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Changes to our subscription plans and delivery fees from 4th August 2020

Our mission

Our core mission at Whirli is to support busy parents. For me, this has always meant providing a high level of service that is convenient, flexible, affordable, and also driven by ethical values. These principles run through Whirli today, from how our sharing economy works, to our selection of toys, and even to how we provide customer service and treat all our staff.

More recently, we stood firmly by these values and principles, and served the thousands of families in our community throughout the COVID-19 lockdown from March to July. We heavily subsidised our home collection service at the fraction of cost price, so families could continue to use our service without having to leave their homes. Our staff also navigated the crisis admirably and continued to put our community of parents first, helping all our subscribers through an extremely challenging and difficult time.

It goes without saying that COVID-19 has ravaged many businesses. While we count ourselves as relatively fortunate, we were not unscathed. Whirli is largely a founder-owned small independent business (not backed by corporates or venture capital). As with all small independent businesses across the country, we have had to adapt to huge changes as well as absorb unexpected costs. Whilst this has been possible in the short term, we now need to look ahead and strengthen our community and business so we can thrive in the long term.

Looking ahead

We’re making small changes to our subscription plans and delivery fees to address the long term impact of COVID-19 and ensure our business can be sustainable. These changes have a small impact on individual subscribers. There are no immediate charges levied or changes to the prices for our subscription plans, but standard delivery and return fees are increasing by 50p each (£1 monthly for Delivery Booster).

These small changes will help us materially improve the experience for all subscribers in our community. It will allow us to continue investing and improving our customer experience – better toy availability, a broader range of products, further improvements to the web experience, more varied delivery options, and many more things to come. All while staying true to our mission for all our subscribers and all our staff.

Value for money

We scrutinised our changes and remain confident that Whirli still represents the best value for money, by far, when it comes to children’s toys.

Our data shows that :

Over 6 months, the average subscriber plays with 400-600 Tokens of toys (worth £400-600 RRP), representing 3-5X more than they have paid to Whirli (including all delivery and return fees).

Despite the changes announced today, all our subscribers will still continue to enjoy this unbeatable value where Whirli is always better value for money than shopping for toys, no matter how frequently you swap with us.

Here are the changes to our subscription plans and delivery fees in full detail:

Token allowance changes

There have been no changes to the price that subscribers pay for the plan. However, the maximum Token allowance for each plan has reduced slightly to the following:

Each plan continues to deliver tremendous value for money, allowing subscribers to play with toys equivalent to at least 8 times the monthly plan cost at any time. There is no need for subscribers to return any toys immediately, these changes only take effect in your next swap. There are also no changes to Swifter Swaps, so customers can continue to enjoy receiving their latest orders before returning toys and be in a period of ‘overdraft’ with toys exceeding their plan’s token allowance.

We are also now able to craft bespoke plans beyond 240 Tokens. If you need more than 240 Tokens, please do get in touch and we will be able to cater for you.

‘Keep a toy’ changes

In buying a toy to keep, we consider the amount of time you’ve borrowed the toy to ensure you never pay more than retail price.

A toy never swapped

In line with the changes to our subscription plans, you can now keep a toy forever, at no extra cost, if you have had the toy for 8 months (vs 9 months previously).

Buy a toy

When buying a toy from your toy box, we will now calculate the residual value based on 243 days (8 months) rather than 274 days (9 months).

This therefore makes it cheaper to buy a toy to keep, and is a pricing improvement for all subscribers.

Pay monthly ‘Intro period’

For new customers only

For new pay monthly subscribers only, we are increasing our introductory period from 2 months to 3 months in line with many other subscription companies. This means that you will only unlock your full Token allowance after 3 months of being with Whirli.

In token terms here’s how it plays out:

No changes for existing customers in their introductory period

This introductory period change only affects new pay monthly subscribers. All existing subscribers who are still in their 2 month introductory period are unaffected and will get all their plan’s tokens available upon completing their 2 month introductory period.

Delivery fee changes

We’ve made some changes in line with price increases received from our delivery partners.

All changes are highlighted in yellow. Our Standard Delivery and Standard Return fees have increased by 50p each, and Home Collection has increased by £1.50 (this continues to be a subsidised service priced well below market rate).

Delivery Booster has correspondingly increased by £1 per month. There have been no immediate charges, the new pricing for Delivery Booster only takes place on the next renewal of your subscription plan.

Changes to our Subscription and Gifting Terms and Conditions

We’ve made changes to the formal terms and conditions for subscriptions and gifting. These were to correspond to the changes listed above, as well and capturing new features that we’ve built since we launched Whirli in 2018.

Have any questions?

As ever, please contact us if you have any questions about any of these changes or if you need any help getting the best value possible out of your Whirli subscription. We’re always here to help.

Thank you for all the positive encouragements and continued support.

Best wishes,
Nigel Phan
Founder and Managing Director

Guest post: 5 ways that toy rental improves my life

With three kids and a neurotic approach to keeping things tidy; toys (and more specifically, plastic crap) has been something I’ve fretted over for years. I’m basically a fun sponge. Our flat has duplo, lego, brio, soft toys, dinosaurs and one, constantly emptied ‘everything drawer’ which is where things on death row go. If I haven’t seen it being played for three months; it’s out.

When birthdays and Christmas approach we clear out anything that’s not been played with for a while and take it to the charity shop or pass it to younger cousins. My relatives have been discouraged from big/noisy/ugly/tacky anything since I first gave birth.

The thing I can’t bear about kid’s toys is that inevitably the old plastic crap gets replaced with new plastic crap – same stuff, different year.

