The Bribery Spiral

Dishing out sugary treats as an incentive for your child to do what you ask of them is a rocky road to disaster.

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If Three-year-olds Made New Year’s Resolutions

Three-year-olds don't see a need to better themselves.

The Tao of the Two-year-old

Parenting certainly has its problems, and children can be complicated - to say the least. But it has occurred to me of late that perhaps I do not paint my child in the best light. In complaining about the difficulties I encounter in my daily life as a mother, I am always the victim and …

Learning to Spell Diarrhoea

It’s just before 3pm in the afternoon. I am sitting at my desk when my mobile goes off. It’s the childminder. My heart immediately starts beating a thousand times a minute and my mind can’t even focus in on imaginable disasters. Within two rings I have flicked the answer button and breathlessly, hesitantly, utter, “Hello?” …

Housekeeping For The Soul

“No, really, I want to do the washing up, you go and play with your child.” This may sound like playing the martyr, but it really is true. I want to stand staring out of the window with my hands plunged in a bowl of warm, soapy water, scrubbing cemented cereal off bowls. While occupied …

Cruel To Be Kind – Treating Conjuctivitis In Kids

This week my daughter contracted a nasty case of conjunctivitis. She woke up crying, "My eyes! My eyes!" Her eyelids glued together with a crust of luminous mucus. Once bathed with cotton wool, she squinted out of red, swollen sockets which oozed with green gunk. It was horrible to see her in pain. But even …

Does A Toddler Bite Require A Tetanus Shot?

My daughter is attempting to eat a packet of potato snacks with one hand, and I am somewhat concerned. It has been over 24 hours since she was bitten on the thumb by a fellow two-year-old and she has stopped using her left hand. There was a lot of blood at the time - they …

Confessions Of In Ice Cream Addict

It started with a lick.  That's all it was.  Just one little lick - what harm could it do?  How was I to know it was the first step down a slippery slope of melting gelato. After my daughter had taken that one lick, a switch inside her was flipped, and she was never going …

Helicopter Parenting – How Low Should You Go?

My daughter's right leg is currently in plaster.  Before the age of two she has suffered a fractured metatarsal, damage to a bone in her foot.  It is a common injury in professional footballers and dancers. She incurred her damage jumping off the bed. "Mummy called the doctor and the doctor and the doctor said, …

Parenting With Epilepsy – Staying Afloat

It's late afternoon and I am starting to get that sinking feeling. The air around me is becoming thick and heavy and everything suddenly seems much further away. I try to focus on my surroundings, digging my fingernails into my palms in a desperate bid to cling onto consciousness. But I soon know that I …