How to cope with teenage shyness
12 tips for parents of shy children...
Is that extra glass of wine really worth it?
Is an extra glass of wine worth the consequences, especially for parents, wonders Jackie?
Quality time with teenagers?
I am not going to with a Mother of the Year award by admitting this, but there are a number of activities that I just didn’t enjoy when my children were small. These are probably the top three from my not-exhaustive list… Painting You get all the painting kit out, they daub for approximately 30 […]
National fertility awareness week: International surrogacy
International Surrogacy: key facts...
Loneliness with two: a short story
A short story about the loneliness of motherhood by Jo Cocco.
Making it work: balancing motherhood and career
I was hugely daunted about becoming a mother, spending nine months of pregnancy freaking out that as soon as Albert came into the world I would become a frumpy mother with sick on my shoulder and only nappies and bottles on my mind. Though I had always felt maternal and knew lots of happiness lay […]
Book Club: Wonder
The Quality Steep Book Club read Wonder by R J Palacio. Nicholas Sparks’s review says Wonder is: well written, engaging, and so much fun to read that the pages almost turn themselves. More than that, Wonder touches the heart in the most life-affirming, unexpected ways, delivering in August Pullman a character whom readers will remember […]
Throwing a teen party at home
LucyJo shares her advice and tips on hosting a teenage party. 1. Guests Make sure you have a list, including the ‘plus ones’ (although we don’t allow these usually – I like to know who’s coming into our home!) If we haven’t heard of more than 70% of the kids, then we get the list revised. And yes, […]
Mothers and daughters: loving her enough to let her go
A mother’s perspective on her daughter leaving home to go to university and the importance of letting go. During the summer two years ago my daughter was about to turn 18 and find out her A-level results along with her destiny for the following few years. She’d worked so hard and had consistently ‘done the […]
Are girls-only schools really going out of fashion?
Patricia Woodhouse, Headmistress of Malvern St James, considers the question afresh. The single sex vs. co-ed debate is, in my opinion, a bit of a clichéd and out dated one. It is not as straight forward as arguing for or against. For me it has to be about personal choice, and who can offer your […]
Education: the gifted child dilemma
Having a gifted child is not always easy, as one mother explains I am definitely NOT a pushy mother. I know that most hothouse parents say that but, believe me, I would have loved to have had a ‘normal’ child. I knew that my daughter was a bit different when she was two and a […]
A move across the Channel: France it is!
Many of us travel abroad but not all of us are brave enough to live there! Read about starting a life in Northern France Chapter 1 In 2002 I decided it was time to go back to work after spending seven years as a full-time mum to our son, James. I had been involved in […]
Setting yourself free from control
I don’t know what age I was when I realised certain people in my life were controlling me – 45 perhaps? Much too old at any rate, and I wish, how I wish, I had come to that realisation years before. Because if I had I may have spared myself a lot of grief, energy […]
Fast facts: same-sex families
Can I enter into a civil partnership? Yes, if you are over 18 and not already in a civil partnership or married. Where can I make the commitment? There are certain offices where the registration can take place, e.g. hotels, restaurants, country houses. The registration does not include a ceremony but if you wish to […]
Same-sex families
What is a ‘family’? What would your answer to that question be? A married couple with two children? A single mum or dad and their child? A father, step-mum and his children from a previous marriage? Two lesbians with their donor-conceived child? Two gay dads and their surrogate child? One thing is for certain, there […]