It’s been a week of snotty noses and tickly coughs, and not just in this house. It seems everyone I speak to has got poorly ones at home. And they're all saying the same thing - almost two years of social distancing and lockdowns has helped a lot of us keep COVID away (great!), but it's also kept away every other cold and cough that would usually keep our immunity on its toes (not so great!).

Obviously, kids are especially affected by all this. Going forwards it will be a fine line to walk, keeping them healthy enough so as not to grind our home to a total standstill, while also exposing them to just the right amount of germs that their immune systems can play a little catch up. For now though, it’s all about duvet days and easy bakes.

This week: tools to make the best of rest; a straightforward biscuit recipe; an opportunity to help those around us.

- Shreya

What to dough at home

Any recipe with the word 'basic' in the title bodes well for attempting with little ones. I made these biscuits with two toddlers at home yesterday (okay, technically "we" made them together), and they turned out really nice! Plenty of mixing and stirring to keep them occupied, and plenty of opportunity to talk about GERMS (i.e. please don't cough over the mix).

Help tackle UK hygiene poverty

You might have seen our love for smol over on our Insta this week. There's so much to love about them, including their new campaign to help tackle hygiene poverty in the UK. With the (wonderfully-named) Suds in Schools project, smol is raising funds to set up mini-laundrettes in schools throughout the country. Read more and donate at the link below.

Bath time, all the time?

Not just saying this to make myself feel better but it turns out you really don't need to bath kids as often as you think - though the frequency goes up as kids grow. Find out why on our blog, and also why baths are about so much more than cleaning.

Weight your turn

If you're not googling "how to soothe baby cough not chesty" at 3 in the morning, is your kid even sick? That's how I landed on Mela, a company that does premium weighted blankets, including one designed specially for kids. I did not know weighted blankets can help soothe children, helping ease bedtime routines and even stop kids waking up so much in the night. (this is not an ad).

And finally... they found Gino's grandmother

Do you remember when Holly Willoughby said on this morning that if her dish had had ham in it, it would have been like a "British carbonara", and Gino D'Acampo replied that "if my grandmother had wheels, she would have been a bike!" (watch the vid here, if not)? Well, they found her.