Like many parents, I experience self-doubt all the time. I’m forever wondering whether I’m doing enough for my kids and if I’m giving them the same kind of happy childhood that I enjoyed. I often feel that I’m average at best and somehow letting my children down. Times are tough and modern life is becoming …
According to a recent survey, 31 is the average age of financial maturity for most Brits. In my experience, that sounds about right. But with a caveat that I’ll come to later. By the time I reached that age, we were in our second home – albeit our first true family home – had one …
Disclosure: this is a paid collaboration with Scrubbingtons. It’s almost time for kids to go back to school and nursery. And with it comes the need to get back into a school routine. After six weeks off, this can be a little bit of a challenge, but a few changes in the last week or …
I’ve been busy getting settling in my new job this week. As is the case in most workplaces these days, the majority of my time so far has been spent completing all the necessary training tasks. This got me thinking: what if the workplace policies, procedures and practices I’ve been ticking off the to-do list …
I’ve now been a parent for nine years so have experienced many highs and lows along the way. You may think that, after this long, the capacity for surprise would be somewhat limited. However, I’ve realised that there are a fair few things that I’m still not used to as a parent… Having three children …
Every now and then, I’m asked to take part in radio debates about parenting topics. It’s something I never imagined myself doing but that I enjoy nonetheless. This week, I appeared on two different BBC local channels – Kent and Three Counties, for the record – discussing the same topic. Namely, the demise of the …
I made an interesting discovery yesterday. I’m becoming a panda parent. I’ve heard of numerous nicknames for parenting approaches over the years but this was a new one on me. Coined by American author Esther Wojcicki, being a panda parent is about taking a more relaxed approach. That’s not to say it’s a licence to …
I was disappointed to read about a new Channel 4 show coming soon. Entitled Britain’s Best Parent? the five-episode series will enter the world of competitive parenting. It will pit various approaches against one another in front of a live audience to establish whether a perfect parenting philosophy exists. First of all, I think the …
I was dismayed to read about a celebrity dad recently suggesting that boys should hide their feelings. I believe we definitely should teach boys it’s okay to cry. Ant Middleton who presents Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins made the claim to Giovanna Fletcher on the Podcast Happy Mum, Happy Baby. He said that, if …
I was pleased to read about a four-year-old girl calling out LEGO City magazine for a lack of female representation. The daughter of the actor Samuel West noticed that, of the 29 characters who speak in the issue, only one was female and even then it was to agree with a man. The upshot is …