Why Kidookid was set up

Hi there,

I am Antonia the founder of KidooLand. I wasn't sure whether to include a little bit on me and why we set up KidooLand but I think as a parent myself it's nice to know a bit about the people at the top particularly when they will be in contact with my children ... so here goes..

This is the third time I have come to live in France. The first time I came to work as an Au Pair, the second time was to teach English in 2 French colleges and the third time was to set up the Association and Family Magazine Kidookid and opened the premisis KidooLand the Bilingual Activity Centre for families on the Cote d'Azur.

With a BA Hons degree in Applied Languages : Linguistics, French and Russian from the University of Brighton I have always been fascinated by languages and their acquisition particularly French, probably due to my French blood on my father's side... . I also had a love for kids and most of my summer holiday jobs involved working with them on Children's activity camps, babysitting and then of course teaching for a year in Angers as part of my degree.

When I left Uni I went to work for American Express for 7 years, a wonderfully forward thinking company with great training and development programs that I benefited from enormously as an I.T. Operational Leader for Smart Chip technology (getting people to think up new ays to make paying faster, safer and easier!) It was actually a great job that really supported me when I came back part time after Maternity leave .. 2 days in the office and 1 working from home really helped the work life balance!

In order to work from home in relative quiet I needed an extra pair of hands and so rather than use any old agency I set up my own with my sister Zoe! It was a great experience in setting up and running your own business, recruitment, training and childcare and of course meant that I had access to 3 fantastic Au Pairs!  “Pebbles” has now been going for 5 strong years with many clients from that first year coming back every year.

Our daughter was born 25 months later and I enjoyed 3 years in the very switched on Brighton enjoying a host of pre-school activities. When the time came to go back to Amex I realised I didn't want to put both children under 2 into a nursery and so my husband and I decided it was a good moment to make a life change. We sadly said goodbye to Blighty,our family and friends and moved to the South of France to enjoy outdoor life in the sun.

I handed the Pebbles reigns fully over to Zoe and now just consult for the Annual Au pair Training Days and turned my attentions to having our 3rd baby.. this time a virtual one in the guise of "Kidookid.com" .. a bilingual online family magazine and guide to the Cote d'Azur, put together as there was nothing available at the time. As I discovered what there is on offer for families on the French Riviera I recorded it for others. It's been growing fast with over 113,000 unique readers in our first year and an all time high of 26,000 readers in December 2006 and with over half a million hits it has been quite a Christmas present!

Kidookid has always been and will remain a community ressource however I had a real sense that where I lived there was something missing and so as before I started researching the needs for parents using all my experience and contacts in the child serviceindustry.

Following along the theme "I like the idea so much I'm going to set up my own .." KidooLand became our 4th baby that will hopefully stop me getting broody as I can cuddle yours instead! It also means I can take my kids to work thus carrying on the excellent ethos of work-life balance I learnt at Amex.

Our mission is to provide a safe and fun environment that benefits all the family. KidooLand is a warm and friendly place to hang out where Mums can come and gossip, chat, surf the net (and Kidookid!), their kids can have access to amazing classes that nurture and develop their potential during their Early Years Development and their is also a social side for all the family - Dad's included! .. a place to have a (healthy!) birthday party, Nearly New clothing sales to save money, essential workshops for 1st Aid and baby massage not forgetting the Pre-Natal and Post Natal classes for bumbs and new mums.

The location was key as it had to be near to where we were going to be based, easy for all the other Mums to get to and very importantly have free parking right outside! After a long search we thing we found it just off the A8 on the way to Vallauris .. with Carrefour and the shopping centre, Leroy Merlin, Castarama, several gyms there is plenty on the doorstep while your child is beingentertained and we are ideally positioned for families in Vallauris Golfe Juan, Antibes, Villeneuve Loubet, Cagnes, Mougins, Valbonne, Sophia Antipolis, Grasse and even Cannes.

So there you have it - I am lucky to have a great job reviewing attractions and activites for other parents, devising new exciting ideas to help their and my children learn and grow and sourcing exciting new products Nationally and Internationally for the boutique .. but I'mmore than happy to share it all with you too!

Here's hoping we can ticks your boxes too, come and have a coffee or bring the babies in for a cuddle or leave your KidooKids with us while you get the shopping done stress free, have a haircut or go to the gym .. go on you deserve it!

... hope to meet you soon!

Kidooment yours,

Antonia

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