Forgive the vaguely amusing title, but perhaps it is necessary to counter the level of enmity and ire this issue seems to attract. It seems at a glance to be such a personal, small, mind your own business kind of thing and yet if there is one thing that is virtually guaranteed to divide any … Continued
I often feel as if we are living in precarious times. One look at the news and it’s hard not to believe that we are simply fortunate to be above ground. From the moment we wake we are hit with an endless stream of distressing images, from man’s assault on nature, to war torn conflicts … 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 seldom find panel shows to be sources of wisdom, but one the other night was clearly an exception that proved the rule. It posed the following question to its participants: ‘If there was one piece of advice you could give your younger self what would it be?’ There were various answers to it, but … Continued
If there is one phrase that is guaranteed to get the eyeballs twitching it is this, ‘a new report has shown…’ This phrase has long been co-opted by barely pubescent internet content creator’s whose sole intent is to create snappy content that will keep us all clicking (I’m told that is apparently good for advertising). … Continued
In my last blog I spoke about the lack of resources in our care system which are committed to recognising and treating the long term effects of early life events on children in care. A related issue, but unaddressed in the last blog, concerns the events that precipitate intervention and action by a social worker. … 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
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 women are leaving it ever later to have kids. The reasons for this are complex and varied. Based on personal observation I would hazard that the ever increasing childhood/career period for some men coupled with a desire on our parts to wait for the ‘right’ circumstances might have something to do with this. … 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