Latest news with #Netmums
Daily Mirror
16 hours ago
- General
- Daily Mirror
Tomatoes grow bigger and juicier if five plants are kept away from your patch
Carefully considered companion planting is an essential exercise for a thriving garden — one that could reward gardeners with an abundant harvest of juicy and flavourful tomatoes Brits are being urged to avoid sowing certain plants nearby their tomatoes - to guarantee a 'big and juicy' harvest. While tomatoes thrive with plenty of sun and water, they are also sensitive to the company they keep in the garden. This is because some plants compete with tomatoes for vital soil nutrients, attract common pests, or release substances that inhibit tomato growth and fruiting. By keeping five specific plants away from your tomato patch, you can reduce competition, minimise pest problems, and promote healthier, more productive tomato plants. According to Netmums, careful companion planting is essential for a thriving garden and will reward you with an abundant harvest of juicy and flavourful tomatoes. 1. Cabbage Cabbage is a problematic neighbour for tomatoes. As a member of the brassica family, it aggressively consumes the same soil nutrients tomatoes need. Cabbage's extensive root system can also dominate the soil, depriving tomatoes of essential nourishment. Additionally, cabbage plants release chemicals that inhibit the beneficial fungi tomatoes rely on, further stunting tomato growth. The result is weaker tomato plants, fewer flowers and reduced fruit yield. 2. Corn Though tomatoes and corn pair well on a plate, growing them side by side invites trouble in the garden. Both plants attract similar pests, particularly moth larvae. This increases the risk of infestations, which can severely damage both crops. Furthermore, corn and tomatoes are vulnerable to similar fungal diseases, so planting them together doubles the chance of outbreaks. To minimise pest and disease problems, it is best to avoid planting corn next to your tomato patch. 3. Broccoli Like cabbage, broccoli belongs to the brassica family and shares similar nutrient demands. Both broccoli and tomatoes are heavy feeders, meaning they require large amounts of soil nutrients. When planted close together, they compete fiercely for these resources, often leaving tomatoes nutrient-starved and stunted. Broccoli's robust growth can overshadow that of tomatoes, limiting their access to sunlight. To ensure your tomatoes develop fully, keep broccoli well away from them in your garden. 4. Dill While young dill plants can be beneficial by repelling aphids, acting as a natural pest deterrent around tomato plants, once it matures dill can become harmful. Mature dill interferes with tomato root development, stunting growth and reducing fruit production. While dill tastes delicious and is a great herb for culinary use, it should be kept away from your tomato patch once it reaches maturity to avoid negative effects on your tomatoes. 5. Fennel Fennel is widely regarded by gardening experts as a poor companion for many vegetables, including tomatoes. It produces natural chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants nearby. This effect, known as allelopathy, can stunt tomato plants and reduce their productivity. Due to its aggressive nature, fennel is best grown in isolation, such as in a separate pot, to prevent it from harming your tomato crop. Keeping fennel away from tomatoes will help maintain a healthy, thriving garden environment. So while tomatoes need sun and water, their success also depends on avoiding certain neighbours. Cabbage, corn, broccoli, dill (when mature) and fennel all negatively impact tomato growth through competition, pest attraction, or chemical interference. By keeping these five plants away from your tomato patch, you can enjoy growing bigger and juicier tomatoes in your garden.
