Mum’s tell-all tales of family life

The family that blogs together... Dave and Colette Burgess and children Ben (5), Chloe (3) and Amy (19 months).

A Failsworth mum is in line for a national award for her avidly-followed family blog.

Colette Burgess’s “We’re Going on an Adventure” is one of six finalists up for the MAD (Mum and Dad) Best Pre School Blog award. The winner will be announced in September after a public vote.

Colette’s blog is 23rd in the top 100 parenting blogs, and she gets around 10,000 views a month for her tales of days out and family experiences, product and toy reviews and day-to-day family tales. She also has thousands of followers on Twitter and Instagram.

The part-time primary school teacher says the blog started two years ago as her way of charting her children’s lives - then it just grew and grew!

“I started out without really being aware of blogging,” said Colette. “I wanted to write a diary about my little boy but never got round to putting pen to paper so I thought why not start a diary online.

“People seemed to like my stories. I was just charting our lives so turned down loads of opportunities such as free days out, but then I thought why not? So I launched myself as a professional blogger and became part of the onine community.”

As well as publishing her trial and error parenting experiences, Colette also uses the blog as a forum for issues important to her.

“I’m not sure why my blog is so popular among parents,” she said. “I think it’s because people feel comforted knowing someone else has been through the same things as them. It’s a bit like chatting to a friend. I don’t like to think about it too much because then I might start getting it wrong!”

Colette’s husband Dave has got in on the blogging act by writing on the site about his vasectomy experiences, while her five-year-old son Ben has done a video review.

Follow the Burgess family at www.goingonanadventure.co.uk