Get your free 15-minute consultation
Thanks for requesting your free 15-minute consultation
Insights
I like providing these Insights because they allow me to write from experience on things that are topical and greatly affect people - always looking for a better way through. If any issue isn’t covered, you can always request it. Happy reading!
Caring for a disabled child
CARING FOR A DISABLED CHILD – IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FAMILY Having a disabled child affects everything and everyone; parents, other children and even extended family and friends who care about you. When it’s going well, there can be enormous happiness; happiness at the little improvements you notice, happiness at seeing their brothers and sisters play with and enjoy spending time with their less able sibling; but at the same time, you can feel an underlying grief for what could have…
Read more
The only skills you’ll ever need..
The reality of the ‘Sandwich Generation‘ (with dependents each end of the scale)… “Ok, so I’m a parent with teenage children and I have a career. We were doing ok as a family, until two years ago when my parents became less able and needed a bit of help. Not much help to start and it all fitted in well. We found the time, we were just keeping an eye on them really. But then they needed more help. Regularly….
Read more
The most important ‘What if…?’ question
An important part of Caring is thinking through the ‘What if…?’ questions. I was reminded of this in an interesting programme on Radio 4. It was with Joan Bakewell talking about End-of-Life Care. Specifically, how to make sure that the emergency services carry out your loved one’s wishes. One example was a lady whose Mother had a nice supper. Then, forgetting she’d had it, had another nice supper. A couple of hours later unexpected, and peacefully, she passed in her…
Read more
Simple tips for a flawless Christmas
Okay, you’ve worked hard to get Christmas ready – and you’re at full stretch, but let’s go through the final checklist: Turkey Sprouts Roasties Stuffing Gravy Family Presents Elderly Parent…? Now, anything I write comes with a caveat because it depends how your parent is and what problems they have. But I have known homes where it’s all fine UNTIL… (insert own words…). For example, my Grandmother lived with us for many years and what she would do at Christmas…
Read more
Shout-out for working mums!
SHOUT-OUT FOR WORKING MUMS! The Kellogg’s Foundation has just released a Study that declared “Parents do 43 jobs – before going to work.” I mentioned this to my neighbour, who’s a mum of two, and she said “And the rest!!” Have you ever wondered where we would all be without Working Mums? Fulfilling a demanding role is a challenge in itself. For those who are also mothers, there’s a whole other job for them to do at home. For them,…
Read more
How to boost confidence and self-esteem
A worry for any parent is seeing their child struggling with confidence and self-esteem and forgetting how wonderful they really are. This Tip is a simple technique that you can use with your child to reinforce all their best qualities and help them feel really good about themselves. LET’S GET STARTED To give your child the best start, it’s really important that they’re certain about two things: They are valuable members of the human race with an important role to…
Read more
Is it time for tough love?
Let’s take a boy or girl aged 17. You’ve given them everything. You’ve provided a home, food, love and care but they’ve become different from the other children. They’re not interested in college, are incapable of being sociable or polite, come and go as they please and – on the rare occasions they are at home – are abusive. They say their life is rubbish and complain they have no money but they aren’t interested in a job. You don’t…
Read more
Reclaiming Control
I’d like you to picture the scene: A young man, age 17, attends private school and is starting driving lessons next week. He is addicted to computers – and I mean addicted. As a result of his addiction, he is not engaging in family life so his Mother is removing the computers. And not for the first time. The result of this situation is that all communication has ended. The boy is not talking to his mother and his mother…
Read more
Top 3 Tips for Starting Secondary School
There are few scarier scenarios for most people than being put in a room with lots of new people and being told to ‘NETWORK’! For adults, insecure thoughts and feelings from secondary school often come flooding straight back up to the surface: No-one will want to talk to me; What do I say to people; How do I approach them; What if they don’t want to be friendly; Please can the earth just swallow me up! Imagine then, being just…
Read more
Has your child changed?
Is your child suddenly experiencing screaming fits, nervous tics, extreme anxiety, eating disorders and OCD? This blog is a ‘heads up’ for you that these could be symptoms of a condition mistaken for mental illness that can actually be cured with antibiotics. I’m always looking out for things to help families and I caught an article on this – so I looked it up. There is indeed a Condition that can cause sudden, distressing and inexplicable changes in a…
Read more