When I heard about Whirli I was a bit sceptical. I was worried that the toys would get lost or broken or would be old and battered, but I gave it a try. We started with a Toy Sack and have quickly moved up to the ‘Toy Trunk’ membership plan which is £19.99 a month and (after 3 months which are a bit like a probation period) has 180 tokens available per month.

The kids absolutely love browsing the toys and choosing their next swap – and Whirli day (when the new haul arrives) is like Christmas morning!

If we get something they don’t end up liking then we can send it back early. Otherwise each load is returned in the box it came in (postage prepaid) and we choose more. It has changed my life for the better in so many ways. Here are five of them:

1. We have less stuff that we own.

I hate having too much stuff. By renting toys we can have all sorts of toys and enjoy them and then send them back when the novelty wears off. This means we can now have Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, Marble Runs, Hey Duggee, Playmobil, Baby Yoda – you name it, I’m cool with it!

2. We look after things better

When you borrow things, you look after them really well. When some of your toys are borrowed and some aren’t, it makes you careful about looking after things, all your things. So our belongings are being looked after too now!

3. We can get big toys that wouldn’t fit long-term

While my sister thinks it’s hilarious to pretend she’s going to send a baby toy Land Rovers to drive around our flat, the truth is that we just don’t have space for big stuff. When we’re borrowing, I don’t mind having an extra balance bike or wobble board which gets in the way for a few weeks but will be sent back before I kick it so hard that I break my foot and scream something sweary about needing a bigger flat!

4. Less Impact on the environment

This is mostly about packaging. I get overwhelmed with the packaging which toys bring. It’s usually obscene amounts of plastic which simply isn’t needed. I love that toy rental means the packaging has only happened once but loads of kids can use the toy.

Also, less stuff = less emissions.

Finally, Whirli takes toys out of boxes to send in bags. This means less weight and less bulk, so less emissions per delivery journey.

Triple win! The sharing economy makes so much sense from an environmental standpoint.

5. Money and time saved

This is more of an aspiration. I’d really like to cut the spending and time people allocate to buying stuff for the kids. It’s unbelievably kind that they want to buy gifts, and my children love being thought of and receiving presents. But life has a lot on, and if they wanted to ‘top up’ the Whirli balance for one of the boys who could choose something to borrow themselves and no one has to wrap or send, then that feels like a really positive option and one I’ll definitely try in the future.

COVID-19: Whirli is operating at normal service levels

This is an update to my previous post at the start of the COVID lockdown which said that Whirli was operating on reduced service levels. Read here.

It is bittersweet to celebrate our country getting over the peak of the health crisis and further easing of restrictions on the 4th of July. The past few months have had a heavy toll on the nation, with tragic losses of life and devastating economic impact, and the next few months (or years) still look extremely uncertain.

Yet, I wanted to take this moment to thank all our subscribers, our partners, and our staff. Service levels have now returned to normal – that means orders are dispatched within a day, returns are processed within a day, Live Chat is back, and other customer service enquires are dealt with within a day.

Please note, we will still be conservative on estimated delivery dates as we recognise that couriers might still be experiencing occasional delays in certain areas. We thus expect subscribers to typically receive their parcels ahead of the estimated delivery date provided on checkout.

Thank you

Firstly, a massive ‘thank you’ to all our subscribers for your patience over the last few months. As a business we faced huge challenges. Our suppliers were operating with reduced capacity, some had closed temporarily, and unfortunately some also closed permanently. The delivery companies operated with unprecedented levels of demand, despite seeing higher levels of staff sickness. And we too, experienced higher than normal staff absences combined with higher rates of orders and customer enquiries.

As a result, we were unable to operate to our usually high standard at all times and we did not always get everything right but having such a wonderful subscriber base and community has made all the difference for us.

Thank you for sending in notes of gratitude, for the encouragements, and the occasional chocolate and sweet delights. Thank you for being so understanding and patient with us, as orders took longer than usual to reach you or we took longer to respond to your service enquiries.

Proud moments

That said, the last few weeks have given us a lot to be proud of as an organisation and community:

Due to increased demand for our service, we delivered and processed over 50% more orders and returns than we usually do – helping all our subscribers access and share toys to entertain and educate their children.
We achieved this without compromising our staff’s well-being; ensuring full sick pay, safe distance working in the warehouse, and adequate supplies of protective clothing and disinfectant. We also hired where we could to help those who are looking for jobs in this climate.
We worked closely with suppliers to reduce any impact of supply disruption, and were also mindful and supportive to their own business and personal challenges.
We on-boarded new educational brands like Learning Resources and BrainBox.
We worked with our courier partners to ensure their staff’s safety and minimise delivery delays.
We kept our home collection fees low, far below market rate, so that subscribers could take advantage of this option whilst they stayed safe at home.
We also introduced label-less home collections (no need for printing!) to make returns even more convenient.

A small but mighty business

We may be a small business but we have overcome some huge challenges. Underneath these broad accomplishments are many stories of individual achievements with colleagues going above and beyond. It’s been extremely inspiring to observe and I’d like to emphasise 2 points to my colleagues and our subscribers:

Our values only matter when we adhere to them at moments of maximum risk – it is times like these, when we stand by our principles and ways of working in the face of unprecedented challenges, that really demonstrate who we are as an organisation and what we stand for.
It’s important to start like how we mean to go on – we are a small and young company with only 24 staff in total, with not much by way of vast resources or a network that larger companies can draw from and rely upon. I hope that Whirli continues to grow to a significant venture, and I hope that we never see an event like this again in our lifetimes – but if we do, we must not forget what we managed to achieve together, when we were small and had so little.

