Thinking parenting Blog
Connecting with a teen who wants nothing to do with you
Connecting with a teen in withdrawal mode is not easy. Relationships thrive on communication, goodwill, and spending time together – all of which can be in short supply between teens and their...
Top 10 ideas for tempting teens off tech in the school holidays
School holidays can be a nightmare for parents of teenagers. Teens are too old to be parked in childcare but they can’t always be trusted to make great decisions about how they spend their...
10 things to do this summer to boost your children’s resilience
Boosting children’s resilience is all about helping children feel a sense of mastery and competence, that what they do matters and that they have control and influence over how they feel and...
Supporting children’s and teenagers’ mental health: resource list
Children and young people’s mental health is hardly out of the news these days but often parents are at a loss how best to help and support a child/teenager who is struggling. So, I have...
Why don’t we enjoy playing with our kids?
Whenever I start talking to a room full of parents about the importance of playing with children, I can feel the energy in the room shift. And not in a good way. Most parents don’t have enough...
My partner and I have different parenting styles
“My partner and I have different parenting styles. He had a much stricter upbringing than me and he feels that children should be more responsive first time to requests (such as to set the...
8 Best potty training books
Lots of parents find reading potty training books with their little ones a helpful way to introduce new ideas and encourage positive toileting routines. Reading books together can also be a lot of...
Working motherhood: an artist’s view
Sheri Gee is a West Sussex, UK based artist. Her work is often inspired by the commute – observing other working mothers on their commute or in everyday moments. These paintings reflect a...
How companies can support working parents
This week’s blog post is actually an interview I did at an online conference last year on how companies can support working parents. The interview has now been lost in cyberspace so I thought...
Why risky play is important
Risky play is important for the development of children’s knowledge, skills, self-esteem, resilience and attitude to learning. It is a vital ingredient for growing healthy and happy children....
Helping teens cope with school stress and grade anxiety
As a parent, it is easy to make assumptions about the impacts of school stress on teens – but education has changed a lot since we were teenagers. I asked 15-year-old Lydia Bach from This...
Teaching your child to poo on a potty
Guest post by Dr Kate McGarry Helping your child transition from nappies to using the potty can be one of the trickiest parts of toilet training. While urination tends to come more easily, mastering...
School Stress: are you pushing too hard?
There is growing evidence that children and young people in the UK are experiencing a mental health crisis. School stress is one of the top reasons children reach out to the counselling service...
Identity shifts: how motherhood changes us
For me, becoming a mother was like being hit by a bus. I knew there was a baby coming and that babies were full-on and hard work but I was not expecting the complete shift in my identity that I...
Parenting a child with ADHD
Usually, my approach to blog writing (and to supporting parents in general) is to stick rigorously to what we know from evidence and research. My personal experiences with my own children help me...
Parenting when you’re autistic
Parenting is never easy. There will always be difficult moments and conflicts. However, parenting when you’re autistic (or otherwise neurodivergent) can pose some specific challenges. For...
Promoting healthy body image in girls
Guest post by Janet Boseovski & Ashleigh Gallagher, authors of Beyond Body Positive* Girls begin to think about their bodies (how they look and how they are seen by others) early in life. Even...
How to talk to children about periods
Earlier this year, I was interviewed for an article on how to talk to children about periods. Only a small amount of what I said made it into the final piece, so I thought I would share the full...
How being a working parent impacts children
Many of the discussions I have with working parents revolve around concerns about how their work might be impacting their children. These worries usually fall under two broad areas: concern that they...
Working in partnership with your childcare provider
This is a guest post from Hopscotch Nurseries. Whether you use a nursery, a nanny or a childminder (or a combination of all three), the relationship between parents and their childcare provider is...
How temperament impacts children’s behaviour
Most parents instinctively understand that children are born with their own innate personality that drives their behaviour. (And if we weren’t sure of that, a second or subsequent child coming...
Listen don’t fix
If I could pick just one top parenting tip for parents, it would be “Listen don’t fix.” As adults, we are often very quick to jump in and try to fix children’s problems for them,...
How to have good conversations with teens
When your teen is holed up in their bedroom most of the time (or has their eyes fixed on a screen), it’s tempting to rush at a conversation whenever we spot an opportunity. Here’s why...
How to boost your teen’s self-esteem
Telling a teen not to care what their friends think doesn’t work. If you want your teen to believe in themselves and bounce through the hurt and self-doubt of the teenage years, then criticising...
How to rush less and connect more with your kids
Do you find it hard to slow down and just be with your kids? Is your mind whirling with that unfinished To Do list even as you are trying to play or listen or connect with your kids? Do you leap on...
How to respond when children tell lies
Guest post by Victoria Talwar author of The Truth about Lying: Teaching Honesty to Children at Every Age and Stage (contains affiliate links*). “My child was standing before me and I could clearly...
Are smartphones harmful to teens?
Many parents feel instinctively that phones are somehow not 100% good for our teens. We worry that their constant checking, selfie-posting phone habit might be damaging their physical health, their...
8 Great Books About Modern Family Dynamics
I have chosen these 8 books about modern family dynamics because they include, explore and represent diverse aspects of modern family life. And they are all also a good read for anyone who is...
Realistic expectations are good for children and parents
Having realistic expectations – of yourself and your children – is key to positive parenting. It builds children’s self-esteem, reduces parenting stress and helps you enjoy your...
When children’s emotions trigger parents’ emotions
“Becoming a parent brings with it a host of overwhelming feelings, both harrowing and beautiful: the surge of pure love when you watch your child sleeping; the tears of joy when they stand on...
The hurtful teenage years
I call them the hurtful teenage years for a reason. When parents think about kids becoming teens, it’s usually teenage behaviour we worry about most. What will my teenager be like? Will they be...
How play helps children’s mental health
Play helps children’s mental health in a huge variety of ways. Yet, it is seldom the first thing we think about when it comes to supporting children’s mental or emotional wellbeing. This...
Positive discipline: warmth plus boundaries
When it comes to parenting styles, research consistently shows that children who are parented with a blend of warmth plus boundaries are most likely to experience positive outcomes in all areas of...