Thinking parenting Blog
Children’s books about shyness
Reading books with children is a great way to start conversations about topics they might find difficult. Whether you have a shy child or just want to help your confident child develop empathy,...
Helping children set goals
Helping children set goals has huge benefits for their self-esteem. It also teaches them an essential life skill that underpins much academic and workplace success. And, at a time of huge...
Parenting in a time of uncertainty
I didn’t imagine myself writing this blog post. It wasn’t on my planner. I’ve spent the last few months writing about the various parenting challenges of Covid-19 (working from...
How a snow globe can help children self soothe
Young children find abstract concepts difficult. So words like ‘anxiety’ or ’emotion’ can be a bit baffling to them. What do those words actually mean? And how do they help?...
Mindfulness apps for children and teens
Parents and professionals are deeply concerned about the impacts of the pandemic on children and teenagers’ emotional wellbeing. Coming on top of an existing crisis in children’s mental...
Finger breathing – how to calm anxious children
If you have ever tried to tell a young child who is in the grip of a big emotion to “Calm down,” you will know that often doesn’t work. Children need much more concrete strategies...
Book Review: He’s Not Lazy (by Adam Price)
*This review contains affiliate links If you have a teenage son who is not doing as well as you think he should be at school, you must read He’s Not Lazy: Empowering your son to believe in...
Parenting is a two-way relationship
One of the things I encourage parents to do is to see parenting as a relationship between a parent and a child rather than as a one-way activity. That means focusing on building a good relationship...
Storybooks for children about working mums
A client recently asked me to recommend books she could read with her little one about going back to work. But I could only think of one book. I can recommend lots of books for helping children cope...
Supporting children’s and teenagers’ mental health: resource list
Children and young people’s mental health is hardly out of the news these days but often parents are at a loss how best to help and support a child/teenager who is struggling. So, I have...
Talking to children about mental health
All children need to know about mental health. They need to know how to look after their minds as well as their bodies. They need to know that it is possible to feel mentally unwell as well as...
Talking to children about tragic events
As events remind us all too often, we live in a world in which bad things happen. And in this digital era of rolling news, graphic details about terrorist attacks, accidents and other tragic events...
Top 10 starting school books (for preparing children for school)
Getting ready to start school has very little to do with the alphabet and lots to do with practical and emotional preparation (see School readiness skills for pre-schoolers). Their first day at...
Resilient Parenting (because bad things can still happen to good parents)
Whenever I run parenting seminars, there are always some parents attending who are there for ‘prevention’ purposes. By that I mean that they don’t have problems with their...
Stressed-out parents: how stress impacts parenting (and what to do about it)
One of the key principles of positive parenting is looking after yourself. Being a parent is not all about the kids. Creating a family that you enjoy being a member of means balancing...
Bullying: where to find help
Sadly, more than half of UK children will experience bullying – either as victim, perpetrator or witness. Most bullying is quickly dealt with and most children bounce back from it. But for...
Building children’s self-esteem
Self-esteem comes from children feeling accepted, competent and effective. Parents cannot directly create those feelings in children – feelings are subjective and everyone is different. But...
School stress: are parents piling on too much pressure?
According to recent data by the NSPCC, there has been a 200% increase in the number of young people seeking counselling for exam stress. School stress is in the top ten reasons why children reach out...
Separation anxiety
It is very normal for young children to experience separation anxiety when being left by a parent. Separation anxiety tends to emerge at about 8-12 months old and can be very intense (especially...
Anxious children: where to find help
If you are worried that your child’s anxiety is impacting negatively on his or her life then it’s a good idea to seek support. You’ll find some great advice for parents of anxious...