Continuing to strengthen our business

As we move forward there is a lot to be excited about. In a few weeks, we’ll be relaunching our website – this will provide a significantly improved experience, with faster page load speeds, better navigation, and better native experience on mobile phones. Shortly after, we’ll be working on new features to help customers reserve out of stock toys, and also re-engage with new suppliers to add new toys to our range. We will continue our investments in improving the service offering and the Whirli experience for all our subscribers.

We also cannot be complacent. Our service and operations need to evolve and adapt alongside the changing consumer behaviour and economic outlook, thereby ensuring we can continue to serve subscribers in a sustainable manner. We will soon announce a few small changes to help make our business stronger, more efficient and more sustainable. This includes tackling an increase in subscribers who have a token ‘overdraft’, and our heavily subsidised delivery and collection costs. These are small changes for individual subscribers, but make a big difference overall to our sharing economy community and every subscriber’s experience. I hope that you will all be there to continue supporting us to the full, as we have been here in the last few months to support you.

As usual, we are always available to speak with you regarding any questions, concerns, or help you might need. Get in touch with my team here, and as usual if you want to speak to me directly you can always ask my team to pass you on to me.

Best wishes,
Nigel Phan
Founder and Managing Director

10 alternatives to getting them a pet

It’s now week 10 of lockdown and it’s becoming clear that my children are missing interaction with animals. Whilst we live in the city, we were frequent visitors to the farm at the weekends and on holiday. But now, the absence of animals, with the exception of the neighbour’s cat, is ever present. So, it’s not surprising that I’m fielding more questions than ever as to why we cannot get a pet. The honest answer is that looking after 2 young children whilst holding down 2 full time jobs is more than enough. Adding to the family is not a priority.

And it seems we’re not the only ones. The demand for domestic chickens sky rocketed shortly after the lockdown announcement. As well as the desire to get a dog. Maybe the shortage of eggs and the need for purposeful exercise were prominent factors. But I firmly believe we all miss some kind of interaction with animals.

As the saying goes, a pet is not just for Christmas, and so if your needs are purely temporary, here’s 10 alternatives that may help:

1. Chat to a parrot

As with any good parrot, the Rock-a-Too Show Bird will copy your words and phrases – simply press his beak to record your own voice and hear him repeat it back! Used to being centre stage, this parrot loves attention and so will show you some loveable affection if he is patted and praised.

2. Keep up with what’s going down

Get your farm fix with the BBCs Down on the Farm on iPlayer. This has been a firm favourite in our household, watching ducklings hatch and seeing the lambs playing. They also have interactive animal quizzes and games online too.

3. If you can’t see them, hear them

The Melissa & Doug Farm Animals Sound Puzzle combines the classic peg puzzle with an added twist of real animal sounds. Help your little one to distinguish different shapes as well as identifying farm animals by listening to each animal sound off in their own voice when a puzzle piece is correctly placed.

4. Get an interactive coding pet

Dog mad kids will love cute Ranger and Zip who are adorable and will become your kid’s new favourite toys. Let your child’s imagination go wild as they help Ranger and Zip get up to all sorts of fun and games. Your child can teach them to fetch a ball or even go for a ride on the slide. Using the storybook, they will have fun challenges to complete which makes this a perfect educational toy.

5. Build a den

Lockdown has given local wildlife more space and many creatures have thrived during this time. Take the kids to local woodland and build a den. If you manage to keep them quiet for long enough you’ll be surprised how many animals you can spot.

6. Recreate your own safari

Take yourselves on your own safari and explore an imaginary land of lions, tigers with the odd dinosaur thrown in using Papo figurines.

7. Accessorise

Get one step closer to pet ownership and order some pet accessories. It’s the perfect toy to teach children the importance of animal care. Whether they want to play vets, or simply pretend they have a pet of their own, this toy gives them plenty of opportunity to use their imagination.

8. Go to a very different pet shop

Take them to a very different kind of pet shop with a Funnybones story. It sees the big skeleton and little skeleton head to their local pet shop and swap the dog for a skeleton goldfish. Before long, they are swapping pets regularly until the fed-up pet shop owner gives them a box with a mystery pet in.

9. Play Pooh Sticks

Plan a visit to play pooh sticks by reading the kids a story about Winnie the Pooh the evening before. Go on a trail to find a bridge over a river and imagine yourselves as one of the book’s characters.

10. Dress up as your favourite animal

Re-imagine your favourite animals and become them too. Let your child practise their flying skills and looking after imaginary ducklings as they engage their brain and memory skills to create similar fairytales that they read in books.

Guest post: Indoor play ideas for the little ones

If you’re anything like me, at the moment you’re probably looking for as many ideas as possible to entertain small people. Being indoors is tough with pre-schoolers, so keeping them out of mischief has become more valuable than ever!

For kids, play and learning go hand-in-hand. So engaging them in play, and allowing them to play independently, is a great way for them to explore the world around them. While being stuck at home is somewhat limiting, by getting creative it’s still possible to offer a wide range of different types of play. Having two kids under three, I’ve done my fair share of pre-school play, so today I’d love to share a few different ideas for keeping little people entertained.

1. Open-ended play

Open-ended play is one of the best ways to keep toddlers and babies entertained. The idea is that you give your little person something which can be used in loads of different ways, allowing them to use their imagination to create ways to play. A simple example might be a set of wooden blocks, which has infinite possibilities, from building towers to practising grabbing and dropping, to colour and size sorting.

One of the most popular open-ended toys in our house is our Brio wooden railway. My 2 year old never gets bored of it because it’s different every time we get it out. He uses blocks and stacking arches to create tunnels and obstacles for the trains, and loves to use Grapat Mini Nins as little passengers.

