Interview with Nicola from Happy Tums
This week’s interview in the #parentingthesummer series is from Nicola at Happy Tums. I first came across these guys as I was weaning my eldest, their workshop totally changed my mindset from panic/worry to actually enjoying the experience. Nicola is very vocal about healthy eating and is open and honest about the struggles to get children to eat healthy 100% of the time. The mix of expertise and understanding from being a mum really makes their workshops relatable, relaxing and supportive. Today Nicola will be sharing how she manages two kids, a business and still manages to have fun in the summer holidays.
To start with it would be great to know a little bit about yourself and your family
I’m Nicola, mum to two Amabel and Jesse. I co-own Happy Tums with my business partner Theresa we run weaning workshops where we help parents when they’re introducing solids to children so we’re all about food, all about healthy diet and a healthy approach to feeding your children.
What do you find challenging about the summer holidays?
The amount of people everywhere!!! I think because my children are preschoolers at the moment, until September at least, the thought of actually going out and having to deal with the hordes and hordes of people is the thing that puts me off because I’m just not used to it. So I think quite a lot of time we’ll just be hidden away during the summer holidays.
Another challenge is juggling work, even just a few hours preschool every week allows you to either get work done or tidy the house or just going out to do jobs and not have to lug all the children around. So for us it’s about trying to avoid the crowds and trying to balance everything.
Tell us how you spend a typical summer weekend or day with your family
Because of the fact that a lot of people in one place can put me off we spend a lot of time inviting people over to our house. We had an extension built which means it’s nice and open plan so at the weekends we quite like having our friends over for a barbecue. We put all the toys out in the garden and let the kids run wild and that’s quite a nice day for us.
We’ll also go to the beach, nice and relaxed lots of space and fresh air as well for the kids. Another favourite of ours is RHS Wisley, as Hyde Hall in Chelmsford is a RHS garden and we’re members there we get access to all their other gardens. We go to Hyde Hall regularly but also like to go to Wisley which is just a little bit bigger with loads of open space and great information around flowers which Amabel likes it’s just really nice wondering around.
So for us it’s outdoorsy stuff but nothing too manic and where there is lots of space is always a good idea for us.
What tips would you give other mums on making the summer less stressful?
There is a lot of pressure to do ‘stuff’ over the Summer Holidays, everybody thinks that in order for your kids to have a really happy and memorable Summer Holiday you have to do lots of different activities and go to different places but actually part of the fun of summer is the flexibility of doing whatever you want and actually relaxing.
When I was younger yes my mum took us into London and did little bits and pieces like that but mostly it was chilling at home or playing with your friend.
We just got back from a weekend camping and just watched the kids run around barefoot on this dusty dried out grass for a whole weekend, they were absolutely filthy and had nothing more than a couple of balls and rackets and a few little toys they’d brought from home. They had the absolute best time and there was nothing structured about it other than the fact that we’d all arranged to go and sleep in a field for a few nights.
So I think don’t get pressured into feeling you have to book all these expensive activities and go to these expensive places because it’s about spending time together relaxing, seeing friends, having picnics and ease off the envy that you get by looking everyone social media and seeing what they’re doing and just think actually we really enjoying our day.
To finish, what three words sum up the summer holidays to you
Happy, Relaxed & Sun
Thank you Nicola for this amazing advice, you can find and follow Happy Tums via Instagram, Facebook or Twitter and also find out about the latest workshops and shop for essential weaning kit via Nicola’s website.
I hope you loved reading this interview, stay tuned for more amazing Essex Mama’s sharing their views on how to make summer awesome. Join us on this this journey for more interviews, tips and tricks to put a smile on everyones face by watching #ParentingTheSummer on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook☀️👧👶🌈🍦✌⚡️😘❤️
