From Friday 8^th March 2012 Parental leave has been increased from 13 to 18 weeks, meaning new mothers and fathers will be entitled to more unpaid time off work in the first five years of their child's life. The change is being made to implement a revised EU Parental Leave Directive, which was originally due for implementation in March 2012.

With research showing that 78% of Brits are feeling the pinch, the UK’s largest loyalty programme, Nectar, is today launching its annual money-saving advice competition, Savvy Family, to encourage the nation to act smarter when it comes to spending and saving. Nectar has teamed up with property developer and television presenter, Sarah Beeny, to hunt for up to eight families to tout their tips and pinch the pennies over the course of five weeks, sharing their experiences and advice about anything and everything, from cutting the weekly shopping bill to entertaining the kids for free, in a blog hosted on www.nectar.com/savvy

Calling all mums and dads - simple 2 minute online survey - we'd love to know your thoughts and overall experience when getting new shoes for your children!

Forget splashing the cash on expensive perfume or flowers this Mother's day, as simple quality time with the family is the one thing mums want most this year.  A family day out came out top in a poll of over 3,000 British mums, with a quarter of women preferring to spend time with their loved ones over more traditional Mother's day gifts like flowers or chocolates.

British mums have a busy time ahead as My Ariel survey reveals that one in five students admit they don’t know how to use a washing machine, as they head home for the Easter holidays

Mum still knows best with 70% of students relying on mothers (or grandmothers) to teach them how to do their laundry;  over a quarter of students admit to wearing their clothes until they are grubby or even a bit whiffy; 22% of students only go near a washing machine when they start to run out of clothes and Londoners are not as clued up as their northern counterparts, as only 58% of London students know how to use a washing machine compared to 80% of Mancunian students