2. Sensory play

Light-up and high-contrast toys are wonderful for the youngest babies, who are developing their crucial sense of sight. Likewise, rattles are a timeless baby toy that helps stimulate hearing. Try shaking one whilst moving it from one of your baby’s ears to the other. It will keep them entertained for hours (or at least until the next nap!)

Even better, try encouraging a multi-sensory experience using toys that are designed to engage more than one sense. This Lamaze Discovery Book combines sound, touch and sight to hold baby’s attention and help them practice using those crucial senses.

And for older babies and toddlers, sand or water can make wonderful sensory play. A water table and a selection of cups and bath toys have saved me on more than one occasion!

3. Imaginative play

Imaginative play is wonderful for kids’ creativity and helps them to process the world around them. At this time, it’s also a great way to show kids that you don’t have to go outside to have fun. Although you can’t go to the zoo, bring the zoo to your living room by dressing up as their favourite animal, or placing toy animals around the room for your little ones to find. Or try making a pretend beach in a sandpit, complete with bucket and spade.

You can even turn being at home into pretend play. Get kids involved in chores by having them copy you with their own mini versions (like this Melissa & Doug Vacuum or the Let’s Play House Set) or check out the huge range of play kitchen items that you can borrow from Whirli. There’s nothing toddlers like more than helping out, and as a bonus, you might even manage to get some things done whilst they’re entertained!

4. Getting active

In some ways, encouraging the development of motor skills (like walking, jumping and climbing) is difficult when you’re stuck at home, but there are ways to keep kids moving indoors. Try using sofa cushions, storage boxes and cardboard tubes to create mini obstacle courses in your lounge. Whirli has a fantastic range of larger toys that will take your obstacle course to the next level, like the Triclimb Pikler Triangle. We love the Wobbel Board, as it can be used in so many different ways – see-saw, slide, bridge, balance beam, to name a few!

Even smaller toys can be great for getting kids moving. Encourage very young children to chase a flashing ball or pull-along toy, or place a toy high up to get them standing and climbing. Just make sure to supervise this activity – it can be surprising how quickly they get moving!

Guest Post: Top 7 toys to make maths fun at home

With recent school closures, many parents have had to become instant homeschoolers.

Whilst the idea of temporary homeschooling may seem daunting, there are many educational toys out there to aid you in your quest. As an experienced mathematics teacher, an advocate for visual learning and mother of one, I would like to provide you with my top toys that aid mathematical learning. These toys make teaching at home easier with minimal set-up.

1. Multilink cubes by Learning Resources

Multilink cubes are a staple item in any mathematics learning environment. These cubes help maths come alive and support inquiry into many concepts!

A popular use for the cubes is to teach ratio. One example of how ratio can be represented with multilink cubes is for learners to design their own bridges with them. However, there is an added level of challenge to this activity. For every 8 red cubes the designer uses, they must also use 14 blue ones. You can also use a task like this to pose additional questions, such as ‘If a bridge uses 96 red cubes, how many blue are needed?’

This is just one of myriad ways that multilink cubes can be used to develop problem-solving skills. Another idea is to use multilink cubes to illustrate that multiplication is repetition of equal groups. 3 groups of 3 cubes would equal 9 cubes in total and this is a perfect way to illustrate the concept to a visual learner.

I recently created a cool illustration for the math.mama Instagram page explaining how Pythagoras’s Theorem works using these handy little multilink cubes. They really are my top resource for teaching mathematics!

Illustrating Pythagoras’s Theorem using multilink cubes

2. Garden Games Wooden Game Toss

To get some fresh air and practice your mental maths, why not have a go at this fun outdoor classic? Your little ones will be hooked for hours and they can practice numeracy at the same time. The idea of the game is to toss your ring and try to get the highest score by landing it on one of the poles.

The maths modification you could try is ‘First to 100’. Take it in turns to throw the rings and the first to reach the target of 100 would win the game. This gets children counting whilst also strategising as they should not go over their target. The game has many possibilities and you would soon see that children like to introduce their own rules and versions of the game.

3. I Sea 10 Game by Learning Resources

Card games have always been popular with children and this one is no exception. Players place their cards on the table and take turns to flip them over, shouting “I see 10” as soon as they can make a total of 10. This is a great way to practice number bonds of 10 (pairs of numbers that add up to 10). When children know number bonds well, they can progress and understand subtraction with ease.

This sea-themed game would bring hours of fun for all the family. Be careful of the shark card though, you would be unlucky to get this card as it would mean losing your winnings!

4. Building Octagon Puzzle by Grimm’s

One thing that my friends know about me is that I am a total geometry buff. This octagon puzzle reminds me of the work by Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher, who was famous for his mathematically inspired woodcuts that used the concept of tessellation (placing shapes together in a way that they can connect perfectly without gaps). This concept is present in the puzzle in the way that all the triangles tessellate, fitting beautifully into the large octagon shape.

The opportunities for learning mathematics are endless here. Learners can create new patterns by rearranging the colours and use the puzzle as inspiration for their own tessellation artwork.

The puzzle can also be used to explore fractions. For instance, learners can count 8 purple triangles out of a total of 72 triangles. This is represented as the fraction 8/72 and can be simplified by dividing both the numerator and denominator of 8/72 by 8 to get 1/9. The conclusion found is that 1/9 of the octagon puzzle has purple triangles. Children can use the puzzle to form different questions and capitalise on their own natural sense of inquiry.

