We often use the word inspiration when talking about people we admire, a fitting accolade we think when we look upon their lives, their work and their deeds. In truth I think we use it a little too often or at least in a way that robs it of any real power. An important aspect … Continued
Our children live in a different world to the one we grew up in or that is at least as this 40 year old woman sees it. This became even more apparent, a few weeks ago, when the government announced mandatory sex education from primary school onwards in council run schools. To fully put that … Continued
I would like to start this blog on a slight tangent… Take a look at the picture below. I’m sure many of you are already familiar with this wretched story. To those of you who are not it revolves around a 12-year-old girl and her father, a gun toting, NRA loving, … Continued
I’ve written a number of times about discipline, parental supervision and technology. There is some pretty good advice out there on the net and a plethora of online communities that exist to provide support to newly minted parents. One theme that has run through many of my posts is the risk and challenges presented by … Continued
I have spoken a lot about the necessity of secure attachments in the development of a socially and emotionally healthy children. Anyone with a modicum of common sense understands that good interaction and quality parenting behaviour lie at the heart of this. Achieving this however is not always easy. Kids are not blank slates that … Continued
Children are intrinsically creative. From the moment they become aware of the world around them they carry their own unique representations of it in their heads, right alongside the other imaginary worlds they build there. Albert Einstein once said that his schooling almost destroyed his interest in Mathematics and Physics, but that it recovered upon … Continued
It seems incredible to think that in one part of the United Kingdom the life of its citizens can be so different from the rest. I refer of course to Northern Ireland. It may come as surprise to you that our legal systems are not entirely uniform. One striking point of divergence is the law … Continued
I was chatting to a friend the other day about an article they had read in some broadsheet. It concerned the idea of ‘affluent neglect’. She seemed to find the notion rather provocative and controversial. My only response was to ask, ‘why?’ The proposition that wealthy parents are often physically and emotionally unavailable for their … Continued
Professor Richard Layard and his colleagues at the Wellbeing research programme at the London’s School of Economics’ centre for Economic performance, have reached a perhaps obvious but nonetheless important conclusion that…. having an emotionally healthy childhood is the key to happiness in later life. And furthermore, that being a happy child begets a happy satisfied … Continued
We hear an awful lot about the problems with young people today. The headlines tend to favour the negative stories such as the ASBOs, underage pregnancies, the increasing frequency of teenage on adult violence and so on, but I have some real sympathy for what children face today. Consider what we now know about the … Continued