Exam stress: Tips on how to help your child keep calm during exam time Exam stress can be difficult to deal with – especially for the half a million 11-year-olds who are taking their SATs tests this week, their first major exams to date. One of the most common themes coming through our lunchtime drop… Read More →
The First Mobile Phone: Rules for Responsibility This week is Mental Health Awareness Week with the theme of ‘loneliness’ and whilst there might not seem to be a connection. One of the biggest causes of loneliness is the use of digital devices. Whilst we may believe we are more connected via social media sites we… Read More →
Life is full of hard knocks. What makes some people get up the next morning determined to try again, while others give up? Resilience. Resilience is usually defined as the capacity to handle adverse experiences constructively, to recover from them, and to integrate them in a way that allows the person to find growth and… Read More →
These last two years have been incredibly difficult for so many of us especially when we were in lockdown and a lot of our boundaries went out of the window as we went into survival mode. Since then I have had a lot of parents come and see me talking about how they have seen… Read More →
No matter where in the world you live, it’s hard to watch the news from Ukraine. Bombs dropping on cities full of civilians, parents and children sleeping on subway platforms, ordinary people like us standing in front of tanks. The news is constant, so our children, particularly older kids, can’t help becoming aware of it.… Read More →
In recent weeks I have had more and more children coming to our lunchtime drop in telling me that they are anxious and also a number of parents who have called me with similar concerns. Anxiety is a normal fear response to something we perceive as a threat. For your child, a threat could be… Read More →
“Mom, Dad….I’m bored.” Makes you feel put on the spot, right? You might even feel like you’re a bad parent. Most of us feel pressured to solve this “problem” right away. We usually respond to our kids’ boredom by providing technological entertainment or structured activities. But that’s actually counter-productive. Children need to encounter and engage… Read More →
I have seen a number of parents of Year 5 and 6 children who are worried about their child’s defiant behaviour. They are starting to see a change in their children who were previously quite compliant. These are natural changes that you will start to see in your children as they move towards adolescence. Now… Read More →
“What did you do in school today?” “Nothing. Parents often ask what they can say to get their child talking. The secret isn’t about what you say. It’s about how you listen. The most important skill in talking with anyone, including children, is listening. Not answering, not teaching, not lecturing, not fixing things or offering… Read More →