5. LeapStart Cook It Up! Maths Activity Book by LeapFrog

LeapFrog LeapStart Cook It Up! Maths Activity Book — LeapStart Cook It Up! Maths Activity Book (11 tokens)

I picked this interactive activity book because of my love for cooking. Children can get involved in all kinds of things that keep your house and family in happy and working order. The added bonus is how DIY, gardening, cooking, and all manner of household maintenance activities are really natural opportunities for learning. Cooking, for instance, is chocked full of mathematics as well as being an invaluable lifelong skill.

This Leapfrog cooking and maths activity book explores 16 key maths, logic and reasoning skills. Some skills that younger children can develop when following simple recipes include weighing, sorting, mixing and time management.

You can also take the concepts from this book further and adjust recipes for different amounts of people. For example, if a recipe is for 4 people, then your child would need to correctly divide each ingredient by 2 in order to get the exact ingredients for 2 people. You could even practice conversions between different measures. 1.75 kg of flour being equivalent to 1750g is one type of conversion that children can calculate. Perhaps this could lead to conversations about measuring volume. Other follow-on questions can be used, such as ‘What does a millilitre of milk look like and would it fit on a teaspoon?’ There is plenty to explore with this book and you get to eat lots of yummy dishes afterwards!

6. Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set by Learning Resources

Coding is a desirable skill in the competitive 21st-century economy and is used to build and run websites, apps, video games, and much more. When children learn to code, they learn problem-solving and practice analytical thinking. Colby the robotic mouse will help introduce your child to coding in a fun way. The game includes step-by-step instructions and is simple to follow. After helping Colby find the cheese, children will understand programming principles and appreciate that robots actually execute commands given to them in the form of codes.

Give this one a try – your children won’t be disappointed.

7. Bajo Balance Pyramid by Bajo

Everyone has a personal love or hate relationship with algebra. Even as a maths teacher, I have to admit it was not quite love at first sight! Solving equations became a quick and senseless procedure early on at school. I knew I was finding the value of a variable, but I did not understand the principles behind solving equations.

Later on, I learned that algebra is actually a lot of fun but it didn’t come naturally. Certainly a toy like the balance pyramid would have helped me understand the balancing nature of equations. This toy is suitable for very young children because it teaches coordination and pattern formation. However, I would equally use it with teenagers because it helps teach the property of equality via a visual model.

Check out Whirli’s other educational toys here. I hope you enjoyed my recommendations and for more insights into mathematical concepts follow my page math.mama on Instagram and Facebook.

Guest Post: Homeplay – the best way to learn at home

Firstly let me introduce myself. I’m Jamie, an early years specialist and the creator of ‘The Childcare Guru’. I have a passion for the outdoors, in particular Forest School. I love to encourage children to learn through play, building on their self-confidence & resilience. I have worked in many roles in my career, from managing nurseries, working as a deputy headteacher and as an early years consultant. My two debut books are released this year, ’50 Fantastic Ideas for Forest School’, available now and ‘Building confidence, resilience and emotional intelligence in young children ’, available for pre-order.

It’s difficult to put into words the current COVID-19 pandemic. We find ourselves stepping back from the fast-paced world we ‘normally’ live in – I say ‘normally’ in inverted commas because I know that so many are working tirelessly on the frontline to fight this virus, putting themselves at risk to support our nation. Which I am eternally grateful for and I have no doubt that everyone shares this gratitude.

I have spent a few days mulling over the purpose of this blog entry and how best to write it in order to support parents. I have come to the conclusion that everyone will be facing different challenges and adapting to new realities. So to begin, I wanted to say don’t put pressure on yourselves. There has been SO much talk about ‘homeschooling’ on the internet and I feel that parents have been put under immense pressure to put education plans in place or try to homeschool their children. The reality is that children learn through play and your children will not suffer from a few months out of school, this is an amazing opportunity to teach life skills, play at home, explore the outdoors (where possible) and bring together the family. So I wanted to arm you with some exciting and fun activities that you can easily do at home with your children, in particular outdoor ideas for your garden or on your daily exercise.

1. Outdoor play & natural resources

The outdoors provides us with a wealth of resources and opportunities for play and exploration. The following ideas are flexible, adaptable and suitable for any type of environment you may have access to, including gardens and areas on you come across on your daily exercise (primarily to collect resources if nothing else!). Spending just 15 minutes a day outside is proven to boost our wellbeing – especially in times like now, having some outdoor time is crucial to children’s health both physically and mentally.

I won’t go into too much detail about the theories and research behind the importance of being outdoors, however one theory really resonates with me is ‘SPICES’, which stands for –

S – social
P – physical
I – intellectual
C – communication
E – emotional
S – spiritual

Being outdoors allows for holistic learning, this simply means it focuses on the needs of the whole child rather than just one element of their development or learning. Being outside offers children the opportunity to connect or re-connect with the natural world around us. The environment itself offers great opportunities for learning, exploration, discovery, and risk-taking. You feel a sense of calmness when outside and it really helps to nurture and heal.

Sticks, leaves, fallen petals, moss and stones are all brilliant resources for play. Often we just bypass these types of resources but they can add so much value and create plenty of play opportunities that are priceless. Here are some of my favourites…

Activity – Free Barnacle the Dragon!
(note: you can change the characters/themes of any activity to suit your children’s interests!)

You can write this activity introduction onto a letter to read to your children to make it even more magical and exciting! So they think they have received a letter personally!

‘The menacing woodland witch has cast a sleeping spell on Barnacle the dragon. Whilst he is sleeping he is unable to protect the woodland animals with his magical dragon tears! There is only one way to break the spell and we need your help! Can you collect the woodland ingredients to break the witch’s spell?’

