Welcome to our blog where you can find articles full of helpful advice and real life stories

Do you want your child to be more or less brat?

Until recently, a ‘brat’ meant an ill-mannered and annoying, probably spoiled and selfish, child. Pretty much the antithesis of what we’re aiming for as parents.

Why does a child’s behaviour change when they move from the classroom to the home?

We often hear from parents that their child behaves reasonably well at school, and yet at home their child's regular low-level misbehaviour leaves them feeling overwhelmed and ill-equipped to effectively manage.

How positive parenting can boost academic potential

As a new academic year begins, most parents have some great ideas for improvements their child needs to make at school over the next few terms.

The only constant is change...

Nothing in our lives is permanent. Each of us will go through periods of change — it is unavoidable! Going back to the ancient Greeks with Heraclitus’ famous words “The only thing that is constant is change.” Centuries later, his words have been echoed by many.

Being a Father

I’ve been thinking a lot about fathers recently and their role and importance in our lives. As some of you may know, my father sadly passed away a few weeks ago after a long illness and, because he was such a strong and wise presence in my family, we’re struggling a little to adapt to life without him.

Moving from wrong back to right

Kids make lots of mistakes - they get things wrong, and they often feel wrong too. Moving on and starting again, with renewed energy and optimism, is something we all need to learn to do. As parents, we're in a great place to help our children with this!

The data on family size is in, but which is best? One child or more?

We’ve been noticing over the last few years that more of our clients at The Parent Team have one child rather than multiple children.

And now the facts confirm it. Single-child families are on the rise in the UK.

Being grateful in 2024

This time last year, our first blog in 2023 was about the power of optimistic thinking because we reckoned 2022 had been quite tough and we wanted to squeeze the best out of 2023.

What do we say when we don’t know what to say?

The news over the last couple of weeks has been even more worrying than usual. When I was young, the only news I heard or saw was a 5 minute child-friendly round-up in the form of ‘Newsround’ on the BBC..

The importance of eating with the kids ….

An article in the Daily Mail last week started with the rather startling statement that “Fathers who don’t make it home for dinner with their families could end up with more badly behaved children.”

Coping with change – tips for supporting children handle transitions

Change is, as they say, the only constant. And yet many kids aren’t that keen on change, whether that’s moving from one activity to the next, or adapting to a new teacher and form, or coping with bigger changes such as a new home or school, the arrival of a new sibling, or significant changes to the family set-up.

Understanding and Managing Summertime Boredom

Our latest blog offers up some insights into boredom and suggests some well-tested ways for parents to help their children manage their boredom in a healthy way.

Helping families thrive with a new baby sibling!

The arrival of a new baby in the family brings a huge level of joy and also an inevitable level of disruption! If you already have a child at home, it’s not quite the same as the first time around ….

Is homework a problem? If so, whose problem is it?

Most kids start some homework from Year 1, even Reception, with around an hour a week, which builds up to several hours a night over the years. And very few kids show much enthusiasm for it.

Understanding and using stress to fuel performance

Exams loom for children everywhere in the form of end-of-year assessments, 13+, GCSEs, A-Levels, Pre-Us, IBs or AP exams and, inevitably, pre-exam stress is widespread

The Recipe for Reducing Reluctance

Helping your children do the things they don’t want to do.

When is your parenting pinch point?

According to a recent survey, the key pinch point for parents comes at 7:23am. Does this ring any bells with you?

Is your child ready for a smartphone?

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a precise age, backed by rigorous science, at which every child was confirmed as being sufficiently wise enough to handle unsupervised access to the internet and sufficiently mature and confident enough to withstand the influence of social media?

Boosting Optimism in 2023

As another year starts, there’s a fair amount of gloom around the world. How can we protect ourselves and our children from pessimism and negative thinking during 2023?

Is there an Elf on your Shelf?

At heart, it’s a charming idea. It is fun to see the kids leap out of bed each morning to search for their Elf, as long as their parents find it fun taking on the additional pressure of being Chief Elf Operating Officer!

The summer holidays lie ahead ... how does that feel?!

Are you excited about having the kids at home for the next 60 days or so, or are you already worrying about juggling work schedules and childcare, managing weather and travel disruption, and keeping the kids entertained and sorting out their arguments?

Getting ready for Great Granny’s Jubilee Party.

We really enjoyed watching the Jubilee Celebrations last weekend and, like many others, we were particularly curious to see how George, Charlotte and Louis behaved as they rode down The Mall in a carriage and appeared on the balcony with their great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen.

