Once a week I take my daughter to the best mother and baby group in the world. It's nothing fancy - just donated toys and books set out in a church hall, although they are fortunate to have masses of games that have been kept really well. It is run by a lovely group of …
Since I became a mother I have come to dread doing nothing. I'm talking about those long, lazy, layabout days when you lounge around in your pyjamas, relishing the fact you have nowhere to go and nothing particular to do. Some ill-informed fools even believe that everyday is like that for the Stay At Home …
In the hazy days of those first few weeks of motherhood, I began to hear certain phrases again and again. Dazed and confused I let them wash over me, leaving a nice warm, fuzzy feeling about my baby, my performance as a parent and even mankind in general. People were just so nice. They had …
Parenting is hard work. We all know that, or quickly find it out. And when you find it really tough going you may start to wonder if you might be doing it wrong. What if you simply don't have the talent or the skills that make raising a child a rewarding and successful experience? But …
Continue reading ‘That Kid Is Intense’ – Compliment or Criticism?
These days a lot of people rely on grandparents for help with childcare. Nursery fees are high, salaries are frozen and inflation is creeping up. If both parents have to work, sometimes the only way to make it cost effective is if someone can look after the kids for free. With my parents living 152 miles …
I'm not the mother I thought I would be. I thought I would be such a fun mummy. The one who was always playing. Someone who would completely lose themselves in whatever the game was and not care about the mess it made, or how long it was going to take to tidy up. I …
As I sat hunched in the dark yesterday evening, listening to my daughter's warthog snort become slower and slower as she drifted off to the land of nod, I found myself, for the first time since childhood, truly wishing I had magical powers. In that moment I longed to teleport out of that room without …
This month our PreSchool Parents Book Club has a Self Help guide on the reading list. I was a sceptic and have most certainly not been converted. But after I got over being irritated by the shallow, simple, self-obsessed thinking it projected, I couldn't help thinking my tantrum-throwing toddler might still be able to gain …
Continue reading It’s All About Me! A Toddler Self Help Parody
Every profession has its jargon. Those little buzz words or catchphrases you pick up on the job, and quickly start to drop to show you know what you’re doing. Parenting is no exception. There is a special language you need to learn to help come out on top in the daily debates and conferences you …
Continue reading Parent Translate: Things Parents Say And What They Really Mean
I am slightly flummoxed as to where my daughter found her femininity. In the battle of nature versus nurture her natural girlishness is already starting to dominate. She has certainly not been raised Gender Neutral, but we have made an effort not to expose her to gender bias. I don't feel I can be held responsible …
