Recession-hit Brit mums making huge sacrifices to feed kids

October 14th, 2009 LONDON - Brit school kids have been given permission to use banned mobile phones, MP3 players and gaming devices in class, as they are believed to help them learn. Teachers at a 1,230-pupil comprehensive reckon the gadgets are a "huge untapped resource" for teaching.

September 30th, 2009 LONDON - In a new-twist to the traditional two-parent family, two married lesbian women in Britain are all set to become mums to babies they both have conceived from a same straight male friend. Emma Flanagan and Laura longed for kids after their marriage on Sept 2, 2006, and found a unique solution to have their own family.

September 6th, 2009 LONDON - Are you feeling powerless as a parent? Then, here's some food for thought: a new research has claimed that a mother's beliefs even before her baby is born predict how well her infant will sleep at night later. According to researchers in Israel, if an expectant mum thinks that babies who cry at night are suffering distress and need comforting and soothing back to sleep, then her newborn is likely to wake more frequently during the night than if she believes babies should learn to settle themselves.

August 26th, 2009 LONDON - Brit coppers Jacqueline Felton and Michael Aldred have revealed that they have booked the best wedding date ever - 9/9/9. The two of them have decided on tying the knot on September 9, 2009, a date which very much has to do with their work.

August 5th, 2009 LONDON - A new survey has revealed that 20 per cent of Brit primary school kids have failed in their English exam this year, with SATs results falling for the first time since testing began. It was also revealed that about 115,000 pupils will move up to secondary education next month, at least two years behind their classmates.

July 8th, 2009 LONDON - Two thirds of the 'hesitant' Brit mothers have called upon celebrities to breastfeed in public to encourage acceptance in a new survey. The poll conducted by Mother and Baby magazine revealed that many mothers feel too self-conscious to breastfeed over the fears of public stares.

July 5th, 2009 LONDON - Two in three UK mothers hesitate to breastfeed their kids whether inside or outside over fears of attracting the opprobrium of people, says a new survey. A large number of women believe UK is "not breastfeeding-friendly".

June 30th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Guilt-ridden working mothers can chill - a new study claims, while breastfed babies are held more and read to more, they sleep 40 minutes a day less and cry five minutes a day more than bottle-fed babies. The Australian Institute of Family Studies research revealed that full-time working mums spend on average 83 minutes less per day with their baby than stay-at-home mums, but the baby's father and grandparents make up for the lost mother time, reports The Daily Telegraph.

April 26th, 2009 LONDON - The ongoing recession has certainly changed Brit men's underwear choices, for the sales of Y-fronts have increased by 35 per cent. According to retailer Debenhams, sales of Y-fronts are outperforming than that of trendy boxers and trunks.

April 20th, 2009 LONDON - In wake of the ongoing recession, about a third of workers in UK are ready to accept a pay cut if it helped colleagues keep their jobs, according to a new survey. The research commissioned by campaign group Keep Britain Working showed that about more than 30 pct of the employees are ready to take pay cuts, while one in five would apply for a sabbatical on reduced pay Half would agree to change their role entirely if it helped avoid redundancies.

April 6th, 2009 LONDON - A new survey has revealed that Brit couples have, on average, 156 arguments a year. This means that they spend two full days fighting each other, reports the Sun.

April 2nd, 2009 LONDON - A Brit woman has designed a special 'shawl' that turns into a baby hammock to protect mums' modesty while breast-feeding in public. Mother-of-one Keira O'Mara, from Birmingham, has developed the Mamascarf, which completely covers the upper half of the body.

March 21st, 2009 LONDON - Eight out of ten British kids are addicted to their mobile phones, a new survey has found. According to www.youngpoll.com, one in three children feel "alone" without the phone and almost half sleep next to it.

March 17th, 2009 LONDON - 'Busy' British parents are finding it difficult to pass on simple recipes, says a new research, which found that three-quarters of mums do not give their children regular cooking lessons. On the behalf of the Potato Council, 2,039 people were interviewed and it was found that one-fifth of mothers said they rarely or never taught their children to cook.

March 16th, 2009 LONDON - British mums do more than 32,000 pounds of household work every year, according to a new survey. Commissioned by insurers Legal and General, the survey showed that household chores like childcare, cleaning, and cooking would cost an average of 32,812 pounds, if families had to pay outsiders to do them.