Parent Gossip

If you think your child may be a bully
• Teach them about respecting other people’s rights; don’t just assume your child will know this.
• Have firm rules that don’t accept mean or nasty behaviour.
• Keep a record of bullying incidents, this may help to identify whether anything in particular is causing your child stress and setting them off.
• Make [...]

In the holidays, children always start complaining about being bored after only a few days. They don’t need structured activities all the time, but it is nice to arrange some simple outings and activities to keep your child entertained.
Here are some easy ideas for low-cost or free things to do together:
• A picnic – [...]

Every child has temper tantrums; it’s just something a parent has to accept. Dealing with temper tantrums can be tricky though, and often your best efforts to calm the situation only end up making it worse. There are a number of reasons why a child would have a temper tantrum, and there are a number [...]

A recent study by a team at Colombia University has researched by some children underperform. They looked at the impact wealth had on a child and found a wide gap in ability between poor and rich families in the US. Children from very low income backgrounds scored only half of what children from higher incomes [...]

There is no denying it, the Credit Crunch is everywhere! It effects every aspect of our lives, from what brand of baked beans we buy now to whether we go on holiday abroad or stay in the sunny UK this summer.  It also affects our children. The Witchlings are getting expensive tastes now and, like [...]

Witchling 12 has been writing. Not to be outdone by her sister’s efforts, Witchling 12 has been waxing lyrical about the pros and cons of spending time away from home at Grandmera’s house.
They are staying at my parents’ house until Christmas Eve, when they will be delivered to us, like the ultimate in Christmas gifts, [...]

I asked the Witchlings what they would like to happen this Christmas. It’s the first Christmas we are having back in the UK and I wanted to know what Christmas moring means to them.
THis is what it means to Witchling 10
My Christmas is going to be the best I am going to get lots and [...]

 Christmas shopping with children can either be wonderful fun, or an absolute nightmare. I remember being dragged around countless gifts for elderly relatives or, worse still, my sister! There never seemed to be much fun in it for me!
So it was with trepidation that we set out last weekend to ‘do’ the Christmas shopping for [...]

Now that the children are getting bigger and are developing definite and distinct differences in taste and personality, it’s become increasingly evident that they need their own rooms URGENTLY! This means some major upstairs rethinking. The plan is to convert our very large bathroom into a single bedroom for our oldest daughter then convert our [...]

Is Santa Claus real?
The Witchlings have spent 6 Christmases with me now and have until this year, maintained a stalwart faith in the big red man. It is almost worrying in some ways that Witchling 12 should still believe in Old Saint Nick.
When The Witchlings first came to me and we began to create Christmas [...]