Ingredients (perhaps you can find these on your daily walk or out in your garden?
A lump of mud
5 green leaves
6 brown leaves
4 sticks
8 blades of grass
3 stones
1 snail shell
1 piece of moss

Once you have your ingredients, mix them together in a pot. Then you must chant your woodland spell to free the dragon! (Older children may want to create their own chant/poem).

“The woodlands provide us with so much,
We must be delicate with our touch.
This magic potion we will make,
To ensure the witches spell will break.
Then Barnacle will be free to fly,
Our dragon soaring through the sky.
Happiness will resume,
And the witch will lose her broom!”

Activity – What can you find?

I love the simplicity of this activity but that it also helps children to notice their surroundings and ask questions about their finds. As spring is finally here there are lots of changes around! Simply take a piece of cardboard (or anything similar) and cover it with double-sided sticky tape (or fold the sticky tape in two). Children can then explore their garden or areas on their daily walk to place onto their cardboard. This will encourage them to compare their findings and see what patterns and colours they can create on their boards!

If you are stuck to find answers to what plants they may find, this app is very helpful. The woodland trust also has a tree identifier app which is very useful!

Plants stuck on a piece of cardboard — Different types of plants stuck on a piece of cardboard

Activity – Spring Spotter Sheets

As mentioned there are so many changes around us at the moment and on my website, you can download free seasonal spotter sheets. Why not go on an adventure from your homes or in your gardens and see what changes are around and what you can find.

Activity – Natural Art

I love nothing more than creating art with children using natural resources. Again, free items that you can find in your gardens or locally on walks. Like sticks, petals, leaves, stones, shells… be creative! Using these items you can create large ground art, including self-portraits, animals, shapes, scenery… the list is endless!

For some more ideas head over to my YouTube channel.

2.Turning the everyday into great play

Children thrive on routine, it helps them to feel secure and safe as they can anticipate what is coming next, even if that is 2 hours free play – to have that scheduled helps to organise their day and yours. There are so many things we do each week that can be slightly enhanced to create play opportunities, which in turn provides learning experiences.

I find that role-play games are highly effective in capturing children’s attention, creativity and curiosity. Here is a list of activities you might complete both daily and weekly that can be enhanced for play and learning:

1. Creating restaurants at mealtimes – encouraging children to put together menus (with or without support depending on age), setting up the tables and helping with the cooking. This supports them to voice their likes/dislikes, experiment with cooking/baking (mathematical, literacy & scientific skills), be creative, work in a team and have fun!

2. Building a den outside or inside for story time or perhaps movie time! Making dens facilitates so many opportunities. Children have to use their creative skills to build and design their dens, using trial and error and resilience to keep on trying! It also offers time to work together, collaborating and communicating. Dens can be turned into a magnitude of different ideas, including imaginary games, role-play, quiet space, laboratory, spy headquarters… the possibilities are endless. There are some further ideas in ‘101 things for kids to do outside’ a really useful book full of quick and creative ideas, I have added this to the reading list below.

3. Set up your own in home library system. Children can make their own tokens or library passes to choose and select books to use each day. Creating a ‘story of the day’ voting system so everyone in the household votes for the bedtime story each day, teaching about democracy and taking turns. Stories are also a fantastic way to extend play. Take the well-known book ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’, you can act this story out in your garden or on a walk! Children love to take well-known stories and turn them into play/adventure or role-play. On my YouTube channel, I give an example of this. Whirli also has plenty of books to borrow for your home library with puppets and toys to accompany.

4. Movies/TV – everything in moderation! I know there can be stigma around children watching TV too much but I truly believe there is a place for everything and there can be so much learning from movies and TV shows. The Disney movie Mulan, taught me to be strong, independent and a go-getter – to this day it is one of my favourite ever films! So, rather than simply putting a movie on why not extend this activity even further… ask the children or support them to create a cosy cinema space. Invite them to create a snack stand and prices for each item (mathematics & literacy), make their own movie theatre poster and vote for their favourite movie each week (or however often works for you), they can even design their own cinema tickets! When I did this activity it took me several hours of great fun to put this all together. Here is a simple video to give you some inspiration.

5. If you have got a garden space and have access to local supermarkets, now is a wonderful time to create your own growing area outside – planting your own produce creates wonderful experiences for children, it allows them to understand life-cycles and be given the responsibility to grow and nurture your own produce. There are some lovely ideas in Annie Davy’s book ‘a sense of place’.

Lastly, Whirli has some wonderful resources to borrow that can really enhance play and learning at home, especially their role-play toys like the Plan Toys Doctor Set which is a great way to introduce to children about the current pandemic through a role-play scenario. Often this is the best way to teach and educate children, through a hands-on experience, an opportunity for them to role-play out what you may be telling them (in simplistic forms).

3. Quality time

I want to reassure you that children will look back on this time as a period where families came together, had quality time and re-connected. We live in a world where everything is going 100 miles per hour and although this is an uncertain and scary time, we have to try and see the positives where possible. Children want nothing more than our time, to feel secure and safe. The importance and value of family is crucial– suddenly money, wealth and material things seem far less important. Now is a time to re-connect, reflect and value what we have.

Parents are not meant to be formal teachers and shouldn’t see that as their role or to fill in whilst their children are not in mainstream education or nursery. The parent/child and child/teacher relationships are very different. Don’t pressure yourselves – we are all trying. This is uncertain times for not only adults but children too, their ‘normal’ has been removed so it is a period of adjustment. You know your children better than anyone else, so what you decide to do during this time will be unique to your family and your circumstances but right for you too.

Value what you have, laugh together and find happiness in whatever forms. This will be a time to look back on and realise how this shaped and changed us. It reminded us of what really is important in life.

