AD | Christmas has arrived at @thelexiconbracknell AD | Christmas has arrived at @thelexiconbracknell and there’s so much to entertain the whole family whilst you do your Christmas shopping! 

Visit The Lexicon Glow Room for a magical light experience that will dazzle you with 20,000 LEDs. It feels like the room goes on forever! Then, take a dip in the Light Pool, a magical ball pool with golden balls to be found and prizes to be won!

If that wasn’t all, have a photo in the giant Christmas bauble ‘sparkling selfie station’ and follow the Twinkle Trail, spotting baubles in shop windows to collect the clues and enter to win fabulous prizes this Christmas. Plus, share your sparkling selfie station pictures, tagging #thelexiconbracknell or email them to marketing@thelexiconbracknell.com and you will automatically be entered in a competition for the chance to win a restaurant gift card too. 

There are also special performances from local choirs, bands and singers and even the chance to meet Bluey, Hey Duggee and Chase from Paw Patrol! You can be sure that a trip to The Lexicon will have something for everyone over the festive season this year. We loved our visit to The Lexicon last weekend and know we’ll be back again before Christmas!

Find out more on @thelexiconbracknell website.

#TheLexiconBracknell #Merry&Bright
AD - Press Trip | What a lovely evening that was! AD - Press Trip | What a lovely evening that was! We had our first Glow Marwell experience tonight - and we loved it. It may even be the best light trail we have been to.

We spent well over two hours at @marwellzoo, enjoying the light installations, indulging in the food stalls and cafe, toasting marshmallows and even meeting Father Christmas! 

Glow Marwell was such a nice way to kick off the festive season - and it’s on all the way through December! If you’re looking for a really nice festive activity the whole family can enjoy, this could definitely be it!
AD | Are you looking for gifts for the grandparent AD | Are you looking for gifts for the grandparents this year? @famileo_uk is a wonderful gift, giving the recipient a personalised gazette of family news regularly throughout the year - and it costs from just £5.99 a month. 

Multiple family members can use the same subscription, all posting messages to be added to one gazette - and sharing the cost of the subscription too! It’s great for parents, siblings and children to all share their news with grandparents each week, fortnight or month. 

We’ve been sending my dad Family gazettes for a while now and he absolutely loves them. It means we tell him all the little things that are happening and not just the big news you remember to mention in phone calls. The children get to upload their own messages to their grandad and it’s definitely made them feel closer, building a stronger relationship despite living far apart.

Find out more about Family over on the blog - link in bio - and buy a subscription for your nearest and dearest this Christmas. It’s a gift they will definitely love to receive.
Two weeks of Fred & George! I won’t be doing the Two weeks of Fred & George! I won’t be doing these updates every week but I like having somewhere to put all these photos!

They’re now three months old, super loving and happy, making biscuits and purring constantly.

They stay in ‘their’ room overnight but explore the house during the day, getting more confident as time passes. They even got to the point of relaxing on the sofa with us last night.

Fred & George are now very much part of our family and I can’t imagine them not being there now - even at 7am when they’re miaowing at the door for breakfast!
AD | Stuck for screen-free entertainment that your AD | Stuck for screen-free entertainment that your kids will love? Claim your FREE Banjo Robinson activity pack today!
 
Reading for pleasure is a key indicator of a child’s future success, but if your child doesn’t love to read, what can you do? We know it’s not always easy keeping kids entertained and away from screens, so we’ve partnered with the award-winning @banjorobinson to gift you a FREE activity pack, worth £9.99.

Here’s a little look at the Banjo Robinson subscription - Troy loves it! Travelling to world with Banjo is so much fun! You can read our full review over on the blog and claim your free activity pack too - link in profile.
A whole week of Fred & George. We weren’t meant A whole week of Fred & George.

We weren’t meant to get more cats just yet but sometimes the universe sends you things when you don’t expect them.

These little guys needed a home and a family to love them. And we had a home and a lot of love to give. We still miss Leia but this pair are definitely helping make me feel whole again.

They are both used to us now, and love us. They’re less nervous, give us cuddles and let us pick them up. They’re still living in our spare room but starting to explore the rest of the house under supervision. 

They play fight constant. Love toys, especially a crinkly feather thing on a string attached to a stick, and love being up high. They are an awesome pair and we are so glad to have them.

Thank you @millbrook_rspca @rspca_official for trusting us with ‘Lonestar and Starfish’. We could not love them more. 

#catsofinstagram #catstagram #catsofig #catsofinsta #catlovers #adoptdontshop #rspcarescuecat #kittensofinstagram #kittens_of_instagram
[AD - Press Trip] I’ve just finished writing abo [AD - Press Trip] I’ve just finished writing about our half term break at @pottersresort and it’s over on the blog if you want to go have a read.

I wanted to put some of my favourite photos on the grid too as the kids did so many fun activities - they had THE best time. 

Giant swing, segways, climbing, archery, laser clays… there was so much to do that we couldn’t fit it all in - we need another trip!
And there ends our October half term - well, apart And there ends our October half term - well, apart from Troy who has a bonus week off!

This half term has been pretty lovely. Troy had his school residential the first weekend and then we had a really lovely few days in Norfolk before heading home and picking up two new members of our family - Fred and George. 11 week old rescue kittens who have pretty much stolen our hearts.

It’s been so nice to have a chunk of quality time with this pair and now I’m looking forward to the Christmas holidays. These two are the best company and I really do live for the school holidays. 

