This post is answering a reader question from last year’s survey. You can see more of my answers to reader questions here Do you have a pet? If so who takes care …
Tips for uni open days for kids who aren’t keen on going
Please note this post has been updated for 2019 and includes some new information! Our eldest child is in his last year of secondary school and he wants to go to uni. He …
Future Kids: How to raise a new generation in an uncertain world
Today’s guest post is another excellent and thoughtful article from Ellen Jackson. Ellen is a coaching psychologist at Potential Psychology Services and she writes tbe Potential Psychology Blog. You can read previous posts of Ellen’s …
Does it really get harder? – 2016 edition
This is the 2016 edition of a post I write annually. I started it back in 2009 when our youngest son was still a baby. With five kids under 10 life was …
In what order should the alphabet and sounds be taught?
Today’s post is from the fab team at Love2learn. I shared our first experience with Love2learn a couple of years ago which you can read here – Love2Learn – Literacy Classes For …
Role modelling the behaviour you want in your kids
In last week’s newsletter I wrote about the importance of role modelling the behaviour we want to see in our kids. So far my testing has showed me that this approach certainly …
Key tips by age to make family life happier
I have a huge list of question in a spreadsheet that I continually add to as I receive questions from readers. I try to answer as many as I can, even if …
Nurture rather than nag
Nurture rather than nag is an excellent piece of advice I picked up very recently from a lovely neighbour who had a child complete Year 12 (very successfully) last year. She picked …
School starting age – 2015 update
Back in 2010 I wrote a couple of posts on school starting age as I received many questions both in real life and on the blog about this topic. You can read …
Getting ready for year 7
Next year I will have more kids in secondary school than I do in primary school. This blows my mind (and makes me feel old!). Yesterday I saw a mum with a …
3 simple phonics tips for parents
It is pretty clear if you read the blog, that I think phonics is the way to go with teaching kids to read. While doing much more phonics now, none of my …
Monthly review – letting go
If you read my newsletter, you would have read the following a few weeks ago in relation to our eldest teenager: Restrictions on technology is by far the biggest issue we have. …
E-book review: Parenting in a Digital World: Stop fighting, start connecting
Parenting in a Digital World: Stop fighting, start connecting: The E-book is written by Martine Oglethorpe who blogs at The Modern Parent. Martine has a background in secondary education and is a qualified …
Family life – the roller coaster years
I look forward to writing this post each year and just knowing I write it makes me think and notice things about this current stage of family life, that I am not sure …
Tips for saying no without guilt
This is my response to this reader question from last year’s annual survey. How do you say no to things without having guilt – requests for play dates, extra curricular activities etc? …
3 of the best educational iPad apps for primary school kids
Apps can be a great tool to use to support and reinforce kids learning. As noted in my post Homework help – managing it with multiple kids, I regularly use educational apps …
Monthly review – tips for being a patient parent
So we are now two months into 2015 and I am still loving having the one goal, a single focus for me. As there is only one thing to think of, I …
Balancing the needs of the kids
As with a number of posts recently, this topic today is inspired by feedback from the blog annual survey. In the section of the survey where I asked readers if they had …