When did expectations change around potty training and fall into the role of the Primary School Teacher & why do today’s parents find potty training so tough?
70% of British primary schoolteachers have noticed a rise in the number of 3-7-year olds wetting themselves during the school day. As a former Deputy Head and Class Teacher for 22 years I also taught 35 five-year olds in Reception but I certainly didn’t think it was my job to toilet train the children in […]
Building Confidence in Saying ‘No’ to Smartphones until Aged 14 – Tips & Scripts for Parents
97% of 12-year-olds in Britain have a smartphone ‼️📱 You may have seen or heard the campaign that’s gone viral (in a good way‼️) by Daisy Greenwell who shared a heartfelt post on Instagram, outlining her worries about the expectation that children in year 5 and 6 at Primary School will be given smartphones, mostly […]
The Dance of Intimacy – Keeping The Glow With Your Partner
This week will be all about Valentine’s Day and can be a time of great romance or great pain. Many people put their children first and of course while this is necessary and honourable is it at the expense of your own relationship? I remember a great friend of my Mum and Dad’s Nuala […]
Are You Missing One of These for A Successful Relationship?
Keeping the Glow with your Partner. Although most of us desire a healthy relationship it’s surprising how many of us don’t really understand what makes love survive long term. Most of us are bombarded with images of love and sex in magazines, TV adverts, and on the radio but often they idealise, romanticise or trivialise […]
Keeping the Glow with your Partner – Permission to Criticise – Don’t hold back !
Keeping the Glow with your Partner This article gives you complete permission to let it all out – all the frustrations, resentments, anger, disappointments, annoyances and pain you feel for your partner at times. Don’t hold back – give it 110% of your energy – this is a no holds barred worksheet! This may feel […]
Keeping the Glow With Your Partner – Take a Snap Shot.
No matter where you are in your relationship, it’s important and healthy to regularly check in on it from time to time to keep it fresh, keep it growing and keep it alive. By asking some simple but thought provoking questions like: Where are you? Where are they? Where is the relationship as a whole? […]
If you really loved me I wouldn’t have to ask !
Keeping the Glow with your Partner. Do you want more attention, more respect, more help with the kids, more hugs, more romance, more surprises, more time together, more intimacy, and more fun? Someone to babysit, iron the shirts, help make the dinner sometimes or hang up the towels in the bathroom? Then ask. “But I […]
Pocket Money – Ages & Stages
Money makes the world go around!’ as Lisa Minnelli happily sang in the hit musical “Cabaret” and it certainly seems to be true on more than one occasion, but debt is on the increase and there seems to be more and more demands on your money than ever before so learning about money […]
The Many Risks of Helicopter Parenting – Are YOU Guilty? Tips for over anxious parents on how to wean themselves off their kids.
A New Study In The Journal Of Pediatrics Says Maybe It’s Not Social Media, But Helicopter Parenting That’s Making Kids Depressed. It’s not just social media, but the rise of helicopter parenting, in which kids no longer have spaces to just hang out with each other and be kids that is contributing to mental health […]
The Importance of Father-Child Bonding
I was recently discussing the new Paternity Leave for Dads on BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester & my article was also published in the Indian Magazine Kids Stop Press about the importance of Dads bonding with their new born babies. So here is my advice on how fathers […]
5 Important Questions To Ask Before You Get Your Child A Mobile Phone.
I’m asked all the time by stressed out, nagged to death parents, ‘When is the best age to get my child a mobile phone?’ Even though they have probably been begging for one—how do you know they are really ready? One simple question is to ask yourself, ‘What will they be using it for?’ I […]
Pocket Money Gender Gap: Boys Get 12% More – so what are kids learning about money from YOU?
I’m talking about the new survey about Pocket Money on Sky News today. Children are getting an average of £6.55 a week in pocket money but the gap is widening between the earnings of boys and girls. The Halifax survey of nearly 1,800 children aged eight to 15 and their parents found that they now […]
Does your child hear the word, ‘No!’ more than 400 times a day?
The average toddler hears the word “no” an astonishing 400 times a day, according to experts. You, like me, may, at first, think that this must be an exaggeration but pause to ponder this…when we tell a toddler ‘No’ we usually say,’ No, no, no!’ which is actually three times in three seconds – reinforcing […]
Is it time to change the word ‘Broken’ Family ?
I was speaking on BBC radio about a new piece of research around mental health and stepfamilies. What struck me as unhelpful & laden with negativity is the word ‘BROKEN’ to describe parents who are divorced, separated or apart. Broken implies a failure, broken implies damaged, no longer able to work, something destroyed & dysfunctional but […]
Who should teach your kids about the birds and the bees?
Sex education lessons are set to change with children taught about the dangers of pornography, sexting and online grooming in a major shake-up. The move follows months of campaigning from MPs and charity groups who argue the current curriculum is years out of date and does not reflect the dangers faced by young people today […]