Parenting

Parentisms: Listen UP

It's a simple skill -- listening. Though we can develop nuanced abilities to savor certain qualities in various particular soundscapes, it doesn't take much to, say, hone in on the words the person in front of you is speaking. Remembering to use that skill in the middle of the umpteenth interruption of the day, while

Crisis Parenting versus Conscious Parenting

Have you ever spoken to your child in a way that left you feeling disappointed in yourself? Perhaps you were going through a stressful time and you found yourself ‘snapping’, using language or physical power with your child in a way that you later regrett

Equality and Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse is the most underreported of all crimes. When it is reported, it is the least acted upon of all crimes. When it is acted upon it is the least punished of all crimes.

Healthy Families – Peace on Earth

What is involved in family health? Genetics, healthy lifestyle, open respectful communication, parents who are strong and confident in their roles and provide clear boundaries. All of these might be good goals for most of us, so where do things go wrong?

Is your Child Social?

A desperate father called me the other day saying that he fears his child will never develop social skills. “He only wants to be with us, his parents.

A Step Mother’s Tale

When asked what I would like to be when I grew up, I can’t say I actually aspired to being a divorcée, however glamorous it sounded, or, for that matter, a wicked stepmother. I don’t know about you, but it’s not exactly every girl’s childhood fantasy, and

All you need is love – A Grandmother’s Story

There is an undercurrent of sadness in the Aldersey house each Mother’s day. A dull insistence that something, or someone, is missing. Helen Aldersey will spend Mother’s day with her grandchildren. She hopes, this year, the children’s mother, Rose, will j