Every day I read another tragic news story about a child who has lost their life to suicide as a result of bullying. Pointless, mindless cruelty that the victim can do nothing about. What child is strong enough to stand up to big groups of children ganging up to make them feel worthless? As an…
Last week, we were lucky enough to be sent a Large Vegetable Garden (Autumn Winter) to review from Rocket Gardens. The idea behind Rocket Gardens is that they take the hassle out of growing your own food. They do the tricky bit for you – growing the plants from seed into a small seedling that…
One of my most vivid memories of childhood is sitting in the shallow end of a cold, dated swimming pool gazing up at the man on poolside and listening with awe. As swimmers, we were often told about new techniques, training regimes, drills and equipment that would improve our swimming. But our coach was one…
Next week, my little girl will start school. Every day I read another blog post or Facebook status about what an emotional experience it is seeing them off for that first day. But I won’t be sad. And I know you already think less of me for it, you’ve got me down as a bad mother….
His hot coffee in the nasty takeaway cup was starting to burn his hand as he reached his desk. He plonked the steaming drink onto a tattered piece of paper that somebody had dumped next to his computer. The accountant stared absentmindedly at the steam meandering through the small hole in the black plastic lid….
My children don’t watch an enormous amount of television, they never really have. The main reason for that is because we are usually out and about doing things, and don’t have much time for sitting in front of a screen. I’ve also written before about my concerns over the impact of screen time on behaviour. That…