Straight talking

Have been busy at work this week, slaving away on some interesting brands. I know it's Wednesday already but I wanted to update last weekend's activities.

Competition is often perceived to be a dirty word in the UK. I've noticed that a lot of mothers profess to despise competitiveness, until their child begins to show a real talent for something, then and only then do you see their true colours begin to emerge. Danny Boy and Lurch are not really competitive. The Terminator and I are really competitive. My family call me 'Monica' when I'm entering a quiz or a race and that's not my real name. The Terminator's favourite programme (yes, I know, it's not really suitable for a 9 year old, please don't call The Social Services) is The Apprentice, he absolutely loves it, we spend hours discussing each episode. Raef is his current favourite, not a bad role model (certainly much better than WWF's The Undertaker, signature move 'The Last Ride') I consider it to be a real bonding experience.

Anyway it was the football club's presentation day on Sunday. Last season Danny Boy, who is a defender, spent entire matches watching strikers approach him, go past him, head towards the goal and then he would chase after them. I've decided that one of the best things I can do for my children is to be honest with them, then they'll know they can always trust me to tell them the truth. Sometimes that policy is very hard to stick to, but I do try. During last season I told Danny Boy that all of the supporters and coaches could see that he didn't want to tackle anybody and that as a defender it was his job to do that. He cried, said I was really mean, was calling him rubbish and didn't speak to me for two days. This year, however, at secondary school he's started rugby for the first time and he seems to have conquered his tackling terror. Once he'd overcome his fear he started to play really well and on Sunday he won Player of the Season for the first time ever. His face! Lurch took a photo on his new camera to capture the moment.

The Terminator got nothing. I told him that it was because he was obsessed with being captain and telling other people what to do, advice not taken seriously by the rest of the team from a substitute. He took it to heart and has vowed to show them all what he can do next season. I'll say one thing in favour of competitive kids, you don't have to worry about motivating them, that's for sure. My last word on it is that I'm convinced we're born that way not made...