How do I help my kids be resilient?
Resilience is the word psychologists use to talk about the ability to get back up after you’ve been knocked down and keep going. I think of it as a kind of psychological strength. It’s been found to be a key indicator of who will thrive rather than falter following difficult or traumatic experiences. I think […]
Help! It’s pass the parcel!
Here’s a quote from The Telegraph last weekend “Pass the parcel must be ruthlessly rigged to avoid tearsâ€. I guess the parent who thought of putting a packet of sweets between the layers of pass the parcel was very pleased with the innovation.  I remember when I first encountered it I thought “oh, nice idea!†[…]
Helping children withstand bullying
A 12-year-old boy killed himself in the UK this week.  It’s been suggested that he may have hung himself because he was teased about being autistic. It’s not clear that he was autistic, just that he was being teased about it. Last year, a 15-year-old boy from Gloucestershire killed himself after teasing about being gay. […]
Mummy, am I a crybaby?
This was what my 7 year old son asked me last night just before bedtime. I paused for long enough (was it half a second or was it longer?) to realise that my answer was going to be really significant and that it better cut the mustard. (To tell the truth I’m not totally sure […]
Letting children test their limits
Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence Henri F. Amiel, Swiss philosopher and poet (1821 – 1881) Where are all our children gone? Last week I began to feel like I was in Vulgaria from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – a land where children are forbidden. It used […]
