Families the world over are experiencing new challenges in the process of educating their offspring. New values, new realities, new roles. But we still need confidence, and peace of mind to feel that we are doing the right thing. In the complex reality we live in it is very important to have the support […]
I was invited on to the Michael Graham Show on talkRADIO talking about this parenting story in America. It struck a cord with me as I’m locked into a bit of an unpleasant situation with my next door neighbours after I trimmed their overhanging branches in my garden. They’ve suddenly put up a huge Razor Wire […]
My 3-year-old wants to choose what she wears each day & we’re having terrible battles around stopping her wearing her princess dress with a woolly hat and wellies, or some days her ballet dress and fairy wings with flip flops. One week all she wanted to do was wear was her brother’s dragon suit. What’s […]
Trust is the key. Autonomy means a lot more than simply growing up. It’s also having the self-confidence to do, and to try, certain things, which fosters & develops your child’s independence, and it also means developing the ability to think and act for themselves. By becoming autonomous, and therefore becoming more detached from you […]
Today I woke up to a flat battery in my little red Mini as I had accidentally left the car door open a little over night so I jumped in my daughter’s old banger – a Peugeot 206 and headed to work in Caterham. On my way home I bought a pair of jump leads […]
What was it the Jesuits always said, “Give me a child until the age of 7 and I will show you the man?” Well here’s some research along the same lines as the government-backed Money Advice Service has warned parents “not to underestimate the effect of their own bad money habits” on their kids which […]
I spent a lot of time talking to parents about how to protect their children from watching the News when it is on a constant loop of disasters or bad, negative stories. But as children grow up and mature they need to be more aware of the wider world around them so I read with […]
I’ve recently separated from my husband and I’m very aware that my kids keep checking in on me to see if ‘I’m alright’ when they staying over at friends, or out for long days, which is really sweet of them but unnecessary as I’m fine filling my days with my work or watching the Olympics […]
Spiralling property prices and the collapse of the labour market are forcing many young people (and some not so young) to move back in with their parents. Here’s my advice in The Independent about what to do, how to cope and how to ease the transition into a new way of living with older kids !
It seems to be a bit of a theme with me at the moment – I’ve just done a pilot for a new TV show about “Cotton Wool Kids” and I was interviewed on Sunday for a feature in The Sunday Express about ….. cotton wool kids and today I picked up the Daily Express to […]
