Newborn to Teen and Everything in Between

Becks never used a screen for her children at mealtimes, but that was only because she didn’t have a smart phone or ipad when they were little! There is no judgement here and also no need to despair if your children are watching a screen at mealtimes, all is not lost and this podcast will help!  We talked about ...  the reasons we might start letting our children have a screen at mealtim...

We started the podcast with Emma describing how Amala was diagnosed, which happened very quickly just after the twins were born. This is an emotional listen – Emma has faced a huge amount of challenge since Amala was born with sadly almost non-existent support; but she has learnt so much, not least that Amala is just as perfect as her other children, she just has different needs.  We also tal...

Without even talking about being nap trapped, the topic of naps are already a big thing for parents! Encouraging babies and children to get the right amount of sleep in the day can become an obsession – if only to get a full night’s sleep! Being nap trapped is therefore a double-edged sword – on one hand you want your little one to get good restorative sleep, but on the other you also don’t want t...

Jemma is a Bereavement Support Practitioner at Winston’s Wish for their online and helpline services; providing advice, support and guidance to young people, parents and caregivers as well as professionals. We had a really interesting chat with Jemma about the services that Winston’s Wish provide, but also about how to communicate with children about death and how we grow around grief.  Clair...

Hannah worked as a nanny before she had her own children and it was then that she realised the importance of support in the area of breastfeeding. She trained as an IBCLC practitioner and is now a qualified lactation consultant (put simply, that means that there’s not much that Hannah doesn’t know about breastfeeding!)  We talked with Hannah about:  What a lactation consultant is and wha...

Claire has worked with children and babies for over 20 years and in that time has made up and fed to her charges, more bottles than Becks has had hot dinners (and that’s a lot!).  In this episode, Becks picks Claire’s brain about all things bottle feeding!  We covered ALOT(!) including:  The paraphernalia and the important things to make sure you have.  Different types of steri...

Samantha Dholakia (Sam) from SPD Tuition and Coaching has worked with children all her life and is particularly interested in the link between academic success and wellbeing. In her work she looks at how connecting with children (of all ages) helps them to understand about themselves and achieve what they want to. Sam’s other qualification in this topic is that she is mum to a toddler! ...

Christmas is a time when there are huge expectations and we put a lot of pressure on ourselves, so for this episode we decided to chat about what the issues can be and what we can do to make it all a bit easier. We talked about:  ·         Our own Christmases and who we share them with (spoiler alert...Claire’s includes a nap!)  ·   ...

Vicky is a professional organiser ( @youneedavicky on Instagram) and author of Amazon Bestseller Start with Your Sock Drawer , but Vicky came onto the podcast to talk about adopting her beautiful daughter ‘Tippy’. We talked about: What led Vicky to want to have children in the first place and why she chose adoption as her path.  What the adoption process involves.  Whether being a s...

Getting rid of your child’s dummy can be a daunting prospect, but never fear because this podcast covers all you need to know about why, when and how to ditch the dummy – this is what we cover:  ‘Long term’ dummy use and what issues it might cause over time?  The age you should look at ditching the dummy.  When the best time is to do it (and when shouldn’t you give it a go?)  J...

We were delighted to be joined for this podcast by Andrew Howard who is Curriculum Leader of PSHE at Bristol's largest secondary school, covering sex and relationship education and issues of equality, diversity and inclusion among other topics. The school Andrew works at supports many pupils with their gender identity, and has won accolades for its responsiveness to incidents of transpho...

Someone asked us a question about this a while ago and it’s a topic we have been looking forward to discussing on the podcast. We weren’t sure where it would go, but actually it turned into a very interesting chat! Amongst other things, we discussed:  Whether being spoilt is actually a negative thing.  If you can spoil a child with too much attention  Why we can ‘be spoilt’ but...

We were delighted to welcome Saskio Boujo on to the podcast to talk about periods and period poverty.  Saskia is a relationship and sex educator who has been teaching young people for over 20 years. Her work involves delivering workshops to young people, training teachers and organising parent events. Saskia self-published her book,  This Period In My Life , in July 2020 – it is a period...

Everyone’s circumstances are different, but keeping your child / children as your priority is key to ensuring they don’t get caught up in it all. In this episode we talk about:   What co-parenting is.  How to communicate with children that you are separating and what is going to happen.  How to keep the child as your priority and the importance of compartmentalising that side of you...

Emma works with families and children to support them with fussy eating and allergies.  She spoke to us about her own experiences including:        The challenges of having a child with allergies.  How Emma supports families and children and how fussy eating and allergies can often go together.  Coping with allergies at events like birthday pa...

Did you know that 1 in every 65 pregnancies results in a multiple birth?  In this episode of Newborn to Teen and Everything in Between we spoke to Shauna Leven, CEO of Twins Trust about:   Her role at Twins Trust and what the charity does for parents of multiples.  The pram chat (it had to be done!). This is certainly a topic which we know so many parents and carers of multiple...

Around 10,800 people in the UK have Cystic Fibrosis, which is 1 in every 2,500 babies born. Cystic Fibrosis affects around 100,000 people in the world.  Jess is a Norland Nanny who nannied for 12 years before setting off as a blogger on a travelling adventure - little did she know at the time what she would face once her precious baby was born and they received the results of the newborn heel...

Claire and Becks have different experiences of sibling rivalry, but whatever your experience, there is no doubt that there is an element of it in every family where there is more than one child!  In this episode we chat through the different aspects of this, including:  How sibling rivalry is a completely natural part of child development that can start at different ages and stages.&nbsp...

We didn’t realise quite how much there was to talk about on this topic until we pressed record...this includes:  How our own experiences effect our feelings about children starting school.  Some things to think about before they start (things like ‘can they open their lunchbox’ for example can be practiced by having picnics over the summer)  Emotions – a mix of emotions are complete...

As long-time admirers of Charlotte’s work we were so excited for this episode and it didn’t disappoint! We chat with Charlotte about:   How she became a nutritionist and why she loves the early years so much.  The emotions around food from both children and adults as well as how things have changed since we were all small!  Why what we do in the early years really matters.  Why...

Travelling with children has its ups and downs (Becks has experienced a fair few of them!) and in this episode we talk about our our own experiences and share some tips for a hassle free holiday:  The importance of research and planning before you go!  Packing (Claire has so many hints and tips on this having packed for countless families travelling all over the world!)  The destina...

This episode covers so much! We talked to Charlotte about:  What speech and language therapy is.  What reasons a parent or carer might have for looking at speech and language therapy for their child and what signs to look for.  The links between communication and behaviour.  Speech and language milestones at different ages.  What you can do at home if your child isn’t meet...

We talk through all aspects of the transition from cot to bed including:  What age is typical for a little one to be ready to make the move.  Some signs which might indicate that your little one is ready!   How to handle the move from a cot to a bed if you have a new sibling on the way.  What you should do if you are about to move house (ignore Becks’s misguided wisdom on...

Cheryl has 2 sons – William who is 14 and Stanley who is 7. William is a self-professed ‘geek’ who loves history and playing games, Stanley is full of energy and wants to be Bear Gryls! They have a love / hate relationship like most siblings, but where their situation is slightly different to most, William has autism.   We talk to Cheryl about:  What the signs were that in...

It’s time to play wee and poo bingo 😉!  The overall theme of our conversation with Alina was around the importance of talking to our children positively about wee and poo (Bingo!), but also helping them (and us) to understand what’s ‘normal’ in terms of toileting so that they (and we) know, for example, when they might be constipated.  Other topics we talked about include:  Constip...