child is behaving badly or not sleeping well maybe you need to take a look at his or her “timetable” and see if some adjustments can be made. Opportunities are wonderful but don’t over ‘optimize’ your kids too soon in thier lives. Let your children have space and freedom from structured activities so their minds can develop their own idea’s and not expect you to constantly entertain them. Maybe you do this already, in which case pat yourself on the back and go and relax while your child amuses his or herself.