Read all about it – The Little Times in Brighton

An article by Claire    Comments Off

We welcome the first in a series of guest posts from Kathleen at The Little Times Magazine, a local guide to pregnancy and 0-5 year olds in the city.

I’ve been a full time mum for 7 years and a couple of years ago I realised that I needed some kind of a project that I could get my teeth into that was just about me, where I could put myself forward and channel my creativity as a woman in my own right, not just as a mum. This was particularly important at that time because my relationship had been through some very difficult times and I had put myself to one side in order to hold the family together. I had focused all my energies on the kids partly because I felt safe and happy with them when things were not so great with my partner. I’m happy to say those days are behind us now but as things got better in my relationship and the pressure eased off I found myself thinking “Right! What about me?!” We also needed another income in the household if we were ever to be able to buy a house, and that coupled with the fact that we home educate the kids meant that a self employed business I could run from home ticked all the boxes. Being self employed allows me a degree of flexibility that I could never get if I was working for someone else. I get to decide when I work and for how long. It took a while to get disciplined and it took a while for the kids to get used to the fact that if I am in the house working on the computer, I’m not available to look after them, and that they will have to ask Daddy (pretty much!).

So I had been scouting around, running through various ideas in my mind before I invented the magazine. It suddenly occurred to me that whilst I felt fully settled into the life of being a Brighton Mum, with good friends, a routine and a strong sense of what works for us and the kids, it had not always been so. I only had one other friend with children when I had my first and I hadn’t realised how much my life would change overnight when I became a mum! I just didn’t know where to go or what to do with myself and I spent a lot of time indoors feeling lonely and isolated. In the end I took myself to The Brighton Unemployed Centre and Families Project in Tilbury Place. They had a free creche and offered support and a sense of community. I made some good friends and started to get back on my feet. I found myself thinking “If only I had known then what I know now!” and The Little Times was born.

This is the guiding premise behind the magazine – to offer local information and support. And lets remember there’s a lot to celebrate about being a mum too! Being a mum has been the most challenging but rewarding experience of my life, it has brought me to tears but also the greatest feelings of joy. And I am lucky enough to also run my own business because having time in the week to just be me has been really important too.

The Little Times is distributed in Fiveways, Patcham and Preston Park with plans to expand it to other areas. You can read it on-line at www.thelittletimes.co.uk and follow the magazine on FB (www.facebook.com/thelittletimes) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/@thelittletimes).