When should we start? Children are going to go on social media. That’s why we need to be educated in all the latest apps that spring up like weeds. Most of your children’s friends will be on something, and will share their phones etc. My son is grown up now. If he was young nowadays….
Nothing like kicking off a big debate on a Sunday morning by posting, “Using rewards can make children more vulnerable to ‘rewards’ or ‘gifts’ being offered online by sexual predators.” I didn’t do it lightly. I did do it to provoke a serious debate with early years professionals in Laura Henry’s Early Years Safeguarding and…
Alarming new statistics on Children’s mental health should scare us all! Firstly, because so many young children in our affluent 21st century ARE suffering. Secondly, because it’s entirely preventable. Thirdly, because solutions are SIMPLE. Even I was shocked by the statistics in this recent BBC article, “In 2017-18, some 18,870 children aged under 11 were…
There has been a big backlash from an interview with expert, Deanne Carson who, “…suggested parents ask their infants questions such as: ‘I’m going to change your nappy now, is that okay?” But if you leave a space and wait for body language and wait to make eye contact then you are letting that child know…
How many hours sleep do we need to live a healthy and productive life? Depends on who you ask. Some people swear they do fine on 5 hours and believe sleep is for lazy wimps. Others will say they love to sleep but are rubbish at it. Then there are those who believe they can…
Why is so much emphasis put on making children successful? Education policy is all about attainment levels and grades. As parents, this can bring huge additional pressures which we can pass on to our children But…Is success really the most important thing or does it increase their vulnerability to mental stress and distress? When we…
Imagine… You wake up one morning and your loved one greets you with, “it’s today!” You can’t make head nor tail of what they are saying at first. Then you remember that you have to go somewhere new today. Getting out of bed, you sense that you don’t have a choice as you WILL be…
Time to embrace change? It’s the 21st century. A time when we have created science and technology to preserve and prolong life. This has been of real benefit to the human race. Being able to keep a premature baby alive so they are able to develop and thrive is wonderful. Likewise, having treatments and surgery…
Last night my good friend Laura Henry messaged me the word trauma? Ant McPartlin ‘arrested on suspicion of drink-driving’ TV presenter reportedly questioned after failing a breathalyser test following London collision. (The Guardian) Laura was posing the right question. What trauma has there been in Ant McPartlin’s life? Why has he been self-medicating with prescription drugs…
How can so many of our children be stressed, hurting themselves, depressed, aggressive, withdrawn, and worrying about anything and everything? What do you think? Is it down to: Media Hype More awareness Less resilient children How children are being raised Something else Have the statistics caused an unhelpful panic? A recent article in the Guardian…
