Thinking parenting Blog
Play ideas for busy parents
Let’s face it, the pandemic has been more than a little challenging for working parents with young children. What with homeschooling and lockdowns and blurred boundaries between work and home,...
Teenage bickering – what’s normal?
So, here’s a question for you. What’s normal when it comes to teenage bickering? That’s the kind of question I get asked all the time. But the reality is that ‘normal’...
Introducing a new baby to your family
I am frequently asked for advice on the best tactics for introducing a new baby. Many parents worry about how they will cope with the added demands of a new baby and how a sibling’s arrival...
Talking to a teenager about healthy eating (without giving them a complex)
During lockdown, lots of parents raised concerns with me about how to encourage teens to follow a more healthy lifestyle. Parents reported teenagers doing very little exercise, eating a lot of junk...
101 ideas for supporting your child’s development
We all want our children to do well – at school and in life – and to reach their full potential. But battling over homework and bribing them to complete extra maths booklets isn’t...
Book Review: The Power of Showing Up
During the pandemic, I have talked to lots of parents about the impact of simply showing up for our kids. Reliably, repeatedly, just being there – a calm, safe haven for them in these troubled...
Books to help kids recover from lockdown
Regular readers will know that I advocate snuggling up with a story as a brilliant way to raise sensitive issues with children indirectly and engage them in thinking about ideas. So you won’t...
How ‘moments to shine’ build children’s self-esteem
Experiencing ‘moments to shine’ is really important for building children’s self-esteem. Here’s what those moments look like and how parents can make them happen every day: If...
Helping children get back on track post-lockdown
With glimmers of hope that the national lockdown in the UK is to be gradually lifted, parents and professionals are turning our thoughts to helping children get back on track post-lockdown....
Is my child worried about going back to school?
In September 2020, after the long period of school closures in the UK, I recorded a couple of quick videos to help parents settle young children back into school. Often children don’t tell us...