Generation Xbox: ‘Alarming’ drop in fathers helping children to read

There’s an alarming study out by The Literacy Trust  showing a drop in the number of fathers encouraging their children to read 🙁 The study by the National Literacy Trust shows one in three dads give no reading encouragement to their children to read at all – a 30 per cent increase over the past […]

The Bullet Point Generation

I was talking to a lovely Dad about helping his kids to read more often and it dawned on me that our kids read a great deal from the Internet where articles are short and very often in bite sized chunks and in bullet points (and I should know as I am asked to write hundreds of […]

My Back to School Reading Tips

Today I’m delighted to be published in Magic Town the place where stories live ! This month my blog post is about My Back to School Reading Tips Here’s an excerpt from my post. “When I was a teacher, I loved story time with my students. I enjoyed sitting on the carpet with a bright, […]

Give a hoot !

As a former Deputy Head teacher I just love this little poster from The Reading Kingdom  so make a committment today as the New School Term begins here in the UK to get involved in your child’s learning !

How the Olympics can inspire your kids to read too !

Today I’m delighted to be published in Magic Town the place where stories live ! This month my blog post was inspired by my 3 visits to the London Olympics and it got  me pondering about how to use such an historic event to inspire your kids to read. Here’s the first bit of my […]

Educational TV for Babies? It Doesn’t Exist

The television has many names –  TV, the telly, the box, the  electric “babysitter”… While the last one is usually said in jest, the sad fact is there is more truth to it today than there should be.  In decades past and when I was growing up, whether and how much to let babies watch TV wasn’t […]

Kids, Reading and Self-esteem: 5 tips for Raising Happy Children

As a former Deputy Head teacher and Class Teacher for over 20 years I am delighted to have my articles on self esteem published in the Reading Kingdom – a wonderfully  fun, easy-to-use online programme that teaches children 4-10 years old how to read and write. Here’s my article Kids and self-esteem: 5 tips for Raising […]

RELAX ! Here’s 8 Great Reasons To Let Your Kids Read Comics

  My son always loved books and always had his nose in a book when he was young but around the age of 9 he lost a bit of interest in his reading books and started to enjoy comics. As a former Deputy Head I knew it was probably a phase so I didn’t make […]

3 Things Kids Can Learn from Harry Potter’s Glasses

I am always on the look out for interesting articles and websites that help raise children’s self esteem so I was delighted when I came upon this article on positive ways to help your child learn to love their glasses from the excellent Reading Kingdom on 3 Things Kids Can Learn from Harry Potter’s Glasses

One Reason Your Son ISN’T Reading at School

Today’s guest author Janet Allison offers support and strategies for parents bringing up young boys. I was delighted to have been interviewed by Janet on Friday night for the Boys Alive! On-line Event: Discover HIS World – The Map  and to hear more about all aspects of raising boys – from his education, to understanding his temperament, his […]

12 Top Tips for Bedtime Stories

I saw my neighbour playing and reading with her little granddaughter yesterday  out in the sunshine.                 It reminded me of shared moments when my kids were little, hot chocolate and stories at bedtime, cuddles and talking. Now it’s more hot chocolate, cuddles and chatting about all sorts of things that come up and the pleasure of sometimes […]

CHANGE YOUR FAMILY LIFE IN 5 DAYS !

For less than a haircut and highlights I will make you a positive, relaxed and confident parent in 5 days 🙂 Family success, happiness and parenting confidence are not accidents that happen to some parents and not to others. They are created by specific ways of thinking and acting in the world. Learn how to […]