Reading list:

Barnes, J (2020) 50 Fantastic Ideas for Forest School
Barnes, J (2020) Building confidence, resilience and emotional intelligence in young children
Barnes, J (2020) 50 Fantastic Ideas for Forest School
Barnes, J (2020) Building confidence, resilience and emotional intelligence in young children
Davy, A (2019) A sense of place, mindful practice outdoors
Buchan, N (2016) A practical guide to nature-based practice
Isaac, D (2014) 101 things for kids to do outside
Upton, D (2020) Five Minute Mum: Give Me Five: Five minute, easy, fun games for busy people to do with little kids

Top 5 family games

Let’s face it, the lockdown has many of us glued to the screen. The kids watching Ryan’s world on YouTube and us grown-ups endlessly scrolling through social media and the news. Also, occasionally rolling our eyes at fitness ads targeting us – leave us alone and stop judging us for eating all the snacks. So, I’ll share our top family games which will guarantee the whole gang to peel away from their gadgets.

1) Dobble

Warning: this game is addictive. If you want a fast-paced game that challenges mental dexterity, then this is THE game for you. Think of it as snaps but on steroids. Each card has 8 different symbols and the clever bit is that any two cards have one symbol in common which varies in size -it’s your job to quickly spot it. It’s a great game for the whole family because there’s no advantage of being a grown-up.

2) Classic Monopoly by Hasbro gaming

Monopoly is the ultimate family game so no wonder it’s the best-selling board game in the UK since lockdown according to market research firm NPD (Dobble coming in at third place). The aim is to be the last person standing with any money – not an easy journey. That’s why this game can bring families together before tearing them apart – so be prepared for tears, laughter and backstabbing. On a positive note, it can teach kids good money management.

3) Scrabble by Mattel

Looking for a game that will keep the kids learning during lockdown? We’ve got scrabble which is an education in disguise. Each player takes seven letter tiles and each letter is worth a different value. Players must form words from their tiles and at least one letter from word already on the board. It’s a fun way to teach kids spelling, expand their vocabulary and show off your knowledge of obscure words. Literacy fans, this one is for you.

4) Nerf guns

Marvel Avengers Nerf Captain America Assembler Gear (24 tokens)

Want a fun game that will get everyone up and moving about? How about renting some of our nerf guns for an epic battle? It’s also a great way to burn some excess energy off. You can go all out on this – build an obstacle course, play dramatic music and add disco lights. Or you could just stack tins in a pyramid and take turns in shooting them down.

5) Connect 4 by Hasbro gaming

This is a simple game so even the little ones will get the hang of it – try to get four discs in a row before your opponent. It’s also a fast game which means kids can greatly improve in a short period. So expect to hear frustrated cries of “Again! I want a rematch.”.

I hope you enjoy these recommendations. Let us know on Insta if you tried any of these games and what you thought of them. You know the drill – let us know if you have any toy requests and we’ll do the shopping for you. Stay at home and keep safe everyone.

Guest Post: 6 cloth nappy myths you thought were true

Like most people, when I first thought about using cloth nappies, I had a few pre-conceptions about them. I was worried I’d spend all of my time washing, they’d take a long time to get the hang of, and I’d need to buy a whole new wardrobe to fit over them. Thankfully, none of these things turned out to be true. If you’re considering using cloth nappies but are put off by thinking that they’re dirty, difficult and expensive, let me bust those myths for you!

Why consider cloth nappies?

Firstly though, why even consider using cloth nappies? Well, of all the decisions you make as a parent, one of the best things you can do for the planet is to switch to reusables. That’s why I give a large amount of my time to helping parents get started with them. You may not know it, but disposable nappies are largely made of plastic. This makes them incredibly resource- and energy-intensive to produce, and means they will likely sit in the landfill for 500 years. According to Zero Waste Europe, around 33 billion single-use baby nappies were consumed in Europe in 2017, resulting in 6,731,000 tonnes of waste over the year. That’s a lot of nappies!

By choosing reusable nappies, you can use the same 20 nappies thousands of times, saving a huge amount of waste and massively reducing your family’s environmental impact. Hopefully, that gets you thinking about why the switch is worthwhile – time to bust some myths!

Terry square (left) next to modern cloth nappy (right)

1. They’re complicated

The traditional idea of a reusable nappy is the folded terry square that our grandmothers would have used. Lots of people still (understandably!) think this is the only style of nappy that’s available and they’ll have to master complicated folds and safety pinning on a wriggly baby.

This couldn’t be further from the truth! Cloth nappies have come a long way, and the majority of today’s nappies are designed to be easy to use. Most cloth nappies look and function almost exactly like a disposable nappy. There are a few little differences in how they fit, but they’re incredibly simple to master, and once you’ve done it once or twice, it’s no harder than a disposable. You can see just how easy they are in this video!

Nappy fitting

2. They’re bulky

Classic terry nappies are pretty bulky. There are lots of layers of material to provide absorbency and this can mean that they can look huge on small babies. However, nappy design is improving all the time, and today’s reusables are much more slim fitting.

While they’re all a little bulkier than disposable nappies, the majority are neat and slim. Many are slim enough to fit under clothing from high street brands. Some parents also worry that they are too bulky to allow babies to move easily – there’s no evidence that this is true! Cloth nappy babies hit milestones just as quickly as babies in disposables.

3. They’re expensive

The idea of spending a lot of money can put some people off investing in cloth nappies, but over the long term, they will likely save you money. According to this article by The Nappy Gurus, by the time your child is out of nappies, you will have likely spent around £1,200 on nappies, bags and wipes. By comparison, the average cloth nappy user only spends around £375, including the cost of washing them! That’s a huge saving over the first years of a child’s life. And of course, if you use your nappies for more than one child (as most people do) you’ll save even more!