How has your half term been?
[AD - Press Trip] We’ve loved spending half term [AD - Press Trip] We’ve loved spending half term at @pottersresort in Norfolk. With great food, an action packed schedule of entertainment and activities plus everything included in the price of your break - even drinks - it’s a fantastic way to holiday as a family, giving quality time together in the nicest of surroundings. 
I’ll write a full review soon but for now here’s a little Reel  of our trip.
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Favourite Posts, Opinion/Debate · May 7, 2016

Children and Gambling

Children and gambling. That’s a bad mix, right?

I wouldn’t let the children bet on a horse. I wouldn’t let the children anywhere near fruit machines. I wouldn’t let the children buy a scratch card. But, I’d probably let the children help me pick lottery numbers and, really, if I bought a scratch card I’d probably let the children help me scratch it off.

But one thing I always, always let the children do, and encourage them to do, is play on 2p arcade machines. They will happily spend half an hour in an arcade with me, sharing £5 of 2ps between us over that time, watching them as they bounce their way down to the moving layers at the bottom, sometimes pushing more coins out or even a plastic toy but more often than not pushing coins into the dark depths of the machine, never to be seen again.

But 2p machines aren’t gambling are they? They’re just a bit of fun in an arcade. What about the 10p versions where you throw your money away five times quicker than the 2p ones? What about the grab machines where you pay 20p to try and grab a cuddly toy? They’re not gambling either are they?

So, the children and I can easily spend £5 on the arcade machines, trying to win yet more 2ps or a pack of hair clips. That £5 disappears in no time at all and yet I wouldn’t let the children buy a scratch card, a scratch card that costs less than the money we put in those 2p machines and which probably has a better prize on offer.

I would happily help the children put those 2ps in the machine for as long as it took to get rid of them all, watching more fall out the bottom and putting those in too. But I wouldn’t let the children put a pound in a fruit machine.

I know that there are laws about scratch cards, the lottery, betting and even fruit machines but as a parent often things come into question that aren’t just governed by the law and instead are decided by our own morality, our own conscience and, often, the way that we have always done things.

I grew up playing 2p machines in seaside arcades with my parents and grandparents. It was the way we would always end a day at the beach and it’s something that I have loved introducing the children to. They love putting their 2ps into the machines, trying to win another piece of brightly coloured tat from inside and inevitably losing all their 2ps in the end, going home tired but happy and with those grubby hands you only get from old 2ps.

This has been a tradition for me for years, and one I have introduced the children to. But is it really any less gambling than just buying a scratch card? Yes, it does give satisfaction for that little bit longer but it is still throwing money away, spending money to have a chance at a prize. Are 2p machines just gambling in disguise?

Children and Gambling

In: Favourite Posts, Opinion/Debate

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Comments

  1. Laura's Lovely Blog says

    May 7, 2016 at 9:38 am

    Hmm interesting post. I think as you say it comes down to your own morality and I love the way you have made it fun and a holiday tradition. I was never allowed on 2p machines as a child, my Mum always said it was a waste of money so it’s not really anything I plan to introduce my children too, but not really for moral reasons, more I just don’t like just watching the money disappear. I do play the lottery and would let them scratch of a scratch card too.

    Reply
  2. Kim Carberry says

    May 7, 2016 at 1:39 pm

    This is so interesting….
    I suppose the 2p machines are gambling but it’s something I grew up playing on day trips to the seaside and I never thought of it like that…It’s all a bit of fun. It’s not like we’re at the 2p machines every day. It’s a once in a blue moon thing x

    Reply
  3. Sarah Rooftops says

    May 7, 2016 at 8:20 pm

    Oh, interesting. I haven’t given this much thought (yet) but my gut response is that, although playing 2p machines IS gambling, it’s so unusual to actually win at them that they might be teaching kids about accepting failure and setting (financial) limits; with the lottery, spending the money and failing to win is separated by so much time and daydreaming that I don’t think that lesson’s as obvious. Hmm…

    Reply
  4. Linda says

    May 7, 2016 at 9:00 pm

    2p machines are gambling but I let my children play on them as with everything there’s a lesson to be learned. It’s ok as long as you know when to stop! And at the end they always know that they had fun but their little pots are now empty.

    Reply
  5. Plutonium Sox says

    May 7, 2016 at 11:43 pm

    Hmm, I’m not sure I’d class it as gambling because you’re never going to win loads of money. That said, I’m not really into them. We might have 50p on them occasionally but we all get bored quite quickly!
    Nat.x

    Reply
  6. Seaside Belle says

    May 8, 2016 at 7:24 am

    I have grappled with this exact same issue! We live by the beach and on a rainy day we’ll sometimes go to the pier and play on the 2p machines. DH grew up doing it. I was less comfortable. But the way I see it is that it’s a useful introduction to gambling – yes, it can be fun. But by playing the 2p machines it’s a chance for the children to learn about self-regulating and knowing when to stop and that, while you can win from a gamble, you mostly lose so it’s not about the winning it’s about enjoying the experience.

    Reply
  7. Californian Mum in London says

    May 9, 2016 at 10:11 pm

    Such a good point Donna. I have never thought of this. Many of us have played these kinds of games as children, and maybe that does foster an enjoyment for gambling. I think it’s fine if you also make sure that your children understand that money has to be earned before it can be spent.

    Reply
  8. Fiona jk42 says

    September 18, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    I think if your children or anyone else are playing on the machines for fun, rather than with the goal of winning money, then this counts as entertainment rather than gambling. You can give them £5 and tell them they can either keep it to spend on something that will last, or can spend it playing on machines. That way they will hopefully understand that money spent on machines could have been put to a better purpose.

    Reply

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Hi everyone! I'm Donna. Mummy. Blogger. Social Media Manager. Traveller. Lover of stars, rainbows and gin. Firm believer that tea and cake can fix most things.

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