When I was about eleven years old we used to watch a programme on television called Challenge Anneka. It was one of the Saturday night entertainment spots for my generation of children and along with ‘Noel’s House Party ‘ and ‘Blind Date’, was one of my favourites!   One of the episodes I remember was the challenge for Anneka to get a load of celebrities to help make a children’s tape. As with many of the episodes the challenge was to benefit a charity and this particular one which saw the likes of Phil Schofield, Maureen Lipman and Joanna Lumley reciting poems and singing nursery rhymes, the sales from this tape once it was made went to the charity Tommy’s.

Tommy’s Tape was a brilliant success and continues to be asked for today which is why it has been re-released. We used to listen to it in the car all the time as my brothers were only little at the time when it first came out. It’s funny that I went to an event for the charity this week after only thinking about Tommy’s Tape just a little while ago. I wanted to get a copy of it for Florence to listen to as well as a copy of the CD I had when I was tiny myself, just for nostalgia really… And now I can, brilliant!

The tape wasn’t why I went to meet with the Tommy’s guys this week though, that was for something else entirely! Every year the charity has to raise a phenomenal amount of funds for the good causes they assist with. Tommy’s fund research into stillbirth, premature birth and miscarriage. 1 in 4 Mums and Dads lose a baby either in pregnancy or at birth which of course would be completely devastating. I didn’t realise it was as common as this although I myself do know people who have experienced all of those circumstances and have seen how devastating it is. The research Tommy’s raises funds for is vital as it could prevent someone experiencing such a tragedy in the future and that is what they work towards. As well as research the charity also offers help and advice to people experiencing problems during their pregnancy, set in place their monitoring and determine if they are high risk. They have lots of brilliant ways of fund raising that we can get involved with just like the buying of Tommy’s Tape! Another way is joining in with their annual Splashathon, a swimming event for babies, toddlers and young children where they can be sponsored for perhaps the very first time!

Tommy’s works with Water Babies who offer swimming lessons for little ones. A friend of mine has taken her children to swimming classes since they were three months old and it’s great to see how confident in the water they are. We’d never been to a Water Babies class before but we had a taster class yesterday and it was fab! Lively, entertaining and full of songs and laughter. Florence can be a bit nervous in the water but she soon forgot to be worried about her face getting wet and was concentrating on having a fun time with the floats, toys and songs. She definitely did far more than I would ordinarily expect her to do without a week of holiday building up her confidence first and was jumping in from the side and allowing me to hold her as she kicked her legs rather than clinging to me like a limpet. When it was Jimmy’s turn, despite having missed his morning nap and being super tired, he smiled and giggled his way through the entire thing!

The teachers are very engaging and as well as giving the children confidence, they build up to certain tasks like going under water throughout courses, they really looked like they enjoyed what they were doing – that always helps doesn’t it. Speaking to some of the teachers who run franchises and classes in London it seems that they too are often Mums to small children so it makes sense that they understand the needs of children and parents. I found the class very relaxing and we really enjoyed both the older one and baby class, I can see both the children got lots from just that one session. It helps that they understand the water has to be warm, I’ve been swimming in pools which say they have children’s swim times yet the water is so cold Jimmy starts to shiver as soon as we hit the water!

Water Babies work with Tommy’s on their Splashathon event and if you’re in a class then your teacher will set a challenge for the children to complete and get sponsors for. Don’t worry if you’re not part of a Water Babies class though, you can just join in with a swim class offering a session if there’s one near you, see this list. Or alternatively you could just Splash At Home! Download a Splash At Home fundraising pack and set your own challenge to be done in June or July.

Water babies aren’t the only people working with Tommy’s on Splashathon and the children, if they’re not sold on splashing fun already, will almost certainly be up for a challenge once they know who else is on board! None other than Peppa Pig! Peppa, to much excitement from my children and the others at the party was there to lend a hand yesterday and show her support for this brilliant charity. We enjoyed meeting her very much and are inspired to get sponsored for a splash ourselves! I’m having a little think about something creative we can do as we’re not personally members of Water Babies so I’m thinking perhaps a paddling pool challenge, it doesn’t have to be in a pool and could be in the bath tub even! The pack for Splash At Home has everything you need to know including information and Peppa Pig invitations for your guests to watch you take part in the challenge!

After we’d had such a fun time in the pool with Water Babies we went to hear all about the charity over a slice of Peppa Pig cake and they really do a fantastic job which is so worth supporting!

I also think they should bring out a new Tommy’s Tape with famous people from today, a bit like ‘Live Aid’ who years later recorded a new version! They should have the twenty year update with a new Challenge Anneka style programme to get it all together again! If Anneka’s not up for it I’d gladly run up and down the country persuading celebrities to take part and studios to offer their services for them, how fun would that be!

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