With more and more people in the UK being made redundant, forced to accept pay cuts and struggling to find work at all, there has been a surge in the number of small business being opened.
As a work at home mum, I understand the importance of getting the balance right and still being able to provide for my children and pay the bills.
With job uncertainty at an all time high and future education becoming ever more competitive, my soon to be husband and I decided that in order to 'secure our families future' we would have to take matters into our own hands.
Despite us both currently working we have begun developing our own small business which we are hoping to launch soon!
With business on our mind we know just how expensive advertising and marketing can be which is why we strongly believe on using all of the free social media opportunities at our disposal. They are great for free exposure, offer limitless networking opportunities and can put you in touch with potential customers.
To make the most of these opportunities we will be hosting a networking event every Wednesday evening on Twitter between 8pm and 9pm.
Whether you have a business idea, are a start-up or have been successfully trading for some time, if you are a parent in business we'd love for you to join us with your ideas, comments, suggestions or advice.
We'll be around this evening for anyone that wants to join on and hope to really get things going next Wednesday. So for articles, advice, networking and more join us on Wednesdays between 8pm and 9pm on Twitter
M xx
"It's not fair", "but my friends have one", "your so boring" were just some of the statements made by my tween when discussing why she cannot have a Facebook account.
I guess I knew that when you have kids they eventually get to 'that' stage where they want to be grown ups and in this day and age its happening at younger ages.
My daughter is almost 12 and having started secondary school this September I've slowly but surely noticed changes in what she wants to do and how she behaves. Whilst many of her arguments with me are well thought out and very diplomatic, I usually still manage to get her to understand why I am the way I am with her and why I make the decisions I do with her. Compared to some parents I know and some of her friends parents I know I'm not necessarily as liberal as them but I think that our children are children and there will be plenty of time to be adults.
I tried explaining to her that all Facebook users need to be at least 13 years of age and there's obviously a reason for this to which she replied "what?" Before I could answer the clearly rhetorical question she replied by reeling of a comprehensive list of internet safety and security measures and the benefits of the privacy options Facebook offers.
It was also suggested that if I would be a wonderful parent and let her open a Facebook account then she would 'allow' me to have the password giving me full access to what she's up to. Her extremely mature and concise debate doubled with the fact that she had actually come and asked me if she could have a Facebook account instead of just opening one almost made me cave in. In asking me if she could have an account she is showing a level of responsibility that a lot kids her age wouldn't.
I know many of her friends already have Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram accounts but rightly or wrongly I just feel there's something sinister about letting our children have access to all of this so young.
Even though I have a Facebook account myself I don't see what the fascination for her with having one is. I admittedly feel horrible and unreasonable for not allowing her to have one but I want to protect her from the world as much as possible!
Am I being unreasonable? Have you allowed your child to open a Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or Instagram account?
What are your thoughts on children using social media.
M xx
