Parenting
  • Schools are cheating, and we have to do something

Schools are cheating, and we have to do something

Last week I highlighted what I’d been hearing from parents about schools forcing C-grade students to take their A-Levels privately so they don’t show up in their results, how children are being denied places at sixth forms or made to sit their GCSE year again. Lots of parents got in

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  • Does Your Teen Have An Internet Addiction?
  • Does Your Teen Have An Internet Addiction?
  • Does Your Teen Have An Internet Addiction?

Does Your Teen Have An Internet Addiction?

Addiction is a scary word for parents. We have four children, Ben (18), Gabriel (15), Jessica (13) and Noah (7) and I’m not sure if anything would scare me more than finding out one of them had a drug addiction. I was a teen in the Grange Hill generation of

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Don’t you want your babies back!?!?

Don’t you want your babies back!?!?

What’s best, having babies or teenagers? When are the best years to be a parent? If you have little kids, it seems like forever that you’ll again enjoy a lie-in, a quiet meal with nothing spilled or thrown, or a week day evening without driving someone to Scouts, Brownies or

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  • What is cutting? Should parents be worried?

What is cutting? Should parents be worried?

Self harm through cutting is a common and growing phenomenon. Having spoken to parents, a post-‘cutter’ teenage girl and others, I want to share what I’m hearing. Please share this and your experiences. How you’ll feel: Cutting is horrifying for parents, and we don’t have much experience of it from our

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  • Five rules for every Box set lover

Five rules for every Box set lover

OK, admit it. When your kids were young, you worried that they watched too much TV. But is it possible that us parents are now watching just a tad too much of our favourite Box sets? I confess that my other half and I are half way through The Good Wife.

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Let’s Take the Parent Out of Parenting

Let’s Take the Parent Out of Parenting

There’s a video stumbling around the Facebooks recently encouraging the teaching of Life Skills in school. It lays down statistics that 30% of college kids can’t boil an egg. My college kid CAN boil an egg. The paleo friendly cacao and almond butter cups in the freezer tell me cooking

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Is This Depressing?

Is This Depressing?

Recently, I’ve realized my daughter isn’t quite the same. Her enthusiasm for things just isn’t there. For a while, I blamed teenage angst. Right? I mean all teens go through that. In fact, that tends to lead into their twenties, really. Stupid teenagers. But… something continued to nag at me.

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  • Cervical Cancer risks: Tell your daughter

Cervical Cancer risks: Tell your daughter

Many health services, including the UK and Ireland’s, refuse women under the age of 25 the right to  a cervical smear test. A 24 year old woman, Heather Keating, who was showing signs of cervical cancer was recently told to come back when she was 25 by her GP in

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The Most Precious Gift

The Most Precious Gift

You know when friends invite you to their kid’s birthday party, but you don’t really know the kids and you’re not sure what to get them? Awkward, right? So, how awkward is it when you get to that point with your own kid? The fact is, I barely see my

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  • Feeding teenagers | How to grow a tall man

Feeding teenagers | How to grow a tall man

Feeding teenage boys lots of calories can help you to grow a tall man – genetics permitting. Getting food right for boys can affect their height. My youngest kid is 13 and has taken up football. Some parents have asked me: “How comes he’s so tall – are there giants in

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