sharing, really quite upset

Tinytim

Hi Miche,

Being of the older generation I grew up in a house with single glazing, no central heating, drafts, and no loft insulation. Heat came from a coal open fire in the lounge, and an immersion heater for hot water. We regularly had ice on the inside of the windows, got dressed under the covers, and as someone else said, the bathroom was out of bounds unless you wanted frostbite!

We were cosy warm in our beds though. My mum put the first blanket on the mattress, and then used sheets and blankets rather than a duvet or sleeping bag - sometimes the blankets were so heavy we thought we were going to be crushed. We had fleecy pyjamas, and were allowed to get dressed for bed in front of the living room fire. The beds had hot water bottles (don't use boiling water) put in them half an hour before bedtime, and there were three of us in one room

As far as the parenting books are concerned, some of the advice is brilliant, and some is not. For anyone who thinks there are justifiable reasons for smacking a child, then they need to learn about naughty chairs or naughty steps, which are far more effective. However, as dad to four, I really don't see the problem with little ones sharing your bed To children, one of mummy's most important super-powers is that she can solve all problems and make everything better. IMHO, being able to snuggle in with mum (and dad) and forget about the bad dream, or frightening shadow is far more important than some of the current thinking on kids staying in their own beds. In fact, we broke all the rules when they were babies, as breastfeeding on demand is so much easier when they are in bed with you

lisamummytoarchieplusbump

when i lived in my flat it was always cold and took so long to heat up when i put the heating on, i bought a calor gas fire, i used to have to get out of bed about 10mins before i had to switch it on then jump back in bed till it heated up, they heat up a room really quickly and if you keep the door shut the room stays warm for ages, they are quite cheap for the bottles and last ages, im going to be getting mine out again as its costing loads having the heating on.

my kids are 3yrs and 1yrs so still very small and never keep blankets on so i have to wrap them up for bed aswell

DaisyChainMaker

My heart goes out to you. Having recently gone bankrupt and now watching the pennies myself I am also wary of putting the heating on. Instead I have put more covers on the beds. Old blankets, old duvets, or throwovers. It really made a difference... the weight keeps you warm too..infact too warm sometimes that my daughter kicks covers off. I put a hot water bottle in the bed to warm it a little before she gets in and then she has one of those weatybag animals (you shove em in the microwave to warm up and they are safer for children than hot water bottles), when she goes to bed. She has socks for bed... and snuggles down quite happily. x

Now dont think Im mad ... but.. I also have an orange glow lightbulb in her room ..in her bedsite light that she puts on while shes reading or getting ready for bed. It makes the room 'feel' warmer. I know it sounds daft...but it really does work. lol x

I leave my heating on very low... and most of the times it doesnt click on at all because it is that low.. (13 on the wall thermostat). We snuggle under blankets watching tv ... which is cosey too and this is now our second year of doing this and it doesnt even seem like a chore this year x

I hope you and your children have a great christmas .. and lets face it, even if they don't have many presents they have a great mum who loves them...what more could they want x snuggle under blankets and wear thick socks xx Its cosey xx

MicheH

Aw a fab post, thank you. I love the word cosy! My DH rang today he's got one of those weaty things I think, it's a lion £8 it cost I think but at least bed will be warm The heating is hardly kicking in now either, I have the radiators set at 1.5 out of 6 so it's rather low but it's enough to get that chill out of the house. I'm much happier now and DD slept all through the night with her vest suit, sleep suit and and fleecy suit, all snug this morning. I'm with you on the light, I never switch the big light on (Peter Kay!!) and always have the lamps on, it is so much more cosier.

Saturday mornings we all sit under the blanket watching TV, going to buy horlicks for really chilly mornings.

All mucking in trying to make the house cosy is another lesson in life i'm learning, it makes you feel like you're really looking after your family rather than just cranking the heating up (nothing wrong with that.. if you can afford it!)

I love this thread, simply because so many people have offered their advice and stories about what they do and it's nice to see posters who are maybe just having a look at the bankruptcy board to post on here to help me out too.

Thank you everyone for your advice, every single word has been read and appreciated (the pm's offering help have been fab too)

x

dollparts

Hello, only me:)

Miche, I'm sure you have managed to sort your heat issues by now but I thought I would mention to you (and indeed anyone else) that I have recently applied for a warm form grant. They offer assistance with insulation, boiler 'ishoos', and other such help with all things keeping warm.

They do have a criteria that you have to meet and apparently the wait for work to be carried out can be lengthy but it's worth a try and there's always next winter-although this one still has months to run in any case.

Here's the link, hope it helps!

http://www.warmfront.co.uk/index.htm

Thought it may be useful to many as I know there are quite a few of us here that have recently moved.

In the meantime the FABULOUS wilkinsons have solved the problem for the interim, I have bought some sticky draught excluder strips for my front door. Now it's no longer Lapland in the hallway and Africa in the bedrooms:D

It won't last forever but will surely do for now.

MicheH

Great post there doll. Solved the problems? Getting more creative (old duvet stitched and put up at door etc etc.) I will have a look at the link for sure. There's a house up for sale up the street so I nebbed at their energy effiency survey results.. F - not surprising really!

Deffo worth a try! You're a wee gem

MicheH

I've just applied but at the end screen when it told me the timescale for the application and what documents to have handy it stated that I need to have proof that I am legally responsible for the repair and upkeep of the heating system to qualify. We're not so doubtful we'll get the grant

dollparts

Miche, they will write to you and ask for landlord's address so they can write to get consent for any work they may carry out.

I would say most be would happy for them to go ahead-after all, happy tennants = long term letting and that makes a landlord a very happy specimen:) Not to mention the instant improvement gratis for their property.

It may be worth calling them now and they can track your application over the phone and if you can give them the LL details then it may speed it up a little?

May be worth giving your LL heads up so he can have a look at the site himself if he is 'web inclined'

HTH x

MicheH

Oh, thank you doll. Not all is lost then My landlord is a lovely man, doubt he'd have any problem with us improving his energy rating. He knows it's a cold property, lived here for 12 years - alone!

dojoman

You should be OK with your application, my friend who is a LL (old terraced house, very very cold) was successful in getting a boiler fitted for his tenant. Hope you manage to get one, especially with the weather getting so cold.