Cookies and Disclosure
Feel free to send as many as you like. No, seriously. Once upon a time, blogging was all about fun. Now there are so many rules to follow, it sometimes loses its appeal. So, I have to tell you that this site uses cookies. I use Google Analytics and a bunch of other things to track how many visitors I receive, how long they stay and where they visit from. While I can track your IP address, and probably would if you were rude or insulting or threatening, if you’re just visiting, it’s fine – I don’t need to know everything about you. (But feel free to share in the comments if there’s something you’d like me to know.)
It’s boring, but I have to tell you all this, or face the risk of a £500,000 fine. That would suck.
Also, I sometimes get paid to put a link in a post. If I do, I normally tag it as a sponsored post. A link might mean I’m writing about something I wouldn’t ordinarily, but rest assured, I won’t be recommending something I don’t approve of, and wouldn’t be linking to something I thought was bad. That said, opinions are just that – as always, do your own research. I don’t do sponsored posts often, but as a single mama I need to put food on the table too, so sometimes it’s a pain free way to buy a week’s groceries.
I won’t tell you something is good if I haven’t tried it. And I won’t review it and do a competition of it unless I think it is good. And I have to tell you that so that I don’t risk losing my page rank.
Blog Competition Rules
Prizes are as stated in the blog post, but Diary of a First Child does not personally hold or send them out. PR’s and companies are responsible for the final prize and postage thereof. If you do not receive your item or you do not receive what you were expecting, please get in touch and I will help where I can.
Entries
Generally, unless stated otherwise, Facebook entries, Tweets and other social media entries do not count as competition entries and where they are supplied in the comments, and are chosen randomly, a new number for a valid entry will be chosen. Sharing on a company’s wall, Tweeting or sharing on Facebook is helpful to Diary of a First Child and means we’re able to keep bringing you competitions. Where stated that the above count as additional entries, they are valid.
Closing Date/Time
The timestamp on the blog is final. Any entries received after closing time will still be approved and visible to readers, but will not count towards the competition.
The Winners
Winners are announced in blog posts and on our Facebook page. Entrants are asked to provide a valid email address. When someone wins a reply is posted to their winning comment, which is automatically emailed to them. Winners are not always emailed to say that they have won. It is up to winners to email me their addresses at diaryofafirstchild (at) gmail (dot) com. Where possible I will try a second time to get in touch with winners, but there isn’t always time for individual follow up. Prizes not claimed within three months will be forfeit.
Winners are drawn using WordPress plugin ‘And The Winner Is’ to select a random person’s name, and their comment.
Opinions
For the most part, with a few exceptions, prizes are duplicates of products I myself have tried and tested. My opinion is not swayed by having received the item for free and if there is something I really dislike or do not think is suitable to my style of parenting, I simply will not review it or give it away as a competition prize. Items reviewed on Diary of a First Child are generally things I like and as such you’re unlikely to find negative reviews here, although negative aspects of generally good products will be mentioned. I don’t give away something I don’t like, however, so you’re unlikely to find a totally negative review here.
That said, my opinions are my own, based on my experience of using the items. Your experience may differ.
I hope you enjoy your stay, and the rules don’t affect you too much.