September 5, 2017
Just thinking about the morning routine on a school day creates a physical reaction in me. My head hurts slightly and I feel my body tense. Of all the transitions we regularly have in our family this is by far the hardest. Why is that? We have very few places we have to be at a particular time. When we…
August 22, 2017
We’re all familiar with feeling anxious. It’s not pleasant. Heart racing, butterflies in the tum, can’t think clearly. What if you lived like that most of the time? For months at a time. What if you lived with an impending sense of doom or low-level anxiety that has you checking the doors and windows are locked, repeatedly, on a hot…
August 6, 2017
A parent’s stress is like an emotional smoothie which has the potential to blow the lid off the jug and make a huge mess! Parental stress can be a blend of thoughts and emotions; from frustration to a child not doing what we want, to guilt because we blame ourselves for whatever is going on. There’s the bombardment of mental…
August 1, 2017
As a parent of children who go to school, one of the most stressful, daily occurrences is actually getting them there each day. If you also have children at school, you will know this is a tricky part of the day. One thing we, as parents, need to do is work on handling our own stress which is something I…
July 24, 2017
When your child is born with disabilities or complex medical needs, there are areas of your life and theirs where you will have to learn to fight. You will have to learn to speak up, sometimes to shout, to ensure your child’s needs are being met. One of those environments is with medical care. For those of us who have…
July 12, 2017
When my first daughter was born I slipped seamlessly into attachment parenting. I Instagrammed a photo of my daughter breastfeeding everyday for about 6 months. I would go to Sling Libraries just for fun! I was a proud, evangelistic attachment parent. But increasingly I find myself holding attachment parenting up to the light, peering at it as though seeing the tiny…
July 5, 2017
We just flew across the world, my husband and my two children. We’ve come to the UK from New Zealand to spend some time with my family. There’s a lot of thinking to be done on a 26 hour flight, when sleep alludes you ‘cos your bum cheeks ache from sitting down so long and you’ve watched all the watchable…
July 3, 2017
Welcome to Sara from the incredible blog Happiness is Here. Sara shares her life with four wonderful children and is here to paint a picture of how we can be a parent ally to all of our children amidst their different, individual needs… Being an ally to children means respecting their rights and autonomy, but how does that work when you have…
June 27, 2017
Power sharing Parent Allies use their privilege and power as adults to help their children get their needs met and to achieve their hopes and dreams. In a very practical way children are penalised for being children – objects are outsized, packets tricky to open, resources hard to access. Parents use their position to help a child do what they need…
May 8, 2017
Children are one of the last people groups who are routinely marginalised. That may seem like an extreme claim, but think about how recently you last heard someone speak plainly and in a derogatory manner about children. For me, it was last week, on Facebook. ” I don’t like children” someone contributed, quite randomly on a parenting thread. Such a…