I received a call yesterday asking me to go on the Victoria Derbyshire Show to discuss a new report from Save the Children. I was unable to attend, but once we began discussing the contents of the report, I found that I actually had quite a lot to say about Read more…
For those who don’t know, S has been poorly lately. For the last month or so, she’s had what can only be described as the evil cold of doom. She’s very weepy and clingy, and she’s not been sleeping at night. I’ve lost count of the number of nights we’ve Read more…
Everyone knows toddlers love to ask why. It’s one of those things we all just seem to know. The stereotypical toddler, answering every word from their parents with WHY? The one thing that’s never mentioned though, the thing I’ve only realised since having S, is that toddlers don’t really know what the Read more…
I’ve written before about the fact I don’t use the naughty step or time out with S. I thought it might be useful to show some alternatives, of things you can do instead of issuing a time out or banishing a child to the naughty step… Time In & Cuddles Read more…
I take S to the park fairly often. We live around the corner from one, and there’s another not too far away so we’ll often wander off to one or the other for some fun. As S has grown, she’s become more adventurous. She wants to climb on things that Read more…
Yesterday morning I bumped into a friend in town. She is moving away soon, and I’d not seen her for a while – so we had lots to talk about. She had her young daughter with her too though, and young daughters are not so fond of mummies standing Read more…
What’s the matter? Why are you whining? If you don’t tell me what’s wrong, I can’t help you! Sound familiar? As the parent of a toddler, I found myself saying this several times a day. S seems to be going through a bit of a phase where she will suddenly Read more…
We’ve all seen the ubiquitous “humble-brag” on social media, haven’t we? The old “oh, I wish Tarquin weren’t so ahead of everyone else in his pre-school class, it’s so frustrating!” or “it’s so hard to parent a genius; you can’t just send them to a normal school, you know.” Read more…
It occurred to me this weekend that it’s entirely possible my sister has spent more quality time with S than I have, over the last month. Between moving house, trying to fit packing and unpacking in around work, and a bunch of other stuff I won’t go into, my Read more…
Parenting is probably the one thing in life where people aren’t really open to each other’s approaches. I mean, in theory, yes: we’re all different, we all raise our children slightly differently, and the world marches on. In practise though, if you’re doing something very differently to how I Read more…
I have written before about how much I love ToddlerCalm, so I thought it was about time I wrote a review. I have a real problem with parenting experts; I dislike people who expound the correct way of doing things, who tell you what you should be doing. I don’t take Read more…
I’ve been thinking lately, about the difference between short term and long term parenting. Or really, short term and long term anything. I think once you become a parent you tend to start thinking about the long term. Now that there’s someone else to consider we often find that we’re thinking Read more…
I don’t like the term, “parenting expert.” To me, there is no such thing. It seems to me that there are numerous different approaches to parenting, and we’re all pretty much flying blind. None of us knows for definite that what we’re doing is the 100% right choice, that we’re Read more…
I’ve been reading this book lately, called Playful Parenting. It’s all about how we parents need to lighten up and play more. The basic premise of the book is that when a child is “acting out,” they’re doing that because they don’t feel connected – and the best way to Read more…
I make no secret of the fact S shares my bed; I love that she’s right next to me. Over the weekend I read a post on Mummascribbles that inspired me to write about my own experience of co-sleeping. When we were in hospital, we had the most fantastic nursery nurse Read more…
Several months ago, I went online and ordered a potty. It arrived, and we put it in the living room. After a few months, S sat on it… and tried to push it around the living room like a ride-on toy. I had vaguely thought that I might try potty Read more…