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  • Could this dance craze have you jumping for joy on the scales?

Could this dance craze have you jumping for joy on the scales?

It’s been around for about three years, but I first heard of it was when my friend Monica from school texted me the other day to see if I fancied doing BoogieBounce. I jumped at the chance (sorry, pun intended). If you can imagine an immersion heater with thick cladding,

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  • Are your friends gritting their teeth today?

Are your friends gritting their teeth today?

Spare a thought for the mothers of teenagers who are going through a rough time. Mother’s Day might be a trial for them. They might even be your friends who are unable to tell you what’s really going on in their family. When I talk to parents, it’s clear that raising

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  • Why we should start teaching kids aged 4 about these creeps

Why we should start teaching kids aged 4 about these creeps

Most parents speak to their children about Stranger Danger at the age of 4. Following the recent Harvey Weinstein debacle, it’s time to talk to them about Power Danger. Power Danger is where one person does something to you because they know their position prevents you from rebuffing them or

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The empty nest really was agony: what it feels like when they leave home

The empty nest really was agony: what it feels like when they leave home

The Empty Nest really was agony. I still remember hearing their keys in the lock, cooking far too much food (still do that!) and crying at the sight of a tidy house. All the years of nagging them to pick stuff up and put dishes straight in the dishwasher and

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Five smart ways to halve your kids’ activities

Five smart ways to halve your kids’ activities

If you and your family have felt the strain last academic year of taking your kids to and from multiple activities, here are five ways to cut the number of things they do outside of school: Get curious – ask your kid why they want to at tend dance or

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  • 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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  • 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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Are you a Replacement Child? How did it affect your life?

On a foggy January afternoon in 1952, American Airlines flight 6780 crashed into the Mandel family’s apartment building  in Elizabeth, New Jersey. It killed more than 30 people, including 22 on board the plane. Linda Mandel who was just 2 would survive but be badly burned. Her 7-year old sister Donna

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Oh gawd Apple! Not airpods, we remember the days of pricey headphones

Oh gawd Apple! Not airpods, we remember the days of pricey headphones

Remember when the prices of fancy phones came down, and we could actually do stuff on them – watch films, play games, buy boys’ pants whilst travelling on a train – without the constant circle of hell buffering us at every turn? The trouble was, that a few years ago

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