My best parenting is on the school run

Is the school run the best place to educate your children on life?

I have to say, I think so. Once all the hassle is out the way and we are in the car, the conversations we have are amazing and I think I parent most effectively when locked with my child in a confined place, with no means for escape.

The other morning Freya was telling me how tired she was and she was hoping that the big coffee in the road mug that she had in her hands would help her through the day. I asked her if she had used my coffee to make it, which she had, so I then when on to inform her that is was actually decaffinated so it would give her no benefit at all in that department.

This led her to ask what caffeine is, which led me to explain about stimulants and depressants and what they do to you. She listened intently and then went through every drug she knew, trying to figure out where they would fit.

The conversation then went on to legal and illegal drugs and I told her the truth about the amount of alcohol and nicotine deaths there were in a year, which she found quite shocking. She then asked the obvious question of why they were legal, which started a whole debate about consumerism and ended with her wanting to write a letter to Gordon Brown!

It was maybe one of the most productive conversations that I have had with her and goes to show me that if we are prepared to talk openly and frankly, to give information without judgement and allow for the difficult questions, we can have amazing conversations.

What about you on the school run, are you using the time wisely?

Neew help them why not try our family communication cards .

The death of discipline

Punishing and Discipline – a rant

A recent study highlights the fact that today’s parents have forgotten that sometimes, you have to be cruel to be kind! One in four parents refuse to discipline their children because they are worried they might upset them.

This survey led This Morning to do a phone-in for parents who wanted advice on disciplining their children.

What followed was controversial, to say the least. Denise, the agony aunt gave some solid advice and the child was at the centre of her responses, which is a pleasure to see. While her advice was maybe not as practical as it could be, I admired her for going against the grain.

However, the onslaught she received on the This Morning Facebook page made me very angry, to say the least.

With comments like,

Read more

Grandparents who care for children ‘boost obesity risk’

Young children who are regularly looked after by their grandparents have an increased risk of being overweight, an extensive British study has suggested.

Analysis of 12,000 three-year olds suggested the risk was 34% higher if grandparents cared for them full time.

The study used data from the Millennium Cohort Study, which looked at the health of children aged between nine months and three years old, who had been born in the UK between 2000 and 2001.

The results showed that those looked after by grandparents part-time had a 15% higher risk of being overweight for their age compared with those solely looked after by their parents.

Those who were cared for by their grandparents full-time had a 34% increased risk of being overweight, the University College London team found.

Wow shocking if you ask me…both my children have been cared for extensively by their Grandparents!

However I did get very clear what my values were and was and was not important to me when it came to their health  and verbalised them to their grandparents. If the mark was over stepped I reminded them of the conversation and things got back on track quickly. Parents need to treat any childcare the same and get clear how they want to be treated and not just assume because it is their grandparents they know what you want.

I think Grandparents do an amazing job and more support should be given to them regarding the childcare they provide.

One in five Year Sevens bullied at primary school

Twenty two percent of 11-year-olds in Northern Ireland say they have been physically bullied at school.

A further 36% reported being bullied in other ways, including name calling, being left out of games, or having nasty stories spread about them.

More than 3,500 children, from 268 primary schools across Northern Ireland, were questioned for the 2009 Kids’ Life and Times Survey.

The survey was compiled by ARK at Queen’s and the University of Ulster.

Wow! Still a big problem it appears….

Tips if your child is being bullied.

1. Let them know you are here

Firstly, ensure that you have created an open environment where your teenager can come and speak with you, and listen in a non-judgemental manner. After you have read this, speak with your teenager and let them know that if anything like this happens, they can come and talk to you and you will support them.

Read more

Parenting from Spirit

This is a wonderful interview I did ages ago with Sheri Hudson…enjoy !

Communicating with your Teenager

How to communicate with your teenager

Here are some great podcasts I have just found that I did ages ago.

4 great audios on communicating with your teenager

Next Page »