Sarah Beeny feels this generation are more lenient
Do you want to tell us about this Cheerio campaign that you're working on?
It's a really exciting campaign because it's very positive about mothering, and I think that's a very good thing. It's basically a campaign to encourage mothers to say 'yes', but say 'yes' about the right things because parenting at the moment is really hard and mothers say no an awful lot when they really want to say 'yes' and then they say 'yes' about all of the wrong things, like more hours of television and eating more sweets. But actually you can say 'yes' to things, just make sure that it's the right ones. One of the reasons that I'm involved is because my kids eat a lot of Cheerios, but also they're nutritionally really good, they are breakfast - which children must eat - and the children don't whine about eating them, so it's a win all-round really.
Do you think it's surprising that 42 per cent of parents say that they are more lenient than there own parents?
I think people from this generation are more lenient and I don't necessarily think that that's a good thing. They're kind of eay fixes and because people's lives are really busy and really manic, people say yes to things that will keep the kids quiet for about 10 seconds and perhaps those are the things that you should say no to. Because people have got lots on, they're tired and working they say yes to things to subdue their children for a minute, five or 20. Whereas, our parents didn't have that stuff and they'd have been more likely to say no to it and say go outside and play on your bicycle.
How do you find best to keep your children busy and quiet?
I've got boys, and I think that having boys is a bit like having dogs. [Laughs] You have to feed them, run them and sleep them and then they're ok. But I do know that if you don't do these things then they are a pain, there is no shortcut around it. You can't leave them in the house all day and expect them to sleep or eat, you do have to get them out and exercise them.
Do you think that you're lenient with your children?
I think I am actually, I am in some ways and others I'm not. They don't go to bed when they should and they don't stay in their bed, they spring back into our bed, which is kind of annoying. They get quite a lot of what they want if I think that it's a good idea. So, if didn't have a football and they really wanted one, then I'd go and get them one. They do normally have a football, but sometimes it's been eaten by the fox or it's been kicked into someone else's garden.
How do you manage to set boundaries with your children?
Well, it's really hard actually. I think it's a balance. Relatively speaking, for little ones, not for older ones, for really small children the things that they want are not very expensive, so for 30p you can get the thing that they want. It's not a question of money to say you can't have that, it's actually more about them and that's the difficult balance to get them to understand that they can't have everything and buy something because they have the money. We recently went on holiday in the half term and I gave my eldest two some money to spend and they really struggled with it. They're only seven and six, so I suppose it's kind of early days. They went in the shop and they wanted to spend their money and I explained that if you don't see anything that you like you don't have to spend it, you can keep it till you find something that you like. They just couldn't get their heads around that and it was literally burning a hole in their pocket. I realised that that is where the saying comes from. I'm not quite sure how you teach it, I'm learning. I'll let you know if I succeed.
Have you got any tips for dealing with tantrums?
I think you need to start the beginning of the day with strong meals, you need them to eat breakfast and it has to be a good breakfast. Which is why I'm involved in this Cheerios campaign. If you can set up the day where they've eaten good food, you're less likely to get a child that has a tantrum because they're not hungry. The highs and lows of not having enough food is really bad. So feed them properly and as painful as it it, this is absolutely right is that you have to ignore them and not let them win. The tantrums are just vechiles to see whether they can win or not. Or try and change to change the subject, but whatever you do don't give in to what they want.
Money is tight at the moment, so what sort of things can parents do with their children that don't cost a lot?
One of the things that I know is that children don't need things, they need time. And time does actuall cost quite a lot of money nowadays because everyone has to go to work, but that's what they want, time. You can do so many things even without a piece of paper, with a piece of paper you can do all sorts of other things, like hangman and paper areoplanes. I think that you have to spend time with them, and all kinds of fun can be had with them without having to spend a lot of money.
You're obviously busy with your number of different shows. How do you manage your time between work and your children?
Well it is a constant battle, I'm going to be honest. I have to say no to certain things, and I do have to compartmentalise my life a little. No one has our landline number, so no one can ring us in our house except my parents and brother. I turn my mobile off when I go home, so if the phone goes I know who it is going to be. We have a big close knit family, so it's easier to work with that.
Sarah Beeny is supporting the Cheerios Easy Yes campaign to encourage mums to say yes more often for all the right reasons. With the combination of 4 delicious whole grains and 8 vitamins and iron, Cheerios are an Easy Yes. For more information visit www.facebook.com/CheeriosUK
Femalefirst Taryn Davies
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