Posted By: luditeHi there. I've saved money and not bought myself an interiors mag or a building one for ages. I'm getting a bit of withdrawal. . . . . so. Here's three questions to start off with.

Wood chip wall paper. Is it 'in'. . . 'out'. . . . .greener than other wall papers, or not so green? Any way to bring it up to date?

Rather unfashionable but I guess it might be green.

Toilets. . . . . is floor mounted and exposed cistern better, or should I opt for a wall mounted version with the cistern hidden in the wall?

I went for a back-to-the-wall floor mounted pan with a hidden cistern. It's cheaper than wall mounted.

Lino. . . . . Kids have just drawn all over the brand new lino on our bathroom floor with wax crayon. . . . .before I attack it with a green scrubby and some cif, is there anything more eco and easier I can use to remove the artists work?,

Not had that problem but NEAT washing up liquid with absolutely NO water, not even a damp cloth, can get oil off most things so I'd probably try that. But be aware that as soon as you use any water it stops working.

Oh, Yes, and as an extra aside. The latest cover of Living etc shows yet another all white interior. . . . . welcome views on, if this is a) child friendly b) realistic in a busy household - with a wood burning stove?

No. If it is child friendly your kids need help.

woodchip will never been 'in', in my opinion anyway!

I remeber skinning my arms on my parents woodchipped hallway on a regular basis and even as a kid thinking, 'this stuff is crap'.

Wall mounted toilets are easier to clean under, but that is about it as far as i am aware!

Wall hung toilets are great for cleaning the floor etc, but do cost more, mainly due to the frame or added structure required to hang it on.

no colour is child friendly - if they are going to draw, they have enough colours to choose from to ensure their art is visible.
Dreading the day we have to hand our rental flat back to the landlord after our two ragamuffins efforts

We were always allowed to draw on walls before Grandma put wall paper on. . . . Having said that, we knew it was a special circumstance and we didn't draw on walls at any other time. My kids do it all the time and I've (mostly) given up trying to stop them.

I'm wondering about wall mounted toilets as: I've heard they are easier to clean under, AND, I'm wondering that if the cistern is hidden it's less likely to develop condensation. . are the cisterns smaller too?

Wood chip paper. I read some where that if you are going to paper walls, best to do the outside ones, as the paper is an 'extra insulating layer' - don't know how right that info is?

When I have seen wood chip papers for sale, they look very basic - no laminates or plastics in them and they almost look like they're made from recycled paper. I was wondering about the fact you are 'storing sawdust' stopping it from rotting by sticking it to your walls - but I'm sure there must be more effective forms of carbon capture.

As for taste - I guess it depends what you grow up with. The kitchen in our house is wall papered with it in places. It's over 35 years old - not bad for wall paper! I agree that it can look terrible, but I sort of find it a bit comforting. . . . . . . .

Woodchip paper is like japanese knotweed in my opinion. It obviously took over our house at somepoint before we bought it and eradicating it is time consuming and costly (stripping the stuff then replastering the horrors found underneath!

Thanks paul in montreal. When i wrote that post I expected exactly that sort of response. . . . . . On the one hand, my parents banned any form of drawing implement (especially felt tips) . . .which is sort of funny, as my kids usually use wax crayons. . . . . . and the other reason was that my Mum used to make me feel. . . . . . utterly. . . . . . . crap? inferior?. . . . .like a puppy that had cr*pped on the carpet???? if I did ANYTHING which wasn't strictly PC.

Now. I'm not blaming her for how she made me feel, but I chose not to use that approach myself. Perhaps that is why my kids continue to test and try out stuff, and why i have so much trouble. . . . . especially because, as joe.e says, , , , , a wall is still a wall regardless of what is on it.

(I usually photograph the best pictures before scrubbing them off . )

Glad you are on this thread any way paulinmontreal because Hubby has just heard a rumour that 20,000 horses in canada have been killed due to a disease ( like blue tongue here) any truth in the rumour?

