After waiting for a year and a half after leaving Rainbows, my 8 (nearly 9) year old has finally got  a place in Brownies. She'll have all of a year there before having to move up to Guides because the waiting list was so long - and I worry now if she'll be able to go smoothly from Brownies to Guides, or will there be another gap like this.

I realise why it's like this of course - my mother was a Guide leader, and eventually had to close down her Guide unit 10 years after she'd first wanted to retire. Simply because there were NO others willing to take it on and run it, despite wanting their girls to be involved...

Last Saturday was a day designated by Lenore Skenazy as "Take your kids to the park and leave them there" day. The goal behind this day was to encourage helicopter parents (those who hover) to give their kids a little free reign and let them learn to be independent. And we're talking 7 years old and up, not toddlers.

In the lead up to the actual day, I read the comments and reactions to the idea with interest. I expected people to express doubt and disagreement, there was no surprise there. What had me rather flummoxed was the notion that apparently some parents don't let their kids out of their sight - even in their own homes.

Maybe I should say "allegedly" rather than "apparently" - because I simply don't believe that it's true...