Get your children to listen in 4 steps

Wow – some help with one of the hardest parts of being a parent.  We love the simplicity of this advice from Gayle Peterson, PhD.  Go to ivillage to see more of her advice. 1. Communicate your expectations clearly. Pitfall: Some parents express what they want their child do by including a child’s feelings as [...]

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Annabel Karmel ready meals laced with sugar and salt

Child nutrition guru – Annabel Karmel has been criticised for adding sugar and salt to her ready meals for toddlers. Annabel Karmel has sold millions of books guiding parents on how to wean children on to healthy food. However, it has emerged that her Eat Fussy ready meals are laced with added sugar and salt. [...]

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Is it ever ok to smack a child?

A new study out suggests that smacking a child can have positive results. The study’s author, Marjorie Gunnoe, professor of Psychology at Calvin College in the U.S questioned scores of teenagers. It found that those who were smacked, up until the age of six, had better outcomes when it came to things like anti-social behaviour, early [...]

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Natural teething remedies

Teething can be one of the hardest parts of being a parent, watching your normally happy baby turn into a grizzly monster from sheer discomfort. The process can start as early as 3 .5 months and some babies definitely suffer more than others. Teething troubled my second child far more than my first. As well [...]

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Baby its cold outside – the benefits of merino wool plus our favourites

The snow is falling my daughter is insisting on wearing a totally inappropriate summer dress.  To get round it I put one of her merino tops underneath and it got me thinking what a miracle product it is. Unlike synthetics, Merino reacts to changes in your body temperature to insulate and keep you warm when [...]

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News update: British parents to sue Maclaren

A group of British parents are to sue the pushchair manufacturer Maclaren over claims their children’s fingertips were severed in accidents involving its fold-up “umbrella-style” buggies. More than 15 families have sought legal advice amid allegations that the firm knew more than a year ago that its products had injured children. Maclaren announced a recall [...]

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Quest for a safe sippy cup

I was recently at a 1yr olds birthday party where I met a mum who lives in San Francisco. She was amazed at the number of plastic drinking cups that pretty much every child was using in the UK, including our 2. Plastic kiddie cups have long been abandoned by stateside parents. Stainless steel and [...]

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Books to help communicate with your kids

Some books I found helpful when trying to find a better way to communicate with my girls. “How to talk so kids will listen and listen so kids will talk” by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish Raising children compassionately; Parenting the nonviolent communication way by Marshall B. Rosenburg. Hidden Messages: What our words and actions [...]

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Natural remedies for coughs and colds

The cough and cold season is here again. With the recent news that many cough and cold mixtures are not suitable for use in children under 6, here are some natural remedy tips to get you through. 1. Vitamin C and zinc lozenges taken at the first sign of a sore throat or stuffiness can [...]

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Facts about fever

When our children come down with a fever it can be a worrying time so it can help to understand the process of fever. A temperature is elevated when it is higher than 100 degrees F. Fever is considered one of the immune systems way to neutralise a threat inside the body (bacterial or viral). [...]

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