Posted By: luditeThanks paul in montreal. When i wrote that post I expected exactly that sort of response

I didn't mean to imply that you're a bad parent. I had felt tips, paints - all manner of stuff to have fun with as a child, but knew what was OK to do and what wasn't - it never would have crossed my mind to write on the walls. We had pads of paper and chalk boards and all that kind of stuff for play. I see people today where the kids are completely out of control and the parents seem to think it's OK - I think part of it is that people have much less time these days compared to a couple of decades ago. Everything is so "schedule" now - kids are taken for a "play session". When I were a lad (he says in his best Yorkshire accent) we just played outside - when it wasn't raining - or had an inside play day painting, drawing, whatever. But we always knew and respected what the limits were (except when we were at my anal Uncle's house and no matter what we did we were in trouble). All that said, we did draw pencil pictures and write our names on the plaster before new wallpaper went up. I remember my Dad drawing a huge circle, about 6 feet in diameter, and drawing Mount Everest to scale - a little pimple only 1/16" high (something like that). It really drove the message home how small everything really is compared to the scale of the Earth.

I haven't heard about the horse cull here - I know there is all sorts of controversy, though, because horsemeat is readily available for human consumption, particularly here in Quebec (you can even get minced horse in the supermarket).


Paul in Montreal

Thanks Mark and paulinmontreal. I have been pondering your comments for the last week or so.

We are sort of getting off the topic, but on the other hand, our children are our future (which is why I think we are trying to save the planet in the first place).

Like Paul, I had an anal aunt (dead now), who employed a nanny for her 3 girls.

I saw an old cine film of us 5 girls back when we were aged around 4. . . . . Her’s are dressed identically and look a little dazed by the experience. My sister is smiling smuggly, and I am at the front - looking a little like ‘animal’ from the muppets. (I’d been told you didn’t sit still for ‘moving pictures’ and I couldn’t see - because they didn’t figure out I needed glasses until I was 8 or so).

The point is, we all had different - yet strict - upbringings. We’ve all turned out differently - hence the massive argument over nature versus nurture.

What was very clear back then though, was that it wasn’t just ‘the parents’ who raised the children. It was society. I don’t think I’m passing the buck here.

30 years ago, If you misbehaved there were policemen on the streets, neighbours, teachers, strangers and casual passersby who put you straight. It was like ‘big brother’ only without the cameras.

Where’s it all now? Society blames the parents, teachers blame the parents, parents blame each other???? FORGET SMACKING. Raise your voice to a child and you supposedly damage them for life!

At first this really bothered me. I tried to rebel against it. I was going to raise my kids to respect authority ‘come hell or high water’. I was going to be that ‘model parent’. . . . . . but where does it really get you in todays society??

Do the neat quiet and tidy kids get rewarded? Do the bad kids get sent on all expenses paid holidays? Who gets the good get promotion? the good, or the cut-throat and ruthless? Who gets punished? the victim or the bad guy?

There is a psychologist (forgotten his name - only remembered it for the exams) who said that the human race has a ‘shared knowledge’ that means that each generation is born, able to cope with the rapidly changing circumstances it finds itself in.

I’ve been a parent for less than 5 years - which makes me a novice, no matter how much research I did before hand. I’m carrying the hopes and expectations of the present and previous generations on my shoulders, and I’m having to raise children to be able to cope with a future society (and I can’t see into the future!!)

But, I’ll stop for now. Rant over. I’m sure someone, somewhere, will bring out a new handbook about how to raise kids in a future with no fossil fuels. . . . . for the mean time. .. . . . . . .

Thanks honey

It's been troubling me for a while. Done baking, had mates round, then collage, followed by 'glitter glue' and dressing up, then out to the tree house and small boy lost his rocket in the guttering. . . .all the time I'm wondering. . . .am I being a good parent????

Parents have the 'hope for the future' ie the future wage earners (or claimants) on their shoulders. . . . . .I don't know about other parents, but it keeps me awake at nights (hence the odd hours I post comments on this site)

It is joe.e Some days are messier than others, depending on the weather. We are coming to the end of the wet wipes - now that potty training is complete. I keep a stack in the car for trips out - and when my back's turned, the kids use them like confetti.

Any way. I'll sign off for now. More mates coming and I need to do a bit of cursory cleaning and get the groceries before they arrive. Looks like it's going to be good weather so hope to be outside with the sprinkler on every now and again