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Climate
- Daily Record
Simple mistake parents make during a heatwave could be deadly for your child
We've all got our children's best interests at heart but efforts to protect them could be putting them in danger Scotland is edging ever closer to the possibility of a heatwave, as a blast of hot weather and sunshine arrives in the UK this weekend. The Met Office has even gone as far as to issue a yellow health warning for much of England. For Scots, if Thursday and Sunday in particular play ball with high temperatures, we could establish an official heatwave of our own, too. This is when Scotland enjoys consistent mercury on or over 25C for three days in a row. However, while parents and children are frolicking in the sea, building sand castles in the beach, or playing in the garden, there is one simple mistake they could make in the heatwave that could be deadly for their children. A recent piece from Netmums has warned against the common practice of covering your baby's pram with a blanket or muslin on sunny days. Experts warn that this can lead to dangerously high temperatures inside the pram. You may do it to shield your wee ones from the sun or help them nap, but a covered pram can heat up like an oven in minutes, putting your baby at serious risk of overheating or even heatstroke. The Lullaby Trust charity warns that doing so could raise the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). To illustrate the danger, childcare provider Sophie Campbell conducted an experiment using a thermometer and a child's doll. In a Facebook post, she explained how the temperature inside a covered pram or pushchair can rise. She dressed the doll, named Dolly, with factor 50, 5* UVA sunscreen, a drink for hydration, and a sun hat. Despite these precautions, she decided to cover Dolly with a blanket for shade and placed a thermometer inside. The temperature in the buggy started at 35C, but after just 12 minutes, it rose to 45C, and after another 15 minutes, it crept up to an alarming 50C. The gravity of the situation was clear for all to see, and Sophie used the example to urge parents to think again when using blankets for shade, as the potential consequences for a real child are horrendous. What's more, a cover can also hamper with a parent's ability to see their child therefore making it difficult for them to check on their tot or monitor their temperature. So, what is the alternative? The organisation advises using a clip-on sunshade or parasol for a pram or buggy. Svante Norgren, a paediatrician at a children's hospital in Stocklholm, threw weight behind the advice, telling Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet: "It gets extremely hot down in the pram, something like a thermos. "There is also bad circulation of the air and it is hard to see the baby with a cover over the pram." Sophie went on: "It doesn't matter what you put over the top, a muslin, blanket or towel, the results will all be similar, and the outcome could be horrendous. 'Still to this day, I see babies/children in pushchairs on very sunny and hot days with blankets draped over them to block the sun and heat out." She ended with a final plea to parents, adding: "Please do not do this." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Daily Mirror
This Morning viewers slam claim common habit harms kids psychologically
During an appearance on This Morning Trisha Goddard was quizzed on her thoughts about a common parenting habit Kate Silverton has claimed 'psychologically damages' kids A parenting debate has erupted on social media after This Morning hosts addressed TV presenter and child therapist Kate Silverton's recent claims that calling children "naughty" can be psychologically damaging, and some viewers are not having it. Silverton, who is a former BBC newsreader and a qualified counsellor, sparked controversy after saying parents should stop using the word altogether. While on the Netmums podcast, she said: "It's just a fallacy to call children naughty. They're not making conscious choices for the majority of the time. They are driven by a very, very immature brain and a nervous system that very often is being triggered." Silverton argued that when children are regularly labelled "naughty", they can begin to believe that label defines who they are. When Ben Shephard brought the topic up on This Morning, TV personality Trisha Goddard defended Silverton's ideology, affirming that the words you use to children can have a huge effect on them. She told the ITV show hosts: "I always believe in labelling the behaviour and not the person. "Naughty is probably the light end, but if you keep telling a child they're stupid or they don't know what they're doing or 'gosh you're always clumsy', it absolutely does sit in their head and set a trend. If you talk about the behaviour rather than labelling the child it's a much better way to go." But many viewers didn't agree with the softer parenting approach, and took to social media to voice their frustrations. One person wrote: "If you don't tell a child off then they will think that their behaviour is acceptable." Another went even further, saying: "Stop calling kids 'naughty'? This is why kids carry knives and commit crimes we see today. Soft parenting. The kids parenting the parents because the parents start to become scared of their own kids." Others questioned how the advice would apply to real life tragedies, asking: "What would Trisha say about the actions of the killers of Bhim Kholi?" Bhim Kholi is a man who was murdered while walking his dog in Leicestershire by two teens who have been convicted of manslaughter. During her appearance on Netmums, Silverton also said: "Our children internalise every day. They're taking in messages from us, from their friends, from their teachers. And words carry such weight of meaning. 'Oh, stop being silly. Oh, you are so naughty. Oh, he's the naughty one'. "We all fall into that trap, but our children are paying very close attention to how we think of them. And we might dismiss it as a comment – 'oh, he's so untidy. Oh, she's always late. She's a bit of a scatterbrain'. "They are internalising. And what they're internalising, because, again, they don't have that fully formed rational brain. 'I'm bad. I'm naughty.' And then it becomes: 'That's me. That's who I am'."
