Nicole Thompson considers how we teach our children that manners matter. A single voice pierced the muffled sounds of the airport terminal, and my ears pricked up instinctively. “Lucy, no! Remember your manners,” the voice shouted. “Say, ‘Please, Mummy’.” My son and I turned to fix...
When Karen Eriksen’s son began refusing almost all food at the age of two, it would take five years and several specialists to establish what the problem was. My child lives on air alone. You might think I am exaggerating, but I’m not really. My seven...
Spasmodic croup in young children is an alarming condition, writes Caroline Illingworth. When most people arrive at their holiday destination, they usually unpack, go into town, head to the beach or just kick back and start to unwind. On our last trip, the first thing we...
Healthy food that children will actually eat? Most parents would sell their souls for the secret… From Courgette Brownies to Brain-Boosting Pancakes, there is something here for everyone. Try The Good Stuff – it’s a recipe for happiness! Makes 8 Mini Burgers 2 tblsp olive oil 1 onion finely chopped 6 sage...
Professor Helen Wildy explains how assessing children as they start school can have a positive and long-term impact on their education. I am intensely interested in the early years of schooling, particularly now that I have two young grandchildren. I have never doubted that the first...
Amanda Walsh questions why parents are more hesitant to raise problems they have with a childcare centre than they would be with any other service provider. You’re a parent, a partner, a worker, a student – there are an awful lot of titles and roles that...
A teenager’s plea for help takes Rebecca Chaney back to a place she rarely visits – her childhood. There was a knock at my front door the other night. It was late, and I was upstairs checking on our sleeping children before calling it a day....
Gemma Rolleman faces up to the fact she no longer has all the answers to her kids’ questions. It’s a sad day when your eight-year-old son turns to you for help with maths homework that might as well have been written in ancient Greek. For no...
When Eliza Johnson’s son was hit by a car, her first-aid skills steered them through the shock and adrenalin. my first-aid training gave my fear a practical focus. About a year ago, I was paying the restaurant bill while my husband took our one and two-year-old sons...
Discipline does not have to be hardline to be effective, writes Mary Pearl. My husband is a primary school teacher who uses a piano accordion (“A creature lives and breathes in a big grey box, can you guess what it is?”) and three monkeys to capture...
