Online and in the shops: Free demo

As part of the First 1,000 days movement, celebrity chef Neven Maguire, right, will team up with Danone Early Life Nutrition to host a free cookery demonstration in Cork on Wednesday, Feb 5.

This demonstration will focus on recipes that will help new parents and mums-to-be during the First 1,000 Days of their child’s life. It will be held in the Maryborough Hotel, Douglas at 7pm. Nutritionists from Danone will be available to answer questions and everyone who attends will also receive a copy of the First 1,000 Days Recipe Booklet. To book a place visit www.first1000days.ie

Shaping up: If 2014 is the year you want to shape up and feel good, children’s charity Barnardos has a variety of challenges on offer, from trekking Kilimanjaro to running the New York and Dublin marathons. Barnardos has a database of parenting programmes and can help you locate a course in your county. It has also produced two short ebooks for parents on developing your child’s literacy and numeracy skills, which are available free from www.barnardos.ie

Worry eaters: Sorgenfresser, the bestselling German soft toy, are now for sale in Ireland. Sorgenfresser means ‘worry eater’ and that’s just what these cuddly toys are designed to do. Developed to encourage communication, children can write or draw their troubles and feed them into the zip mouth of their Sorgenfresser, where they will be gobbled up. Sorgenfresser come in a range of sizes from €15 and are suitable for ages 4+. If you can’t find them in a local store they are available on www.amazon.co.uk

Beauty secret: If your skin is feeling tired or dehydrated and you are looking for a natural solution try one of the beauty industry’s best-kept secrets, Weleda Skin Food. Created in 1926, this nourishing treatment for the whole body is made with organic sunflower seed oil, chamomile and calendula and fragranced with sweet orange and lavender. Excellent as a protective cream, this skin saviour has many celebrity fans like Laura Whitmore, Adele, Alexa Chung, Rihanna and Victoria Beckham. Weleda Skin Food is €7.95 (30ml) /€11.25 (75ml) and available from independent health stores and pharmacies nationwide.