Telegraph
4 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Ban parents from calling children ‘naughty', says Kate Silverton
Parents should be banned from calling their children 'naughty', according to Kate Silverton. Mrs Silverton, the child therapist and former BBC newsreader, said it is harmful for children because they 'internalise' the message of the word, and it reinforces a belief that it is 'who I am', leading to more problematic behaviour. Mrs Silverton, 54, also said it is a 'fallacy' to use the word because it is ' not scientifically correct ' as their brains are too immature. The counsellor called for parents to 'change the language'. 'Words carry such weight of meaning' 'Our children internalise every day,' she told the Netmums podcast. 'They're taking in messages from us, from their friends, from their teachers. And words carry such weight of meaning. 'Oh, stop being silly. Oh, you are so naughty. Oh, he's the naughty one'. 'We all fall into that trap, but our children are paying very close attention to how we think of them. 'And we might dismiss it as a comment – 'oh, he's so untidy. Oh, she's always late. She's a bit of a scatterbrain'. 'They are internalising. And what they're internalising, because, again, they don't have that fully formed rational brain. ''I'm bad. I'm naughty.' And then it becomes: ' That's me. That's who I am '. 'And you may well end up with a child that then thinks, well, 'that's who I am so I may as well just be that'. You know, that's where sort of delinquency comes from.' 'Just a fallacy' 'Labels are not who our children are,' Mrs Silverton added. 'So we might say, 'I didn't like that behaviour', but it's not 'I don't like who you are'. And that's really important.' Mrs Silverton added: 'It's just a fallacy to call children naughty. 'They're not making conscious choices for the majority of the time. They are driven by a very, very immature brain and a nervous system that very often is being triggered because they're coping with a lot during the day. 'It's just not scientifically correct. It's not, it's just, as I say, it's a fallacy. 'And I'd really like to change that language.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ban parents from calling children ‘naughty', says Kate Silverton
Parents should be banned from calling their children 'naughty', according to Kate Silverton. Mrs Silverton, the child therapist and former BBC newsreader, said it is harmful for children because they 'internalise' the message of the word, and it reinforces a belief that it is 'who I am', leading to more problematic behaviour. Mrs Silverton, 54, also said it is a 'fallacy' to use the word because it is 'not scientifically correct' as their brains are too immature. The counsellor called for parents to 'change the language'. 'Our children internalise every day,' she told the Netmums podcast. 'They're taking in messages from us, from their friends, from their teachers. And words carry such weight of meaning. 'Oh, stop being silly. Oh, you are so naughty. Oh, he's the naughty one'. 'We all fall into that trap, but our children are paying very close attention to how we think of them. 'And we might dismiss it as a comment – 'oh, he's so untidy. Oh, she's always late. She's a bit of a scatterbrain'. 'They are internalising. And what they're internalising, because, again, they don't have that fully formed rational brain. ''I'm bad. I'm naughty.' And then it becomes: 'That's me. That's who I am'. 'And you may well end up with a child that then thinks, well, 'that's who I am so I may as well just be that'. You know, that's where sort of delinquency comes from.' 'Labels are not who our children are,' Mrs Silverton added. 'So we might say, 'I didn't like that behaviour', but it's not 'I don't like who you are'. And that's really important.' Mrs Silverton added: 'It's just a fallacy to call children naughty. 'They're not making conscious choices for the majority of the time. They are driven by a very, very immature brain and a nervous system that very often is being triggered because they're coping with a lot during the day. 'It's just not scientifically correct. It's not, it's just, as I say, it's a fallacy. 'And I'd really like to change that language.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