Your rules, your way

We all grew up with rules. Some were obvious while others were more subtle. A lot of the time they started with the word ‘no’ as in ‘no snacks before dinner’ and ‘no messy rooms’ or ‘no food in bedrooms’ and ‘no swimming until at least half an hour after eating’….

From fussy eating to fabulous family meals …

Eating is an intense and emotional experience, particularly for children.

Feeding our children is an intense and emotional experience for parents ….

Stare at the stars and not just the screens …. By Ann

I was out for a walk the other day when the song Scare Away the Dark by Passenger came up on my random shuffle. I listened to the lyrics … as he sang:

Turning things around in 2022

We’ve opted for a positive and optimistic theme for our New Year blog. This is all about preparing for a brighter future in 2022 and finding out how to make family life work for us in the best way possible.

Top Tips for Christmas

Christmas can be a magical time for families, creating happy memories that last a lifetime. The holiday season can also be stressful ….

Busy doing nothing…

Despite the current worries about the new Covid variant, let’s hope we can continue to enjoy a fuller range of the activities and social engagements.

Friendships are magical. They can also be really upsetting at times …

As parents, we (hopefully!) have lots of fond memories of happy times with friends as we grew up. We found safety and comfort with people who cared for us and shared our interests.

Making the most of Halloween

All Hallows’ Eve has been celebrated throughout Europe for centuries. For hundreds of years, we have paid homage to saints (or ‘hallows’) on the last evening of October by ‘guising’ or dressing up as saints and going from home to home.

Settling back at school

It’s always an upheaval to family life as the first day of another school year looms, and everyone has to make the switch from holiday-mode to school-mode.

Winning, losing, taking part and knitting

Watching the Olympics over the last fortnight gave us the chance to witness the sheer, exhilarating joy of winning, and also the lowest depths of despair when, in that one moment that mattered, everything went wrong ….

1 in 12 parents regret having their kids

What was your response when you heard that 1 in 12 parents regret having their kids? Shock … or a sense of empathy? It’s a smart headline designed to get parents reading! And if you did read about the latest YouGov data you’ll know it wasn’t really about the numbers.

Setting up for a Tech-Lite Summer

As I write, my seventeen year old daughter is in her room on her own computer doing an online research internship with someone she has never met in another city. Her entire social life is organised through lengthy text threads and she stays in touch with friends, some in different countries on endless Facetime calls.

Remedies to Reduce Exam Nerves

This week thousands of children went into the exam season - including my daughter starting her GCSE exams and Ann’s daughter sitting Advanced Placement tests in the US. They will be followed by thousands more who will be set end of year exams after the half term holiday.

The Power of Friendships

With schools open, an easing of covid restrictions and spring in full bloom, children can now focus on one of the most important things in their lives - their face-to-face friendships.
As parents, we may be worrying about how our children catch up on schoolwork, but it’s crucial that children re-build their friendships and hone their friendship skills.

Raising sons to become men of integrity, kindness, compassion and respect

How do we raise our sons to become men of integrity, kindness, compassion and respect? Given recent events, this is the question many parents are asking us. Ahead of the two boys workshops this term, mum of 2 grown sons, Juliet shares her insights into how parents can integrate the ideas of consideration, tolerance and consent into their daily lives at home.

Helping children adapt to being back at school...

The first week back to school has been a flurry of excitement and nerves, and a level of chaos, as we’ve had to adapt to the change of pace and routine. Now the first week is done, we need to turn our attention to the next few weeks, terms and even years of schooling that our children have ahead of them.

Looking ahead to 2021 – from Melissa Hood

The start of 2021 has been very challenging with high numbers of CV19, a total lockdown and a return to home schooling. You’ve been overseeing lessons, whilst trying to carve out some time and space to do your own work. It’s been sooo relentless and tiring.

Ann’s story – the power of connection

I’m always in awe of people that have birth plans that they actually stick to! While I’m quite organised, I never quite got to the point of making one because my child has always been one step ahead, and her birth was no different.

Jenny’s story – the impact of negative labels

As a child I found my emotions difficult to manage. I had a lot of them, and they all seemed quite intense! They often led me to behave in ways that my parents, friends and teachers found inconvenient.

Juliet’s story – moving from controlling to supporting

I had a very clear idea of the sort of parent I would be - calm, capable, organised, upbeat, ready to cope with anything, and always available to my children. As a result, I knew that my daughters would be charming, well-behaved, kind, helpful and the best of friends.

Victoria’s story – adapting positive parenting skills to the needs of the child

With a background in psychology, specialising in early years child development, and years of experience working as a primary school teacher, I expected myself to be a really great parent…. But I struggled.