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About Really Kid Friendly

Who are we? We’re mums and dads just like you. We’ve drunk imaginary tea from tiny plastic teacups, created entire worlds out of Lego, and we secretly love hopping along to Sleeping Bunnies.

We want to tell you about that cheery little cafe around the corner where the owners smile when they see our kids. And about these totally sweet little arts and crafts ideas that are worth the hassle of cleaning glue off the furniture. And about this amazing new iPhone app that keeps our toddler entertained on a rainy day, and about the beautiful picture book we snuggle up with at bedtime.

Parenting isn’t just about surviving tantrums and being armed with tiny boxes of raisins. It’s also about genuinely enjoying time with our kids, and that’s what this website is all about. We hope you’ll pick up some great ideas from what other mums and dads have written, and we’d love it you’d share your tips too.

About Janis and Anne

Janis CurryJanis Curry
Co-Founder and Managing Director

I look after the day-to-day running of ReallyKidFriendly.com, as well as some geeky stuff behind the scenes. Thanks to my two boisterous rascals (aged 3 and 4½), I have become an expert in soft play areas, parks, energetic music classes, and where to get a stiff drink once the kids have gone to bed. I also work with businesses and brands to help them better engage with mums and dads online, write for The Huffington Post, and create tecchie video tutorials for BritMums.

Really – ask me anything!

Email janis at reallykidfriendly dot com, get in touch via LinkedIn, or send a tweet to @MumVersusKids

 

Anne ElkingtonAnne Elkington
Co-Founder

Anne has two adorable kids and a love of all things South West… so look out for her tips on everything from Devon and Cornwall to Wimbledon and Clapham. She has checked out lots of the indoor play centres, parks and gardens on the website, and can always be relied on for great tips on travelling with kids.

How it all began

Janis and her long suffering husband Geoff had some initial thoughts back in 2007, based on our frustrations trying to find truly child friendly places to go with little M, just a baby at the time. We kept finding that places advertised as ‘child friendly’ were suited to school age kids but definitely not for babies or toddlers, and that most of the best places weren’t advertised anywhere at all. The best recommendations by far were from other mums and dads at the playground, and often they were for the most unexpected spots. Through NCT coffee mornings and playground natter we discovered the most welcoming cafes perfect for new parents, came across wonderful local playgroups, and got the low-down on baby friendly tourist attractions just in time for Grandpa’s visit to London.

We wanted to find a way to capture all those invaluable word-of-mouth recommendations, and make it easier for new mums and dads to find local child friendly places to go and things to do. We wrote the outline idea for a site on the back of a menu in our local child friendly pub, and a few months later we shared our thinking with our friends Tim and Anne (and 3 excited toddlers) over a roast chicken dinner.  Further on we were joined by Martin and Becky, and between the six of us, ReallyKidFriendly.com was born.

You’ll also find our top tips on child friendly activities and family days out here:

Baby London Magazine
Living North Magazine

Press and nice stuff

Our Writers

We are proud to be part of British Mummy Bloggers, and very pleased to have met so many incredibly talented parent bloggers through the network, and through the weird and wonderful world of Twitter. Keep an eye out for guest posts from these lovely folk, among others!

We have also been doing our best to give the next generation a helping hand, and have featured some great content on the site researched and written by recent graduates from the Business and Innovation Department’s Graduate Talent Pool. They aren’t parents but they sure are a passionate and talented bunch, and they just love writing about fun things to do with kids. On our site you’ll find features by

  • George Barnes (a budding scriptwriter)
  • Sam Sanchez (a sharp marketing grad)
  • Esther Lee (studying for her Masters in Publishing)
  • Farida Salifu (a budding journalist with a recent Masters in International Communications)
  • Louise Hobson (an English and Linguistics Graduate)

Louise is best known for her fabulous National Trust sites for families series, and has put together some great tips for parents for ReallyKidFriendly.com’s Guide to Disneyland Paris – in the works!

This page is still under construction, so please bear with us. If you have any questions in the meantime, drop us a line:  ideas@reallykidfriendly.com