How Not to Screw Up Your Kids

I want to regularly answer your most burning questions as part of my Help! Question. So here is our first. Help!! I’ve completely lost it with my children!! We have all been there right?? You know, those times when we become some sort of mum/dad zilla - unleashing anger, fury, and frustration in a way which almost feels like an out of body experience, and you just can’t seem to stop your...

This episode is all about the importance of play for our children. I am often asked about how much time school-aged children should have to play each day. My answer is always the same…I believe play is the single most important activity for children to engage in, each and every day, for at least one hour. The research evidence is overwhelming in documenting the power of play for children’s emotion...

This episode is all about childhood friendships; the high and lows, ins and outs and how we can help our children navigate them better. As humans we are social animals - we want to belong, we want to be accepted, be part of a collective and friendships serve that purpose for us. When it comes to school - friendships are the reason children stay happy and bounce into school. When they are strugglin...

I want to talk about all things related to uncertainty. You might instinctively think about the global pandemic, yet there are so many other types of uncertainty our children, teens, and young adults will need to learn to navigate – changing school, applying to university, moving house, forming new friendships.  Some people have a high tolerance to uncertainty, whilst others worry excessively...

In this episode I am joined by Clare Ford as we talk about how we can create a positive learning environment for our children to succeed academically. I know this is a topic I get asked about all the time!  We talk through the common challenges we face as parents - how do we encourage our children to learn without nagging!!   Clare is an award winning education expert...

This episode I talk about all things Back to School! We’re talking about preparing our children’s mindsets, cultivating curiosity, dealing with back-to-school anxieties and creating good habits.   This episode is for you whether you have a 5-year-old or a 20-something your old going back to University/Work!  Here are the highlights:  (00:49) Creating the right habits  (04:...

This episode is all about what can often feel like the ‘icky’ subject of pornography, and why we need to have that conversation with our children NOW!! A recent study by The Children’s Commission in the UK has revealed over half of children will be exposed to online pornography before they leave primary school!! Some as young as 7 years old! Whilst this data is from the UK, the exposure is online,...

I want to talk about how we can avoid entitlement at Christmas - you know what I mean - what feels like the constant “I want, I want, I want”  Whether this come from a place of comparison - so and so has chocolates for breakfast in the...

I know we can all relate to this one! This week’s episode is all about how we can stop nagging and instead encourage our children to listen more, do more, and take on more responsibility. I can imagine a lot of you will be thinking this is an impossible task but I can reassure you there is a better way.   I will talk you through my 3 simple steps and then gift you my How To sheet. &...

I want to dedicate this episode to you as parents, first and foremost. We will do a separate episode for how you can integrate these principles for your children.    Trust me you are absolutely not going to want to miss this. I want this episode to be an inspiring one, one which I hope you will refer back to time and time again.    Whilst the context behind what I am...

Children who find their voice have a strong sense of who they are, are able to stand up for themselves, can express their views without fear, are respectful of others, accept differences, and as a result are well-liked by their peers. I believe, as parents, we should all be striving to raise children with a voice as all these character traits are key to living an adult life confidently and compass...

Broadly speaking I would put fear into two categories. The fear which is real and the fear which we perceive.  Perceived fear occurs when we encounter a situation which feels overwhelming. We imagine all manner of scenarios which don’t bode well. We are in no real life threatening or immediate danger but our body reacts as though it were. Our fight, flight or freeze mechanism is activated.&nb...

Some of you may know that on 28th October 2021 I wrote across all my social media accounts that I had found my continued use of social media platforms untenable with my passion for children's wellbeing.  I want this episode to be an honest conversation about social media so we can make more informed decisions about their use for our families.   As parents we should know the dangers...

This might be something you are right in the middle of, something you think might be coming, or you are simply listening because you want to be there for a friend or someone in your family. Either way I am glad you’re here and I hope you find it useful.   Let’s start by taking away any guilt or judgement you might be harbouring. No one embarks on the process of separating from a partner...

A recent survey by the NHS found that 29% of six to 10-year-olds had trouble sleeping on three or more nights in the previous week. Problems getting to sleep, waking in the night or waking early were even more common among older children, affecting 38% of 11- to 16-year-olds and the majority – 57% – of young people aged 17 to 23.  To me, it’s no wonder we have rising numbers of mental health...

The world has never felt more divisive. Globally we have the hugely divisiveness of political views, whether this relates to vaccination, climate change or in the United Kingdom the whole division which was created around Brexit.  Extremism and radical views aren’t born, they are made and when we live in a society in which we either consciously or unconsciously place people into groups or giv...

This episode is all about the importance of a morning routine and how it helps us to become more effective parents. In fact, I’m going to be even more specific than that’s and talk to all you mothers out there. Now it’s not that this episode won’t be relevant to dads, it absolutely will, I have just found in my experience mum’s gain the most from the shift in emphasis - as will become evident as w...

I am delighted to be joined by the incredible Rania Robinson, MD of Quiet Storm the ad agency responsible for the Haribo ads we all love where the adults talk with children’s voices.   As a woman of colour raising two mixed race children she shares her personal insights on how she has navigated discussions around race and discrimination.   I believe we all have a resp...

This episode is all about how to manage sibling conflict.   Now let me start by being totally honest and upfront - sibling rivalry, disagreements and fall outs are normal. Your children will want to kill each other at times and really dislike each other most of the rest of the time - and that’s normal, you aren’t a bad parent, you haven’t failed and they are certainly not going to turn i...

In this episode I am going to take you through a step by step guide to helping your children move out of their comfort zone. By comfort zone I mean that place where they are coasting - doing things they are familiar with and not stretching themselves beyond that. Moving out of their comfort zone is all about trying new things, meeting new people and all the slightly scary things the...

In this episode I am talking about the secrets to school success and it has nothing to do with academics!   As parents we must always keep in mind the end goal, which is to raise children who become confident, resilient adults equipped to live life happily and successfully - whatever success looks like for them NOT US!!!   I will share with you my top three tips and how you can...

This is a very personal episode where I share my childhood story. Whilst I have very fond memories of growing up, I never quite felt comfortable or confident in who I was. I am convinced this is why I do what I do, and why I do it the way I do it.   I hope this episode will help you as a parent see things from the viewpoint of a child, and how they experience the world. It’s also a remin...

If you’re anything like me, you have probably read a dozen books in an attempt to get your children to do more of what you ask. Why don’t they listen and do what we ask them to do first time and why is it so hard?!!  Traditional books talk about discipline and punishment, which in my view only creates power struggles, battle-lines and confrontation and no-one wants these. In this episode I wi...

This episode Dr Maryhan’s children talk about their childhood. We hear about sibling rivalry, meltdowns in the car because of spellings, competitiveness and Catherine’s childhood trauma thanks to Maryhan’s passion for gardening!!  The children also talk candidly about how they have managed tech, social media, comparisons and becoming confident adults. Here are the highlights:  {3:45} Mos...

This episode is all about the secrets to a Happy Family. Now I am going to be upfront here - there is no such thing as a perfectly happy family - that’s just not reality. What I am going to talk about are the key components we need to master to make family life as harmonious as we can possibly make it. And the biggest secret is about managing our own expectations.   The three core compon...