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Posts tagged communication

Are you using grandparents for childcare?

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Childcare is usually at the top of any parent’s mind whether they just need someone to have the children for them to go to an appointment or if it is more permanent for them to go back to work. This is often where grandparents come in. They might offer to help or you might find yourself in the position where you ask them - either way there are a few things to consider when thinking about using grandparents (or indeed friends / other relatives) for childcare.

GrandparentsRebekah Frankcom8 January 2024parenting, families, parenting tips, top tips, listen, communication, tolerance, communications, problem solving, grandparent childcare, grandparents, grandparent tips, grandparent relationships, open communication, family childcare, childcare, grandparents childcare

Why won’t my child share?

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Sharing is often something that we want our children to be able to do from a young age. It is of course much more socially acceptable for a child to share things with other children than to snatch or refuse to let them near their possessions. Getting a child to understand that they need to share can sometimes feel like a long and difficult process. It can cause frustration for a child, who has these expectations on them when they might not fully understand, and also for the adults who want so much for their child to share!

Play, BehaviourRebekah Frankcom16 November 2020parenting, families, parenting tips, play, playing together, sociable, communication, problem solving, toys, play things, play time, sharing, child's perspective, taking turns, life skills

Why play is good for your child’s wellbeing..!

Written by Dr Karen McInnes. Play is such a simple activity and is often taken for granted as, after all, all children do it! There are many reasons why children play, one of which is the beneficial impact of play. During these strange and surreal times, it can be quite confusing for children and the importance of play for children’s mental health and wellbeing cannot be overstated. This blog sets out how play benefits children in this way and how we, as parents, can support our children’s play.

My parents help me with the childcare for my two children. I am very grateful for their help, but I find that they don’t do things as I would like and I don't know how to approach it with them.

Reply from Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. This is a very common situation for many people who have family members providing childcare for them. When we have to raise any issues with those who care for our children it can be tricky, but when it is a family member this adds an additional layer of difficulty. It is understandable that you do not want to upset your parents ultimately you want to maintain a close and special relationship. However, if you don’t raise the issues that you have, this will lead to you becoming more frustrated and only end up causing a more awkward and difficult situation between you all. It is really important that you avoid getting to this stage!

GrandparentsRebekah Frankcom6 August 2020parenting, families, parenting tips, top tips, listen, communication, tolerance, communications, problem solving, grandparent childcare, grandparents, grandparent tips, grandparent relationships, open communication, family childcare

Will experiencing lockdown change our children forever?

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. In these strange and surreal times, we have been and still are facing things that we have never faced before in our lifetimes. Many families have experienced an extremely difficult time in relation to living and working space, finances and family circumstances etc and this is likely to continue as we start to go into some kind of ‘recovery phase’.

We just wanted to take a moment to look at all of the things we are hearing from families about their experiences through the Coronavirus outbreak and what these changes might mean for us and, more importantly, our children, as we come out of it and into our ‘new normal’ - will this experience change our children forever?

Supporting Dads*

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Very often when babies arrive there is a great deal of focus on Mum and the baby and Dads can often be left on the sidelines. The arrival of a baby can be life changing for any parent and so we need to make sure that we are looking out for Dads at this monumental time. The adjustment for Dads can be significant, and there can be hormonal changes (testosterone, oestrogen, cortisol, and prolactin) in men after their baby arrives which can cause them to have baby blues or postnatal depression. I have worked with many families where I have had to actively encourage Dad to take a more active role and to show how important a role he has to play in his baby’s life. We don’t want Dads to be on the sidelines, we want them to feel valued and empowered in their new role.

Health, OtherRebekah Frankcom24 June 2020parenting, families, parenting tips, top tips, one to one time, listen, communication, dad, How are you dad, supporting dads

When our children get older...

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. There is a wealth of information out there to support babies, toddler and pre-school children, but once they are over the age of 5 the information tends to be more limited and is often focused on school related topics.

Just because our children are getting older, it doesn’t mean that parenting gets easier or that you will have all the answers to the new phases and stages that your child might be going through. It can be challenging and sometimes make you feel like you are having to use guess work to get through it.

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