A recent report* declared that working parents splash out £2,000 a year on ‘bribes’ for their children as it emerges that four in ten parents spend less than seven hours a week with them. Half of these parents buy guilt presents for their childre...
Before the days of mobile phones, texting, computers, internet access, game consoles and endless television channels what did people do? The answer is that they used to communicate face to face. They used to sit down and have a family meal...
With governmental changes to Shared Parental Leave there is a greater emphasis on fathers and the role that they play than ever before. However, with the pressures of work, being a father and having the time to engage with your children is not an...
Sibling rivalry has always had bad press - think of Cain slaughtering Abel and Joseph being thrown down the well and sold by his brothers because they were jealous of his beautiful multi coloured coat! Sibling rivalry can apply to any child living...
Stepfamilies have a bad image. Single parents are either frowned upon or felt sorry for. Think of Snow White’s jealous stepmother, the unrealistically positive Brady Bunch or Princess Jasmine’s desperate single father. Of course real life is mor...
Posted on 05 January 2017
For young children, the internet and mobile devices are simply fun. 5 – 7 year olds might enjoy catching up with Peppa Pig, Bob the Builder or Ben10. Even if they are just for fun these kinds of devices and websites can help to teach younger...
Are you looking forward to your summer holiday but not the journey there? Thought so. I too am one of the 62% of parents who confess to being happier without their children in the car and one of the 43% that admit to feeling anxious, irritable o...
We’ve all had to make the agonizing decision whether to return to work after maternity leave or stay at home to look after the children. Whatever choice we make it’s common to question whether it’s the right one for our children. Such doubts are...
Posted on 09 September 2015
Just six weeks after starting secondary school I have done what I vowed I would never do and taken my daughter’s forgotten PE kit to school. As a result, she was spared a detention and unnecessary tears. But what has she learnt from this? Full...
Posted on 28 October 2015
As a parent, it’s easy to fall into the trap of spoiling your kids with lots of gifts, especially at Christmas. They may enjoy it at the time, but it isn’t long before they become greedy and start to expect presents rather than appreciate them. It...
Posted on 24 November 2017
As a parent, you have a central role in helping your child learn and develop essential skills. It's not easy sometimes helping your child learn how to tolerate frustration, or learn how to calm down and behave acceptably in society. The best way f...
Posted on 19 November 2018
Parents often ask me “How can I stop my children doing X?” The first step is to turn it around and think about how you want them to behave instead. Do they behave that way ever? How do you respond? Nine times out of ten, parents fall into the trap...
Posted on 27 January 2016
When it comes to children, no two parents in the history of this planet have ever had exactly the same approach to parenting. This is hardly surprising since co-parents have grown up in different families and have had different experiences of bein...
Posted on 05 February 2016
When was the last time you put your needs over that of your children? Do you spend your free time pursuing interests that keep you happy, healthy and sane or is that time spent largely on your child, driving them from one activity to the next,...
Last minute gifts can be nightmares, with crowded high streets and empty online shopping baskets; it can be difficult to find the perfect gift with the clock ticking. However for those family, friends, and even kids who are crazy about cooking...
Posted on 14 December 2016
Pleasant, carefree family-time to recuperate from a busy academic year. Or a grouchy trip complete with niggles, grumbles and the odd full-blown row? Family summer holidays have their highs and lows, but here are 5 steps to help avoid the pitfalls...
Long, lazy days, filled with day trips, late nights, and an ever-sliding routine are what make the school summer holidays. But as the days draw in and the autumn term looms, here’s how to tackle that tricky transition back to structured days and...
Friendship is one of life’s greatest gifts. For toddlers, early socialising establishes healthy patterns for solid friendships later in life and lays foundations for a strong ‘sense of self’. For older children, a personal support network creates ...
Posted on 12 September 2017
Enhance your child’s educational development with critical thinking skills Fake news, email scams, a workplace dominated by artificial intelligence these are just some of the reasons we need to ensure our children can think for themselves, with a...
Posted on 24 November 2017
Earlier this year we set out to support a petition to keep Childcare Vouchers open after the 2018 planned closure date and thanks to your contribution in signing and sharing the petition we have now reached over 110,000 signatures! This means that...
Posted on 14 December 2017
Is social media “ripping apart the social fabric of how society works”? These are the words of a former Facebook executive, who recently expressed regret and guilt over his part in building tools for the social media network that are “destroying h...
Posted on 24 January 2018
Say “Fortnite” to any child over the age of eight, and the chances are that the reaction will be much more than a flicker of recognition. If that child isn’t already playing the game, then a friend probably is. Since its launch in September 2017,...
It’s nearly Father’s Day, which prompts us all to remember the dads in our lives. Of course, many children now have a different experience than the traditional model of fathers coming home from work late, watching TV, and waiting for mum to call f...
When your kids argue, do you feel like the referee? If you are blessed with more than one child, then it won’t be a surprise to you that siblings bicker, pester and fight once in a while. Siblings don’t get along all the time. But when is it too...
“I simply don’t have any time to myself”, comments a busy mum, rushing her child to the park with a buggy full of shopping. We’ve all been there. The kids are busy and they are getting busier. The food lists are growing and so is the washing pile....
Can parents really be friends with their children? Or is it better to be the ‘best’ mother or father you can, and leave being their ‘best’ friend to their actual friends? We’re not going to pretend there’s an easy answer; unfortunately there isn’t...
The summer holidays can be difficult enough to keep filled with fun activities – but what if you have a range of ages to deal with as well? Mixing toddlers, kids and pre-teen options can fill many parents with dread, but we think some good ol’...
Whether they’ve started a new school, moved up to primary or secondary school , or even just moved up a year, this time often brings about a mixture of excitement and nerves for both children and parents. The fear of the unknown can be daunting bu...
Posted on 18 September 2018