Having said that, even the upfront cost can be difficult to meet, so if you’re still worried about the cost, why not consider affordable ways to build your stash of nappies:

Try starting with one or two nappies (in fact that’s what I usually recommend!) and buy more over time.
Buy preloved nappies online or from a friend.
Look into affordable options. You can buy simple nappies known as pocket nappies for as little as £4 each. Or you can always opt for terry or muslin nappies – which can be as cheap as £1 each.

4. They’re dirty and smelly

Dealing with any kind of dirty nappy isn’t going to be the most pleasant experience, but there is a perception that reusable nappies are dirtier than disposables. This is definitely a myth! Sure, you need to pop any solids down the toilet once your little one has started weaning, but it’s usually as simple as shaking a little over the toilet. And did you know that you’re actually meant to do that with your disposable nappies too?

Once the solids are down the toilet, you place your nappies in a waterproof bag or mesh bag inside a bucket to be stored. When it comes to washing, all you have to do is move the wet bag, open, into the washing machine. No touching dirty nappies at all! And if you keep your wet bag or bucket open to the air you won’t get any smells from your nappies while they’re waiting to be washed. In fact, in my time supporting new parents with cloth, every single one has found it more pleasant than using disposable nappies!

5. They’re hard to wash

Speaking of washing, you might have heard rumours that cloth nappies have a complicated washing method, including soaking and bleaching and all sorts besides. This is now very outdated – gone are the days of soaking nappies! You simply store them dry in a waterproof bag or bucket, before washing in your machine.

It is important to wash nappies well so that they remain hygienic and safe for sensitive baby skin, but once you learn how to do it, it’s very straightforward – washing nappies in high temperature will kill germs including coronavirus so don’t worry. I have a helpful guide to washing nappies that takes you through it step-by-step – it’s no more complicated than washing clothes.

6. They leak

Of all the cloth nappy myths, this one is the least true, because one of the huge benefits of reusables is that they are much less likely to leak than disposables! If you’ve ever dealt with a newborn poonami (you know the ones I mean…) then you’ll be happy to hear that reusable nappies are often bombproof. The strong elastics and fabric work much better than their disposable equivalents, making them super reliable. Not only does this save on washing clothes, but it actually means nappy changes are often more hygenic.

I hope this helps you consider using cloth nappies with your family. If you’d like more information on different kinds of nappies, you can head over to my blog where I have plenty of helpful articles. Good luck with your nappy journey!

Guest Post: Play and sleep

As a certified infant sleep consultant and a mum of two little girls, I give regular advice to families on how to get the precious sleep that they need. While some kids are great at going to bed when they need to, many insist they’re just not tired to avoid bedtime. Kids need our help to get into a good sleep routine so that we can meet our own sleep needs too! Here are my top 5 tips to help your children unwind before bedtime.

1) Play during daytime

Play is essential for child development as it contributes to their physical, social, cognitive and emotional well-being. In particular, daytime play outside (the garden for now) is beneficial to our circadian rhythm (our internal body clock), because when we are exposed to sunlight, our body increases the production of serotonin (a hormone used to synthesise melatonin, our sleep hormone). In return, we will get a good sleep and wake up energised – ready to play and learn effectively! Also, playing in the garden is a fun way to get the kids to burn off excess energy.

2) Set a consistent bedtime routine

Children are not the best judge on when they need to go to bed, so it’s down to us to set a consistent bedtime routine. According to sleep studies, when a child’s bedtime is irregular, their behaviour is often worse. They may be irritable, moody, and lose focus at school or nursery.

During the times of self-isolation, it is more important than ever to encourage or maintain a routine for the whole family which can help to minimise stress. This could mean creating a set time for playing, learning, eating and sleeping so kids have a clear expectation of what will be happening that day.

3) Turn off the screens before bedtime

Screens can affect how quickly we fall asleep and stay asleep. The blue and white light from our gadgets can suppress melatonin levels (our sleep hormone) and delay how sleepy we feel. Also, playing video games or watching tv can produce adrenaline in the body, delaying sleep further. This is why we should avoid screen time (no more Peppa pig) for at least an hour before bedtime.

4) Choose toys that can help kids wind down

Play can also be part of a bedtime/naptime routine – quiet and relaxing play will lower your child’s activity level. We should avoid bright and noisy toys or any high activity play which can overstimulate your kids. You can even use pretend play to help kids relax. For example, they can put their favourite toy ‘to bed’ and subconsciously learn to anticipate bedtime. This type of play can also help them understand and express feelings through the re-enactment of experiences, which sets the scene for the “end of the day chat”.

Wooden toys are especially soothing and appealing to a child’s sense of touch. A personal favourite of mine is the Plan toys dentist set which is great for emulating the adult world, but also for practising fine motor skills. Another one is the Janod zigolos flamingo balancing game because it challenges dexterity without being overstimulating. What’s fantastic about Whirli is the large variety of exciting toys to choose from to keep your little ones amused.

Janod Zigolos Flamingo Balancing Game (18 tokens)

5) Build your own bedtime routine

There is no definitively right or wrong way to set up a bedtime routine. Ideas could include a relaxing bathtime, a bedtime story, goodnight cuddles, quiet play, listening to relaxing music and having an end of the day chat (great for mindfulness). These activities contribute to positive parent-child attachment, development and sleep. For example, bathtime as part of a routine can encourage early learning of self-care and hygiene. The power of the routine also depends on how you do it such as dimming the lights and keeping a calm voice.

I hope these tips have given you some ideas on how to help your kids unwind before bedtime so you and your family can get the rest you need.